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.
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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Rob Denison
Rally Chat
December 20, 2024
Melt provided exceptional services for us at RallyChat. I truly appreciated how quickly you ramped up on the project—sorting out access, setting up the tech, and adopting my kanban board seamlessly. Regular stand-ups kept communication flowing, and your use of Slack was professional and concise. The quality of work was outstanding, with excellent judgment, independent thinking, and clear communication on design decisions. Overall, an extremely professional experience—significantly better than the Globant contractors I worked with this year.
December 20, 2024
Amos Barreto
HeadRace
August 19, 2022
Melt Studio was critical in helping us get our project off the ground. When we first onboarded with the team, Melt gave us countless hours of support from their most senior developers to bootstrap our project and get things moving. The breadth of their knowledge across infrastructure and architecture is impressive. We were able to make more progress in just a couple weeks than we otherwise would have made in months. I won't ever forget that. Many more amazing experiences since then :) but that's my favorite!
August 19, 2022
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