For all new indie app builders:
Posting on social media will NOT make you rich. Before I hit $10,000 MRR, I failed my first app and wasted 2 years.
I loved meditation so I made Monkeyless a meditation screen time app. I couldn't let it go. For 2 years I posted organically everyday. I did not miss a single day, not ONE.
I did:
- 30,000,000 views in the span of 2 months after 1 year of little progress
-Tortured myself with ridiculous videos like Rawdogging a clock for 8 hours
-Embarassed myself in front of the camera since I'm not an extrovert
-Tried slideshows, AI content, hired UGC creators, partnerships, every angle possible
I still failed. I was sold the idea: "just post everyday, spark the winners and you get success". This is bad advice.
Real takeaways after 2 years of failure:
1. Screen time niche is hard, I do not recommend
2. Don't post organically. Only exceptions:
-To become familiar with social media in general
-To become familiar with your specific niche
-To get your first 500-1000 downloads
But don't rely on it to make you real money. Use it as an experiment to get data and extrapolate from there.
3. Your #1 goal from launch is to discover whether your app is either a) worth scaling, or b) a flop.
4. Look at DATA. Download-to-paid rate, trial start rate, paywall showrate, optimize onboarding as much as possible especially if you have a hard paywall.
5. Be TRUTHFUL with yourself. If the data says your app sucks, your app sucks. Stop trying to save a sinking ship like I did. You don't need 2 years. You can determine this within 2 weeks.
6. Be careful who you listen to on X. I don't think people on here have bad intentions, but people like to exaggerate results and sell you a dream
7. No co-founders! You already make little money, don't split it even further. Maybe for the future, when you have more capital to scale, but don't do it for your first start-up.
Luckily my social net was strong and I had many friends supporting me. Even when I failed, they liked my videos, recorded videos with me, and tried to give me advice even though their advice was bad 😂 Very grateful for them.
Don't make the same mistakes I did!
@carlmonkft · Health & lifestyle
