In this guide

I went through a product recently where fewer than 10% of new users came back after day one. The founder's plan was more ads. More ads would have meant paying to pour people into a bucket with a hole in it.

That's the pattern I see most. "We need more users" sounds like one problem. Usually it's one of two, and they need opposite fixes.

I built an app and no one is using it. What should I do first?

Work out which problem you've got before you change anything.

Problem A: people don't know you exist. The product is broadly fine. The people who find it understand it, some sign up and some stick around. There just aren't enough of them.

Problem B: people arrive and leave. Traffic comes in but doesn't convert. People sign up and disappear. Nobody tells a friend.

You don't need a data team to tell them apart. Take four numbers from the last 30 days:

  • how many people visited your website or app store page
  • how many signed up or downloaded
  • how many did the one thing that shows they got value (sent the first invoice, booked the first session)
  • how many came back the following week

Then look for the cliff. If visits are tiny and the later steps hold up, it's distribution. If visits are healthy and people fall away at sign-up, first use or the return visit, it's the product, and more traffic won't help.

In that day-one example, visits were fine. The cliff came straight after sign-up. People never reached the bit that made the app worth opening again.

Should I pivot or keep pushing?

Look at what users do, not what they say.

If the few people who find you keep coming back, keep pushing. Stop changing the product and get it in front of more of the right people. Pick one or two channels and give them time. Ten channels tried for a week each tells you nothing. (Chapter 2: Reach)

If people arrive and leave, don't pivot yet. Most products I see need one or two steps fixing, not a rebuild. The usual suspects:

  • The homepage doesn't say who it's for or what it does. A visitor should know in five seconds. (Chapter 3: Interest)
  • You're positioned against the wrong thing. Your real competitor might be a spreadsheet, a WhatsApp group or doing nothing at all. (Chapter 3: Interest)
  • Your early sign-ups are friends and other founders, not customers. They're supportive, but their behaviour misleads you. (Chapter 2: Reach)
  • Onboarding asks for too much before people see any value. Every form field and setup step is a chance to leave. (Chapter 4: Try)
  • The good bit happens on day three. Most people have gone by day three. (Chapter 5: First value)
  • The problem is useful rather than painful. People say "that's handy" and never come back. (Chapter 6: Come back)

Each one has a different cause, so each needs a different fix. A clearer homepage won't fix a problem nobody cares about. Better onboarding won't fix the wrong audience.

How do I validate my app with real users?

Watch strangers use it. Find a few people who match your target user and have never seen the app. Not friends, not other founders. Give them one thing to do, then watch without helping.

I started my career 22 years ago as a software tester, and playing the user is still the most useful thing I do. On one product the team was sure everything worked. Within minutes of using it the way a new user would, I'd hit broken logos and a redirect that sent people somewhere nobody expected. None of it was hidden. The team had just stopped seeing it, because they knew the product too well.

Before you ask strangers to try it, make sure it's ready for them. (Chapter 1: Ready to share)

Why this matters now

Investors ask for evidence of real usage, not sign-up counts. "We have 400 sign-ups" gets a very different reaction from "40 people use it every week, and here's why." Knowing which problem you've got means the next three months go on the thing that moves that number.

The guide

Chapter 1

Ready to share

Coming soon
Chapter 2

Reach

Coming soon
Chapter 3

Interest

Coming soon
Chapter 4

Try

Coming soon
Chapter 5

First value

Coming soon
Chapter 6

Come back (and pay)

Coming soon

Common questions

How many users should my app have after launch?

There's no universal number. Twenty people who come back every week tell you more than 2,000 who signed up once and vanished.

My friends and testers love it, so why won't strangers use it?

Friends forgive confusion, fill in the gaps and want you to win. Strangers owe you nothing. Test with them.

My developers or agency say the app is fine. Why aren't the numbers moving?

"Fine" usually means it works as built. Whether a new user gets it and comes back is a different question, and both can be true at once.

How long should I wait before deciding something's wrong?

If you've had steady traffic for four to six weeks and most sign-ups never reach the moment they got value, something in the journey is broken. Don't wait another quarter.

Do I need to rebuild the product?

Almost never. Find the specific step where people leave before you touch the roadmap.

Quick self-test

  • Do you know your four numbers for the last 30 days?
  • Can you name the one step where most people leave?
  • Have you watched a stranger use your app in the last month?

If you said no to any of these, start there.

The hard part is seeing it in your own product, because you know it too well. Not sure where yours breaks? Take the quiz.