Black Box

App Masters · Jan 11

Meet the Indie Developer with 7M Downloads & Apple Design Award

It reached 7 million downloads after McLeod expected 10,000 to be great and privately hoped for 100,000. Moving the purchase ask earlier, locking more puzzles, stating the offer plainly and using his own sarcastic voice improved revenue, with conversion never going much past 5%.

Tips

• Move the purchase option much earlier in the game flow▶ 4:24Most purchases happen in the first day or two or three, and moving the purchase earlier and locking more puzzles helped revenue a lot.
• Lock more of the content so people see the value▶ 6:20Players had gotten dozens of free puzzles and still said the price was not worth it, so he locked more of the game.
• Do not make free and paid content look the same▶ 5:02Players tried to finish all free puzzles before the end part, and many stopped when the game got hard.
• State exactly what the purchase includes, in plain terms▶ 6:54Roughly 30 or 40 puzzles can be solved free before the paid content matters, and the prompt can be dismissed.
• Test how early you ask; earlier is not always better▶ 7:29Asking earlier helped at first, but further moves earlier did not help, and he avoids asking at app launch.
• Capitalize on early excitement because the buying window is short▶ 5:38Ryan's data shows purchases cluster in the first day or two or three, matching a roughly seven day window.
• Put your own name and face on the app▶ 8:40Support emails go to Ryan directly, and he aims for sympathy and fewer bad reviews.
• Ask personally for support in the purchase prompt▶ 9:21He has not A/B tested it, but players even asked to give more money, such as donating a burrito or coffee.
• Use your own authentic voice as the voice of the app▶ 10:36Players asked if they could give more money, which he found crazy.
• Keep launch expectations modest and plan for ongoing work▶ 2:20He told friends 10,000 players would be awesome and privately hoped for 100,000, and reached 7 million downloads.
• Keep it human by reading reviews and fan messages▶ 3:32