Users and growth
How to get the first users for your app
Your first users rarely arrive on their own. Define a clear audience, choose a channel and learn what makes people stay.
The short answer
Start narrow: find people with a strong need, give them a specific reason to try the app and follow them through to a useful result. Scale marketing when the right users activate and return, not simply when installs increase.
1. Choose the audience to win first
An app does not need to serve everyone to get a strong start. Pick a group you can reach and understand. “Small trades businesses losing track of jobs” offers more actionable possibilities than “anyone who wants to be more productive”.
Describe the situation in which the need is strongest. What prompts people to look for a solution? Which words do they use? Make your ad, website and store listing respond to the same situation so the promise remains recognisable throughout the journey.
2. Recruit the first users manually
Start with a small group you can follow up with personally. Relevant networks, professional communities, partners and direct conversations can produce better learning than broad advertising. Present one specific use case and ask to observe what happens when people try it.
Do not confuse polite interest with actual use. Someone who likes your idea may not have a problem it solves. Look for behaviour: do they complete a task, use the result and return without a personal reminder?
Arrange a short follow-up. Ask what was unclear and what they did instead if they stopped. Their answers can give you better marketing language and a clearer next product decision.
3. Test one channel with a clear promise
Choose a channel based on where your audience already searches or spends time. Search ads may suit an existing search for a solution. Educational content and partnerships may work when the need requires explanation. A consumer app can have very different natural channels from a workplace tool.
Run a bounded experiment with a budget, a time window and a criterion for continuing. Test the message and audience before adding more channels. You will have a better chance of understanding what contributed, rather than spreading a small budget too thinly to learn.
Your store description and screenshots should make the benefit clear. Apple provides guidance on presenting a product page. Treat the listing as part of the user journey and keep its promise consistent with the ad.
4. Measure the journey to value, not just installs
Define an activation event that indicates a useful outcome. For a planning app, that might mean creating and actually using a plan. For a booking app, it could be a confirmed first booking. Choose an event that makes sense for your product.
Track whether people return at a frequency appropriate to their need. Daily use is not a sensible goal for every app. Compare cohorts that started in the same period and through the same channel, so a traffic change is not mistaken for a product improvement.
- The share of new users who complete the activation event.
- Cost per activated user, alongside cost per install.
- Repeat use and eventual payments over a relevant period.
5. Make a simple four-week plan
Week one: narrow the audience, talk to potential users and select your activation event. Week two: invite a small group and observe the entire first-use experience. Week three: fix the clearest friction and test one message in one channel. Week four: review cost, usage and feedback before increasing investment.
This is an example working rhythm, not a growth guarantee. If people leave before receiving value, your next investment may belong in the product. If users stay but few discover the app, you have a stronger basis for investing in distribution.
Common questions
How much should I spend on ads?
Start with an amount you can use to test a specific hypothesis. A universal starting budget is not useful without an audience, price and conversion model. Increase spending when you understand what it costs to acquire users who receive real value.
Are lots of downloads a good sign?
They show people are trying the app, but not whether it works for them. Consider downloads alongside activation, repeat use, feedback and profitability. A small relevant audience can teach you more than a large campaign.