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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Blake Butterworth

Pathwork

Shout out to Paola for the hard and detailed work to launch our new marketing site

August 19, 2025

Genevieve

Healthy Teen Network

After working with other developers I can honestly say that my experience with Melt has been fantastic. First, the teams that have worked on our various projects are talented and diligent. Second, I appreciate weekly meetings where we can see the progress of our apps. Manuel and his team has always kept us abreast of the progress, the problems, and potential solutions to overcome the challenges. I love being able to see in Pivotal the number of stories and how each has been tackled. The openness, honesty and clarity in the communication has been a key for my satisfaction.

July 23, 2020