Coffee Cellar 2.0 was intended to reboot my Coffee Cellar App and turn it into something more engaging and thus more marketable.
Truth be told, once I had completed version 2.0, having sunk hundreds more hours into it, I was hugely burned out. In my eyes the reboot had successfully produced a MUCH better App but early sales told a different story.
Because I was so burned out I didn’t have the energy to properly engage in my intended marketing activity and, as a direct result, Coffee Cellar 2.0 launched with 0 sales/day for well over a week.
Just between you and me I was questioning whether the reboot was the right thing to have done. In fact I was contemplating pulling it from the store (just days after launch) and turning my back on it altogether. I was feeling pretty low.
Just to hammer that point home (not that it should be a surprise): Releasing an update to your App with no marketing will no longer give you a minor surge in sales. That boat sailed a long time ago.
What I did do, on the suggestion of a friend on Twitter, was to put together an email and send it to TUAW. I wasn’t expecting anything and a few days passed and I thought no more of it.
And then everything exploded!
On Monday 12th TUAW announced Coffee Cellar as their “Daily App” complete with a charming review and even a demo video.
TUAW tweeted the article which received hundreds of retweets across a few days. I nervously checked the rankings to find that Coffee Cellar was shooting up the charts in the Food & Drink category, first in a few countries and then in most.
Coffee Cellar reached top 10 spots in numerous countries. Some of the highlights were…
#2 in Food & Drink in the UK
#7 in Food & Drink in the US (it did actually reach #4 I believe)
#1 in Food & Drink in Finland. Here’s an overview of some of the top level numbers (they’re not totally accurate though)
With trepidation I checked my sales the next day (tempering my expectations so I wouldn’t be let down) – 50 sales! Way more than I’m used to seeing and, in just one day, almost half of what the App made last year.
It’s a weird thing. When you pour your heart and soul into something, seeing your work validated is quite a moving experience. I think I was walking on air for the rest of the day, trying not to let my imagination run away with me.
By the second day I was fully prepared for the drop-off. I hoped it wouldn’t plummet to zero and would instead retain some stickiness. Only, it didn’t drop… it went up. Considerably.
Day 2 saw 150 sales in just one day. I was stunned. That single day alone exceeds what Coffee Cellar made since it was created in September 2011.
That was the high. By the next day rankings had already started to plummet and once again I was preparing myself for a huge drop-off. And this time, it did. First to 30 sales, then to 15, and then to 5.
Cards on the table; I’d be happy if I sold a few copies a day (that’s way better than the usual 0, with the occasional 1, that I was seeing before).
So far it seems to be sitting at between 4 – 12 sales/day. That’s great and, in many ways, is a far more interesting data point than the larger day of sales. It means that the TUAW effect seems to have some staying power and the App is retaining some position. I just hope that it hangs in their for a while.
So about that coffee machine, You know the one that was my original goal for the App. Well, as long as Coffee Cellar stays at around 5 sales/day for a month or two, it looks like I’ll be able to place an order for that espresso machine early-ish next year!
That will be an amazing achievement and will provide a constant reminder of what I can achieve. I’ll be sure to post a picture here.
The moral of the story?
KEEP TRYING and NEVER give up hope.
A huge thank you to everyone who bought the App and/or supported me. Have a great Christmas!
(p.s. You can buy Coffee Cellar here. Its currently on sale at 50% off.)