Dan Purcell
Co-founder of Get Your Marriage On, runs an app development agency and a media company
Where to hear and read about Dan Purcell1 episode or test
Dan Purcell co-founded Get Your Marriage On, a niche marriage app that grew into a media company, and also runs an app development agency. The lesson most worth taking is to build an excellent product for a narrow audience, then grow it through influencers paid by tracked revenue share.
One thing I've learned about this industry is a little bit of money goes a long way.
Influencer Marketing for Mobile App Downloads as an Indie Dev
Dan Purcell: the story and the lessons
1Dan Purcell and the app that became a media company
Purcell set a modest goal and let demand shape the business. The plan was to build an app and maybe reach 10,000 downloads. It hit that in the first month, which showed there was a need, so he kept going.
The media company was never planned. The brand and community grew out of the demand the app revealed. He ran this alongside his app development agency.
He built for a narrow audience of married couples from conservative or religious homes. The audience is married couples of any orientation, many of whom arrive in marriage with anxiety about sexuality.
That baggage hurts their ability to be close and intimate with a spouse. Because the product is niche, the influencer route was the plan from day one.
Purcell made the product excellent before asking anyone to review it. The team worked with PhD level marriage and relationship experts on content and flow, and invested heavily in graphic design.
Because the app is strong, reviews usually come back positive and influencers want to share it. His words: "step zero of all of this is to have a really good product."
2How Purcell recruits influencers for a niche app
He looks for influencers inside the niche's existing communities. Targets include marriage ministries run by lay husband-and-wife teams, date night blogs, subscription box blogs, and authors and speakers on sex and marriage.
These groups already have the right audience, and a novel product like an app makes them look in the know in front of it.
Purcell treats outreach as networking and learns what the influencer needs first. He finds out what the influencer needs and whether the app can meet it. Only then does he ask them to review the app and say what they think.
"It feels a lot more like just good old fashioned networking." Affiliate programs are normal in this world and may already cover a book or other products.
He offers a revenue share on installs that convert to paid. Influencers earn a share on downloads that convert from their recommendation. Many already run on affiliate income, so it is an easy yes.
A script run once a month calculates payouts, which go out through PayPal "or whatever system" he has. He wishes software existed to automate the affiliate side.
Purcell pays for reviews when the audience fits, even in small amounts. He paid a couple of thousand dollars to a blogger with 1.3 million monthly visitors writing about sex and marriage, and judged it worth it.
Even 50 dollars helps with smaller creators, because always asking for free only gets you so far. "A little bit of money goes a long way."
3How Purcell tracks every install back to its source
Each influencer gets a custom Branch deep link tied to his own database. After install, the app checks for the deep link pattern and tags the new account with that source. When the user upgrades, he can see who paid and which influencer sent them.
This works even though payment goes through Apple. His test for any paid post: "I want to know, did I get a return on my investment from this promotion?"
He requires an account so installs and upgrades can be attributed. Accounts exist because a user can invite a spouse and sync, so couples do the work together. That account is what carries the source tag.
Without an account there would be nothing to tag in the database.
Every user also gets a personal share link, so referrals are tracked generations deep. After sign-up, the app offers sharing with friends or inviting a spouse, each with a unique link. He can track second and third generation downloads.
A custom domain on Branch keeps every link looking like the app's own brand.
4How Purcell turns users into a list, a hiring pool and a podcast
He uses the user email list as a lasting marketing channel. The terms of use add new users to the mailing list. A weekly educational newsletter recommends products, sales and seminars, many carrying an affiliate commission back to the company.
"If there's a legitimate way to collect your user's email addresses, it becomes a very good source of continued marketing."
Purcell hired his outreach help from his own user list. When outreach outgrew his time after the app gained traction, he emailed the list about an online marketing role. Over 100 people applied within 24 hours, and he hired two.
Applicants already knew the product, and he says the two hires have been excellent.
He started a podcast to reach influencers who ignore cold emails. A top blogger with a million monthly visitors may get 50 outreach emails a day. An invitation to be a guest gets a much better yes and gives him face time.
He had to overcome insecurity, since he doesn't see himself as an articulate public speaker. He calls it a win-win, because the audience also benefits from the guest's teaching.
