eSpark

Improve Freemium Model

  • Product Designer
    • |
  • Figma • FigJam • Illustrator

Improve our freemium model that highlights the product’s core value within the first 30 days, delivering a compelling experience that hooks users before transitioning them to the lite version. Strategically introduce limitations or blockers in the lite version to nudge users towards upgrading to a premium plan, ensuring that the benefits of the paid version are clearly perceived and enticing. This approach will not only build trust, but also drive conversions by demonstrating the enhanced features and advantages of the premium offering.

The Problem

Once users drop to the Lite plan they are not upgrading back to Premium. This suggests that the Lite plan may be meeting most of their needs or that users are not fully seeing the added value of the Premium features.

How might we

Design a freemium experience that encourages users to actively engage with premium features in the first 30 days, while strategically guiding them to upgrade after transitioning to the Lite version?

We dove deep into user behaviors 🤿

  1. Journey maps in Amplitude (shown below)
  2. User Interviews
  3. Hotjar heatmaps and video recordings

How are teachers using eSpark, and what are their behaviors in the first 30 days?

Understanding how teachers interact with eSpark in their initial 30 days is critical to identifying patterns that lead to continued engagement or drop-off. Are teachers fully exploring the platform’s features? Which tools or resources do they find most valuable? Analyzing their usage habits, including the frequency and depth of engagement with different features, will help us pinpoint what drives satisfaction and what obstacles they encounter. This insight will inform decisions on how to better showcase premium features early on to ensure that users understand the platform’s full value.

Are we targeting the correct features to limit once a user drops to the Lite version?

To drive conversions from Lite to Premium, it’s essential that we strategically limit features that users find indispensable, encouraging them to upgrade. We need to evaluate whether we are currently restricting the right features. Are the most impactful, high-value tools gated in the Lite version, or are we leaving too many valuable resources accessible? Balancing what remains in the free tier versus what becomes exclusive to the paid plan is crucial to ensuring the limitations create a meaningful incentive for teachers to upgrade. Creating a clear distinction between the Lite and Premium plans.

Do we have enough limitations on our Lite version for users to feel constrained?

The Lite version should offer enough functionality to showcase the platform’s value, but it must also create enough friction or limitations that users feel the need to upgrade to fully access advanced tools, premium resources, and exclusive features. Are the restrictions significant enough for teachers to recognize the value gap between the free and premium plans? We must ensure that users feel the constraints of the Lite version without it being too restrictive, which could lead to disengagement. Finding the right balance will help prompt users to realize that upgrading to Premium is essential to unlocking the full potential of eSpark.

And we struck gold 👑

The good news? Well, turns out we targeted all of the right features when we first launched Lite! The top three features users engaged with were assignments, student reports, and third party integrations. However, we only limited those features, and did not block them entirely. There’s a fine balance of limiting the product, but not too much to where the user becomes disengaged. So we treaded lightly with the launch of Lite and turns out it may have been too lightly.

Here’s what we did ✅

  • Block assignments and AI-powered lessons on Lite V2
  • Block third party integrations (MAP and NWEA) on Lite V2
  • Block student reports on Lite V2
  • Added new premium blocker banners and modals once a user has dropped to Lite
  • Added Lite and Premium logo pills to user dashboard
  • Add “Get premium” CTA button to user navigation on Lite

Premium blocker modals

Assignments

Teachers can use assignments to supplement the adaptive path, our most used method of teaching. In Lite V1 we limited assignments to 1 per week, but along with the adaptive path, it was still enough to not feel constrained by Lite. So for V2 we decided to fully block assignments and our new AI-powered lessons. When a user on Lite clicks into an assignment and clicks the “Assign” button they are hit with a premium blocker modal asking them to meet with us, notify their admin, or learn more about eSpark Premium.

Third party integrations

Teachers can upload benchmark data from third-party providers, such as MAP Growth or Star Assessments, into eSpark, enabling us to accurately place students at the appropriate learning level. In Lite V1, this feature was available to all users. However, with Lite V2, we have made this a Premium-only feature. Teachers on the Lite plan can either have their students take a placement test within our platform or upgrade to Premium to access the data upload functionality.

Student reports

Teachers use activity and progress reports to track student performance, identifying those who need remediation and those excelling who may require grade-level advancement. In Lite V1, all users had full access to these reports. However, after observing frequent usage within the first 30 days, we decided to limit report access in Lite V2. Now, only the top three rows of each report are visible, with the rest blurred out and a Premium upgrade CTA displayed. This gives teachers a preview of what they’re missing by showing data for three students.

Show me the money 💰

71%

Increase in overall Premium CTA clicks

110%

Increase in high-value CTA “Meet with us”

140%

Increase in weekly sales leads YoY

12%

Increase in cumulative sales leads YoY growth

Design System