Hily · B2C · dating app
Launch a dating app in California only, then add Texas, to keep users close
CAC ran about 3x LTV for 6-9 months; didn't fix economics alone
Mixedmarket-selectionpaid-social
What they did
Because dating depends on user density, the 2017 launch concentrated performance-marketing spend in California, then added Texas for more user variety and a chance at lower CAC. Only after finding Snapchat did they scale to the whole US.
What happened
CAC to LTV was 3:1 the wrong way; 6-9 months of work to improve it before bold changes.
- Stage
- launch
Related topics
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More from Hily
All 24 Hily tacticsMore from this episode
- Hily: Launch a test every day and review yesterday's results together each morningCredited with finding the winning channel and reaching positive unit economics
- Hily: Let people into the app only after they pay
- Hily: Put most ad spend on Snapchat with creator videos made for SnapchatMuch lower CAC than other channels; 1-1.5M downloads a month until rivals copied
- Hily: Use a long quiz-style onboarding that personalizes the app, then sellGuest says it still works eight years later; lifted early LTV
- Hily: Ask dating users to sign up first instead of pitching or letting them browsePitch screens and account-free browsing both converted worse than plain signup
- Hily: Add short 'Nice to meet you' and 'Awesome' cheers between onboarding stepsRaised the share of users finishing onboarding; no numbers
- Hily: Add livestreaming to a dating app after paid growth stallsWeak traction and lost focus; dropped after about 1-1.5 years
- Hily: Cut side features and focus everything on better matches and dates20-40% yearly growth in daily users and revenue; top 3 US dating downloads
- Hily: Sell a cheap one-time 'be seen 10x more' boost right after onboardingWorked better than folding the boost into the subscription; no numbers
- Hily: Show a 'visibility: low' badge on the home screen that opens a boost offerGuest says intent-matched offers convert much better than generic 'buy' screens
- Hily: Change the app icon now and then for seasons and holidaysBrings extra organic installs and spikes in returning users each time
- Hily: Draw a notification badge on the app icon (no longer allowed)Raised conversion 'like crazy'; now prohibited by the stores
- Hily: Add invite-a-friend and sharing features to a dating appDidn't work; people won't share dating apps via links
- Hily: Work on when and how you ask for push permission, and explain the benefitHigher opt-in drove retention, guest says; no numbers
- Hily: Pause pushes after 4 ignored in a row; tailor over 30 push rules
- Hily: Send pushes about real events like 'someone liked you', not generic come-back offersGeneric promotional pushes did 4-5x worse than real-event pushes
- Hily: Show lapsed users to more people so real likes bring them backGuest says matching tweaks drive retention; no numbers
- Hily: Add a Discover tab of themed profile collections and push them daily
- Hily: Hide extra profile details until users add their own photos and infoGuest says it works fine; no numbers
- Hily: Make separate store pages for each ad channel, gender and search keyword
- Hily: Ask for a rating only after someone sends a like or a messageWorks well for them, guest says; no numbers
- Run Google Play in-app events to show up twice in search resultsGot a second search placement besides the organic listing