Bickster · B2C · small app studio
Build quick AI-coded versions of several app ideas; keep the one that sells
Unknownvalidationfeature-development
What they did
Treat app concepts like UA creatives: use AI code generation to build a 'minimal believable product' (a bit more than an MVP so users believe it) for several angles (e.g. running app: weight loss / beginners / 5K), sell each angle in UA, and invest in whichever makes the most money. Flow: pick an angle -> build -> ASO -> UA -> paywall -> decision.
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Turn a $5.99 paid app into a free download with a subscriptionRevenue jumped from ~$200/day to ~$2,000/day overnight
- Bickster: Sell lifetime access instead of subscriptions unless the app has real running costsWorks well across their apps; subscriptions drew complaints on one
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Offer $59.99 lifetime or $39.99/year with a 3-day trial on a closable paywall~6% of installs buy; best revenue per 1,000 users of the variants tested
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Keep installs about half organic, half paid; fund only channels returning 2-3xOn track for ~110K MRR
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Use Apple Search Ads only if the cost per install fits your numbersBest paid channel for this app; too pricey for many of their others
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Run Google and Bing search ads and feed sales back to them every nightTwo of the three main paid channels; Bing small but profitable
- Bickster: Test a one-screen landing page against sending search clicks straight to the App StoreDepends on the app; no general rule
- Test lifetime prices from $4.99 up to $49.99 at fixed ad spend to find the ceiling$29.99 beat $49.99 on day-one revenue; a later $39.99 now beats $29.99
- Chatster: Spin off an AI Bible app for chat users who asked religious questionsSold at $29.99 lifetime with little effort; ads near break-even
- Launch with a hard paywall, one offer and no free trialOne offer gave the clearest pricing lessons
- Test with exact-keyword Apple Search Ads, then scale on MetaMeta converted even better than Apple Search Ads
- Bickster: Set Meta ads to find buyers, not installs, and test videos at ~$500/dayInstall-to-purchase rose from ~6% to ~18-20%
- Title the App Store page with plain search terms and put the brand last
- Test app icons first, including wildly different versionsGuest says icons move conversion most; no numbers
- Bickster: Test dropping the onboarding screens entirelyNo onboarding won in several apps; even one welcome screen hurt
- Bickster: Use Adapty to change prices and paywalls without an app update
- Chatster: Show one offer on the paywall with a 'view all plans' link
- Bickster: Lay out paywall plans side by side instead of stacked~2 points higher conversion (guest unsure of the exact number)
- Bickster: Skip paid attribution tools; use Meta's own numbers, in-house tracking and Mixpanel
- Put a hard paywall with one lifetime price on an app ranking in search
- Run Meta ads at ~$150/day for a fitness app for people 65+Nobody bought after $3-5K; buyers came from App Store search