The Introduction

Overview

As someone who can’t go a day without tuning in to at least one podcast episode, I found myself inspired to create the Pod Pocket app for this project. Pod Pocket is a podcast application designed for users to conveniently store their favorite shows, discussions, and engaging conversations with artists and experts, right at their fingertips. The company began with a freemium model, and now they want to introduce a premium subscription offering. My primary focus was to craft a user-friendly and persuasive conversion experience.

Stakeholders

Throughout this project, I was collaborating with the owners of the Pod Pocket application, who served as the primary stakeholders. Their business objective was to develop a paid product enriched with enhanced features, enticing both new and return users to embrace the premium subscription, leading to a profitable revenue stream.

My Role

This project showcased my ability to conduct user research, build a design system, and create wireframes and prototypes as a sole designer. Through iterative feedback and multiple rounds of usability testing, I diligently worked to enhance and fine-tune my designs, aligning them with the expectations of both stakeholders and end-users.

Analysis

Observation & Insights

By using affinity mapping, I organized interview codes and interesting quotes were categorized into 3 main categories, revealing key driving forces behind premium plan subscriptions, including factors like content downloads, ad avoidance, and a favorable Cost Performance Index (CPI). Additionally, the analysis delved into the emotional aspects, both positive and negative feelings, as well as methods for presenting information, including passive ads and emails.

Meet Lily

Meet Lily, a 20-year-old college student who is very tech-savvy, efficient, and organized. She loves to listen to music, podcast, or meditation apps, and she enjoys creating her own playlist and albums. Lily’s persona embodies the primary motivations for subscribing to premium services and the common frustrations associated with freemium models, as revealed in the interviews.

I also crafted a user journey map for Lily, tracking her her journey from content download to premium subscription selection, highlighting her key interactions and steps in achieving her goal.

Pod Pocket low-fi sketches guerilla usability testing

Guerilla Testing

To validate the user flow, I created sketches for the red routes of the Pod Pocket app. Initially, my plan was to utilize the POP app by Marvel for Guerrilla Usability Testing. However, I encountered limitations in setting up a prototype due to potential conflicts in the flow of these red routes. Therefore, I decided to perform usability testing with the wireframe prototype created via Figma.

interesting quotes of the interviewees from the user interviews

Feedback 1 - “Learn More” Button Was a Hit or Miss

- The “Learn More” button on the birthday page was initially intended to attract users and trigger a premium information pop-up upon clicking.
- 50% effectiveness
- 3 out of 6 participants found it an appealing incentive to explore what was offered.
- 1 participant had concerns about the flow disruption
- 5 out of 6 participants noted that in regular sign-up scenarios, they’d be in a hurry to finish the process that they would possibly overlook the information.

“(Learning more about birthday gifts) It’s not something that’s important to him if he’s trying to create an account. He only wanted to get things done as quickly as possible.”- Participant 4

Feedback 2 - Premium Information

There are 3 main ways I incorporated into the app to present the premium information:
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1. One approach was to incorporate an information page within the sign-up process.

- 5 out of 6 participants found this placement of premium information to be acceptable and familiar.
- One participant initially found it slightly unexpected, nevertheless, it didn’t significantly disrupt their experience.

“In terms of getting exposure, it was a good way to let people know there is a premium option they can keep in mind.” - Participant 5

2. The second approach involves adding pop-ups for returning users.

- Pop-ups while performing specific actions like adding to a playlist, downloading content, or accessing premium episodes.
- All users briefly noticed the pop-up upon logging in, effectively providing premium information to returning users.
- Interestingly, 4 out of 6 participants expressed that they typically closed the pop-up without thoroughly reading it, only taking the time to understand it when they initiated specific actions like downloading podcasts or accessing premium content.

“I wouldn’t read all the information given to me at first. It is only when I need to perform a certain goal, will I then try to understand what actions need to be taken” - Participant 2

3. The third approach is to place a small section at the bottom of the homepage.

- 4 out of 6 participants mentioned that in typical usage, instead of scrolling to the bottom of the homepage, they preferred to go directly to their desired podcasts or music.
- Although it was subtle and not too intruding, they believed this information wouldn’t be visible enough.

“I usually don’t scroll all the way to the bottom when I open my music app, I just go straight to what I wanted to do. So I don’t think I would be able to notice that under normal circumstances” - Participant 3

Behind the Scenes

After completing making my prototype, I recruited 6 participants to assess the following in my user testing:
1. Flow: Determine the app’s intuitive user experience, specifically assessing the ease of navigating through sign-up, sign-in, content download, and premium subscription process.
2. Hierarchy: Evaluate if users have access to sufficient information and if the layout is clear and user-friendly.
3. Presenting Premium Information: Observe how users react to the premium information presentation methods and ensuring the relevant features are easily accessible.

Feedback 1 - Introduction Pages

Most participants expressed that the “introduction pages” before creating an account are very helpful in letting them understand what kind of services this app offers.

“this allowed me to understand more what I’m downloading” - participant 3

Feedback 2 - "Learn More" Button Efficiency

3 out of 6 participants clicked on the “Learn more” button while signing up, indicating a 50% effectiveness of this button. If I were to iterate again, I would try to replace this page with a new way of attracting the users’ attention.

“I would still like how there are gifts offered, but it really depends on if I’m in a hurry or not to finish up the sign-up process” - participant 6

Feedback 3 - Premium Info Presentation

1. The presentation of the premium information page during the sign-up process serves as a good exposure to users. 4 out of 6 users expressed that although they wouldn’t normally opt-in for a premium plan when they first create the account, it is a good way of letting them know that the option is there.

2. The appearance of the premium pop-up screen helps with directing the users into considering getting a premium subscription. All participants expressed that the navigation was straightforward and easily followed. Additionally, the premium pop-up screen wasn’t too annoying since it only showed up when certain actions were desired.

“I think it’s a normal feature to have some actions blocked with premium, so you know you have to subscribe in order to do something.” - participant 4

3. All users expressed that the premium information was presented subtly and not “too in their face”. Especially the premium tab on the very bottom, which was very “quiet” and subtle, serving as a constant reminder but wouldn’t interfere with users' behaviors.

“I like how it’s not annoying, but it’s there if I ever want to learn more about it” - participant 1

Feedback 4 - Crown Icon to Lock Icon

The crown icon was not intuitive enough to indicate the meaning of “premium contents”. Thus, a lock icon was used instead, and most participants expressed that their initial thought of the lock icon meant premium content, which was a success.

Key Takeaways

Gentle Guidance

Through this project, I’ve discovered that effective design can gently guide users through each step of their journey.
- Restricting certain desirable actions to premium subscription encourages users to consider these options.
- Highlighting key premium features acts as a compelling incentive.
- Using clear Call-To-Action buttons, including options like “choose a plan” and distinctive colored “family plan”, enhances simplicity and user convenience.

Subtle Reminders

Most users tend to pay attention to new information only when it becomes necessary for them to accomplish specific tasks, like download contents. Thus, incorporating a simple premium information page within the sign-up process effectively introduces users to this information. Likewise, having a “premium” tab for return users serves as a subtle yet constant reminder without being intrusive.

PROJECT

Pod Pocket

The Introduction

Problem Statement

What the Users Want?

Analysis

How Might We Questions

Ideation

From Paper to Figma

From Paper to Figma

Behind the Scenes

Key Takeaways

Thank you for stopping by!