Case study
Animoto download monetization
Animoto is a do-it-yourself video editor that allows anyone to easily create professional videos. This project was an ongoing effort to create and test new monetization and growth strategies within the product.
Identifying monetization opportunities
After doing preliminary context-building and completing a competitor audit, I set up a design workshop with key stakeholders and team members to brainstorm potential solutions and build alignment through the team on our direction.
Following the workshop, I synthesized the data to find relevant monetization levers within the product. For the first phase of the project, we decided to make downloads a premium feature, which fit well with the rest of the paid features in our Professional plan.
User interviews
I completed a series of user interviews through Ethnio to learn what types of problems our users could have if we changed downloads to a premium feature. After gathering data from the interviews, I distilled it down into three key problem statements and opportunities.
- Users might not understand how to upgrade their account to access downloads.
- Users need to know what options are given to them on a free account.
- When download options are hidden, it can be misleading to the user and cause them to go backwards in the process.
- We can give the user a consistent experience with the rest of the app for upgrading their account.
- Clarity and consistency in messaging and design will help guide users toward tools they can use on free accounts, and how they can easily upgrade.
- We can build trust with the user by clearly communicating which features are restricted to paid options.
Prototypes and user testing
Following the three download touchpoints (My Videos, Share page, and in-product), I designed and user tested a variety of prototypes focusing on upsell location, language, and visual design.
Three key user testing findings:- Users preferred to learn how the premium feature (downloads) would help them vs more generic statements about the feature
- Visually, users preferred imagery that felt less stock-like and more like real people
- The pop-up toast panels performed best (vs tooltips or modals). The panels were able to provide more information without interrupting the experience overall.
Final designs
After several rounds of user testing and internal feedback, three designs were decided on to run as a live A/B test with the new designs being the variant and the original designs acting as the control.
Results after 6 months
- $213k Increased bookings from downloads
- +175% Y/Y bookings increase
- -65% Reduction in customer support requests related to video downloads