Momego · B2C · live bus and train times app
Switch from in-app ads to subscriptions
Growth really took off; ad income had fallen after pandemic CPMs crashed
Workedpricingad-monetization
What they did
After ~7 years ad-based (AdMob, ~$10K/month pre-pandemic, then CPMs crashed at the same impressions), moved to subscriptions in 2021; ads remain only to cover free users' costs.
What happened
'That's when things really took off.'
- Stage
- Scale (~5 years after launch)
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Momego
All 21 Momego tacticsMore from this episode
- Momego: Bid on city keywords like 'Chicago bus times' that big rivals ignoreFounder says it found profitable keywords; took a few months of testing
- Momego: Change only the first screenshot to name the city for each ad groupFounder says it raises tap-through and lowers cost per install; no numbers
- Momego: Switch your App Store country, then mine top charts and autocomplete for keywordsFounder says it gives a full keyword list per country and city; no numbers
- Momego: Keep only ad keywords that return $1.20 per $1 within 3 monthsShows taps, trials and paid users per keyword without an MMP
- Momego: Add city-by-city Q&As to your App Store description so chatbots quote it
- Momego: Publish free live bus times on a fast website that advertises the app~1,200 ChatGPT lookups and 70-75 app downloads a day
- Momego: Test different screenshots in each country instead of just translating the textFound local winners (widgets in Italy, reviews in the Netherlands); most tests failed
- Momego: Lower prices outside the US, UK and Canada to match local buying powerTrial conversions +17% and revenue +23% in a 3-month 50/50 test
- Momego: Show $25 instead of $24.99 on the paywallAdds a few points of conversion, founder says; only works for two-digit prices
- Momego: Keep onboarding short and show benefits, not features or app screensWon after ~30 A/B tests; long question-heavy onboarding made people quit
- Momego: Replace the monthly plan with a weekly plan sold as 'pay as you go'Trial start rate almost doubled in an A/B test; revenue up significantly
- Momego: Give 7 free premium days to people who close the paywallPaid conversion after closing the paywall rose from 0.4% to 4.5%
- Momego: Add a permanent button with short videos showing how to add the widgetFounder says it makes a big difference; no numbers
- Momego: Let riders share a live trip link that opens on the web without the appFounder says people love it; no numbers
- Momego: When someone cancels, send reminders 5 and 2 days before access endsFounder says reminders win some back; no numbers
- Momego: Ask for a rating the first time a user sees their bus movingHis most reliable method; keeps ratings coming in
- Momego: Put extra US keywords in the Mexican Spanish or Vietnamese title and subtitleFounder says US rankings for those keywords rise; no numbers
- Momego: Use a bright color for the icon and screenshots so they stand outFounder says it stops people scrolling; no numbers
- Momego: Run a free-download promo and ask for ratings after users finish a taskFounder tried it and believes it still works; no numbers
- Rank #1 for dozens of tiny keywords almost nobody searches#1 for 90 popularity-5 keywords; $3-5K a month
- Run Apple Search Ads for a paid-upfront appScaled from about $1K to $10K a month, the host says