Whats it take to get someone to pay for your product? (help)

Question

Hello everyone. After making 6 different apps and realizing that none of them are going to attract tons of users on their own, I decided to challenge myself this week to get 100 organic downloads for my paid (1 dollar) iOS game, Imagine Storiez.The issue is that no matter what I try, I can't seem to get in front of my target audience. I am using every social media, making engaging reels tracking my progress to raise awareness, and blogging as well. But I just can't seem to get in front of the right people.If anyone has experience successfully getting paid downloads without spending money on ads please advise me on how I can finish the challenge and get 100 downloads by the end of the week..I have added links to my Medium article and the app down below for reference:Link to app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/imagine-storiez/id6497486404 Link to article: https://medium.com/@tech_talk_/best-ios-game-for-whole-family-and-how-i-am-trying-to-get-100-organic-downloads-this-week-a882eb34afe1Thank you!

a2128 · Accepted Answer

FYI: I don't have any experience in selling mobile apps, just trying to provide a fresh set of eyes here
Right off the bat, your target audience is people who play party games with friends or family. But from the looks of it, you're marketing the app only on developer-centric places (SwiftUI Discord/Instagram, HN, etc), and the only marketing you're sharing related to the app is about the challenge. While there is some overlap with these two audiences, they're still very different and you should keep that in consideration. You even mention you tried cold emails - you're not selling a SaaS here, you're selling a mobile party game
You also never actually share what gameplay looks like, you just share that you're getting 0 sales, so I think people will understandably be hesitant about buying the app. Consider selling the idea of the app rather than selling the challenge in your marketing. I've spent like 5 entire minutes looking into this app and I still have no clear idea of what the game actually is, and most people are gonna spend no more than 5 seconds if it's a YouTube short.
Why rule out ads? It's a good way to get in front of your target audience

Srfrogs · Answer

Mmm, I would not like to play a game in my phone if I'm with my family, I would prefer something more real and not with our devices. I think you can take different public, for example play with friends in a casual way, I dont know, imagine you're traveling with friends in a bus and you have some freetime, I think that's a good scenario to download the app and play, because I dont expect anyone bring a table game to the bus, and probably you already talked a lot and want to try something else. That's how I feel it, but keep researching and all my best, I hope you can raise up these numbers :)

uberman · Answer

I am intrigued by the concept. My family grew up playing apples to apples. We would likely enjoy this game. We typically play family games to get the kids off their phones though.Two recommendations. Offer 2, 3, and 4 word versions of the game to help younger players get in the game and you likely want to offer a free night of play to get families hooked. I know a buck seems like nothing, but even a pennie means giving up my credit card and that is a bigger hurdle to cross than a buck.

mdrzn · Answer

Two ways to sell stuff: either you run ads, or someone else promote your product for you. If you don't want to do paid ads, try giving out free copies of the game to people who can review it to their audience.

appsDev · Answer

I would really appreciate any feedback, ideas, or comments in general. Thank you.