Aaptiv's new-user flow ended with a button and a wall of classes.
The button said “find a workout.” After that, the member had to choose from a lot of options and decide what to do next.
I did not think that was enough.
I wrote a product recommendations document around one question: how do we get a new member into a first class?
The document started with what we already had. There were product emails, pop-ups, push notifications, a new-user flow, class screens, and reminders. The pieces existed, but they did not always feel connected. We were also asking people to deal with a lot of pop-ups.
The unanswered-question list was long. Were people using the reminder flow? Were they opening the notifications? Which class difficulty did a new member choose? What happened before a trial, during it, and afterward? Did trying a class change what happened later?
I did not want to wait for every answer before improving the first experience.
The first recommendation was simple: after somebody subscribed or started a trial, put that person directly into the find-a-workout flow.
The second was more specific. Show a popular class from that week, let the member hear what it was like, and make it easy to browse. If the timing was bad, offer a reminder instead.
The third reused work we already had. Turn the web flow into a try-a-class flow inside the app.
The fourth was a new getting-started module. It would explain how to use Aaptiv and give somebody a short path into a workout.
The fifth covered email and push notifications during the first few days. Most of our messaging energy had been aimed at starting a subscription. I wanted more of it aimed at helping somebody use what they had just joined.
I also wanted to test more than one version and control how many people saw each one. The recommendations were a set of things to try, not one giant rebuild.
I also missed a race that week. I had registered for the OSR10K, an unsanctioned race through New York run by Orchard Street Runners. I did not make it.
The explanation fit in one line: I got stuck working late and did not get to run. I added a sad face and said next time.
I spent the week working on ways to help Aaptiv members start a workout. Work also kept me from mine.
The product document still had five ideas and a second phase. My OSR10K result was blank.