Subscription Tools to Help New Authors Monetize

Case Study: Prose

Prose, a digital publishing platform for aspiring authors, partnered with Melt Studio to strengthen their product and add monetization tools. Together, we transformed Prose’s MVP—fixing bugs, refining the user experience, and introducing a powerful subscription engine. In just three months, the platform was relaunched with new features that boosted author engagement and revenue potential.

Projc

THE CHALLENGE

Build Subscription Features on Top of a Buggy MVP

Prose needed to evolve from a basic MVP into a functional, scalable platform with monetization tools. Key challenges included poor UX, platform bugs (email notifications, post publishing, etc.), and lack of mobile optimization. Subscription features like paywalled content and Stripe payments had to be built from scratch—while improving reliability and preparing the platform for growth.

INITIAL STATE

OUR SOLUTION

From Platform Fixes to Full Subscription Infrastructure

Requirements

Simplification

We reviewed and clarified user stories for better alignment. Our team worked to simplify the tech roadmap, reduce bugs, and lay the foundation for subscription logic—ensuring each feature fit Prose’s business model and user needs.

Application

Building

We implemented Stripe integration, subscription paywalls, author tools for gated content, and gamification features. All features were built with a JavaScript-first stack using React and Node.js, maintaining scalability and user clarity.

Prototype

Release

Over three months, we conducted six demos and rolled out iterative updates. The new version launched with major UX improvements, author monetization tools, and bug fixes—resulting in a 16% revenue lift within two months.

DELIVER STATE

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

More Monetization, Better User Experience

Authors now access intuitive tools for managing paid content and tracking subscribers. Mobile responsiveness and email flows were fixed, and new analytics help authors monitor growth. The Prose team continues evolving the platform using our foundation.

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We have delivered products for startups from Anchorage to New York.

Dustin Conrad

Returns On Demand

I feel like our team at Melt is part of our company not just another outsourced service, they are committed to helping us be successful.

January 23, 2025

Sebastien Gouin-Davis

Amatis

let me know if i can support, but i have no skin in the game.
also, if you were to bless it, i could post it (so that it's not coming from you guys) and just say something like
"These are people that I've worked with for 5 years and have become good friends with. They are doing this radical thing and it seemed like the kind of thing that could help this community. I asked Michael to bless me posting this, but this is unrelated to Establish.
I am also happy to hop on a call or slack with anyone who might be interested but looking for references or even just guidance on app development side."
but also you can just say "naw, it muddies the waters" and I'll shut up 😛
I may just have him do a talk for everyone
Sounds really great
oh that would be really cool
He has a great deck about how it's better to go to the grocery store and buy buns and tomatoes and lettuce to make burgers, and focus your energy on the "secret sauce" - where most startups spend all their time becoming tomato farmers.

February 3, 2025