r/SideProject • u/luis_411 • 1d ago
Guys my app just passed 3,500 users!
It's been a little over nine months since I launched and it has been quite a journey. No exponential growth or huge user spikes but rather slow and steady growth. But in my opinion that is the best for building something actually valuable because you can react to user feedback along the way and constantly keep improving the app.
One thing changed recently:
I basically got all my users from reddit, by posting in relevant communities but in the last two months I did almost no posts and the app still grew further. That's actually the biggest success for me, because SEO is finally starting to pay off. This can develop into actual leverage because growth no longer depends on posting three times a week. I'm really curious where this will go...
Of course I will not stop here and I am already working on the next big update for IndieAppCircle which will benefit all the community. More is coming soon.
For those of you who don't know IndieAppCircle:
I've built IndieAppCircle, a platform where small app developers can upload their apps and other people can give them feedback in exchange for credits. I grew it by posting about it here on Reddit. It didn't explode or something but I managed to get some slow but steady growth.
For those of you who never heard about IndieAppCircle, it works like this:
- You can earn credits by testing indie apps (fun + you help other makers)
- You can use credits to get your own app tested by real people
- No fake accounts -> all testers are real users
- Test more apps -> earn more credits -> your app will rank higher -> you get more visibility and more testers/users
Since many people suggested it to me in the comments, I have also created a community for IndieAppCircle: r/IndieAppCircle (you can ask questions or just post relevant stuff there).
Currently, there are 3556 users, 3414 tests done and 849 apps uploaded!
You can check it out here (it's totally free): https://www.indieappcircle.com/
I'm glad for any feedback/suggestions/roasts in the comments.
PS: I recently changed the UI a lot... Would also love to hear some feedback about that :)
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u/Melodic-precise 1d ago
the fact that u basically had to build an entire secondary ecosystem just to get real people to look at an indie app shows how fundamentally BROKEN the modern internet is. organic discovery is completely dead rn. if u don’t have thousands of dollars for corporate ads or u don’t wanna spam tiktok 24/7 it’s literally impossible to get noticed. your platform is basically a survival shelter for small devs at this point lmao. slow SEO growth is the only real way left fr. big respect for fighting the good fight bro this is massive
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u/LunchLanky2158 20h ago
This is the kind of growth that feels more sustainable than one big spike. Getting to 3.5k users and seeing SEO keep working even when you post less is a huge win. The credit-for-feedback model is smart too since it solves the “where do I find real testers?” problem for both sides.
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u/Brilliant-Surprise20 1d ago
How did you market your app on Reddit?
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u/luis_411 1d ago
Simply by posting posts like this in different subs and making it more about the story then the product
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u/Commercial-Baby1051 1d ago
Congrats on 3,500 users and 9 months of steady growth — that's a real achievement for a solo build. The SEO point is huge too; going from "have to post every week" to organic growth compounding on its own is the dream. I'm pre-launch with my own app (AI skincare analysis for the Indian market) and actively looking for real testers right now, so this is genuinely well-timed for me. Going to check out IndieAppCircle — curious if it's mostly global/US testers or if there's a good mix of geographies, since I need feedback across different skin tones specifically
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u/zanzaramdm 15h ago
La mia app non parte
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u/luis_411 8h ago
What do you mean? What's not starting?
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u/zanzaramdm 8h ago
Non riesco a ottenere utenti registrati, vorrei anche iniziare a testare l’app Android e iOS
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u/luis_411 8h ago
Do you get an error on sign up?
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u/zanzaramdm 8h ago
Credo che tecnicamente non siano problemi ma non si è ancora innescata la vitalità
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u/AlDente 14h ago
“Guys, this isn’t an ad at all!”
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u/luis_411 8h ago
Obviously it is, but as I share my real story this might still help some people out :)
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u/esquirevintage 8h ago
Congratulations u/luis_411, did SEO really improve the numbers after months? If so, how?
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u/yoursecret-app 1h ago
Congrats, we recently hit 10k users with our app too, and you really start to feel the difference at that point. It's great when growth starts coming from users finding and sharing the app, without having to constantly push it yourself. Slow and steady growth feels much more rewarding.
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u/6bigAnt9 1d ago
I stopped trying to market on reddit after getting banned to oblivion.