Solved: Marketing Apps to Gain Users: What to Do Next?

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! Yours is a situation we see a lot with new app developers. You build something great, get a bit of initial traction from sharing it around, and then... silence. It's frustrating, I know. You asked what to do next, so I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on our experience with this stuff. Hopefully it gives you a clearer path forward.

We'll need to look at the 'organic' question first...

You asked if you can make it grow organically, and the short answer is yes, but it’s a proper slog. The way you've been doing it, sharing in subreddits, is a good start but as you've found out, it's not sustainable and the returns deminish quickly. You can't just keep posting the same thing in the same places.

To really get organic growth going, you have to think a bit more strategically. It's not just about finding places to post a link; it's about building a presence and becoming part of a community. My thoughts on this are pretty straightforward:

-> Go Niche: Who is your app *actually* for? Not just "Android users". Is it for students? Photographers? Small business owners? Get really specific. Once you know that, you can find the niche forums, blogs, Facebook Groups, and even Discord or Slack communities where these people hang out. The key here is not to just drop your link and run. That'll get you banned or ignored. You need to actually engage, answer questions, provide value, and become a trusted member of that community. Then, when someone has a problem that your app solves, you can mention it naturally. It's slow, but the users you get this way are often your best ones because they already trust you to some extent.

-> Use App Directories: There are specific platforms designed for launching new products and apps. I often see apps listing on places like Product Hunt, Betalist, and Indie Hackers. Getting featured on these can give you a massive, albeit temporary, spike in traffic and downloads from early adopters. These are people who *want* to try new things. The feedback you get from them can be incredibly valuable for improving your app, and it's a great way to get your first hundred or even thousand users. It's a bit of a lottery to get to the front page, but it's definately worth a shot.

-> Content & SEO: This is the long game. Think about the problems your app solves. Now, write blog posts or create videos about those problems and how to solve them (with your app being one of the solutions, of course). For example, if your app helps with personal budgeting, you could write articles like "5 Simple Ways to Track Your Spending" or "How I Saved £500 in a Month". If you do your keyword research right, people searching on Google for these problems will find your content, and by extension, your app. It takes a lot of time and effort, and you won't see results overnight, but it builds a sustainable channel that brings in highly relevant users for free over the long term. It's something you have to commit to, though.

-> PR & Outreach: This is a bit like the content approach but you're leveraging other people's audiences. You could make a list of blogs, YouTubers, and journalists who cover apps in your niche. Reach out to them with a personal email, explain what your app does and why their audience would find it interesting, and offer them free access. Many will ignore you, but if you get just one or two to write an article or make a video about your app, it can drive a significant number of downloads. The key is to make it easy for them – give them a clear press kit with screenshots, a description, and your story.

Organic growth is all about putting in the time and effort. It's not a passive thing. The 200 downloads you got was from active promotion; to get more, you need more, smarter, active promotion. But this leads to your other question...

I'd say you need to consider paid ads seriously...

You asked if paid ads are a "must". No, they're not a *must*. You can absolutly grow an app without them, as we just covered. But, and this is a big but, paid advertising is the only way to get predictable, scalable, and immediate results. Organic is great, but it's unpredictable and slow. With paid ads, you put money in, and if you set it up correctly, you get users out. It's a machine.

Think of it like this: organic growth is like pushing a car up a hill. It takes a massive amount of effort, you move slowly, and if you stop pushing, you roll backwards. Paid ads are like putting fuel in the engine. It costs money, but it gets you up the hill quickly and you can control the speed by pressing the accelerator (i.e., increasing your budget).

The main reason to use paid ads is to accelerate your growth. You can test your app's appeal with different audiences very quickly, get a ton of data on what messaging works, and rapidly acquire a user base that you can then learn from to improve your product. For many apps, especially those with a monetisation strategy, paid user acquisition is the primary engine of growth. I remember one campaign where we helped a client get over 45,000 signups at under £2 cost per signup. That kind of scale is almost impossible to achieve organically in a short space of time.

But before you even think about putting a single penny into ads, there are some things you absolutly have to get right first. Throwing money at ads without a solid foundation is like pouring water into a leaky bucket. You'll just waste it.

You probably should have a plan to make money...

This sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many developers start running ads without a clear idea of how the app will actually generate revenue. Paid ads are an investment, and you need to know how you're going to get a return on that investment. B2C signups or app installs typically cost anywhere from $1 to $5, sometimes more. I remember one app campaign where we managed to get the cost per user down to under £2, which was a great result. But if you're paying £2 for a user, that user needs to be worth more than £2 to your business over their lifetime.

This is called Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Your LTV has to be higher than your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). So, you need a plan:

• -> Will the app have a one-time purchase price?
• -> Will it be a subscription model?
• -> Will you use in-app purchases?
• -> Will you show ads to free users?

You need to have this figured out. If you're spending £100 on ads to get 50 users, and those 50 users generate £200 in revenue, you're profitable. If they only generate £50, you're losing money fast. Having a monetization model isn't just for making money; it's what makes paid advertising a viable growth strategy. Without it, you're just paying for downloads with no end goal.

Related to this is your 'offer'. For software and apps, a free trial or a freemium model usually works best to get people in the door. It's a huge ask to expect someone to pay for an app they've never used, especially from a new developer. Let them try it for free. Once they're in, and they see the value, you have a much better chance of converting them to a paying customer. Many of the successful B2B SaaS campaigns I've run relied on a compelling free trial offer to get initial signups.

