Sub Club by RevenueCat

Taylor Wells from News Corp discusses balancing data collection with business goals to avoid unnecessary complexity and costs. Establishing a well-structured data process early can prevent costly modifications later. Managing data collection in-house can simplify compliance, while off-the-shelf solutions can save time and resources. Simplified insights over complex dashboards are more effective for executives. Aligning data with business objectives is crucial for enhancing value and consumer interaction.

Francescu Santoni of Mojo shares how to reach $1M MRR by pivoting strategically, making paywalls prominent, and setting prices that provoke discussion. He emphasizes building features users love, focusing on team strengths, and creating viral loops to reduce ad spend. The podcast explores the founding story of Mojo, AI in mobile apps in France, and balancing product development with monetization challenges.

Former corporate web developer turned full-time indie hacker, Sebastian Röhl, shares his journey of quitting and returning to build his own apps. Key topics include starting fresh with new ideas, investing more in products with 'pull' and channels, diversifying acquisition channels, advantages of building in public, and testing higher prices for apps.

Guests from RevenueCat discuss WWDC 2024 highlights, including the deprecation of StoreKit 1, Apple's AI advancements, Vision Pro update, quality-of-life improvements, and new win-back offers for developers. They explore the impact on app development, user interfaces, App Store Connect updates, and challenges in monetization, highlighting opportunities and limitations in the evolving iOS landscape.

Asya Paloni, Co-founder of Welltory, discusses the challenges of creating engaging health apps for mass markets, highlighting the importance of triggers, user retention strategies, and innovation in app development. The podcast explores why copying Duolingo’s engagement strategy may not work for all apps and provides a framework for aligning actions with mission statements and user triggers for app success.

Sarah Karam, Director of Apps Partnerships at Google, shares insider tips for building profitable Android apps. She discusses optimizing revenue with Google Play Commerce, diversifying monetization with IAPs, adjusting strategies for diverse user base, focusing on problem-solving over features, and understanding secondary product-market fit for growth.

Ramit Arora from Microsoft shares ASO tips: Use jobs-to-be-done for keywords, not just easy ones. Apple Search Ads uncover profitable keywords for revenue. Paywall experiments like defaulting to more expensive plans & emphasizing free trials work. Learn how Microsoft optimizes apps for app stores and paywalls.

On the podcast: Microsoft 365 app monetization and optimization, and how Microsoft is building successful apps–recorded live in Vegas at the Mobile Apps Unlocked (MAU) conference.Key Takeaways:📱 The App Store advantage: Microsoft's data reinforces that the App Store, despite the fees attached, offers significant advantages. The seamless experience from things such as pre-attached payment methods results in a conversion rate from trial to paid that is five times higher than on other direct channels.🚀 On the App Store, think like a startup (even if you’re not): Despite Microsoft’s strong brand, success in the App Store requires the agility and innovation of a startup. The platform's democratic nature allows new startups to challenge established companies. Continual innovation is essential and you need to be at the top of your game with ASO.🔗 Bundling apps can mean better retention: Combining multiple apps into a single subscription can boost user retention by meeting a variety of needs. Even if a use case is one-off, there will be other use cases met by other apps. This strategy generally involves developing a wide range of features rather than focusing deeply on a single application.🧠 Integrate AI thoughtfully: When integrating AI, it's important to consider if it genuinely enhances the tasks users perform and brings a desktop-level experience to mobile devices. This ensures the technology is both practical and user-focused, and not simply jumping on the bandwagon. ⚖️ As you scale, prioritization never becomes any less important: As the number of monthly active users grows, you need to think bigger and bigger in terms of impact. Focus on optimizations that affect large user groups. Simple improvements in app reliability, performance, and the purchase process can often impact the largest number of users.About Guest👨‍💻 Product Manager on the Microsoft 365 (Office) Mobile and Mac team.🚀 An expert in subscription management, growth, and monetization strategy, Ramit leads the apps like a start-up.👋 LinkedInEpisode Highlights[1:14] From desktop to mobile: Microsoft is famous for its desktop software, but it’s increasingly prioritizing its mobile apps to keep up with consumer trends.[3:09] Paying by phone: Users prefer to make purchases using their mobile device — trial-to-paid conversion rates are nearly 5x higher on mobile than other channels.[4:56] The start-up mindset: Think like a start-up to stay agile against the competition in the app stores.[6:21] Value they can’t refuse: To retain users over the long term, Microsoft bundles multiple products and features into a single cost-effective app.[8:22] Staying ahead of the curve: The key to becoming and staying a leading app? Neutralize the competition, differentiate, and incubate.[17:19] Lighting up the small screen: Apps like Photoroom and Microsoft Copilot are using AI to make tasks historically done on a desktop easy on a mobile device.[21:09] You can’t do it all: Prioritize the app optimizations and features that will have the biggest impact on your business.