He chose a topic he cares about so outreach fits his normal interests. Outreach takes a lot of time. He would already write to experts whose podcasts he enjoys, and now he can also mention the app.
"I think it helps that I'm passionate about the topic."
Influencer Marketing for Mobile App Downloads as an Indie Dev
A niche marriage app launched through influencer and affiliate partnerships, with a custom deep link attribution setup that ties every install and upgrade back to its source. The founder also shows how an email list, a hiring pool and a podcast came out of that approach.
Purcell set a modest goal and let demand shape the business. The plan was to build an app and maybe reach 10,000 downloads. It hit that in the first month, which showed there was a need, so he kept going.
The media company was never planned. The brand and community grew out of the demand the app revealed. He ran this alongside his app development agency.
He built for a narrow audience of married couples from conservative or religious homes. The audience is married couples of any orientation, many of whom arrive in marriage with anxiety about sexuality.
That baggage hurts their ability to be close and intimate with a spouse. Because the product is niche, the influencer route was the plan from day one.
Purcell made the product excellent before asking anyone to review it. The team worked with PhD level marriage and relationship experts on content and flow, and invested heavily in graphic design.
Because the app is strong, reviews usually come back positive and influencers want to share it. His words: "step zero of all of this is to have a really good product."
He looks for influencers inside the niche's existing communities. Targets include marriage ministries run by lay husband-and-wife teams, date night blogs, subscription box blogs, and authors and speakers on sex and marriage.
These groups already have the right audience, and a novel product like an app makes them look in the know in front of it.
Purcell treats outreach as networking and learns what the influencer needs first. He finds out what the influencer needs and whether the app can meet it. Only then does he ask them to review the app and say what they think.
"It feels a lot more like just good old fashioned networking." Affiliate programs are normal in this world and may already cover a book or other products.
He offers a revenue share on installs that convert to paid. Influencers earn a share on downloads that convert from their recommendation. Many already run on affiliate income, so it is an easy yes.
A script run once a month calculates payouts, which go out through PayPal "or whatever system" he has. He wishes software existed to automate the affiliate side.
Purcell pays for reviews when the audience fits, even in small amounts. He paid a couple of thousand dollars to a blogger with 1.3 million monthly visitors writing about sex and marriage, and judged it worth it.
Even 50 dollars helps with smaller creators, because always asking for free only gets you so far. "A little bit of money goes a long way."
Each influencer gets a custom Branch deep link tied to his own database. After install, the app checks for the deep link pattern and tags the new account with that source. When the user upgrades, he can see who paid and which influencer sent them.
This works even though payment goes through Apple. His test for any paid post: "I want to know, did I get a return on my investment from this promotion?"
He requires an account so installs and upgrades can be attributed. Accounts exist because a user can invite a spouse and sync, so couples do the work together. That account is what carries the source tag.
Without an account there would be nothing to tag in the database.
Every user also gets a personal share link, so referrals are tracked generations deep. After sign-up, the app offers sharing with friends or inviting a spouse, each with a unique link. He can track second and third generation downloads.
A custom domain on Branch keeps every link looking like the app's own brand.
He uses the user email list as a lasting marketing channel. The terms of use add new users to the mailing list. A weekly educational newsletter recommends products, sales and seminars, many carrying an affiliate commission back to the company.
"If there's a legitimate way to collect your user's email addresses, it becomes a very good source of continued marketing."
Purcell hired his outreach help from his own user list. When outreach outgrew his time after the app gained traction, he emailed the list about an online marketing role. Over 100 people applied within 24 hours, and he hired two.
Applicants already knew the product, and he says the two hires have been excellent.
He started a podcast to reach influencers who ignore cold emails. A top blogger with a million monthly visitors may get 50 outreach emails a day. An invitation to be a guest gets a much better yes and gives him face time.
He had to overcome insecurity, since he doesn't see himself as an articulate public speaker. He calls it a win-win, because the audience also benefits from the guest's teaching.
He chose a topic he cares about so outreach fits his normal interests. Outreach takes a lot of time. He would already write to experts whose podcasts he enjoys, and now he can also mention the app.
"I think it helps that I'm passionate about the topic."