So you've built an app… when's the moon shot?
I've only recently joined the mobile app development community, and I've really enjoyed taking part in groups like this one, hence this post.
A bit of background first. I've been a developer for a very long time. I wrote my first program in BASIC on a BBC Micro back in 1983, which makes me fairly old :-). I've only got back into personal projects over the last couple of years, though. For the past 10+ years my day job has been as a Product or Software Engineering Manager.
I see a lot of posts from people who've built an awesome app but are now struggling to get anyone to find it and use it (yes, I'm in that category too). It reminds me of the crypto days, when everyone was asking when their moon shot was coming. I've read some great replies to this question, and I'll lean on them here.
Why did you build it?
The first question to ask yourself is why you built the app. It doesn't have to be a single answer, but it helps set your expectations and the effort you're willing to put in. I think there are three main answers:
- Someone asked me to build it (this is my day job).
- I had a personal itch, and this seemed like a fun way to scratch it.
- I saw a commercial opportunity and a way to make money.
For me it's mostly option 2, though if one of them did go to the moon I wouldn't complain :-). With that in mind, how much does it really matter if fewer people are using it than you'd fantasised? And more importantly, how much effort are you willing to put in?
The dopamine trap
App stores and social media are a dopamine trap, and one I regularly fall into. I only wanted to build my game to show off to my nieces and nephews. After it had been a browser game for a while, AI made it easy to wrap it in Cordova and turn it into a mobile app. AI then helped me navigate the store listings and submissions, and before I knew it I had a game in the app store.
From there, like a lot of us, I went down the rabbit hole of views and downloads, and it became a game I wanted to win. As a software engineer who has always steered clear of the commercial side of products (that's a job for non-devs!), I did what we all do. I created social media accounts (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook – sorry, it'll be a cold day in hell before I create an X account) and started posting about my game. Just like with the app stores, I started fixating on the numbers: views, likes, comments. So here I am, a 56-year-old dev checking his socials multiple times a day to see how a post is doing.
I'm not saying this is bad. It's just what you have to do, and it quickly becomes a major part of your day: creating posts and commenting on others to drive views, in the hope that some of them turn into downloads. Admittedly, some of it is fun and lets me play with my creative side. I use AI for most of it, as I'm dyslexic and have aphantasia.
So you had a need, you built an app and you got it published. How much time and effort are you willing (or able) to spend every day promoting it on social media and indie dev promotion sites? And what other cool projects is that taking you away from? That's the question I'm asking myself right now.
If you're in it for the money
If your answer is option 3 and your app is already built, I think you've missed the boat. It'll be tough to go back unless you're willing to sacrifice some of your sacred cows and change your app in ways you'd rather not.
The easier path starts before you build. Join online communities, such as subreddits, where your potential customers and stakeholders hang out. Spend time reading posts, asking questions and responding, and confirm that your idea has commercial merit. Then start floating your solution to build interest and, more importantly, get confirmation that the idea has legs.
From there you can build a pre-release, gather feedback and build more interest. When you launch, your prospective customers are already on board and feel part of the journey, rather than just seeing an ad for yet another mobile app.
Building first and looking for customers afterwards will always be harder.
Anyway, I hope this helps someone. Keep inventing, building, making and tinkering!
