Experienced app developer Bechir Arfaoui shares his journey from app development to a 6-figure app exit. Topics include spotting profitable app ideas, prioritizing cash generating features, promoting apps, preparing for app exits, and best practices during the sale process.
Identifying profitable app ideas as an indie developer is crucial for success.
Prioritizing cash-generating features enhances app profitability and desirability.
Choosing the right promotion channel is essential for app visibility and user acquisition.
Preparing an app for a 6-figure exit involves strategic planning and optimization for sale.
Best practices during app exit processes include transparent reporting and smooth knowledge transfer agreements.
Deep dives
Importance of Revenue Tracking and Paywalls
Keeping track of important metrics like installs, trial-to-paid conversions, and LTV is crucial, highlighting the significance of revenue tracking. The introduction of a new paywall feature streamlines the creation of high-converting paywalls and A-B tests without extensive rebuilding, facilitating revenue growth.
Transition to App Development and Market Insights
The speaker delves into their transition to app development, prompted by the surge in smartphone usage during COVID times, leading to increased app valuations and exits. The process of creating and launching the first app within a targeted timeframe is detailed, emphasizing the shift from e-commerce to app development in a market ripe for acquisitions.
Marketing Strategies and App Launch Tactics
The strategy of rapid app releases to gather market insights and optimize user engagement is highlighted. Initiatives like using Google Ads for user acquisition, promoting localization for broader appeal, and leveraging partnerships with e-commerce stores are underscored for effective marketing. Furthermore, tactics such as personalized push notifications and smart automation systems enhance user retention and drive app growth.
Optimizing Reviews and Feedback Loops
Valuable insights are shared on managing app reviews, focusing on responding to negative feedback, identifying user pain points, and strategically reporting misleading reviews for swift removal. The implementation of feedback loops through push notifications and automated responses after trial cancellations offers users incentives for re-engagement and provides actionable data for app improvement.
Retention Strategies and Automated Engagement
Retention strategies are enhanced through automated engagement sequences targeting subscription cancellations, payment failures, and winback scenarios. Leveraging AppHat's automation capabilities allows for personalized messages, feedback collection, and multi-channel retargeting efforts, providing a comprehensive approach to user retention and reactivation.
Multi-Channel Automation Deployment
The significance of deploying automation across various channels, including push notifications, emails, SMS, and in-app messages, ensures maximum reach and engagement with users across different touchpoints. Employing a cohesive approach to automated messaging enhances user interaction and drives user retention and revenue growth.
Summary of Key Podcast Insights
The podcast episode underscores the importance of revenue tracking, app development strategies, marketing tactics, user retention methods, and automated engagement for app success. It highlights the dynamic landscape of app monetization, market insights, and user engagement strategies essential for app developers aiming at growth and sustainability in a competitive market.
Maximizing App Valuation Strategies
One key point highlighted dedicates application-based businesses to maximize their app valuation strategies by focusing on profits, not just sales figures, when considering selling their app. The emphasis is on calculating trailing 12-month profits and applying a suitable multiplier to determine the app's valuation for potential sale, steering clear of relying solely on sales numbers.
Effective App Selling Practices
Another significant insight centers on effective practices when selling an app, including engaging a broker for guidance in valuing the app realistically, maintaining transparent reporting practices, avoiding sudden changes in user acquisition during negotiations, and ensuring a smooth transition to the buyer through structured knowledge transfer agreements.
Bechir Arfaoui has been building apps since 2010. He has spent the last decade doing growth and marketing automations for e-commerce and apps. Today, he shares his very last experience with exiting apps, specifically his last 6-figure iOS app exit.
You will discover:
- How to spot profitable apps idea as an indie developer
- Build it yourself vs buying
- How to prioritize cash generating features.
- How to decide where (channel) to promote your app
- How to know that your app is ready for a 6 figure exit
The world's best subscription apps use RevenueCat to power in-app purchases, manage customer data, and grow revenue on iOS, Android, and the web.
With RevenueCat, I can easily see the most important metrics - install to trial, trial to paid, and LTV.
And now they have a new paywall feature that’s going to make it easy for you to build high-converting paywalls and A/B test without needing a new build.
NOTIX is an audience re-engagement service based on web and in-app push notifications that work for both desktop and mobile devices.
With Notix, website/app owners and marketers can share their content and interact with their audiences in a highly engaging channel, while having the opportunity to monetize both mobile and web subscribers.
Tired of overpaying for App Store Optimization? Get unlimited ASO and app marketing support to increase your keyword rankings, downloads, and revenue. Learn more at ASO Masters.
