Cardstock · B2C · sports card scanner app
Post brand-style TikToks (memes, silent pack openings) on the app's account
First videos got ~23 likes; viral ones brought no downloads without the app on screen
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What they did
Modeled on big-brand TikTok (Duolingo, Brita), Kyle and Jacob started posting on the Cardstock account with ring lights, mimicking dropshipping-style videos, memes and silent pack openings. The assumption was that growing the brand page would lead viewers to the link in bio.
What happened
Early videos got ~23 likes and no downloads; silent pack openings got views but didn't convert because the app wasn't shown. Learned that a growing brand page doesn't turn into downloads by itself.
- Stage
- channel search
- Effort
- Many formats tried over a long period
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Kyle Fowler - How I make $42k/mo passively with simple no-code apps (copy me)“We tried to like do a silent pack opening, 'cause we saw that one working, and we were able to like get some success there. But the thing is is like this didn't convert to downloads, because there's no like there's no app promo.”
“And it's like like 23 likes, you know? And there's no downloads.”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Cardstock
All 16 Cardstock tactics- Rebuild your working app for a nearby hobby, built in a day with AI$17K MRR and 3,400 subscribers in a year; more new customers a month than the original
- Build the app you wanted for your own hobby when the App Store has noneGrew into ~$75K MRR over six years
- Give creators TikTok slideshow templates to post and pay them by viewsFounder calls it their biggest success; no numbers given
- Bring in friends for a three-way revenue split and teach them to codeTeam of three grew to five; revenue from a few hundred a month to ~$1.5M a year
- Post on Reddit when the app is finishedFirst downloads came almost immediately; no numbers
More from this episode
- Cardstock: Post your app idea in the hobby's subreddit before building it10-15 people said they'd use it; later drove launch downloads
- Cardstock: Announce the launch in the same subreddit, linking your earlier idea post12 paid downloads (~$60) on launch day
- Cardstock: Make the app free to download and charge $5 a month instead of $4.99 onceBiggest revenue jump ever; growth took off from the 2021 switch
- Cardstock: Spend two weeks on keyword research, then put the best terms in your title#1 for 'baseball card scanner' for 2-3 years; ~$9-10K MRR with no marketing
- Cardstock: Film a valuable card, scan it with the app in hand, then reveal its priceFirst one hit 184K views; became the repeatable format behind the TikTok growth
- Cardstock: Hire a friend to figure out TikTok with you before paying an agencyFriend became the de facto CMO; knew enough to spot a good UGC agency later
- Cardstock: Show the paywall at first open, with a small hidden XMost subscriptions came from this first paywall, before people used the app
- Cardstock: Switch to a hard paywallRevenue reached ~$30K/month (alongside a Christmas TikTok spike)
- Scanemon: Put the app's name on the scanner screen so every video shows itFounder thinks it lifts conversion; no data yet
- Scanemon: Post card-collecting tips slideshows from an account with an AI-made girl avatarSeveral posts over 100K views; the format then scaled through paid creators
- Cardstock: Pay creators about $1 per 1,000 views to post your slideshow template~7,600 posts in a month for $2,600, about $1 CPM; biggest recent growth driver