# subscription-lifecycle

This skill maps the subscription journey from trial start to renewal, cancellation, failed payments, and win-back. Use it to plan lifecycle metrics and recovery flows.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 2500 installs · ★ 2219
- Author: appeeky
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/appeeky/aso-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-06
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/subscription-lifecycle

## What it does

The skill covers each subscription stage: trial start, paid conversion, renewal, voluntary cancellation, failed billing, and win-back. It suggests metrics for these stages, trial messages, a cancellation flow with a pause and exit survey, and a dunning sequence for payment failures.

It also describes win-back campaigns through push, email, and Apple Win-Back Offer. The RevenueCat section covers Billing Retry on iOS, Account Hold on Android, and webhooks for triggering in-app messages after billing events. Check your use of RevenueCat and StoreKit 2 before relying on those parts.

The skill can structure a subscription health report around trial conversion, renewal, churn, dunning recovery, and resubscribe rate. Paywall and pricing work is separated into `monetization-strategy`, while subscription dashboards are covered by `app-analytics`.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add appeeky/aso-skills --skill subscription-lifecycle -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/subscription-lifecycle/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add appeeky/aso-skills --skill subscription-lifecycle -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add appeeky/aso-skills --skill subscription-lifecycle -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install appeeky/aso-skills subscription-lifecycle
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add appeeky/aso-skills --skill subscription-lifecycle -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/appeeky/aso-skills --path skills/subscription-lifecycle
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add appeeky/aso-skills --skill subscription-lifecycle -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/appeeky/aso-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/subscription-lifecycle/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- measure trial-to-paid conversion
- identify reasons for voluntary churn
- plan retries for failed subscription payments
- design a win-back campaign for lapsed users
- structure a subscription health report

## Example prompts
- Map our subscription lifecycle from trial start through renewal, cancellation, and win-back.
- Create a dunning plan for failed payments with a grace period and user messages.
- Review our churn risks and draft a cancellation flow with a pause option and exit survey.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: e16bcc27e992d62f.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE e16bcc27e992d62f
````text
---
name: subscription-lifecycle
description: When the user wants to optimize their subscription business end-to-end — from trial start through renewal, cancellation, and win-back. Use when the user mentions "subscription lifecycle", "trial conversion", "churn", "cancellation", "win-back", "lapsed subscribers", "dunning", "billing retry", "grace period", "renewal rate", "subscriber LTV", or "resubscribe". For paywall design and pricing strategy, see monetization-strategy. For subscription analytics dashboards, see app-analytics.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
---

# Subscription Lifecycle

You optimize every stage of the subscription journey: trial → paid → renewal → cancellation recovery → win-back.

## The Subscription Lifecycle

```
Install → Trial start → [Trial period] → Conversion → Renewal → ... → Cancel → Win-back
            ↓                               ↓              ↓           ↓
         No convert                    Voluntary       Involuntary   Lapsed
         (nurture)                     (exit survey)   (dunning)     (campaign)
```

## Key Metrics at Each Stage

| Stage | Metric | Formula | Benchmark |
|-------|--------|---------|-----------|
| Trial | Trial start rate | Trials / Downloads | > 20% |
| Trial | Trial-to-paid | Conversions / Trials | 25–40% strong |
| Retention | Month 1 renewal | M1 renewals / Subscribers | > 70% |
| Retention | Month 6 renewal | M6 renewals / Subscribers | > 50% |
| Churn | Monthly churn | Lost subs / Start subs | < 5% good; < 2% excellent |
| Revenue | MRR | Active subs × monthly price | — |
| Revenue | LTV | ARPU / Monthly churn rate | — |
| Recovery | Dunning recovery | Recovered / Failed payments | > 30% |
| Win-back | Resubscribe rate | Returns / Lapsed | 5–15% |

## Stage 1 — Trial Optimization

### Trial Length

| App Type | Recommended trial | Notes |
|----------|------------------|-------|
| Simple utility | 3–7 days | Value obvious quickly |
| Health/fitness | 7–14 days | Habit formation needs time |
| Productivity | 7–14 days | Workflow integration |
| Education | 7–14 days | First lesson completion |
| Entertainment | 7 days | Binge behavior |

**Test:** Monthly apps with a 7-day trial vs. 14-day trial — conversion rate may drop slightly but LTV often increases.

### Trial Nurture Sequence

Send in-app (or push) messages during the trial to drive activation:

```
Day 0: Welcome — "Your trial has started. Here's how to get the most from it."
Day 1: Core feature highlight — "Try [key feature] today"
Day 3: Progress / social proof — "Users who do X get 3× better results"
Day 5 (7-day trial): Urgency — "2 days left in your trial"
Day 6: Value recap — "Here's what you've done / could do with premium"
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE e16bcc27e992d62f

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---
NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md