Shamanth Rao on Subscription Economics, Pricing, and Creative Strategy | Price Power Podcast Ep. 8

Price Power Podcast

Episode 8: Shamanth Rao on Subscription Economics, Pricing, and Creative Strategy

Shamanth Rao is the Founder and CEO of RocketShip HQ, an agency focused on user acquisition for mobile apps. Shamanth and RocketShip HQ have worked with tons of world class companies like Bumble, Lingokids, Mojo, Elevate, and more.

His expertise comes from a decade-plus of managing large ad budgets, so he knows what he is talking about. During our conversation Shamanth walks through how cash flow determines viable payback periods, why annual plans are the single most powerful lever in subscription growth, and how pricing strategy reshapes your entire acquisition model. He also dives deep into creative strategy: why ads should sell immediate value, not long-term habits; why relevance matters less than attention; and how winning ad narratives should actively inform your product and onboarding.

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You can listen to the episode here:

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Just want the highlights? We got you: 

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1. Set your payback periods based on cash reality

Look at your cash position and ask a simple question. How long can you wait to get paid back. Three months. Six months. Longer?

Use that window to guide bids, budgets, and expectations. Do not copy a payback target from another company or a blog post. The right number depends on your runway and how aggressively you want to reinvest.

2. Always put a time frame on LTV

If you are talking about LTV without saying the time period, it is not very useful. Make it a habit to always be specific. 12 month LTV. 24 month LTV?

When you look at performance, pair that number with your payback window. Ask whether you recover spend inside the time frame you can afford. That is a much more practical way to use LTV in day to day decisions.

3. Treat the annual plan as a core part of your strategy

Take a hard look at your paywall. Is the annual option easy to understand? Does it feel like the default choice or something extra? If it looks buried or confusing, start there.

Run pricing tests on annual plans instead of assuming discounts are required. Pay attention to revenue per user and not just conversion rate. Annual plans change cash flow and make acquisition easier to manage.

4. Keep ads focused on immediate value

Ads work better when they promise something concrete and fast. One result. One outcome. Avoid language about discipline, routines, or long-term change at the top of the funnel.

Save that messaging for onboarding and the product itself. Ads should get attention and earn the click. They do not need to explain everything.

5. Use winning ads to improve onboarding

When an ad performs well, spend time understanding why. Look at the promise it makes and the emotion it triggers. Then compare that to your onboarding experience.

If users click for one reason and land in something that feels disconnected, that creates friction. Use the ad as a signal for what users expect and adjust onboarding to match it.

6. Plan for creative fatigue early

If one creative is driving most of your spend, treat that as a risk. Even if performance looks great. Start building alternatives as soon as something wins.

Focus on different angles that communicate the same idea. That way when performance drops, you already have options ready instead of scrambling to replace it.

7. Build creative around micro segments, not broad personas

When you look at performance at a high level, it is easy to miss what is actually happening. Different users respond to very different messages, even when they convert at similar rates.

Instead of trying to make one ad that works for everyone, break your creative into smaller ideas. Focus on one motivation, one pain point, or one situation per creative. Let the platforms do the distribution. Your job is to give them enough distinct angles to work with.

This also makes it easier to keep creative fresh. When something stops working, you are not starting from zero. You already have other directions to build on.

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Thank you for coming on the podcast, Shamanth!

Want to learn more from Shamanth?

• Rocketship HQ: https://www.rocketshiphq.com/

‍• Shamanth Rao LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamanthrao/

• Intelligent Artifice Newsletter: https://intelligentartifice.kit.com/

• Mobile User Acquisition Show: https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/

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You can go listen to the full episode on Youtube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts here:

• Youtube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Check out past episodes here: PricePowerPodcast.com

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