How to Double Your Revenue Without Doubling Your Traffic | Inbox Experiments #16

Hey, Yunus here 👋

We obsess over getting more traffic. We pay for ads, write threads, and chase SEO.

But here’s a math reality check:

If you have a 1% conversion rate and you hustle to double your traffic, you double your sales. If you have a 1% conversion rate and you optimize it to 2%, you also double your sales.

One costs money and burnout. The other costs smarter design.

Last month, I chose the second path.

I took one of my mobile apps and completely redesigned the onboarding experience. I didn’t add features. I didn’t run ads.

I just changed how users started.

The result? A 22% increase in conversion in just 30 days.

Here is the psychology behind the change and how you can steal it.

The Insight: "Don't Explain the Value. Simulate It."

Goal → Stop asking users to "imagine" how good the app is. Make them feel it before they sign up.

Time → 2 days to design, 3 days to implement.

Most SaaS and app onboarding flows are boring:

1. Sign up (Create account)

2. Paywall / Free Trial

3. Empty State

This is high friction. You are asking for a marriage proposal on the first date.

I realized: People don't buy software. They buy the outcome.

So I asked: "Can I give them the outcome within 30 seconds, without a signup?"

🧪 The Experiment: Interactive Onboarding

I replaced the standard "Sign Up" screen with a "Simulator".

Before: User opens app → Generic landing screen → "Sign Up to Start" button.

After: User opens app → "Let's set up your profile" (Interactive Question) → "Here is your potential result" (Simulated Dashboard) → "Unlock to Save" (Sign Up).

It wasn't a real account yet. It was a "sandbox" mode using pre-filled data that adapted to their answers.

Why It Worked (The Psychology)

This isn't just "better UI". It hacks three powerful psychological principles:

1. Zeigarnik Effect: Humans hate unfinished tasks. By starting the setup before the signup, the user feels a psychological need to "close the loop" and save their progress.

2. Endowed Progress Effect: By the time they hit the paywall/signup, they haven't done "0 work". They have done "50% of the work". Abandoning it feels like a loss.

3. The "Aha!" Moment: Instead of reading about the features, they are using them. They see the value immediately.

Companies doing this right:

• Duolingo: You don't sign up. You do a lesson. Then you commit.

• Wise: You don't create an account. You type in money and see the real exchange rate. Then you send.

• Canva: You design a flyer. Then you download.

The Impact

• Conversion Rate: +22%

• User Momentum: Users who signed up were 3x more active in their first week because they already knew how the app worked.

🛠 How to Apply This (Even if You Don't Have an App)

You don't need a mobile app to do this.

• If you have a SaaS: Build a "playground" on your landing page. Let them click buttons that actually change or fake something.

• If you have a Service: Create a "ROI Calculator" or an "Audit Tool" as step 1. Give them the diagnosis before you sell the cure.

🧠 Personal Insight

We are often scared to give value away for free. We think, "If I give them the best part, why would they pay?"

But uncertainty is the biggest conversion killer.

By simulating the outcome upfront, I replaced uncertainty with confidence. I didn't give the full product away, but I let them feel the value they would receive.

Confidence sells.

A paywall at Step 1 says: "I hope you trust me enough to pay." A paywall after they've seen the result says: "I know you want this."

📬 Your Turn

Look at your own onboarding.

Where are you asking for a "marriage proposal" (signup/credit card) before you've even bought them dinner (shown value)?

Reply and tell me: What's ONE way you could "simulate" value for your user this week?

As always, I read every reply.

See you next Wednesday,

Yunus 🚀