💊 What if told you there was a̶ ̶d̶r̶u̶g̶ an app
… you never need to open?
Have you used Rise Sleep Tracker? Six push notifications a day, I haven’t opened it in months, and I love it.
10 things Rise does well:
Creates curiosity hooks on the first screens
“What if told you there was a drug that gave you…”
“There’s only one thing researchers have found that matters…”
Progressive disclosure to not overload the user
Bite-sized, digestible amounts of information on each screen
Later screens increase in complexity, but this is okay because you’re hooked by then
Asks questions after they’ve built curiosity and excitement
And when they do ask, they provide context and the reason they’re asking
Permission requests provide clear explanations
Each explanation is different, unique, and logical
💡 Add "onboarding momentum" to your vocabulary
Onboarding momentum isn’t measurable, but you can feel it with Rise. Their questions start easy, get more complicated, and build excitement. By the time you grant permission to your health data, it feels easy because you have momentum.
Delivers value before a user starts their trial
They show hows how much sleep you need per night
This builds instant trust that your product isn’t BS
🏎️ How fast can you deliver value? The earlier you can give something back, the better chance of getting them to pay since you’ve built trust with the user.
Account creation is after they provide value
If you’re going to ask something of someone, give them something in return first (reciprocity)
Rise spends time to make their copy great. And it makes a difference
“Rise gives you the superpower to see and change your biology”
“What if told you there was a drug that gave you…”
Rise is beautiful
If you have the choice between using a beautiful product vs an okay-looking one, what are you choosing?
Their push notifications are so useful they could be a standalone product
Use tried and true tactics, but combine them with innovation to stand out.
Rise has one of the most interesting onboarding flows I’ve seen, but they also use a standard Blinkest trial timeline screen.
Figure out what your differentiator is, and go all in on innovation there. Everywhere else, just copy what works. Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel.
Want to see the full Rise onboarding flow?
Here are the push notifications Rise sends to me:
Do you deliver enough value through your push notifications that someone would be happy if they didn’t open your app?
Not every product will be able to do what Rise does, but it’s a useful exercise.
Ideas:
Are you an educational app? Maybe you can send useful learning tips.
Is your app related to healthcare or mental health? Send positive quotes or affirmations.
Do you have a journaling app? Send daily writing prompts
People will naturally take breaks from your product, but if you can figure out a way to provide value with notifications you can keep it top of mind.
Notifications should be an extension of the product's core value. The best notifications aren’t marketing messages telling you to, “Buy now!”
When you “watch” a flight with the flight price tracking app Hopper, they’re constantly sending you notifications saying, “Don’t buy yet. Wait for a better deal.”
This builds instant trust since it shows they have your best interest in mind.
This is similar to the reciprocity concept. Give more value to your users than you take, and they’ll be happy to pay.
Lastly, I love the curiosity hook on the first screen of Rise.
What story do you tell in those first 30 seconds of someone using your product?
Do you have a hook as powerful as Rise? Or do you just say “Welcome!”
Do you build anticipation so users are excited about what’s next?
Not sure where to start with writing a hook or building anticipation? I quite like this cheat sheet from Neal O’Grady in this post. I reference it when I’m feeling stuck.
Hope you enjoyed!