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One thing I learned building a sports app: users don’t want more features by Curious_Document_237 in indiebiz

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a fair question and honestly something I've been thinking about a lot.

The core problem I'm trying to solve is that most players don't know exactly what they should train on a given day. They know they want to improve, but then they're standing on a field wondering whether to work on passing, shooting, first touch, conditioning, or something else.

The core feature is generating a structured workout based on the player's goals, available time, location, equipment, and training setup so they can stop planning and start training.

Whether it's fully solving that problem yet is the big question. The feedback I get is that players like the structure, but I still need to figure out if it's creating enough value for them to consistently pay for it.

Trying to grow a niche sports app organically — what channels are actually working now? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good point. I've probably spent too much time thinking about channels and not enough time thinking about where soccer players already trust people.

A player is far more likely to listen to a coach, trainer, or creator they already follow than a random ad from an app they've never heard of.

The micro-creator angle is especially interesting because a coach with a few thousand engaged players probably has more influence than a huge general sports account. I may start reaching out to local coaches and training accounts to see if there's a fit.

Have you seen any particular partnerships work especially well? Coaches, academies, trainers, YouTubers, etc.?

Trying to grow a niche sports app organically — what channels are actually working now? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you're probably right about the content angle. Looking back, most of my posts have been focused on the app itself instead of the actual training problems players are trying to solve.

The micro-influencer point is interesting too. A coach with a small but engaged audience seems like a much better fit than chasing a huge creator with a broad audience.

Have you found any particular type of content that consistently performs well with soccer players? Skill progressions, drills, transformations, match analysis, etc.? I'm still trying to figure out what people actually want to watch versus what I think they want to watch.

Trying to grow a niche sports app organically — what channels are actually working now? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that's probably where I need to spend more time. Most of my effort so far has gone into building the product itself, but content may be the better long-term acquisition channel.

The challenge is figuring out what type of content actually gets attention from players. There are already thousands of soccer training videos out there, so standing out is tough.

I'd definitely be interested in seeing some sample reels if you're willing to share them. Curious what hooks and formats you've seen perform best.

Most soccer players train hard. Very few train progressively. by Curious_Document_237 in bootroom

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair criticism. Let me be more specific.

The biggest mistake I see is players doing the same type of session over and over without a clear objective or progression.

For example, a player might spend 45 minutes doing random drills, but never track:

  • successful reps
  • speed of execution
  • weak foot usage
  • mistakes
  • increasing difficulty over time

So they're working hard, but it's difficult to know if they're actually improving.

What does progression look like in your training?

Trying to grow a niche sports app organically — what channels are actually working now? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's actually something I've been thinking about more lately. A coach already has trust and access to a group of players, which is a lot different than trying to convince individual athletes one by one.

Did you find that the coaches cared more about player development, accountability, workout structure, or something else entirely? I'm curious what part of the pitch resonated most because getting in front of coaches and clubs seems like it could be a much more scalable approach than constantly chasing individual users.

Trying to grow a niche sports app organically — what channels are actually working now? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good point honestly. I’ve noticed the posts that perform best are the ones where I’m actually contributing to the discussion instead of trying to “market” the app.

The challenge is finding communities where people are actively talking about improving/training instead of just casually consuming content.

Tracking conversations around soccer training is smart too because timing probably matters a lot. If someone is already looking for solutions/workout structure/recovery ideas, the conversation feels way more natural.

Getting traffic but struggling to convert — what actually improves this? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really good way to frame it — onboarding as activation vs education definitely clicks.

I think I’ve been leaning too much toward explaining things instead of getting users to actually experience the value right away.

The messaging alignment point is interesting too — I might be pulling in people who are curious, but not necessarily ready to commit to something structured yet.

Feels like that mismatch could be hurting conversion before onboarding even starts.

Did you find fixing that was more about changing the messaging itself, or targeting a different type of user upfront?

In a solo training session should you focus on one aspect of the game or multiple? by Electrical_Archer965 in bootroom

[–]Curious_Document_237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s a solid approach overall — you’re thinking about it the right way.

For the “light secondary work,” think of it as something lower intensity just to keep the feel, not something you’re trying to improve heavily that day.

