GlowUp · B2C · AI makeup try-on app
Give a free makeup look for 3 invites, so users post codes under your TikTok
Viral video hit ~48M views; ~$12.5K sales and 60K downloads in a day
Workedreferral-programorganic-short-videoproduct-virality
What they did
In the app: 'If you invite three friends, you'll get a free makeup look.' Viewers downloaded the app, saw they could share a code, then came back to the TikTok, rewatched it and posted their code (or asked for codes) in the comments. Non-payers kept returning to engage with the post, which boosted it in the algorithm. Combined with an anchor download link added at ~500K views.
What happened
Comments exploded; the video reached ~48M views and 2M likes, generating ~$12.5K in sales and 60K downloads in about a day
- Stage
- Launch (Launch period)
This shipped together with other changes, so the result can't be credited to this alone.
“because in the app we say to the user, "If you invite three friends, you'll get a free makeup look." And the user would see the video, then download the app, see that they can share the code, and just come back to the video, rewatch it, and share the code in the comments. That really exploded the engagement.”
“And if they don't pay, they come back and they engage again with the post, which boosted it.”
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More from this episode
- GlowUp: Read TikTok comments in a big niche, post about the idea, then buildContent went viral; MVP hit 100K users in about 3 days. ~10 build-first apps had failed
- GlowUp: Set up a US TikTok account on a new iPhone and scroll your niche for 3 days firstPart of the playbook behind ~$800K; no separate numbers
- GlowUp: Copy a trending TikTok format with your app, once a day, then 4-6 times a dayMain acquisition engine; marketing cost can be $0
- GlowUp: Run 2-3 TikTok accounts per phone, up to 7 accounts at the peakFounder says more videos meant more money; no per-account numbers
- GlowUp: Add a download button to TikToks only after they pass 1,000 viewsMost downloads came through the link; adding it too early kills the video
- GlowUp: Ask for an App Store rating during onboarding, right before showing resultsUsers usually leave 5 stars, keeping ratings high; no numbers
- GlowUp: Charge $9.99 a week or $39.99 a year for unlimited use~70K paying customers; ~$800K in year one; no pricing test reported