Rootd · panic attack relief app
Give the app a mascot that starts scary and gets friendlier as users improve
Users treat the mascot as a friend; no usage numbers
Workedretentionpositioning-niche
What they did
Mascot Ron represents anxiety and panic attacks: scary at first, drawn more smiley and welcoming as users progress (based on the CBT idea of getting to know what scares you). His emotions are used in the journaling mood picker. Planned next: Ron on the home screen with a mood you care for Tamagotchi-style by completing self-care daily missions (breathing, journaling, visualization) that already earn points. Merch (mugs, stickers, pins, pillow) sold via Teespring.
What happened
Users personify Ron; some call him their friend who is there for them at night. Many write in asking for more ways to interact with him.
- Stage
- growth
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Hitting 2M Downloads Without Funding, Employees, or Learning to Code — Ania Wysocka, Rootd“So, Ron is meant to represent anxiety and panic attacks itself.”
“And users actually personify Ron quite a bit. Some people say that he's their friend, he's there for them at night.”
“In the future, what it'll be is Ron will be on the home page, and he will have a mood, and you'll be able to sort of take care of him, kind of Tamagotchi style.”
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 Rootd
All 25 Rootd tactics- Go after 'panic attack' first, then climb to 'anxiety relief'Now #2 for 'anxiety relief' and #1 for 'anxiety' (search score 36)
- Show the paywall during onboarding, with a close buttonRevenue doubled
- Read reviews of rival apps to find the gap, then ship a rough first versionFirst few hundred users asked her to keep going despite bugs
- Spend hours writing helpful replies on anxiety posts, with a link to the appNamed her top growth tactic; no numbers
- Cold-email journalists who write about mental health, telling your own storyFew replies, but features in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health and Time
- Make the app deliver what searchers want so reviews repeat your keywordsFounder calls it a strong App Store presence; no numbers
More from this episode
- Rootd: Target the low-volume 'panic attack' keyword instead of the crowded 'anxiety'Now #1 for 'panic attacks' and #2-3 for 'anxiety'; glowing reviews from day one
- Rootd: Hire an outside ASO contractor to manage App Store keywordsRankings fell from #2 to tanking; recovered only after reverting to her own keywords
- Rootd: Run a small Apple Search Ads budget on your brand name and 'panic attack' termsFounder says it has worked; spend kept at bare minimum so far
- Rootd: Show the paywall at the start of onboarding instead of hiding itRevenue up 5x with almost no negative feedback
- Rootd: Ask new users to set a daily reminder during onboardingSetting a reminder is one of the strongest signs a user will stay
- Rootd: Send new users a daily quote by push for 7 days, then make it paidReceived very positively, per founder; no numbers
- Rootd: Launch on World Mental Health Day and pitch local journalists firstBrought the first few hundred users; later list placements fed bigger press
- Rootd: Plan a year of monthly feature stories, each with press and an App Store eventEach moves the needle a little; no single spike, bumps fade
- Rootd: Keep sending Apple feature requests; about 15 tries before the first yesFeatured, later Editor's Choice; big jumps in browse installs, especially when featured in the US
- Rootd: Hire a local ad agency to run paid ads before the paywall was fixedLost money; founder says she tried too early
- Rootd: Hit trial-conversion targets and drop required email sign-up before buying ads again
- Rootd: Ask users to share the app right after it calms a panic attackBiggest share rate after the success screen; founder calls sharing a big growth driver
- Rootd: Drop email marketing and keep in touch with users by push insteadEmail cost more than it earned, so it was dropped
- Rootd: Try lower prices country by country to earn more from Android usersNo clear win; subscription uptake stays low in those markets
- Rootd: Sell premium access to health insurers and veterans groups for their members