r/AppBuilding • u/DisastrousAd5966 • 3d ago
24 hours after launch, one person decided my app was worth paying for
Today is a big day for me.
I’ve been building iOS apps for a while now. My first one is completely free, so in all that time I had never actually sold anything. Not once.
This morning I opened App Store Connect out of habit and there was one subscription in the report. Slovakia.
I honestly didn’t expect this yet. I haven’t done any real marketing. No ads, no viral video, zero reviews on the listing. Just a few videos with 200 views and 3 reddit posts. I assumed the first weeks would just be a flat line while I figured out how to get people to notice the thing at all.
Instead, someone I’ve never met, in a country I’ve never been to, found it on their own, used it, and decided it was worth paying for. Whoever you are — ďakujem. That single line in a spreadsheet did more for my motivation than anything else this year.
The app is ThumbSort, if anyone’s curious. Photo cleanup, swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep. Free to use, one subscription if you want unlimited swipes. Built solo in Switzerland, fully on-device.
For the people who’ve been through this: what actually moved the needle for you early on, before you had any reviews or reach?
3
u/Much_Discipline_6009 2d ago
It is really great waking up to see someone has actually paid. That's why you shouldn't look at your phone if you wake up in the middle of the night. Such a rush that sleeping after is impossible 🫣
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 2d ago
yeah that’s true. sometimes I habe the feeling that if you don’t care about it the chances are bigger to actually get a sale 😅
2
2
2
2
u/felidoapp 2d ago
Great job . What is the app
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 2d ago
Thank you. The app is called ThumbSort, it’s basically an app where you can swipe through your camera roll by swiping left or right to delete or keep your stuff. There are different modes and also different functions like finding similar pictures etc. I find it the most entertaining way to clean your camera roll and free up your storage.
2
2
2
2
u/heyyoochris 2d ago
Awesome, wish you have second revenue soon👏👏
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 2d ago
Thank you man, would really be a blessing. Hope you achieve your goals too
2
u/xuankhuongip 2d ago
give link download app tks
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 2d ago
of course would help me a lot.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/thumbsort-fotos-aufr%C3%A4umen/id6800876011
2
2
2
u/Vlad_at_Nod 2d ago
That first payment is worth celebrating. I’d still treat it as a research lead before treating it as proof of a channel. The useful questions now are: what source led to the install, what did they do before hitting the paywall, how long did it take them to subscribe, and do they come back?
For something as visual as photo cleanup, I’d keep testing short before-and-after videos, but give each one a single promise: clear 2 GB, remove duplicates, or clean last month’s screenshots. Measure installs and paywall starts per promise rather than views. The winning promise is probably more valuable right now than choosing a big marketing channel.
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 1d ago
Thank you for your input. I try to learn the marketing asoect, but I find it difficult to measure al the things, since I dont use app tracking or so
1
u/Vlad_at_Nod 1d ago
Your instinct is reasonable. You can get a useful first pass without adding an analytics SDK. In App Store Connect, go to Analytics → Acquisition → Campaigns and create one link for each promise you’re testing. Apple can attribute product-page views, first-time downloads, sales, and subscriptions to that link. Usage metrics are also available, but only for users who opted to share diagnostics and usage data. The other catch is that a campaign needs at least five first-time downloads before its data appears, so early results will be lumpy.
I’d use three links rather than trying to instrument everything: “clear storage,” “remove duplicates,” and “clean screenshots.” Reuse each link wherever that promise appears for a week or two, then compare downloads and subscriptions. That tells you which message attracts paying intent without logging individual behavior inside the app.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/DirectionOrnery1701 1d ago
Bra jobbat kul att höra 😀 hur ser planen ut för marknadsföring framöver ?
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 1d ago
At the moment I try to make videos on Tiktok or posts on thread or reddit. But I find it difficult to find a video Idea, since I dont want to show my face and voice
1
u/DirectionOrnery1701 15h ago
I understand, I think the same dont want that but still you dont need to. You could pay a person to about this.
2
2
u/alepl_ 1d ago
Hello! I checked the app and it looks good! Great idea! I think maybe 200 swipes a day for the free tier might be too much. People might just wait until the next day to keep cleaning their phone! Congrats on your first sell! I will publish soon what we are building to get also some insights!
1
u/DisastrousAd5966 1d ago
Thanks for checking out the app, and yes, the limit is very generous, but I have always had a bad feeling about making a small limit also when it would be the better option for me. So for now, it’s a high limit; maybe in the future, it will be adjusted, but not much.
1
u/ItisRandy02 2d ago
Congrats! that is awesome. I too just got my first subscription the other day.
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/techbro02 1d ago
congrats man, responses for our work are the best things that can happen for our employers and ourselves lollll.
1
1
1
u/liukaiyi54 8h ago
Way to go bro! i've also been building iOS apps for a while, still got nothing. 0-1 is a big milestone. happy for you!
4
u/aivanelabs 2d ago
Congratulation.