Coconote · B2C · AI note-taker for students
Track each creator's results with a dedicated tool (viral.app)
Only one of 5-6 tools tried that worked for them
What they did
What happened
In their words
Brett Bauman & Zack Hargett - COPY this ai app's $6.7m/yr marketing strategy
Brett Bauman… fan of Ladder as a business and an app. I think that um they're doing really cool stuff and doing doing, I I would say, consumer very differently than um than what's more common as far as UGC and like utilizing influencers. What uh if you haven't used Ladder before, it's a a workout app, but when I'm in it, I'm I'm working out hearing this um coach in my ear and it basically feels like it's his app, um rather than some uh like corporate entity.
Zack HargettI tried five or six tools to measure the success of our content creators, and I was disappointed in every single one of them, until I found a product called Viral App. It's viral.app. And I've gotten to know the founders, and I think they're fantastic group of guys, and they really get it. They really understand how to build great software for people that are building out a UGC or a creator program, like we are with Coconote and Quizlet. You know, truly the aha moment for me was finally someone that can build great software solving a very obvious problem for us, which is tracking, managing, and optimizing our program.
Joseph ChoiI wonder if this gave you guys inspiration at all for like, what is the future of these wow moments? If you were to build um a a brand new product from scratch, or even like add a brand new feature to Coco, is there other types of wow moments that you feel like people should be focusing on?
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Build a novelty free tool (text to brainrot video) and push it on TikTok100-200M views and 3,000 trials in days, but only ~$25K revenue
- Post short videos that show the app solving a real student problemSeveral ~20M-view videos, ~99% organic, converting far better than viral novelty content
- Mix a known game (2048) with studying and promote a catchy URL in videosOne video reached ~2M views; no conversion numbers
- Build hidden app screens only creators use, made to look good on cameraUsed in the 18M-view video; no separate numbers
- Keep a small team of 10-12 part-time creators, led by a proven oneLead creator drove hundreds of millions of views; founders say it worked
- Recruit creators who aren't influencers via Handshake, DMs, email and referralsA Spanish tutor with no content experience became a top creator in 9 months
- Double onboarding from 5 to about 13 screens in one big changeTrial conversion up 16%; one-or-two-screen tests had only given small wins
- Let people pay before creating an account; move login after the paywallFounder calls it significant; no separate number
- Let users record a whole lecture before asking them to payCalled a big win; no number given
- Put a little ad money behind organic videos that already went viralNot much success; ~99% of views stayed organic
- Pitch the app as great for ADHD in videos and the first App Store screenshotUsers say it helps their ADHD; no numbers
- When trial users cancel, offer them 7 more free daysKeeps 27% of cancellers in their trial; a smaller share later pay
- Hire an investment bank to run the sale so you keep buildingSold to Quizlet ~18 months after launch; bank ran it end to end
- Hire engineers who can also do backend or a second platformSmall engineering team ships a lot; with 50%+ EBITDA margins
- Post creator-style TikToks and Reels to drive app signupsHundreds of thousands of signups for an earlier app
Tags: creator-analytics