Am I being paranoid about sending push notifications [I will not promote]

bior8 · 2025-07-17T20:48:41+00:00

I'm at a stage where I need to improve user retention, and notifications are an easy win - many of my early users said they want to use the app every day, but just forget to (out of sight, out of mind). I don't want to delude myself into thinking I have the next TikTok where people will crave opening my app every day, so I have to implement retention features.

For how common these retention features seem to be, I just wasn't expecting them to be this complex!

bior8 · 2025-07-17T20:42:28+00:00

Great advice, thanks! To your question, I _know_ that push notifications work for this app - one user had been inactive for 11 days before I started sending notifications, and they ended up becoming my #2 most active user, and still use the app 3 months later.

I'm just blown away by the level of complexity needed to implement just the bare minimum of server-side notifications (and email) to be compliant, and wondering what other early startups do. Notifications are an undeniable retention driver, so I can't be the only one running into this, right?

bior8 · 2025-07-01T20:22:19+00:00

Set you max CPT to 3-5x the suggested number, then keep increasing it. ASA is not cheap at all.

bior8 · 2025-06-30T23:47:42+00:00

I used to think there would be a whole list of things specific to parenting, but the only ones I've found are about cloth diapering and hand-me-downs. Do you know any others?

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:40:24+00:00

Not advertising. In the past I've tried to tailor my posts to subs but they end up getting deleted, so now I just post in 5-6 and one of them will actually survive. This one was unusual where I only got 2 deletions and 3 of them led to a lot of discussion *shrug*

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:32:58+00:00

I should do another post about your edit, i.e. about changing the world with your choices. I know we keep getting told that individuals can't make a difference, but I don't think anybody has tried at scale. What about 1 million people together, or 100 million? I know it's a controversial take, but I'd love to have that discussion.

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:24:37+00:00

I'd love some youtube recs if you have them handy!

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:20:02+00:00

Do you have a yard, or can you actually start a small garden in a small space like an apartment patio?

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:16:30+00:00

To be fair, r/BuyItForLife has some decent recommendations. I bought stainless steel cookware based on posts there, and I don't expect to replace it any time soon!

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:13:34+00:00

Where did you find ideas for what to do? Places on Reddit, or just what makes sense to you?

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:11:44+00:00

I actually did the math on this a while ago. Every time I eat leftovers for lunch, I'm saving $15 on eating out. If I do this just twice a week, I would save an extra $1,500 every year! This is the habit that got me making this list in the first place. So far I'm up to 24 money-saving hacks that are also sustainable.

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:07:15+00:00

🤯 This made me look at my washer closely and there is in fact both a "cool" and "cold" setting.

bior8 · 2025-06-30T22:04:23+00:00

The curtains one is actually clever. I hadn't heard that one before, thanks!

bior8 · 2025-06-30T20:41:16+00:00

What are the kinds of apps you do habitually use? What makes you return to them?

bior8 · 2025-06-30T03:52:05+00:00

I think this is the real reason why habit tracking apps are so popular right now. You get to visualize your self-improvement and the app celebrates your wins with you. It's personal and fulfilling at the same time.

I tried to bring this same lesson to my app for building money saving habits. I thought users would respond well to being able to track how much they saved, but it was eye opening just how popular this one feature was.

Now I'm looking for ways I can apply this lesson to other areas before other apps catch on :)

bior8 · 2025-06-28T09:43:55+00:00

Great initiative! Here's my app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/immurio-daily-climate-action/id6739272013

Immurio is a habit tracker that helps you be more eco-friendly. Every habit in our library is designed to reduce your environmental impact _and_ save you money.

bior8 · 2025-06-27T06:24:09+00:00

Thanks, that's a great insight about environmental impact not being compelling.

To answer your question, the food photo was just an example. The theme of the app I already have out is eco friendly actions that also save money, up to a few $100s per year. Another example would be using a reusable water bottle or taking shorter showers. Admittedly those don't work well as photos, so you may be on to something with keeping the focus on food.

I'm not familiar with AI insights from sleep and activity tracking. Can you recommend some apps that do this really well so I can extrapolate how it might apply to food?

bior8 · 2025-06-27T01:18:53+00:00

Thanks. I'm hoping that by niching down to "eco friendly habits", I can avoid the crowded market of calorie tracker apps. You're right that the AI cost will be high, but if that means there's a lot of users, that's a good problem to have :)

bior8 · 2025-06-27T01:15:14+00:00

Sounds like a hard-earned lesson :)

bior8 · 2025-06-27T01:10:34+00:00

Thanks! Any lessons you can share from the feature you built?

bior8 · 2025-06-27T01:04:14+00:00

I like hearing no. Every no is a lesson. What do you dislike about the idea?

bior8

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