| Source | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4TiA1lets8 |
|---|---|
| Readwise URL | https://read.readwise.io/read/01kw1f532vgrrqpncr3xq43d6k |
| Readwise ID | 01kw1f532vgrrqpncr3xq43d6k |
| Author | Adam Lyttle |
| Category | video |
| Site | YouTube |
| Published | 2025-06-06 |
| Saved | 2026-06-26T08:01:17.915000+00:00 |
| Tags | adam-lyttle, app-development |
Readwise Summary: A faceless app developer makes $20,000 a month by quickly launching many apps and using Apple’s short-term boost for visibility. Another developer made nearly $7,000 in the first week by monetizing immediately and then shifting to easier keywords for long-term growth. Different strategies work, but building many apps fast is hard and may not suit everyone.
A faceless app developer is raking in $20,000 every month by using a strange little known app store loophole. And get this, another developer made $67 in the first 5 days after launching a brand new app. So, how are they doing this? Well, here’s the trick most people don’t talk about. Every time you launch your app on the App Store, Apple gives you a short-lived boost. This gives you a few days of increased visibility and it puts you at the top of search results
even for those really competitive keywords. Some developers are using this window to monetize instantly before the boost disappears. In this video, I’ll break down the exact strategy these indie developers are using to generate instant revenue right after launch without paying for ads or having any big budgets. I’m going to expose the app store quirk that they’re exploiting, the monetization strategy used, and what steps are required to replicate their
success, and whether it’s even actually worth trying this for yourself in the first place. But be warned, this simple strategy is so simple, you’ll be wondering why you haven’t even tried it already. Now, for context, my own strategy for building a portfolio of profitable apps has been dead simple. app store optimization first and everything else comes second. I focus entirely on app store optimization to get ranked well on the app store and
generate an endless supply of downloads forever. And this strategy has worked well for me generating over $800,000 in app store sales. I come up with an idea, I check the keywords, and then I simply just start building. Then I release the app onto the app store for free and I get started on my next app. But you’re missing an important part there, mate. How do you generate revenue if the app is for free? Oh yeah, that this entire strategy is based on validating an app and ranking on the app
store. By releasing it for free, I test whether the app is even viable and what position I can rank it for. When the app is first released, Apple will give me that initial boost for a few days. Then my app disappears into the lowest pits of the app store, never to be seen again until around about six months later. This is the magic number, the magic time frame where my app will suddenly resurface. And if I’ve optimized it correctly, downloads will just start to
happen automatically. When my app reaches this stage, I add the payw wall, add new features, and simply count my revenue each week. This strategy is simply to validate an idea and to see if I can even get it to rank. Releasing it for free means I don’t spend unnecessary time on silly features like those pesky annoying pay walls for an app that will get no downloads anyway. I’m playing the long game. But what would happen if you flip that strategy entirely upside down?
Instead of waiting 6 months for revenue, you build a revenue model around that initial app store boost. You don’t have to target keywords with low competition. You just focus on the most popular keyword you can find and build an app to get that boost and let it do its thing. This is so crazy. It might just work, but then you realize just how much effort would actually go into it. You’d have to build your app, release it onto the app store, and only generate revenue
for the first week. Then you’re off to the next one doing it all over again. and maybe you’ll generate like 500 bucks, maybe $1,000 if you’re lucky. And the maths just don’t add up. To earn $10,000 a month, you would need to build between 10 and 20 apps every single month. Not to mention coming up with new app ideas, doing the market research, building the actual thing, and getting it approved by Apple. It just sounds too hard if I’m being honest. So, who would
bother? Oh, right. This guy is doing it. Lover of apps. I built my 9inth app in 1 day, starting at 8:30 a.m., submitted at 8:42 p.m. and approved by 9:43 p.m. It’s super solid app. I will resume my 10th app tomorrow, trying to finish it by Thursday. And the most jawdropping part, his revenue dashboard with 673 active subscriptions and
$20,264 in monthly recurring revenue. That’s like $240,000 a year just in app store sales. So, how exactly is he pulling this off? And should we stop everything we’re doing and start to build 10 apps per month? I did a bit more digging and it seems like lover of apps has been building apps since 2021 talking and posting on Twitter non-stop, but doesn’t share a lot about himself or his apps.
So, we don’t even know if lover of apps is even his real name. And while Lover of Apps is over here shipping 10 apps a month like a machine, let me tell you about Leo Martin, a developer who took massive inspiration from one of my previous videos and turned it into real revenue. Leo built a plant identifier app, a niche that’s so crazy competitive in the app store. We’re talking like one of the most saturated keywords out there, plant identifier, with difficulty
of 76 and hundreds of competing apps. But here’s where things get really interesting. Instead of waiting months for downloads to trickle in, Leo flipped the script. He monetized the app right away, adding a payw wall inspired by my earlier videos and took advantage of the initial app store boost. And it worked. He made $6747 in that first week. And this is where he went from like a oneoff success to just absolute pure genius. Once the
launch boost faded and downloads started to slow down, he didn’t just sit there. He pivoted, switching out his entire strategy to lower competing keywords with more sustainable long-term potential. And it’s still early days for Leo, but it sounds like this is a pretty solid strategy. Launch your app, monetize, target the biggest keyword you can possibly think of, get the app store ranking boost, generate revenue, and
then pivot to an easier keyword that you can target in the future. It’s the best of both worlds. Quick monetization from the initial boost and long-term growth with strategic app store optimization. So, yes, this faceless developer really is making $200,000 using the app store boost. But while that method works for him, it might not be the most sustainable for most developers. Let’s be honest, any developer with a life. While Leo’s approach seems a lot better
balanced. Meanwhile, my release it for free strategy has worked well for me too, showing there’s plenty of ways to play this game and to play it well.