App Masters · Mar 30This Budgeting App Makes $400K a Month
Earns over $400,000 a month from about 30,000 monthly downloads with no ads. It ranks first for its brand name but only top 10 for "budget", uses a one-month trial with no free tier, and did not rank in finance until late December 2021.
Tips
- Build a brand and community first, then launch the app▶ 4:43About 30,000 downloads a month produce over $400,000 a month in revenue.
- Use a longer free trial only when you have brand trust▶ 6:55YNAB uses a one month trial with no free use, and still ranks as a top grosser.
- Own your brand keyword in the app store▶ 4:34YNAB ranks number one for its brand keyword but only in the top 10 for generic 'budget'.
- Check ad activity to see whether a competitor relies on community traffic▶ 3:30YNAB shows no advertising in Sensor Tower yet grosses over $400,000 a month.
- Show customer testimonials in the app, but make the product category clear▶ 6:28
- Let users sign in with Apple to cut onboarding friction▶ 6:40
- Get users to enter real budget numbers right after the trial starts▶ 7:49
- Let users set expense frequencies such as weekly, monthly or non-monthly▶ 9:17
- Prompt users to link bank accounts after estimating expenses▶ 9:25
- Expect long-tail growth when an app finally clicks▶ 2:45Roughly six years in the store before it took off in the finance rankings.
