For products with high trial churn, replace the standard "try before you buy" model. Instead, charge users upfront and offer a rebate or a free second month if they complete a key activation task. This creates commitment and incentivizes the exact behavior that leads to long-term retention.

Businesses often launch with transparent, all-in pricing because it feels honest. However, as seen across e-commerce, strategies like partitioned pricing ($9.99 + shipping/tax) and added fees consistently convert better. This creates competitive pressure that makes adopting such psychological hacks almost inevitable for survival.

GoProposal viewed high-touch, proactive onboarding as part of their acquisition cost. Before a trial user even entered their credit card, the team would manually set up their account with brand assets. This "shock and awe" approach wowed customers and dramatically increased conversion.

While the goal is often a frictionless experience, some friction can be a positive filter. Descript found that users willing to download a desktop app were more invested and more likely to stick around. Don't be afraid of early steps that test a user's commitment.

Palta's playbook challenges the 'organic-first' mentality. They start with paid user acquisition, scaling spend to $3-5K daily on one channel. This forces an early, clear understanding of true unit economics and validates the business case before investing in slower organic strategies.

A significant one-time startup fee increases a customer's initial investment and creates a psychological barrier to leaving. This counterintuitive strategy can drastically reduce churn and increase lifetime value, as customers feel they have more to lose by canceling.

Customers who pay a significant initiation fee are psychologically primed to stay longer to justify their initial investment, even if their monthly rate is lower. This "sunk cost fallacy" makes them a "stickier" customer than those on low-cost, no-commitment plans.

To combat high CACs, Palta increases LTV by offering entirely separate subscriptions for additive features, not just pricing tiers for the core product. For example, a body scanner subscription alongside a workout subscription. This strategy of upselling distinct value can increase total LTV by 20%.

While transparent, all-in pricing feels better to consumers, high-performing online stores consistently use 'drip pricing'—adding taxes and shipping fees late in the checkout process. This psychological hack works by getting users invested in the purchase before revealing the full cost, making them less likely to abandon their cart. This suggests that in competitive markets, psychological optimization often outperforms straightforward pricing.