App Masters · Sep 16100K Downloads TWICE & $4K Revenue in 2 Months (Indie App Growth Case Study)
Went from about 20 downloads a day to 163 after a promo plus ASO, hit 100,000 downloads twice, and passed $4,000 in sales within two months. The first month gave 2,000 downloads, about $1,000 and 50 ratings, and the developer raised the price after shipping requested features.
Tips
- Use a free promo spike to kickstart organic App Store rankings▶ 8:57A one-week lifetime-free promo drove over 100,000 downloads and 700 new ratings, and daily downloads went from 20 to 163 a month later.
- Pair a promo with keyword optimization so the lift lasts▶ 3:39Downloads per day went from 20 to 163, about 8x, comparing Saturday May 24th to Saturday June 21st.
- Run repeated promos and iterate between them instead of a single launch▶ 7:07Monthly sales reached about $4,000 by the time of recording, before August had ended, with 100,000 downloads achieved twice.
- Use a download spike to learn which features users want▶ 8:17The Links developer credited August growth to updating the app with the most requested features, fixes and more content.
- Raise your price after the user base and feedback arrive▶ 7:31August sales shot up after the price increase, new features and another promo.
- Be aggressive in months one and two rather than waiting▶ 6:50Sales went from about $1,000 in the first month to about $4,000 within two months of the promo plan.
- Treat growth as downloads times conversion and work both▶ 12:51
- Use a distribution platform so coverage spreads to other sites▶ 5:33About 1,000 downloads came from the platform's own app, with most of the 100,000 coming from other referrers and deal sites.
- Expect social media alone to give slow, small download numbers▶ 2:01First month after the May launch: 2,000 downloads, about $1,000 revenue, about 50 ratings, and roughly 20 downloads a day at the high end.
- Use promo-driven downloads to build ratings fast▶ 3:02700 new ratings from the promo, versus about 50 ratings after the first social-driven month.
- Don't expect a few hundred dollars of Facebook ads to match a promo▶ 9:22Links reached 100,000 downloads twice, with August doing even more than the first spike.
