- Steven Cravotta
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- How to get your first 1,000 app users (for free)
How to get your first 1,000 app users (for free)
Hey there,
If your app has less than 1,000 users right now, this email is for you.
Getting your first 1,000 users feels impossible when you're starting at zero.
I've launched apps that got 7 downloads in the first week. I know what it feels like to stare at zero traction.
Until I figured out a repeatable system that helped me scale to over 10 million users and $44,000 in monthly recurring revenue.
Here's the exact roadmap I used to get my first 1,000 users:
Step 1: Post on Reddit (you can do this today)
Reddit is one of the most viewed sites on the internet.
There are subreddits dedicated to startup founders like you.
Post your app in r/SaaS, r/sideproject, or r/programming. These subreddits have hundreds of thousands of members.
Don't just spam your link. Share your story. Provide value. Engage with the community.
This drives real feedback and real users in the next hour.
Step 2: Find your viral marketing message
Your product isn't the story. The user transformation is.
Puff Count wasn't viral because of "Count your puffs."
It was viral because of "Quit vaping."
What does your app do for them? That's your message.
Step 3: Do market research in your niche
Before you create content, study what's already working.
Save videos that blow up in your niche. Analyze why they performed.
Don't reinvent the wheel. Learn from what's proven and build your own version in your authentic way.
Step 4: Think in funnels, not features
Your TikTok gets them to the App Store. App Store gets them to download. Onboarding gets them to purchase.
Each step has one job: move them forward.
Stop trying to do it all in one place.
Step 5: Know your numbers before you scale
The hardest downloads are the first few.
But if you can get 10 users, you can scale to 10,000.
Once you hit 1,000 users, you'll have enough data to calculate your LTV.
For Puff Count, my LTV was around $1 per install. So I knew I could spend up to $1 to acquire a user and still profit.
Simple math. Know your numbers before you spend.
This roadmap has helped me reach over 10 million app users across multiple apps.
Start with 1,000. The rest will follow.
Peace,
Steven