Sharing iOS-centered, practical thoughts on product, distribution, acquisitions, and more
Joined September 2021
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74. The Creative Library
A creative library can be a distribution asset. It holds more than finished videos:
- hooks that worked
- hooks that failed
- performance data for each one
- creator briefs
- raw footage
- edit notes
- comments mined for angles
- landing pages used with each angle
The data shows what the market has already taught you. Going forward, it lets you repeat what worked, skip what failed and test new angles faster.
73. Fix The Leak First
More users is not always the priority.
If qualified users reach the paywall but do not subscribe, or subscribe and then cancel, the bucket is leaking. The leak may be onboarding, the paywall, pricing, the feature set or retention. More traffic only refills a bucket that keeps draining.
Fix the leak before spending more on growth.
72. Flooding A Niche
Some operators flood a niche with copycat apps, spread across different entities and accounts.
It can work for a while. But Apple has little patience for this approach, and enforcement against copycats can be sudden and unforgiving.
Adding more apps does not make a business more sustainable. It is swimming against the current.
71. Competitor Reviews
These are market intelligence.
5-star reviews show what users already value enough to praise publicly. 1 and 2-star reviews show where users are underserved or what they care about the most.
Use them for your positioning, differentiation and roadmap prioritization.
70. Discount Referrals
If the only reason users share is a discount, look closely at who the referrals bring in.
They may come from weaker markets and be more cost sensitive. Put referred users in their own cohort and compare them with everyone else. Then check what each user costs and brings in after the reward.
What you find may even point you to changing the price in some storefronts.
69. Dropping An iOS Version
Before dropping support for an iOS version, weigh both sides.
Keeping it costs:
- code branching
- extra testing
- limits on newer APIs
- slower performance work
Dropping it costs:
- users left on the old version get no new features or fixes, so they have fewer reasons to stay
- the subscribers and revenue on that version
Supporting every version can make business sense, so evaluate carefully.
68. Watch Organizer
Xcode Organizer metrics should be monitored on every release.
The data can take time to arrive. If you have no other tool that shows it sooner, Organizer is where to look.
A regression in something like launch time reaches every user, new and returning. That makes it a business problem.
67. App Store Levers
The App Store has more growth levers than just screenshots.
These are all there to use:
- Apple Ads: reach people while they search
- Custom Product Pages: match the page to what brought them in
- Product Page Optimization: test icons, screenshots and videos
- In-App Events: give people a reason to open or return
- Offers: convert hesitant users or win back cancelled ones
- App Analytics: learn from your own data
- And more
How many of these have you actually tested?
66. Why Users Share
Think about your app's sharing feature. Why would users use it?
What does the sender get: status, money, help, belonging, proof of progress? What about the receiver(s)?
If only one side benefits, the loop is likely weak. A sharing feature becomes a growth loop when everyone in the chain has a reason to take part.
65. App Size
App size is a growth detail people ignore.
A heavy app takes longer to download, uses more storage and gives people more time to hesitate before trying it.
The wait from download to install matters most on slow connections, and on mobile data in regions where data is expensive.
Before buying an app, ask: is the bundle too heavy? Can it be lightened? For example, could videos, audio or extra packs be downloaded after install instead of bundled?
Great news for small businesses! 🚀
Apple has lowered its commission in the EU. As of October 1st, you can run your own checkout right inside your iOS app and pay as little as 10%. However, Apple needs to review your purchase flow, and you have to report every transaction back to them.
In this video, @RhysKentish walks through what's changed, what Apple now expects from you, and how we handle the checkout, the paywall buttons and the reporting.
Apple's new EU commission rates:
• Apple In-App Purchase: 26% (15% reduced)
• Your own checkout inside the app: 20% (10% reduced)
• Link out to the web: 15% (10% reduced)
The reduced rate applies to Small Business Program members, some Apple partner programs, and subscriptions after their first year.
🧪 Join the in-app checkout beta: revenuecateventfeedback.type…
65. Account Warmup
Some operators spend weeks warming up TikTok accounts before posting any app content.
If that account drives the installs, you are buying the account too, and moving it is risky. Posting from a different region can change who sees the content.
If you plan to start fresh instead, test it first. Do the winning formats work on a new account?
A format that only works on the old account is not a repeatable system.
64. Paid Test Before You Buy
"100% organic" can be hard to prove from the outside.
If the ticket is big enough, ask the seller if you can fund some paid campaigns yourself before you buy. Even a small budget shows you the CAC on each channel. Put that next to LTV and you can see whether the economics hold.
Knowing which levers you can pull, and what each one costs, can move the price you are willing to pay.
63. Fit Before Features
Listen to what your users say, wherever they say it. TikTok comments, App Store reviews, support tickets, search demand.
Then ask whether the request fits what the app promises. If it does, it belongs on the roadmap. If it does not, it is a good reason to say no.
An app that tries to be everything at once ends up clear about nothing.
62. Refund Signals
Apple lets developers send usage data when a customer requests a refund. It's called consumption information, and it factors into Apple's decision.
Most apps never send it. Compiling engagement data by hand for every refund case isn't worth a founder's time.
Tools like RevenueCat now automate this: they compile the data and report it to Apple automatically, so refund cases get decided with real usage evidence instead of none.
61. Apple Rules
The founders who survive platform risk treat Apple's rules proactively, not reactively.
You may disagree with them, but trying to outsmart them can backfire permanently.
The ones who lost apps, accounts and years of work usually only started caring after a rejection or a ban.
60. The Customer Support Green Flag
A well-run support process can feel like an asset to leverage.
It shows:
- what users ask
- how refunds are handled
- what can be delegated
- what should be automated
- where the product needs work
Good support makes operations visible, and for someone looking to buy, that visibility de-risks the deal, brings transparency, and enhances its potential.
59. AI Search Proof
If you want AI tools to recommend your app, the internet needs proof.
Not just a landing page.
Proof can be:
- clear use cases
- reviews
- comparisons
- FAQs
- support docs
- App Store metadata
- user discussions
LLMs need source material to trust.
58. The Support Operator
The CS hire matters more than people think. The best ones know the product, understand the brand, and know how to communicate across users' cultures and languages.
They're representing the brand and, for a lot of users, that conversation is the first real human contact with it.
Get it wrong, and it's the one interaction they'll remember and act on.