The Growth Strategy That Helped My App Hit the Top 10 in Health & Wellness
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
After burning out hard last year, I started building a mental health app, mostly for myself. I never expected it to get traction. But earlier this month, StressLess hit the Top 10 Paid Apps in Health & Fitness in my region.
Here’s the growth strategy that worked for me (inspired by other indie devs):
🔧 Step-by-step:
Ratings Prompt — I ask for a review after users complete their first de-stress session. Timing really matters here.
ASO Optimization — Titles, subtitles, keywords, and visual assets got a full pass. I treated my app store page like a landing page.
Lifetime Offer (FREE) — For just 2 days, I made the lifetime upgrade 100% free.
Promotion — I submitted the promo to AppAdvice and Indie App Santa to get visibility.
Back to Paid — After 48 hours, the offer was removed, and the app went back to regular pricing.
📈 Result:
More downloads
Boosted ratings (with heartfelt reviews 💛)
Real users who stuck around
Enough momentum to feed word-of-mouth and Reddit reach
💬 Now I’d love to hear from you:
Have you tried limited-time promos? What worked?
Got other tips for indie apps in wellness/mental health?
Is this strategy sustainable or too risky for pricing reputation?
I checked out your app. To answer to your question: it should be a free app with premium features. People will not be willing to pay $2 for an app they know nothing about
Thanks a lot for checking it out and for the honest feedback! I totally get your point, charging upfront can be a barrier, especially without letting people try the app first.
The current pricing was mainly a way to test the market, but good news: the next version is coming this Monday, and I’ll be switching to a freemium model with free core features and optional premium ones. Appreciate your input it really helps shape the direction!
No problem, best of luck!
thanks you
Good luck with your project
thanks you !
I don't think you have to worry about price reputation
Mobile apps are priced very cheap to begin with
You're starting out so you need the traction more than getting the optimal price.
Just my opinion.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I really appreciate it! You're right, especially in the early stages, traction matters more than perfect pricing. It’s helpful to hear that pricing reputation isn’t as big a concern at this point. Definitely gives me more confidence to experiment and learn along the way.
Incredible, congrats man keep working hard!
Thank you! I won’t rest until I hit #1 on the App Store 😄 One step at a time, but I’m all in!
Love the name and idea! We could all do with a bit less stress :)
Good call on asking for a review after the user first sees value.
How many users do you have now?
Thanks so much! 😊 That means a lot.
Yeah, I figured asking for a review only after delivering some value feels more natural and respectful to the user experience.
Right now, I’ve got around 10 paying users, it’s still early days, but I’m focusing on learning and growing step by step!
Next step 100 🤞
It's not a golden rule, but since @Thomas understands the end-user perspective, the output reflects his approach.
Thanks a lot! 🙏 I really try to put myself in the user’s shoes as much as possible, so I’m glad that comes through. At the end of the day, building something that truly helps people is what matters most to me.
Thanks for this, I launched my fitness tracking app only yesterday,this article could definitely help me
You're welcome, and congrats on the launch! 🎉 Launching is a big step, wishing you lots of success with your fitness app. Glad the article could be helpful! Feel free to share how it goes or reach out if you ever want to exchange ideas.
Good strategy!
Have you also promoted your App in other places? If so, how was your experience in those?
Yes, I’ve promoted the app on Instagram, TikTok, X, Product Hunt, and a few other platforms.
To be honest, I feel like these channels work best when you already have a community or following. That said, they’re still worth trying, sometimes a single post can really surprise you!
I’m still figuring out what works best for early-stage traction, but I’m sure these platforms will definitely help in the long run.
Yes, I also think here the key is the patience of the long run and being consistent... I'm in the same process now of starting to promote my website (Insightios) - starting without a community. I also make posts on Reddit and Quora with information insightful (I hope) for the public.
yes consistent is the key. Good luck with your project