Weekly Update 🎉: UX Locked In, Growth Unlocked
TL;DR
- Finalized the full front-end UX, with exciting new features like list sharing and in-app content search
- Now fully focused on backend development, with 3 key areas underway
- Discovered a low-cost growth strategy on Instagram ($0.42/follower) through promoted content
- Currently at ~700 followers, aiming for 1,000 by end of April and 2,000 by launch
- Still on track for mid-May launch
Happy Tuesday
We’ve made solid progress this week on both the product and growth fronts — finalizing the UX, diving into backend development, and uncovering some encouraging early traction on social.
Development Update
We’ve officially wrapped up the design for the full front-end experience of the app! While we had to make a few small compromises along the way, the final product reflects exactly what users have been asking for in this next version.
Everything the app currently does will still be there — but we’re also introducing some powerful new features, including:
- The ability to share and collaborate on lists with friends
- A built-in search tool to explore the internet and add content to your Matchbox without ever leaving the app
We’re now deep into backend development, focusing on three core areas:
- Content intake – identifying what users are sending into the app
- Enrichment – layering in helpful, actionable context around saved content
- Front-end integration – making all this data intuitive, beautiful, and easy to navigate in the app
We’re working across all three tracks simultaneously and are still on pace for our mid-May launch.
Growth Update
We’re still focused on growing our early community through @patbuildsanapp on Instagram. After reaching 500 followers with some quick (but unscalable) tactics, we began experimenting with paid promotion.
This week, we tested boosting a few of our videos — and one stood out. We doubled down on that single post, spending $26 to gain 61 new followers at an average of $0.42 per follower, with recent rates as low as $0.39.
Why does that matter? Because we’re treating followers as a rough proxy for app downloads. If even 10% of followers download the app, our cost per download would be ~$4 — a bargain, especially compared to the $25–$75/year in ad revenue that similar apps earn per user.
We’ll continue to test and optimize this strategy to see how far we can scale it.
- Current follower count: 660
- Target: 1,000 in the next 3 weeks (4/25)
- Goal: 2,000 by launch (5/15)
This Week’s Focus
- Development: Continue building out the backend pipelines, enrichment engine, and front-end display. Kick off development of the website landing page.
- Growth: Keep testing different video formats and scripts. Experiment with new ad spend strategies to drive our cost per follow even lower.
Looking Ahead
It’s hard to believe we’re only six weeks out from launch. I’m feeling optimistic — not just about the app itself, but about the potential for social media to become a repeatable, scalable distribution channel for us.
There’s still a lot to do, but we’re moving fast. As always, if you’d like to help, please like, share, and comment on any content you see — it goes a long way in helping us grow.
Thanks for being part of this journey. I can’t wait to get the next version in your hands soon.
Pat