Paywall Upgrade CRO
Create and optimize paywalls, upgrade screens, and upsell modals.
$skillfish add ~skills/paywall-upgrade-cro Real Conversations
See how the Paywall Upgrade CRO skill responds to actual requests. These are representative examples of what your AI agent will produce.
We're adding a free tier to Nucleus PM (5 users, basic features). AI Estimation and Sprint Forecasting will be Growth-tier only. We need to design the paywall experience when free users try to access these features. What's the best approach?
The best paywall is one that sells the upgrade rather than just blocking access. Here's the full design:
Trigger: User clicks on AI Estimation on a ticket
Option A: Feature preview paywall (recommended) Instead of a hard block, show the AI suggestion behind a blur/lock:
[AI Suggestion: 5 points] ← blurred
AI Estimation is a Growth feature
Your AI story-point suggestion is ready — upgrade to see it.
Growth plan: $12/user/month
• AI story-point suggestions
• Sprint forecasting
• Unlimited users
[Upgrade to Growth — start free trial] [See all Growth features]
Showing the locked suggestion (blurred) converts better than showing an empty block — it makes the value tangible.
Option B: Hard block with value statement If you can't implement blur:
[Lock icon] AI Estimation — Growth feature
"Teams using AI Estimation spend 40% less time in sprint planning."
[Start 14-day Growth trial — free]
[Or continue with manual estimation]
Critical design decisions:
- Always show a secondary escape ("continue with manual estimation") — paywalls without an exit create resentment
- Lead with outcome, not feature list — "40% less time in planning" > "AI-powered estimation engine"
- Offer a trial, not an immediate purchase — "Start 14-day Growth trial" converts better than "Upgrade for $12/month" for B2B SaaS
- Show social proof on the paywall — "Used by 2,000+ engineering managers" reduces upgrade anxiety
What to avoid: Don't show pricing on the paywall modal — link to the pricing page instead. Showing price in a modal without full context kills conversion.
Get Started
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Skills are designed for AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf) and IDE-based workflows where the agent can read files, run scripts, and act on your codebase. Web-based AI can use the knowledge and frameworks, but won't have tool access.
Models & Context
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Context Window
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All current frontier models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) support 100K+ context. Use the full window for complex multi-service work.
Pro tips for best results
Be specific
Include numbers — users, budget, RPS — so the skill can size the architecture.
Share constraints
Compliance needs, team size, and existing stack all improve the output.
Iterate
Start with a high-level design, then ask follow-ups for IaC, cost analysis, or security review.
Combine skills
Pair with companion skills below for end-to-end coverage.
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$skillfish add ~skills/paywall-upgrade-cro