Users who would pay don't even know your paid plan exists
Most users never visit the pricing page. Add gentle upgrade hints where they naturally encounter paid features.
When to use
Your paid features are hidden and users don't know they exist.
Hypothesis template
If we add fill in: subtle upgrade hints at fill in: X touchpoints in the product, upgrade awareness will increase by fill in: target% and conversions by fill in: target%.
Method
The problem: Your upgrade button is in the settings menu. Users who would benefit from paid features never discover them.
How to do it:
- Map every place in the product where paid features would add value
- Add subtle indicators: a small "Pro" badge, a "✨ Available on Pro" label, a brief tooltip
- When users click, show a quick explanation and upgrade link
- Don't block functionality — just indicate what more is available
- Keep it subtle: small badges, not full-screen modals
- Track: which touchpoints drive the most upgrades
Key insight: The user who discovers a Pro feature while working is 10x more likely to upgrade than one who reads about it on a pricing page. Context matters.
Success metrics
- •Upgrade touchpoint click rate
- •Conversion per touchpoint
- •Revenue from in-product upsells
- •User satisfaction (shouldn't decrease)
Prerequisites
- Identifiable paid feature boundaries
- Subtle badge or label UI
- Analytics on upgrade touchpoint interactions
Common pitfalls
- •Being too aggressive (modals, popups)
- •Blocking free users from doing their work
- •Adding Pro badges to everything (focus on high-value features)
- •Not tracking which touchpoints actually convert
Source: Canva, Notion, Figma. Contextual Pro badges drive more upgrades than pricing page visits.
Suggested ICE scores
Ready to run this experiment?
Sign up free to use this playbook with step-by-step guidance and track your results.