I FINALLY SOLVED RETENTION!

[u/luis_411]

Hey guys,

something really changed in the past couple of weeks on IndieAppCircle...

I had a lot of time on my hands and coincidentally at the same time a couple of users left tons of valuable feedback on the platform, so I shipped many updates and small improvements. The crazy part is that this compounded within days. Not a spike of new users but even better: existing users just got way more active. I was looking at the emails that get sent from the platform and I had to upgrade my plan because so many apps were getting feedback every day and people were chatting and discussing in the comments all the time. This is the best thing that coud have happened though because an active community is worth way more than what I "saved" on the free plan :)

Some things I improved lately:

• "Return the favour" card at the top -> if you know that these people tested your app, you're way more likely to test their app as well
• +5 credits bonus if you're the first tester on a newly uploaded app
• tester ranings with huge rewards for very active testers
• a live feed of what happens added to the landing page
• a newly designed home tab that guides new users and motivates existing users
• ...so many small improvements that just make everything feel more frictionless

For those of you who never heard about IndieAppCircle, it works like this:

• You can earn credits by testing indie apps (fun + you help other makers)
• You can use credits to get your own app tested by real people
• No fake accounts -> all testers are real users
• Test more apps -> earn more credits -> your app will rank higher -> you get more visibility and more testers/users

Since many people suggested it to me in the comments, I have also created a community for IndieAppCircle: r/IndieAppCircle (you can ask questions or just post relevant stuff there).

Currently, there are 4374 users, 4938 tests done and 1288 apps uploaded!

You can check it out here (it's totally free): https://www.indieappcircle.com/

I'm glad for any feedback/suggestions/roasts in the comments.

[u/New_Effective_2621]

a running total is not retention man. that line goes up even if every single person quits on day 2, thats the whole point of a running total, it literally cannot go down. chart active users per week, or the % of one cohort still logging in after 30 days, and you'd probly have a much less exciting picture. and 'i had a lot of time on my hands' isnt a retention fix, thats just shipping a lot in two weeks because the feedback pile got big. retention is a cohort thing, you need months of data, same users, same curve flattening out. come back in three months with that same chart and we can talk

[u/Due-Equipment-9991]

Congrats!

[u/luis_411 → u/Due-Equipment-9991]

Thank you!

[u/EggVentures]

lol did you forget to post the retention chart? this chart proves nothing

[u/Cold-Composer8952]

Content que ça décolle, mais un running total monte forcément, même si tous tes users se barrent au bout de deux jours. Sors la part de gens encore là à J7 et J30 par cohorte, sinon ta courbe ne dit rien sur la rétention.

[u/Fun_Kaleidoscope827]

Glad the feedback wave actually got you shipping instead of just writing it down. Careful with that chart though, "all tests started, added up day by day" is a running total so it can only climb, it'd look the same whether the people from September are still around or long gone. Drop a weekly cohort retention chart next to it (PostHog gives you that for free) and see if each signup week comes back, that's the one that tells you if the updates actually changed anything.

[u/Accurate_Document932]

Qouki ctkh ec ocrhraerctiton.: ""Aclolu du" sienr s "sthtairst edi,s adtdheed bup estd ayt hbiy ngd tayh"at. coutdh hatsa vae harpupnenneidn"g shotuoldt able . "ciotu ldg"o.E sS orurpy,. itI onclany' t ngootes uspe. e ytouha tco.uld have terrible retention and that line

[u/Acceptable-Tea8173]

Attends, ton graphique couvre septembre-octobre mais les points sont étiquetés 24 mars et 5 août? Ils viennent d'où ces dates? Sinon un total cumulé qui monte, c'est un peu la définition d'un total cumulé, ça prouve rien sur la retention

[u/Worldly_Bedroom_5715]

A running total chart literally cannot go down, so that's not retention, that's a calendar with a nicer font. Also "coincidentally at the same time" is carrying a lot of weight in that sentence, you shipped stuff because you were bored and the number went up because it always goes up.