Role
Lead Product Designer
Company
Telegraph
Timeline
October – Novemeber 2022
Introduction
Onboarding is the first thing new subscribers see. It should ease users into their subscriptions and highlight the benefits of it. One of the main reasons for users leaving The Telegraph was due to a lack of "value for money". This redesign of the onboarding journey was created with the aim of fixing that alongside significantly updates to the visual design language alongside a new philosophy and font, Doric News, and checkout. It was also the final push needed for the Telegraph to reach 1,000,000 subscribers, which it did in early 2023.
Available for Telegraph subscribers
Project challenges
Establish a welcoming onboarding experience for new subscribers, aiding in highlighting features & benefits for all tiers.
Showcase key Telegraph products that boost value for money for subscribers, including Puzzles & Wine Cellar.
Optimise the international experience for subscribers in line with expansions to new territories.
Onboarding
The onboarding was designed to be a relatively short but impactful journey that took users through the key features of their purchase. It streamlined and improved onboarding for those joining. Users preferred having a text sent to their mobile to download the app and I introduced a pack shot that was rotated seasonally to showcase the app in it's best light. On mobile, users could go straight to the App Store or Google Play. Below is before and after.
Newsletters are one of the most effective ways to keep the Telegraph front of mind (or inbox) for readers. I introduced an all-new way to find ones they may like: upon subscribing to one, it would be replaced in the grid with a similar one that we recommended. Taking inspiration from one-click purchasing, users did not have to confirm their choice with a pop-up but could later manage subscriptions in their account dashboard.
For subscribers on higher tiers — namely Digital Plus — they get free Digital subscriptions to give to friends and family. This benefit played a part in getting the Telegraph to 1,000,000 subscribers. Users enjoyed having a range of options for sharing these and one-click copying a link was first utilised here to great success.
For international subscribers
For international users, downloading the app was the business focus. I introduced a QR code that users could scan. The average age for readers in the UK is >60 years old and internationally it's far younger. Testing this with users confirmed that having them scan their computer screens was most effective so was introduced for international visitors.
Continuing their journey
The first use of machine learning for the Telegraph, the final page would help users finish their onboarding journey and explore the rest of the Telegraph. Information we knew about registered users would be used here to recommend more personalised content, from articles and quizzes to Puzzles and Telegraph Extra offers. Users could alternatively continue to the article or page they were joined from.
Telegraph products
New Telegraph products were added as bolt-ons by various product designers with my oversight. The most popular one was Puzzles that allowed users to subscriber for as little as £1 extra per year during sales. It shared the overall language of onboarding with their own flairs. This was also used by Wine Cellar (now defunct) and Telegraph Extra.
Conclusion
Upon completion the new onboarding experience had a 6-month grace period where we ran A/B testing for all new subscribers. The new one won by a considerable margin and was considered a resounding success by all stakeholders and C-suite executives that were overlooking the project. I was able to revive a long-forgotten, but essential, part of the subscriber experience, utilising cutting-edge technology to benefit users in small ways. Even if, in theory, they only see it once. The overhaul lead to 2x app downloads, reduced drop-off rate in the first 90 days by 35% and improved newsletter signups by 11%.