You'll need a killer App Store page...

Your app store page (on Google Play) is your landing page. It's where you close the deal. You can have the best ads in the world, driving thousands of people to your page, but if the page itself isn't persuasive, they won't download. Your conversion rate here is everything.

Just like with a website, you need to optimise this page. This means:

-> Persuasive Copy: Your app's description needs to be more than just a list of features. It needs to sell the benefits. How does your app make someone's life better, easier, or more entertaining? Use compelling language. We often work with professional copywriters for our clients' landing pages because it makes that much of a difference.

-> High-Quality Screenshots & Videos: People are visual. Your screenshots should be clean, professional, and clearly show the best parts of your app in action. A short video demonstrating the app can be incredibly powerful. I remember one client seeing a massive boost in their app store conversion rate simply by A/B testing different screenshots and creating a better preview video. It's a small change that can have a huge impact.

-> Social Proof: Ratings and reviews are hugely important. You have 200 users already. Can you encourage them to leave a review? Good reviews build trust and are one of the biggest factors people look at before downloading an app. Don't be afraid to ask for them inside the app (but don't be annoying about it).

Before you spend on ads, make sure your app store page is as good as it can possibly be. A small increase in your conversion rate here (e.g., from 20% of visitors downloading to 25%) means you get more users for the same ad spend, which directly lowers your cost per install.

We'll need to look at choosing the right ad platform...

Okay, so you've got your monetization sorted and your app store page is looking great. Now, where do you spend your money? The best ad platform is simply the one where your target audience can be most effectively reached. Using the wrong platform is a surefire way to waste money.

Here are the main options for an app like yours:

1. Apple Search Ads / Google Ads (for App Installs): This is probably the best place to start. People go to the App Store or Google Play Store specifically to find and download apps. By advertising here, you're catching them at the exact moment they are looking for something like what you offer. You can bid on keywords related to your app's function. For example, if you have a photo editing app, you can target keywords like "photo editor", "retouch photos", or even the names of your competitors. The intent is super high, which usually leads to good conversion rates. We've seen Apple ads work really well for many app clients. Google's app campaigns are also powerful, as they can promote your app across Search, YouTube, and the Display Network.

2. Social Media Ads (Meta - Facebook/Instagram, TikTok): This is for reaching people who *aren't* actively searching for your app. You're interrupting their social scrolling with your ad. This can be very powerful for generating awareness and driving impulse downloads, especially for games, entertainment, or consumer-focused utility apps. The targeting options are incredible. You can target based on interests (e.g., people interested in 'photography'), demographics, behaviours, and even create 'lookalike' audiences of your existing best users. I remember one client who generated over 5,000 software trials almost entirely through Meta ads because the targeting allowed them to pinpoint their ideal customer so effectivly.

The choice between these depends on your app. Is it something people know they need and are actively searching for (like a PDF scanner)? Then start with Google/Apple Search. Is it something more novel or fun that people don't know they want until they see it (like a new game or social app)? Then social media might be better. Realistically, a good strategy often involves using both.

You'll need to understand the numbers...

Paid advertising is a numbers game. It's vital to know what to expect so you don't get discouraged. The cost of getting a user can vary wildly based on your app's niche, the countries you're targeting, and the quality of your ads.

Let's do some very rough, back-of-the-envelope maths. This is just to give you a general idea.

Let's say you're running ads on Facebook, targeting a developed country like the UK or US.

• Your Cost Per Click (CPC) - what you pay for someone to click your ad - might be around £0.50 - £1.50.
• Your Conversion Rate (CVR) on your app store page - the percentage of people who click the ad and then actually download the app - might be around 20-40% if your page is decent.

So, your Cost Per Install (CPI) would be calculated as CPC / CVR.

Worst Case Scenario: £1.50 CPC / 20% CVR = £7.50 per install.
Best Case Scenario: £0.50 CPC / 40% CVR = £1.25 per install.

As you can see, the range is huge. Your actual CPI will probably fall somewhere in the middle. For one app campaign, the cost was under £2 per signup, which is on the lower end of this scale. That's what professional optimisation can do – it pushes your CPC down and your CVR up.

Here’s a small table to illustrate this. Let’s assume an app install objective in a developed, English-speaking country.

The key takeaway is that you need a starting budget to gather this data. I'd usually recommend at least £500-£1000 to run some initial tests. This is enough to see what your starting CPI is and identify which ads and audiences are working, so you can then focus your budget on the winners.

This is the main advice I have for you:

This is a lot to take in, I know. Paid advertising can seem complex because it is. It's not just about 'boosting a post'. It's a proper discipline. To make it easier, I've broken down my main recomendations for you into a clear, actionable plan.

Running successful paid advertising campaigns is a full-time job. It's about understanding the audience, constant testing, creative development, data analysis, and strategic budget allocation. It's not something you can just set and forget, especialy in the beginning.

Getting it wrong can be expensive, but getting it right can be the difference between an app that gets 200 downloads and one that gets 200,000. If you find all of this a bit daunting and want to make sure your budget is used as effectively as possible, it might be worth considering getting some expert help.

We offer a free initial consultation where we can take a closer look at your app and your goals and give you a more tailored strategy. It could be a good way to get some clarity and professional guidance before you start spending. Feel free to book one in if you think that would be helpful.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh