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Mathew Chan
Mathew Chan

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Tips on releasing a new app?

Hi, I'm on the verge of releasing my first hobby app that I think would have users apart from myself. Any tips for making a good launch?

  1. How do I stop fighting the urge to delay my release until I fix problem A or add feature B?
  2. What platforms should I promote to? DEV #showcase, indiehackers, product hunt, Reddit...
  3. How should I take criticism?
  4. Do I need a super good looking landing page or will the app speak for itself?
  5. If I'm launching it free for now, does it look bad if I try to monetize it later?

Top comments (5)

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gwsounddsg profile image
GW

A few thoughts:

  • Make sure you have a EULA
  • Before monetizing, look into starting an LLC or something like that
  • Thinking from a users perspective:
    • How do I contact you if there's an issue?
    • Where do I find possible solutions to my problem?
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mathewthe2 profile image
Mathew Chan

Thanks for the tips. I never thought about EULA and I should probably look it up. Regarding contact, I initially thought a Twitter handle is enough, but on second thought adding a chat widget might be cool. Looking at my target demographics, I think a discord channel might be the best.

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gwsounddsg profile image
GW

Nice! Yeah, putting yourself in the seat of a user can open your eyes to what they're seeing and experiencing.

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isarisariver profile image
Marian

Hi Matthew, I'm in the same situation. I spent a few days working on the MVP and when it was 80% ready I published it.

How do I stop fighting the urge to delay

It will never be perfect and you will never be finished. Just do it :)

What platforms should I promote to?

Start with friends and family and ask them for feedback, if you haven't done so already. After that I would start with 1 platform, where you have a following and see what kind of feedback you get. I just shared my project on DEV a few days ago asking for feedback and got a lot of very valuable comments from the community.

How should I take criticism?

Ignore the jerks and trolls. Reply to everybody else. Consider the criticism and either build it in or if it doesn't fit, reply why it doesn't.

Do I need a super good looking landing page?

You should have at least some kind of front page to welcome users. It doesn't have to be super long, my landing page is a one pager with a heading, a tagline and 1 or 2 sentences.

If I'm launching it free for now, does it look bad if I try to monetize it later?

If you are open about it, it shouldn't be a problem. Will you make it freemium or go from free to paid for all?

Good luck :)

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mathewthe2 profile image
Mathew Chan

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll spend some time on the landing page first then. I'm glad you got feedback from DEV! I hope I can get valuable feedback here too. That being said, I know I'm not that good at responding to criticism so I'll probably ignore it until the heat goes off. As for monetization, I think I'll do freemium for now, and maybe add some new features down the road for the paid version.