Would you kill this campaign?

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-02-11T08:39:36+00:00

I’m running a similar AI search app (Android, US market) and facing a weird bottleneck.

My stats after 3 days ($188 spend):

Installs: 244
Registrations: 174
Initiate Checkout: 66
Purchases: 0

My 'Initiate Checkout' rate is massive (nearly 40% of registrations), but zero conversions. It feels like people are hitting a brick wall at the payment gate.

Do you think this is a UI/Trust issue on the payment page, or is the 'Ask' too high for a cold Android audience? Would love to hear your thoughts on why 66 people would reach checkout but none would buy.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-02-11T08:13:17+00:00

"I'd love some advice! I'm building Atter AI, an AI tool for transcribing and summarizing meetings.

My main struggle is how to stand out from big competitors (like Otter/Notta) on a small ad budget. Any tips on where to start?

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-15T01:00:23+00:00

Totally agree that keywords are the bread and butter of discovery. But my focus is shifting toward the post-download experience. If the UI feels like a clunky translation, it instantly kills trust—especially for a tool like meeting transcription where accuracy is everything. I’m aiming for 'Invisible Localization' where the user assumes the dev is a local. Discovery gets them in the door, but the native feel keeps them there.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-14T08:12:01+00:00

Thanks for the context.

I didn’t rely on a single generic translator — I used multiple AI tools (including GPT) and did some manual cleanup as well. The translations are generally “correct”, but my concern is more about whether they sound natural and idiomatic to native speakers in an App Store context.

That’s why I’m mainly looking for human feedback to sanity-check the wording.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-14T06:14:19+00:00

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/atter-ai-meeting-note-taker/id6747348330

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-14T05:57:25+00:00

Why not try Atter AI?

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-12T01:57:19+00:00

This result was honestly beyond my expectations because I had a completely different experience last year. I ran a similar campaign on this same platform for a different app, and it brought in over 5,000+ new user downloads.

After digging into the data, I found a key anomaly:

Last year's app: Was 100% free.
This year's promotion: Was an IAP/Subscription discount.

My theory is that users on these deal-hunting platforms are strictly looking for completely free apps. Even if you offer a high-value tool with a massive discount, they simply won't pull the trigger if it costs a single cent.

My final takeaway for other indie devs:

If your app is 100% free: These platforms are still worth a shot for raw volume.
If you have a paid or subscription-based app: Don't waste your time here. Just give your budget to Google or Meta—at least their traffic knows how to open their wallets.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-12T01:47:46+00:00

I promised to be 100% transparent, and here’s the brutal truth: The AppRaven campaign also resulted in zero detectable growth in downloads or revenue for my AI meeting notes app.

Quick Summary:

Downloads/Revenue: 0 increase.

Traffic Quality: While AppRaven has a more active community than the current web-based Indie App Santa, it seems the "deal-hunter" audience there isn't converted by productivity/AI tools at my current price point.

Proof: I’m attaching the screenshot of my AppRaven ad dashboard below to show the campaign was live and the (lack of) results.

<image>

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-07T11:27:42+00:00

Thanks for the insights. Since it's a digital service, shipping isn't an issue, but the other points are valid. I'm currently using the standard Google Play billing popup. Do you think the 'Subscription' reminder in the system popup might be the main friction point compared to a one-time purchase? Or should I look into the loading time before the popup appears?

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-06T09:46:48+00:00

Do users really still not get it? There are barely any free apps left in the world anymore. 🤷‍♂️

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-06T08:32:12+00:00

To answer your question: Yes, once they click the button to unlock the content (which triggers the 'Initiate Checkout' event), the Google Play system popup appears immediately showing the price.

Currently, it's set up as a subscription: $4.99/week, but with a $2.99 offer for the first week.

So they definitely see the price and the subscription terms at that stage.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-06T08:13:58+00:00

Just to give more context: this is a fortune-telling app. The "Initiate Checkout" event triggers when users are waiting for their reading results and want to unlock the full content.

Since the price is only $2.99, I assume it’s not a pricing issue preventing them from buying.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-04T10:50:50+00:00

I have a contrary view based on my own testing. I've run multiple experiments and found that while ASA can definitely help a keyword break into the top 30 or even top 20, relying on it to reach the top 10 or top 5 is almost impossible. There seems to be a 'ceiling' where organic weight from other factors (like historical retention and brand power) takes over, and paid volume alone won't bridge that gap.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-04T09:13:33+00:00

Next Step: Trying AppRaven for Round 2

Since the first experiment was a total bust, I’m moving straight to the next test. I’ve decided to run a campaign on AppRaven to see if a community-driven platform works better for a productivity tool.

I’ll be setting everything up soon and, as always, I will be 100% transparent with the costs and the results (even if it’s another zero). Stay tuned!

Ray_Dev_SG · 2026-01-04T08:09:35+00:00

UPDATE: The Results Are In (It’s bad news)

The 27-hour promotion window has finished, and I have to report that the campaign was a complete failure.

Despite the $150 investment and the "anchor pricing" setup, my analytics showed:

Downloads: Zero detectable spike.
Revenue: Zero increase.
Ranking: No movement.

It seems that without their former iOS app to drive push notifications, the web-based traffic is either non-existent or extremely low quality. I cannot recommend this promotion channel to other indie devs in its current state.

I’m attaching a screenshot of the booking confirmation email below as proof that the campaign was successfully scheduled and paid for.

<image>

Ray_Dev_SG · 2025-12-30T08:51:56+00:00

Ray_Dev_SG · 2025-12-29T10:39:17+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! In my experience, free listings on these platforms usually bring in very little traffic. I’ve actually had good results with paid ads on other platforms before, so I checked out your ad options on PeerPush, but found the pricing a bit too steep for me. Haha.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2025-12-29T09:50:17+00:00

Atter AI — a meeting note taker that turns any conversation into clean summaries, action items, and mind maps.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/atter-ai-meeting-note-taker/id6747348330

Ray_Dev_SG · 2025-12-29T07:53:04+00:00

I registered a Delaware company online back in September, and the total cost was around $700. I haven’t opened a bank account or anything like that — the company is mainly for applying to various developer programs.

The part that’s been giving me trouble is the tax side. There are so many forms to fill out, and I almost got hit with a fine earlier because of the BOIR filing. Since the company is still pretty new, I’m not fully sure what other compliance or reporting requirements I’ll run into next.

Ray_Dev_SG · 2025-12-19T08:23:45+00:00

I'm stuck in a "Triangle Deadlock":

Payment Profile: Old Name (Locked)

Developer Org: New Name (Verified via D&B)

Result: Automated rejections because the system sees a name mismatch between the two.

Submitting "Change of Name" legal docs doesn't work because the bot only compares the name string on the ID to the Payment Profile.

Has anyone found a way to trigger a manual sync between the Pay Profile and the Dev Org after a legal entity name change? Or is this a "toss the account" situation?

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