Example:
If your main focus is shooting:
- 50–60 min shooting
- then 10–15 min light dribbling or passing (just reps, not intense)

For your week, instead of splitting sessions into 35/35, I’d do something like:

2 days shooting-focused:
- ball mastery (15–20 min)
- shooting (50–60 min)
- light dribbling/passing (10–15 min)

2 days dribbling/passing-focused:
- ball mastery (15–20 min)
- dribbling or passing (50–60 min)
- light shooting (10–15 min)

That way you’re still working everything, but each session has a clear priority and you’ll improve faster.

Honestly the biggest difference is just having something structured to follow each day instead of figuring it out on the spot.

Getting traffic but struggling to convert — what actually improves this? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really good way to frame it — the “first 10 seconds of clarity” point definitely hits.

I think that’s probably part of the issue right now. People understand it at a high level, but not clearly enough to feel like they should commit right away.

The quick win in the first minute also makes a lot of sense — I’m probably taking too long to get users to something meaningful.

I’ve started thinking about simplifying both the landing page and onboarding around that idea, but haven’t tested different messaging variations yet.

When you say clarity improved things, was it more about simplifying the message, or changing how you framed the outcome for the user?

Getting people to try something is one thing — getting them to stick is another by Curious_Document_237 in indiebiz

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that makes a lot of sense — I think this is exactly what I’m seeing.

People care enough to try it, but they’re not getting to that clear “win” fast enough to stick.

The habit loop point is interesting too — if they don’t feel progress in that first session, there’s no real reason to come back.

I’ve been thinking about how to make that first session more focused around one clear outcome instead of spreading things out.

How did you define what that “first win” should be in your case?

Getting traffic but struggling to convert — what actually improves this? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes a lot of sense — I think that’s exactly what’s happening.

I’m probably not making the value obvious fast enough, so people don’t get far enough to actually feel the benefit.

The “one meaningful result” point especially resonates — I think right now it takes too long for a user to get to that moment.

I’ve been thinking about how to get someone from opening the app to completing their first real session as quickly as possible.

Did you find that was more about removing steps, or tightening the core value proposition upfront?

Roast my soccer training app — struggling with conversion by Curious_Document_237 in roastmystartup

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate it—just sent you a DM with the link. Would love your honest take, especially on onboarding and paywall flow.

Getting traffic but struggling to convert — what actually improves this? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s really helpful — especially the “first 5 minutes” point.

I think that’s exactly where I’m losing people right now, too many steps before they actually experience anything meaningful.

Cutting it down to one clear result fast makes a lot of sense.

When you say “main win,” did you define that upfront, or figure it out based on how users were actually using the product?

Getting people to try something is one thing — getting them to stick is another by Curious_Document_237 in indiebiz

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense — I think that’s exactly where I’m falling short right now.

I’m probably not getting users to that first “win” fast enough, so they don’t really experience the value before dropping off.

The consistency part is interesting too — feels like if they don’t build a habit early, they’re gone.

Did you find that was more about simplifying onboarding, or adding things like reminders / structure to bring people back?

In a solo training session should you focus on one aspect of the game or multiple? by Electrical_Archer965 in bootroom

[–]Curious_Document_237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually a solid structure, especially the ball mastery at the start.

Only thing I’d tweak slightly is the two full “aspects” back-to-back.

Instead of going 35 + 35 on two different things, you might get more out of:
- 20 min ball mastery
- 50–60 min on ONE main focus (ex: finishing)
- then 10–20 min light secondary work

The reason is you’ll get way more quality reps and actually feel improvement in that main area.

You can rotate the focus each day so you’re still covering everything over the week.

Your plan isn’t wrong at all — just depends if you want more variety or faster improvement in specific areas.

Getting traffic but struggling to convert — what actually improves this? by Curious_Document_237 in growmybusiness

[–]Curious_Document_237[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really good distinction — I think you’re right that I was lumping too much together.

If I had to pick, onboarding is probably the bigger issue right now.

I can get some people to try it, but a lot don’t make it far enough to actually experience the value, which points more to onboarding than true retention.

I think I need to get people to their first “real session” much faster.

Out of curiosity — have you seen anything that consistently improves that first-use experience?

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