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Do you have a marketing strategy? Oreler fit needs one.

Hi IndieHackers

This is my first post here! I am super excited to join this community :)

I've been developing my workout app Oreler Fit for well over a year now, and I feel the app is ready to start acquiring users. As you can probably imagine, this is my first time finding users and beta testers.

Do you have a marketing or advertising strategy that helped you?

Even if it gets me a hundred installs, 2 or 3 beta testers, that would be splendid!

Thank you IndieHackers

  1. 2

    I've been in exactly your position before.

    The first thing I want to say is this. You just spent a year creating something and whether you know it or not you probably have some emotional investment in the app. You may not get the number of signups that you want and it may cause you to lose hope and do a hard pivot to a totally different app. This is what I used to do (more than once). Don't quit. It can be tough in the beginning when no one wants what you built, but you have to stick with it.

    It will take a lot of work and hustle to get your first few customers. Find where fitness people hang out (maybe fitness subreddits, FB groups, instagram, etc.). Focus on fitness people and not your friends/family/people in tech. reach out to people directly and talk to them. Ask them to install the app so you can get feedback but also learn a lot about their current behavior. Listen to them, don't just sell your app.

    Your app is most likely not good, which is why you need feedback so you can make it better. But because it's not good it's tough to get people to try it. That's why it take a lot of hustle. It's a numbers game. You gotta learn and iterate and make the app better and better.

    Also, I have noticed that if your app is in the App Store, you will get a trickle of signups just form people searching for fitness apps. When these random people sign up, reach out to them so you can make a connection and learn as much about them as possible. They might not like your app, but they're searching for something, you need to find out what that is.

    1. 2

      It is reassuring to hear that. I am coming up to 2 years developing this app. It all started just as a hobby, just enjoying app development. It's gotten much further than I expected. In the last 8-10 months, the mental game has been very difficult as you mentioned. I've found myself "quitting" this app dozens of times, giving up that this will never be useful to people.

      It is reassuring to hear that the struggle is common. I just need to get passed it like you said and continue moving forward.

      I will most definitely keep all of this mind. I have never tried reaching out to people or getting to know them and their wants/needs.

      I did talk about my app once in a gym once, and it was really amazing to hear the things they expect and need. It only makes sense that I try to do this over social platforms too. I can see this being useful.

      In any case, it is definitely overwhelming to think about communicating and reaching out to dozens, potentially hundreds of people. Do you think my best bet is to write up template message that feels personal, one that I can change easily when reaching out to these people?

      Thanks so much for the comment.

      1. 2

        I think having a template is useful. But you're correct. Personalize it with each send, do a little research on someone before you email or DM them so that you don't come across as just copy&paste spam.

        Going to gyms is actually probably one of the best ways to get feedback, might be even better than digital channels. But given the current state of the world, that might not be the best option right now.

        one last thing on mental health: don't confuse your app with your identity: "if the app sucks, then I suck". That's not true, You only suck if you refuse to listen learn and iterate. Best of luck! :)

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