interface:
  display_name: "Suede Paywalls"
  short_description: "Design in-app upgrade moments that convert without resentment"
  default_prompt: "Use $suede-paywalls on [target]. The user wants to build or improve an in-product upgrade screen, feature gate, or trial-expiration prompt. Work through paywall screens, feature gates, trial-expiry states, and free-to-paid prompts, ground every recommendation in evidence the user can check, and return the decisions, the reasoning, and what to measure next."
policy:
  allow_implicit_invocation: true

{
  "skill_name": "suede-paywalls",
  "evals": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "prompt": "Help me design the upgrade paywall for our project management tool. Free users can have 3 projects, and we want to show an upgrade screen when they try to create a 4th project.",
      "expected_output": "Should check for product-marketing.md first. Should identify this as a usage limit trigger point. Should apply the paywall screen components: headline (communicate the value of upgrading, not just the limit), value demonstration (show what they get with paid plan), plan comparison (free vs paid), social proof, CTA (specific and action-oriented), and escape hatch (option to go back). Should provide specific copy recommendations. Should address the emotional state of the user at this moment (frustrated by the limit). Should warn against anti-patterns.",
      "assertions": [
        "Checks for product-marketing.md",
        "Identifies as usage limit trigger",
        "Applies paywall screen components framework",
        "Includes headline, value demo, comparison, social proof, CTA",
        "Provides specific copy recommendations",
        "Addresses user's emotional state at the limit",
        "Includes escape hatch option",
        "Warns against anti-patterns"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "prompt": "Our free trial expires in 14 days and users see a generic 'Your trial has expired' screen. Upgrade rate from this screen is only 2%. How do we improve it?",
      "expected_output": "Should identify this as a trial expiration trigger. Should apply the trial expiration paywall type guidance. Should recommend: show what they've built/accomplished during the trial (endowment effect), highlight specific features they used, show the value they'd lose, provide clear plan options, include social proof from similar users who upgraded. Should diagnose why 2% is low: likely a weak value prop, no personalization, no urgency or loss framing. Should provide specific redesign recommendations.",
      "assertions": [
        "Identifies as trial expiration trigger",
        "Applies trial expiration paywall guidance",
        "Recommends showing user's accomplishments during trial",
        "Uses loss framing (what they'd lose)",
        "Provides clear plan options",
        "Includes social proof",
        "Diagnoses why current 2% rate is low",
        "Provides specific redesign recommendations"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "prompt": "when should we show upgrade prompts? we don't want to be annoying but we also need to convert free users to paid.",
      "expected_output": "Should trigger on casual phrasing. Should apply the timing and frequency rules. Should recommend trigger points from the skill: feature gates (when they try a paid feature), usage limits (when they hit a threshold), value moments (when they've just experienced success), and natural transition points. Should address frequency capping to avoid being annoying. Should recommend the anti-patterns to avoid (blocking basic functionality, too frequent popups, dark patterns). Should provide a balanced approach that respects user experience while driving upgrades.",
      "assertions": [
        "Triggers on casual phrasing",
        "Applies timing and frequency rules",
        "Recommends specific trigger points",
        "Addresses frequency capping",
        "Warns against anti-patterns",
        "Balances user experience with conversion goals",
        "Provides specific recommendations for each trigger type"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 4,
      "prompt": "Design a feature gate paywall. When free users click on 'Advanced Analytics' in our dashboard, we want to show them an upgrade prompt.",
      "expected_output": "Should identify this as a feature gate trigger. Should apply the feature lock paywall type guidance. Should recommend: show a preview or screenshot of the advanced analytics feature, explain the specific benefit (not just 'this is a paid feature'), include a plan comparison relevant to analytics, provide a clear CTA to upgrade, and include an escape hatch to go back to basic analytics. Should recommend showing what insights they're missing. Should provide copy recommendations for the paywall screen.",
      "assertions": [
        "Identifies as feature gate trigger",
        "Applies feature lock paywall guidance",
        "Recommends showing preview of the feature",
        "Explains specific benefit of the feature",
        "Includes relevant plan comparison",
        "Provides clear CTA and escape hatch",
        "Provides copy recommendations"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 5,
      "prompt": "What are common mistakes to avoid with in-app paywalls? I don't want to be pushy or make users feel tricked.",
      "expected_output": "Should apply the anti-patterns section. Should cover: dark patterns (making it hard to find the close button, confusing opt-out language), conversion killers (blocking basic functionality, showing paywalls too early before value is demonstrated, no escape hatch), frequency issues (too many prompts, showing the same paywall repeatedly). Should provide positive alternatives for each anti-pattern. Should emphasize that good paywalls feel helpful, not pushy.",
      "assertions": [
        "Applies anti-patterns section",
        "Covers dark patterns to avoid",
        "Covers conversion killers",
        "Covers frequency issues",
        "Provides positive alternatives for each",
        "Emphasizes helpful over pushy approach"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 6,
      "prompt": "Can you help me optimize our public pricing page? We want more visitors to choose the Pro plan over the Basic plan.",
      "expected_output": "Should recognize this is a public pricing-page optimization task, not an in-app paywall task. Should defer to or cross-reference suede-site-alchemy for the public conversion surface. Suede-paywalls handles in-app upgrade prompts for existing users, not public-facing pricing pages.",
      "assertions": [
        "Recognizes this as public pricing page optimization",
        "References or defers to suede-site-alchemy",
        "Explains that paywalls is for in-app upgrade prompts",
        "Does not attempt public pricing page optimization"
      ],
      "files": []
    }
  ]
}

# Paywall Experiment Ideas

Comprehensive list of A/B tests and experiments for paywall optimization.

