Knowledge base · Mobile apps
What actually works in app growth — today.
Atomic, cited notes distilled from practitioners who run the tests: paywalls, ASO, Apple & Meta ads, web2app funnels. Built for people, and loadable by AI agents as skills.
74 notes19 sources4 experts5 topics
Topics
See the graph →Product strategy
Ideas, MVP scope, categories, growth stages
7 notes
Monetization
Paywalls, trials, pricing, subscription metrics
20 notes
App Store Optimization
Keywords, metadata, screenshots, product page tests
14 notes
User acquisition
Apple Ads, Meta ads, creatives, UGC programs
17 notes
Web2app funnels
Web quizzes, web checkout, upsells, deep links
16 notes
Start here
- Why the paywall belongs in onboardingMost subscription buyers convert on day zero, so the paywall should sit inside the first-run onboarding and be seen by ~100% of new users.
- How to pick ASO keywords (search score, difficulty, relevance)Steve P. Young's thresholds for choosing ASO keywords — 6–10 relevant terms around search score 30 with low difficulty, no competitor brand terms — plus what search popularity scores actually mean.
- Apple Ads account structure — the two starter campaignsThe two-campaign Apple Ads setup (Max Conversion discovery + single-keyword exact campaigns) App Masters runs at $7K–$85K/month, and how they work together.
- Web2app funnel structure, step by stepThe canonical sequence of a high-converting web2app quiz funnel (hook → trust → value prop → psychology questions → curiosity → loader/results → email → paywall → upsells → app access → winback) with the job of each step.
- Finding app ideas from search demand — the Tentacle StrategySteve P. Young's step-by-step method to pick an app idea by finding an under-served keyword "tentacle" of a big, high-earning app (e.g. brown noise from Endel/Calm), validated before building.
- Is my app ready for Meta ads? Funnel benchmarks and the 7-point checklistSteve P. Young's 7 checks before spending on Meta ads for an app — funnel conversion targets (5–10% install→trial, 30%+ trial→paid, ~2% install→paid), proof strangers pay, LTV, tracking, research, concepts, budget.
Recently updated
All notes →- Apple Ads account structure — the two starter campaignsThe two-campaign Apple Ads setup (Max Conversion discovery + single-keyword exact campaigns) App Masters runs at $7K–$85K/month, and how they work together.
- Apple Ads single keyword ad groups (SKAG)Why and how to run Apple Ads SKAG campaigns — one exact-match keyword per ad group, search match off, bid near target CPA, 5–10 keywords.
- Better Sleep onboarding and paywall teardownScreen-by-screen breakdown of Better Sleep (~$600–800k/month) — sound on during onboarding, quiz, social-proof plan screen, BetterHelp cross-promo, discount ladder and forced email.
- Boosting new keywords with a download burst after an ASO updateSteve P. Young's optional tactic of running a 2-day free lifetime offer promoted on Indie App Santa or Reddit right after a metadata change, to spike download velocity for new keywords.
- Break-even CPI, revenue per install and LTV per installWhich unit-economics number to bid against in app ads (revenue vs LTV per install), Steve's thresholds ($3 CPI for Apple Ads, $3 LTV/install for Meta) and how to use them.
- Checking keyword difficulty by reading the actual search resultsHow to verify an ASO tool's difficulty score by searching the App Store yourself — count ratings of top results and check whether they carry the keyword in their title.