On the podcast:The importance of passion for the product you’re working on, how to differentiate in a crowded market, and why achieving the ‘viable’ in Minimum Viable Product is harder than ever.Key Takeaways:📉 Ad-based revenue models too often lead to a degraded user experience. For ad-supported products, the real customer is the advertiser, not the end user. This causes a conflict between doing what’s going to create the best product and what’s going to drive the most advertising revenue.  🚀 The bar for what makes a “viable” MVP is always getting higher. While no app first ships as a fully-formed 1.0, it’s now rarely viable to launch an app as a barebones MVP (minimum viable product). There are just too many apps offering too much competition to not offer a compelling reason for a user to switch. 🔍 The “Jobs to Be Done” (JTBD) framework allows you to dig deeper than surface-level features. Gathering user feedback is essential, but users rarely request what they truly want. JTBD demands going deeper than feature requests by addressing the underlying need that the user wants to fulfill. ❓ To get to the root cause of a user problem, ask the “five whys”. When a user makes a request, get into the habit of asking “Why?”. The more times you ask, the more clarity you’ll have on what you actually need to build, giving you jobs-to-be-done that can best meet the needs of your users. 🌀How to capitalize on “black swan events”. Adaptability and swift action are key to managing unexpected high-impact events. It's essential to pivot from past decisions without being anchored by sunk costs and to act and ship quickly to capture new opportunities.About Guest:👨‍💻 Seasoned Internet entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building groundbreaking apps.🌿Formerly an early employee at Mint, Val had a vision for a better, more user-centered financial health app.💡“Try to pick a problem that you want to work on for 10 years — even if it were to fail. That’s how I feel. Even if Monarch were to fail, I would feel good that we moved the ball forward, we did something, we helped people along the way.”👋 LinkedInEpisode Highlights:[7:54] Ads vs. subscriptions: Why subscriptions (not an ad-supported model) were Val’s first choice for Monarch.[9:12] The real MVP: In today’s subscription app world, the bar for a minimal viable product has gone way up.[13:46] Just ship it (or don’t?): Getting customer feedback during the design phase may take more time up front, but it means identifying your users’ key “jobs to be done” in fewer product iterations.[23:10] The five “whys”: Ask yourself… what is your app really selling?[24:56] Disappoint-Mint: How Val went from the Mint team to creating Monarch — and what happened when Mint shut down.[34:17] Modern marketing: Talking to potential users on forums like Reddit can be an effective way to build trust and win fans.[36:31] The butterfly effect: What’s next for the Monarch team and business.[38:02] On a mission: Val and the Monarch team are passionate about helping users improve their financial health.

Marcus Burke, an Independent Consultant specializing in Meta ads, discusses the benefits of Meta Ads's vast reach and precision targeting. He shares tactics for scaling subscription apps, including starting with broad targeting and gradually becoming more specific. Burke emphasizes the importance of strategic targeting, creative diversity, and navigating SKAN with patience for successful ad campaigns.