## Contents
- Trigger & Timing Experiments (When to Show, Trigger Type)
- Paywall Design Experiments (Layout & Format, Value Presentation, Visual Elements)
- Pricing Presentation Experiments (Price Display, Plan Options, Discounts & Offers)
- Copy & Messaging Experiments (Headlines, CTAs, Objection Handling)
- Trial & Conversion Experiments (Trial Structure, Trial Expiration, Upgrade Path)
- Personalization Experiments (Usage-Based, Segment-Specific)
- Frequency & UX Experiments (Frequency Capping, Dismiss Behavior)

## Trigger & Timing Experiments

### When to Show
- Test trigger timing: after aha moment vs. at feature attempt
- Early trial reminder (7 days) vs. late reminder (1 day before)
- Show after X actions completed vs. after X days
- Test soft prompts at different engagement thresholds
- Trigger based on usage patterns vs. time-based only

### Trigger Type
- Hard gate (can't proceed) vs. soft gate (preview + prompt)
- Feature lock vs. usage limit as primary trigger
- In-context modal vs. dedicated upgrade page
- Banner reminder vs. modal prompt
- Exit-intent on free plan pages

---

## Paywall Design Experiments

### Layout & Format
- Full-screen paywall vs. modal overlay
- Minimal paywall (CTA-focused) vs. feature-rich paywall
- Single plan display vs. plan comparison
- Image/preview included vs. text-only
- Vertical layout vs. horizontal layout on desktop

### Value Presentation
- Feature list vs. benefit statements
- Show what they'll lose (loss aversion) vs. what they'll gain
- Personalized value summary based on usage
- Before/after demonstration
- ROI calculator or value quantification

### Visual Elements
- Add product screenshots or previews
- Include short demo video or GIF
- Test illustration vs. product imagery
- Animated vs. static paywall
- Progress visualization (what they've accomplished)

---

## Pricing Presentation Experiments

### Price Display
- Show monthly vs. annual vs. both with toggle
- Highlight savings for annual ($ amount vs. % off)
- Price per day framing ("Less than a coffee")
- Show price after trial vs. emphasize "Start Free"
- Display price prominently vs. de-emphasize until click

### Plan Options
- Single recommended plan vs. multiple tiers
- Add "Most Popular" badge to target plan
- Test number of visible plans (2 vs. 3)
- Show enterprise/custom tier vs. hide it
- Include one-time purchase option alongside subscription

### Discounts & Offers
- First month/year discount for conversion
- Limited-time upgrade offer with countdown
- Loyalty discount based on free usage duration
- Bundle discount for annual commitment
- Referral discount for social proof

---

## Copy & Messaging Experiments

### Headlines
- Benefit-focused ("Unlock unlimited projects") vs. feature-focused ("Get Pro features")
- Question format ("Ready to do more?") vs. statement format
- Urgency-based ("Don't lose your work") vs. value-based
- Personalized headline with user's name or usage data
- Social proof headline ("Join 10,000+ Pro users")

### CTAs
- "Start Free Trial" vs. "Upgrade Now" vs. "Continue with Pro"
- First person ("Start My Trial") vs. second person ("Start Your Trial")
- Value-specific ("Unlock Unlimited") vs. generic ("Upgrade")
- Add urgency ("Upgrade Today") vs. no pressure
- Include price in CTA vs. separate price display

### Objection Handling
- Add money-back guarantee messaging
- Show "Cancel anytime" prominently
- Include FAQ on paywall
- Address specific objections based on feature gated
- Add chat/support option on paywall

---

## Trial & Conversion Experiments

### Trial Structure
- 7-day vs. 14-day vs. 30-day trial length
- Credit card required vs. not required for trial
- Full-access trial vs. limited feature trial
- Trial extension offer for engaged users
- Second trial offer for expired/churned users

### Trial Expiration
- Countdown timer visibility (always vs. near end)
- Email reminders: frequency and timing
- Grace period after expiration vs. immediate downgrade
- "Last chance" offer with discount
- Pause option vs. immediate cancellation

### Upgrade Path
- One-click upgrade from paywall vs. separate checkout
- Pre-filled payment info for returning users
- Multiple payment methods offered
- Quarterly plan option alongside monthly/annual
- Team invite flow for solo-to-team conversion

---

## Personalization Experiments

### Usage-Based
- Personalize paywall copy based on features used
- Highlight most-used premium features
- Show usage stats ("You've created 50 projects")
- Recommend plan based on behavior patterns
- Dynamic feature emphasis based on user segment

### Segment-Specific
- Different paywall for power users vs. casual users
- B2B vs. B2C messaging variations
- Industry-specific value propositions
- Role-based feature highlighting
- Traffic source-based messaging

---

## Frequency & UX Experiments

### Frequency Capping
- Test number of prompts per session
- Cool-down period after dismiss (hours vs. days)
- Escalating urgency over time vs. consistent messaging
- Once per feature vs. consolidated prompts
- Re-show rules after major engagement

### Dismiss Behavior
- "Maybe later" vs. "No thanks" vs. "Remind me tomorrow"
- Ask reason for declining
- Offer alternative (lower tier, annual discount)
- Exit survey on dismiss
- Friendly vs. neutral decline copy