#10 Don't shoot at random
Following the learn-by-doing approach, in September 2024 I started working on my first app, Drinklytics. In these articles I share my journey, ideally once a month
This is the July monthly update about my Build In Public journey with Drinklytics.
I think that at the beginning of a project, you must do things that don’t scale.
You can’t just shoot at random and hope to find people eager to install your app. I say that to reinforce it for myself.
Of course I also tried to shoot at random. 🙃
🚧 Progress
I worked a lot on this project during the last month, just to list it out:
- completely refreshed the app page on Google Play
- made new screenshots made with preview.app
- refreshed content with some keywords
- UI/UX redesign. Now the design of the screens is aligned to each other, some elements have been moved to create a better (I think, I hope) experience
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I asked for feedback on a UI/UX subreddit 🫣 and they demolished the design.
They are right, now it's just a boring and simple one, I am going to rethink everything. As a non-designer I don't know how good I'll be at this, but I'll try - I did ASO (App Store Optimization)
- added schreenshots (better if with keywords inside them)
- got some good reviews from the testers
- made sure there were no crashes
- I am working on my social presence. These are the socials where I am actively sharing the project, one way or another:
I am not receiving waves of traffic or installs due to my social activity, but I am creating real connections with people and that's still a success.
Also, having never been a social media person, I'm studying the best ways to use them without losing my tone.
📅 Next
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The app is still not ranking on the Store; I have seen it rank for unimportant keys for a day or two and then disappear. I think I need to optimize the content of the listing more.
I could give it a boost using ads, but mine is a zero-budget project, so, I pass - I am trying to build some backlinks for the app page, because it seems they have a weight for ranking, even inside the Store 🤔
- I must do 1-to-1, cold DMs to people who might be interested, to find my niche.
📈 Numbers and goals
I have set a goal: to reach 1000 active installations in six months, or to round up, by the end of 2025.
From Google: an active device is defined as one that has been turned on at least once in the past 30 days.
This means that every month I should reach 167 new active installations.
Currently, after one month of activity, I have reached 20 active devices, so:
- monthly goal met: 12%
- H2 goal met: 2%
I have work to do.
Drinklytics, personal, offline, tasting notes app
Whether you are a lover or an explorer, create your own personal archive of drinking experiences.
Drinklytics is an Android app for remembering one's drinking. Whether it's beer, wine or hard liquor, with drinklytics you memorize every drink.
Data marketer, product management, python and agile methodologies. This space is my single source of truth.
Here I share #thoughts and #buildinpublic, waiting for the A.I. to conquer the world.
Personal opinions and considerations.