Treat the paywall as the only honest product-market-fit test

Downloading proves curiosity, paying proves the promise was worth acting on - a weak paywall conversion doesn't automatically mean redesign the paywall, since the lie may have started in the ad, the store page, or the onboarding; the paywall is just where the user finally tells the truth.

5 Sept · Jake Castillo · Paywall & Onboarding · 2 min

Sign Creators · 1 issue. A repeatable, almost mechanical system for finding, pricing, and managing influencers so the deals compound instead of resetting every month.

Know what you're actually buying: UGC buys a swing, ads buy reach, influencers buy trust

UGC is a volatile bet on the algorithm, paid ads buy predictable but capped distribution, and influencers rent the trust a creator already built with their audience - conflating these three and blaming the wrong one when money disappears is how most programs fail.

22 Aug · 2 min