Dow Jones reinvents its onboarding flow to drive engagement
Ideas Blog | 13 January 2025
Onboarding plays a crucial role in the long-term engagement of new subscribers, so Dow Jones developed a post-purchasing onboarding flow to drive interest amongst new subscribers.
Focusing on the moment of purchase, the journey begins with an immediate opportunity to sign up for the publication’s app and introduces newsletter options to encourage sign-ups.

The approach has been successful, and the series of cards a new user sees immediately after purchase drives 80% of app downloads and newsletter sign-ups. By encouraging them to immediately interact with the various offerings, Dow Jones hopes to build stronger downstream engagement habits with its journalism.
Since app downloads and newsletter subscriptions have been identified as key retention drivers, those were the main areas focused on for subscriber onboarding.
Going with the flow
After conducting several tests, Dow Jones reorganised workflows across its titles to create an onboarding flow that delivers significantly more app downloads and newsletter sign-ups year over year.

One of the most successful experiments in the post-purchasing onboarding flow is the app download card. Research found subscribers who downloaded the app in the first two months had a 28% higher retention rate by month 12, which meant driving app downloads was critical.
However, the research also found most new subscribers interact with the post-purchase onboarding flow using their desktop computer— and the onboarding flow asks them to take action on their phone.
The initial solution was an automated texting campaign that allowed users to enter their phone numbers and receive a text with a download link. But that brought new challenges, as many subscribers were reluctant to share their phone number and didn’t allow Dow Jones to properly service its growing international audience.
QR to the rescue
Inspired by the success of using QR codes in print, Dow Jones tested the effectiveness of adding a QR code to the app download card. The new card also included the text link, allowing the user to complete the action in whichever method was most convenient.

Measured against the existing app download card, the new design showed an incredible 181% jump in app downloads. And, more significantly, this new approach did not decrease the onboarding completion rate.