How to reach the 1m app downloads milestone

Author
Adrian Hon
CEO | Six to Start
2nd June 2017

They say that if you can change just one person’s life then it’s worth it. For us app developers, it’s hard to be satisfied with a single download when we can see exactly how many people we’ve reached. For most of us, the target is at least a million downloads – that’s the Rubicon all app developers dream of crossing.

But it’s not easy. It takes serious hard work and determination. It might not make you rich either. A million downloads of your paid app will lead to a decent pay-day, but it’s not retirement money. Even then, most apps these days are free or very low cost, making it a tough market to break into.

With that in mind, there are some tips that I can give you to help you hit that special milestone. I discovered these through a mix of research, trial and error, and blind luck when releasing our Zombies, Run! fitness app. The app clocked up 1m downloads in its first year and is now up at around 4m – so these tips are proven to work

1. Make the app for you

If you don’t love your app, no one else will. If you develop something that you want to download and use, however, then you’ll have a much easier time selling it to investors and the public.

Not only that, but you are your target audience. Intense market research, focus groups, and data mining become less necessary since you can test on yourself and like-minded friends.

I love running, for example, but found gyms boring and urban jogging unmotivating. Zombies, Run! was the solution to these problems. Both myself and lead writer Naomi Alderman wanted to see the app come to life so that we could use it. The other 4 million people were a nice bonus.

2. Consider crowdfunding

You might not have considered crowdfunding sites, especially if you already have enough cash to build and launch your app. But the benefits of crowdfunding go beyond the money.

We launched Zombies, Run! on Kickstarter and our latest project is currently live on Crowdcube, offering equity for funding.

From our Kickstarter campaign we generated:

  • Organic coverage in mainstream press, such as the BBC and CNN;
  • Nearly 3,500 engaged users, all with a financial stake in our success;
  • $72,000 in funds raised, 6x our original target;
  • Wide awareness on social media;
  • Loads of downloads and reviews from supporters as soon as the app was launched.


All you need to get going on crowdfunding is a great idea and a plan to make it a reality. The rest is down to your pitch. Ultimately, you have everything to gain and little to lose, so why not give it a go?

3. Offer amazing support

This may sound a little obvious, but great support really does pay off. Aside from the reviews you’ll get singing your praises, you’ll iron out a lot of the bugs early on, reducing your support costs later on.

What’s more, you may discover that feedback contains the seeds for your next big idea. One of our app users asked why no one had applied the Zombies, Run! idea to virtual races for charities. A great question! So, we built Racelink – a platform used by charities like MacMillan Cancer Support to organise virtual races.

Ideas can come from anywhere, but the best place is always going to be active users. They might suggest an update, new feature, or an entirely new idea. Why not show you’re listening to them by building their idea?

BONUS TIP: Getting paid for your work

Designing, developing, publishing, and marketing your app is a lot of work, so it’s only fair that you’re paid for your hard work. Yet, adding a price tag to your app can put users off, restricting your download numbers.

There’s not really a single model that works for all apps – it really depends on your market. It made sense for us to introduce a yearly subscription for a fitness app. Compared to a monthly gym membership it’s still a bargain. For other markets, especially those oversaturated with free apps, it’ll be more difficult to introduce a subscription.

The one common thread between all successful paid apps, however, is great content. Offer users a sample of your content, perhaps through a free ‘lite’ or ad-supported version, and get them hooked. Then they’ll be begging you to pay for more.

Great support also makes a big difference – it shows users that the app won’t break when operating systems update, for example. Developers of free apps will also struggle to offer good support and frequent updates given their lack of revenue, so it provides a real advantage over free apps.

Of course, no app will hit a million downloads if it’s poorly designed, has loads of strong competitors, or offers little benefit to users. But if you apply these top tips to a great idea and a lot of hard work the you’ll be well on your way to app market success!

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