Introduction: Breaking the Growth Ceiling
YouMail, a leading provider of AI-powered phone spam-blocking, and call-handling solutions, had a problem.
Like many fast-growing companies, they had successfully scaled their app-based acquisition model but had hit a profitability wall. Paid ads were becoming more expensive. Growth was plateauing. And with Apple and Google taking a 30% cut of all in-app purchases, their ability to reinvest in growth was severely constrained.
They needed a new approach—one that wouldn’t just acquire more users, but would acquire the right users at the right price and increase the percentage of users who converted to paid plans faster.
The Challenge: When Growth Stalls, Profitability Suffers
At a glance, YouMail’s challenge looked familiar:
✅ They had paid acquisition channels running (Google, Meta, affiliate marketing) but were seeing diminishing returns.
✅ They had strong app downloads, but too few users were converting into premium subscribers.
✅ They had tested driving traffic directly to an app paywall, but it failed to generate the expected conversion lift.
And most critically:
🚨 The app-store-first approach was costing them too much. Every premium subscription processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play came with a 30% platform fee, which made customer acquisition far more expensive than it should be.
To unlock new growth, we had to rethink the entire acquisition funnel—starting with where and how we engaged new users.
The Breakthrough Strategy: A Web-Based Funnel for Scalable, Profitable Growth
Instead of relying solely on direct-to-app advertising, I identified an untapped opportunity:
💡 A dedicated web funnel that captured and converted users before they ever reached the app.
This was a game-changer for four reasons:
1️⃣ Lower CAC – By driving traffic to a landing page instead of directly to the App Store, we had more control over the journey, reducing wasted ad spend.
2️⃣ Higher Conversion Rates – We could A/B test messaging, visuals, and CTAs to optimize for engagement—something impossible inside app store listings.
3️⃣ More Control Over Monetization – Users who signed up via the web could be billed directly, bypassing Apple and Google’s 30% cut.
4️⃣ Better Attribution & Targeting – Web-based sign-ups meant deeper analytics, which let us improve targeting for future ad spend.
This was not just an acquisition play—it was a profitability unlock.
Step 1: Rebuilding the Acquisition Funnel from the Ground Up
🔍 Research & Insights: Understanding What Motivates Users
We couldn’t just build a landing page and expect users to convert. First, we needed to understand our audience at a deeper level:
- What messaging worked in previous app install ads? We analyzed past Meta and Google ad performance to find the highest-converting hooks.
- Why were users hesitant to upgrade? We reviewed customer feedback and ran surveys to uncover what prevented free users from subscribing to a paid plan.
- What competitors were doing (and missing)? We analyzed competing services to see how they positioned their offerings—and where we could differentiate.
🔹 Key Insight: Users didn’t just want spam blocking—they wanted full control over their calls and messages, with privacy as a critical priority, especially for both business and personal use cases.
🚀 Actionable Takeaway for Any Industry:
Before optimizing any funnel, identify the real emotional triggers that drive purchase behavior. It’s rarely just about features—it’s about solving a deeper pain point.
Step 2: Creating a High-Converting Landing Page
With these insights, I led the development of a high-converting landing page optimized for user acquisition and early upsells.
Key Landing Page Features:
✅ Crystal-Clear Value Proposition – “Stop Unwanted Calls. Get AI-Powered Voicemail. Stay in Control.”
✅ Social Proof & Trust Signals – Media mentions, testimonials, and case studies.
✅ Seamless Registration Experience – No friction, no distractions—just a clear path to signing up.
✅ Upsell Triggers Built In – Instead of waiting for users to discover premium features, we showcased them during onboarding to accelerate conversions.
🔹 Key Result:
Through a structured experimentation process, we optimized the landing page to drive a 144% increase in conversion rate, moving from 9% to 22% CR, while simultaneously reducing bounce rate by 67% (from 76% to 25%).
🚀 Actionable Takeaway for Any Industry:
A landing page isn’t just about “getting users in”—it’s about guiding them toward high-value actions from the start.
