How we got 500 Downloads of our Mobile App in the first Month

5 min readFeb 26, 2024

1. Set Deadlines(I know…you and everyone else hate them)

Be ambitious but not unrealistic with the time you give yourself to achieve each goal.

🔑 — Have a date that you intend to reach your goal by, but the kicker is: don’t beat yourself up if you don’t make your deadline.

The truth is ambitious goals usually take more time, money, and effort than first expected. So if it took you more time than the deadline you set that is ok. However, I can guarantee you will have accomplished the goal faster than if you don’t set any deadlines.

The pressure of a deadline adds focus to the work you are doing, and refines the mobile app by making you reconsider features that are not necessary to make the deadline.

So if you have a live app or are soon to release your app, set a deadline by when you wish to hit 500 downloads.

2. Testing and Feedback

Pre-release: you need to get the app in as many people’s hands as you can. That is why you are reading this article, right?

Start with the lowest hanging fruit: your closest friends and family that are willing to try it. Reddit is another good place.(r/sideproject, r/mobilegaming, etc.)Find a subreddit that you think fits well with your app and contact the moderators about sharing your app links in the subreddit.

🔑 — It is not about getting downloads of your app at this stage, it is about getting user feedback.

If you test, and apply the user feedback, they(the downloads) will come.

Have thick skin, if you have been pouring all the time and effort into building the app, you will feel a rush to come to its defense as people begin to critique it…don’t. You need their feedback.

Gain distance and perspective on user feedback with Google Forms( here is ours : https://forms.gle/sUkNa7rxagcPTWNU9)

When we were building WATO, a simple google form was the solution. Add a button built into the app that links to the form. Make it easy for users to submit feedback. Keep the feedback button in the app even after release. Feedback is essential because why guess at building the app that users want, when you can have your users tell you exactly what features and fixes they want/need.

2 different ways we have integrated collecting feedback in WATO

Feedback is essential because why guess at building the app that users want, when you can have your users tell you exactly what features and fixes they want/need.

Work on improving the issues and feedback points with multiple mentions first. By focusing on the feedback with multiple mentions, you ensure you are dealing with the issues that all users are experiencing. Also, it demonstrates that you care about your user’s feedback enough to act on it. This will lead to more people providing feedback and sharing your app.

Post release: if you didn’t do this in the pre-release phase, then do it now. Add a feedback button, listen to your user’s feedback, and keep making the app better.

3: Design

left: managed to find a screenshot of one of the first versions of WATO right: the current design of WATO

Don’t under-estimate the power of a smooth looking app. Users can’t “feel” your code, but the design can really help make a connection. If designing the app is not your strong suit, then keep the following quote in mind.

“If you steal from one person is Theft, and if you steal from Lots of people is Research”
― Guthrie Govan

🔑 —Spend just as much time on researching and designing the app as you do swimming in code.(especially if you are a one man/woman dev team)

Check out WATO’s design in app here →

 : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wato-what-are-the-odds/id6470747743

PlayStore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.starantini.wato

Notice the little things, modals, buttons, shadows, which screen goes where and why. The devil is definitely in the details when it comes to design.

You don’t need anything flashy, but anything that is taking up precious mobile screen real estate should work well, and look smooth.

4. Marketing(Getting people to download your Mobile App)

Notice how we haven’t talked much about actually getting people to download your app. The best marketing there is: current users recommending your app. Users telling their friends about the app provide a 20+% conversion rate, vs paid ads with 2–3% conversion rate.

source: https://www.semrush.com/blog/word-of-mouth-stats/

You will only reap the benefits of users sharing the app when you create an app that is mostly bug free, well designed, and one that solves your potential user’s problems, or is entertaining as is the case with WATO.

Caveat: Once your app is in a good working state then you can get the marketing ball rolling until it has enough momentum for users to recommend the app. If you have made it this far, here is where the actual “Marketing” work begins.

🔑 — There is nothing fancy about marketing. The truth is marketing is just asking people to try the app you have built.

So do that, make your first post the easiest you can think of, “Hey I built (your app name) a mobile app that does (such and such) I would really appreciate it if you try it out and if you like it support me by sharing it. Here are the links →.”

The more people that use the app → the more feedback comes in → the better you make the app → and the more likely users will share it. Rinse and repeat.

You might be thinking but where do I post it?

Start With:

Social Media accounts you already have.
Look for more Subreddits that you think align well with your app(don’t post in random places that have nothing to do with your app)
Here is a good list to start with as well: https://arkenea.com/blog/200-app-review-sites/ (some links are no longer valid)

If you like numbers, statistics and wordle-esk games checkout WATO with the below links.

WATO app Links→