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An indie app used a free promotion, ASO, and feature updates to turn a launch baseline into a large download spike.
Trade a short-term free window for reach only when you have a plan to turn installs into feedback, retention, and paid value.
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Links is an indie app built by Hans and featured by App Masters as an App of the Month. Before the promotion, the creator was doing social media work and generated about 2,000 downloads and about $1,000 in revenue in May, with roughly 50 ratings. In June, he used an Indie App Santa lifetime-free promotion and an ASO offer. The presenter reports over 100,000 downloads for the campaign and 700 new ratings; other sources such as deal sites, Telegram, Facebook, Threads, and WeChat amplified the listing. Downloads rose from about 20 per day to 163 per day by June 21, and a later July promotion helped lift August sales. The creator updated requested features, added content, and raised the price. App Masters reports more than $4,000 in sales within two months and says August had not finished when the recording was made. The case illustrates how a temporary free campaign can trade immediate revenue for reach, feedback, and store visibility.
For an indie mobile app like Links, the first customers usually come from a narrow audience the developer can reach directly, not from a launch spike. Hans had already used social media and saw about 2,000 downloads, around 50 ratings, and about $1,000 in revenue during the first month described.
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Data credibility: The developer’s tweet and App Masters presenter supply the numbers, including reported app-store results and campaign performance. They are creator-reported and not independently audited; the transcript does not specify the app’s monetization mechanism or profit.
Links’ first dollar appears to have come through its initial launch and social media activity: in May, the app reached about 2,000 downloads and roughly $1,000 in revenue.
The growth loop in this case joined promotion, feedback, product changes, and app-store discovery. App Masters reports more than 100,000 downloads during the June Indie App Santa campaign, 700 new ratings, and an increase from about 20 downloads a day to 163 a day by June 21.
A mobile app can feel stalled when daily downloads stay low and early revenue is modest. The Links story offers a concrete starting baseline—about 20 downloads a day before the major campaign—and shows why founders should measure more than installs.
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