Step 3: Optimizing the Registration Funnel for Higher Conversions
Before scaling paid acquisition, we needed to ensure that users who clicked on our ads and landed on our site actually completed the registration process. High drop-off rates at this stage meant we were losing valuable potential customers. To solve this, we focused on three key areas:
Key Registration Funnel Improvements:
✅ Mobile-First UX Design – Since 99% of traffic was mobile, we simplified the sign-up process, reducing friction and ensuring the experience was fully optimized for smaller screens.
✅ Message Symmetry & Continuity – Users dropping off at this stage often experienced cognitive dissonance between the ad messaging, the landing page, and the sign-up process. We tested and aligned messaging across all touchpoints to maintain a seamless, confidence-inspiring experience.
✅ Built-In Social Proof – To reduce hesitation and boost trust, we strategically placed testimonials, media badges, and real-user success stories within the registration flow.
🔹 Key Result:
Registration completion rates increased by +102%, reducing drop-off at the sign-up step and making our paid acquisition efforts more efficient.
🚀 Actionable Takeaway for Any Industry:
A well-optimized registration process doesn’t just reduce friction—it reinforces trust and keeps users engaged. Ensure seamless messaging and an intuitive experience, especially for mobile-first audiences.
Step 4: Experimentation & Data-Driven Funnel Optimization
Before scaling paid acquisition, we needed to validate our funnel effectiveness through systematic experimentation and analytics. This step ensured we maximized the ROI of every paid user we acquired.
Experimentation Process & Key Insights:
📌 A/B Testing the Landing Page & Registration Funnel
- We ran multivariate tests on CTAs, value propositions, and UX elements.
- The highest-performing variation increased sign-up rates by 144%.
📌 Control Group Testing
- Implemented control groups to ensure that gains were attributable to funnel improvements rather than external factors.
📌 User Behavior Analysis & Conversion Insights
- Used heatmaps and session recordings to identify drop-off points.
- Reduced unnecessary form fields, leading to increases in completed registrations.
🚀 Actionable Takeaway for Any Industry:
Running structured experiments ensures that optimizations are backed by real user behavior, not assumptions. Implement A/B tests, control groups, and deep analytics before scaling acquisition efforts.
Step 5: Scaling Paid Acquisition with Smarter Targeting & Creative Iteration
With a high-performing registration funnel in place, I optimized YouMail’s paid acquisition strategy to drive incremental gains in conversion rates and cost-efficiency.
Key Changes to Paid Ad Strategy:
📌 Tested 3 Primary Audience Segments:
- Lookalike Audiences (based on premium subscribers).
- Interest-Based Targeting (users searching for productivity and business solutions).
- Retargeting Visitors (who abandoned sign-ups).
📌 Creative & Messaging Iteration:
- AI-driven creative testing helped identify winning visuals and copy faster.
- Ad iterations focused on emotion-driven messaging instead of product specs.
🔹 Key Result:
CAC decreased by 77%, and ad-driven sign-ups, which previously accounted for 0% of total acquisitions, now represent 15% of the business.
🚀 Actionable Takeaway for Any Industry:
Don’t just scale what’s working—double down on the highest-value users. Data-driven audience segmentation is the key to efficient scaling.
Step 5: Converting More Users to Paid Plans (Faster)
🚀 The Final Growth Unlock: Getting users to upgrade sooner.
To do this, I designed a multi-step upsell strategy:
✅ Upsell on Thank-You Page – Immediately after sign-up, we introduced a low-friction upgrade offer.
✅ In-Dashboard Upgrade Prompts – Users saw “premium unlock” moments within the first session.
✅ Email & SMS Follow-Ups – Reminders that reinforced the benefits of upgrading.
🚀 Actionable Takeaway for Any Industry:
Upsells should feel like a natural next step, not a hard sell. Time them around key moments of engagement.
Final Results & Key Learnings
🔹 Reduced CAC by 77%
🔹 Increased verified registrations by 144%
🔹 Accelerated premium upgrades by 2.5x
💡 Biggest Takeaway: Growth isn’t about spending more on ads. It’s about building smarter funnels, optimizing conversion points, and aligning monetization strategy with acquisition efforts.
Shameless plug:
👉 Need help optimizing your funnel and scaling paid acquisition? Contact me.