Should You Offer a Free Trial? Here’s Why I Said “No” for My App

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Worklog with Shawn Hickman

Shawn Hickman

9 episodes

6 months ago

Building an indie app business is a journey full of challenges, insights, and lessons learned. Worklog is a behind-the-scenes look at my experience designing, developing, and growing Sofa, an iOS app that helps you be more intentional with your downtime. I’m Shawn Hickman—a designer, developer, and indie app creator—sharing my process, what I’m working on, and the hard (and fun) parts of running a solo business. Whether it’s app development, YouTube, marketing, or unexpected lessons along the way, Worklog is an open journal of everything that goes into turning an idea into a sustainable indie business. If you’re an indie maker, aspiring developer, or just curious about the process, tune in—and don’t hesitate to reach out! 👋 https://www.shawnhickman.me/worklog-podcast/

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Technology

Business,

Entrepreneurship

Should You Offer a Free Trial? Here’s Why I Said “No” for My App

Worklog with Shawn Hickman

15 minutes

9 months ago

Should You Offer a Free Trial? Here’s Why I Said “No” for My App

In this video, I’m sharing why I don’t offer a free trial for my app, Sofa.

When I first launched the Super Sofa subscription, I struggled with decisions around pricing and whether or not to offer a free trial. Most advice said, “You should offer a free trial because that’s what everyone does.” But that never sat right with me.

Now, after a few years of running a subscription app without a free trial, I’ve gained clarity on why I don’t do it — and why Sofa’s freemium model works better without one.

I’m not against free trials! They can work great for certain products. But for Sofa, it doesn’t make sense. In this video, I’ll walk through my thought process and explain why.

📺 Watch on YouTube

Chapters

(00:00) - Intro
(00:15) - A little context
(02:05) - Camera car mount
(03:11) - In the car
(03:45) - Purpose of free trials
(05:16) - Sofa is a freemium product
(09:02) - What I've learned about Sofa
(13:09) - Some advice

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