- Steven Cravotta
- Posts
- How I avoid building apps that flop
How I avoid building apps that flop
Hey there,
Before I build any app, I do market research.
And it costs me $0.
A few free platforms tell me everything I need to know.
Here's my exact process:
Step 1: Google Trends
I type in the problem my app solves.
Example: When I built Puff Count, I searched "quit vaping" on Google Trends.
The trend was up and to the right. More people were searching for it every month.
If the trend is flat or declining, I don't build it.
Step 2: Sensor Tower
I look up competitors in the space.
Sensor Tower shows me exactly how much money other apps are making.
I saw apps in the quit vaping space making $50k-$100k/month.
This market prints. There's money here.
If competitors are making $0, the idea is probably bad.
Step 3: TikTok
I search for my keywords on TikTok and filter by "most liked."
I searched "quit vaping" and saw videos with millions of views.
This content goes viral. Marketing will be easy.
I saved 10-15 of the top-performing videos. Then I recreated them in my own style.
One of my recreated videos hit 2.6 million views. Drove 20k downloads in a day.
This entire process takes 30 minutes.
Puff Count passed all three checks. So I built it.
If any of them fail, I move on.
Market research is free. It's fast. And it tells you if your idea is worth building before you spend a single dollar.
If you're about to build an app, do this first.
Peace,
Steven