Better Onboarding, Better Revenue

Indie Developer Log #11

August 5, 2025 - September 14, 2025

Last month I found something interesting in my Jigger app analytics. Most users don't use my best features. The Party Planner took me weeks to build, but only 22% of users find it. My "My Bar" feature is even worse.

I realized I was building features that users don't know exist.

The Simple Fix That Changed My Revenue

I decided to add a quick onboarding flow. Nothing fancy - just a few screens showing what the app could do with real screenshots. Users see it once when they install the app, or they can watch it again from settings.

Then I did something that felt uncomfortable. Right after showing users these cool features, I showed them the paywall. Every blog says to do this, but it felt pushy.

The results? My active subscriptions jumped from 5 to 9 in just one month. That's almost double.

Here's what I learned: timing matters more than I thought. Show value first, then ask for money.

My Revenue is Growing (Slowly But Surely)

My monthly revenue grew from €16 to €27 - that's 68% growth! I know €27 sounds tiny, but it feels huge to me. My goal is €1000 MRR, and every euro gets me closer.

What’s more, people mostly use my app on weekends. So I see new subscriptions every week like clockwork. With the holidays coming, I'm hoping for an even bigger boost.

Building a Web Version (And Making Mistakes)

I spent two weeks building a simple web version of Jigger. My main goal was SEO - I wanted Google to find my cocktail recipes. But it also lets users share recipes with friends who don't have the app yet.

Here's the nerdy stuff: I moved everything to Next.js and deployed it on Cloudflare Workers. I used OpenAI to generate cocktail images with transparent backgrounds. Cost me about €15 for 200+ images, which was way cheaper than hiring a designer.

There's just one problem - I messed up the domain settings and the site isn't live yet. Note to self: read all policies before making big changes.

The Numbers That Matter

Here's what happened in the last 28 days:

• 203 new app installations

• Over 1,000 monthly active users

• 55% of users come back in week 1. Only 9% stick around for week 2

That second-week drop hurts. I need to give users more value in their first session so they keep coming back.

On the bright side, my app store optimization is working. I'm ranking in the top 10 for 6 keywords in the US App Store. One keyword with high search volume has me at #5.

What's Coming Next

I'm working on something new. After validating the idea with AI tools and checking competitors, I'm building my first MVP. I can't share details yet, but I'm excited.

My bigger goal hasn't changed: earn enough to quit my corporate job and travel the world while building apps. Jigger is getting me closer, but I need multiple income streams.

For this new project, I'm trying GitHub's new AI development tools - Spec Kit. They're not perfect yet, but they help me build faster while keeping quality high.

Recommendations

• My Indie Book by Tony Dinh – Reading last pages. Very inspiring and totally recommend for every Indie Developer to read.

• Astro – it helps you improve your app’s visibility in the App Store by tracking keyword rankings, suggesting high-potential keywords, and providing insights into keyword difficulty and popularity.

• Cap.so – is a lightweight, open‑source alternative to Loom, a screen recording platform. Right now, it’s my go-to tool for recording demos of my apps.

Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference. Adding one onboarding screen doubled my revenue. That's the power of showing users what they're missing.

What's your biggest challenge with user onboarding? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments.

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