Getting the word out about your apps is one of the biggest challenges indie developers face. Competing against agencies with mega marketing budgets means our apps often get lost in the 1.8 million apps available on the App Store.
Aside from dreaming for that coveted App Store feature or tech blog write-up, we often look for free or really cheap alternatives to help spread the word.
One way I thought I could help the community as a fellow indie dev is to advertise other developer’s apps in my own apps. The community seemed to be into the idea:
“This is such a great idea, thanks for doing this!” - John P, developer of Brainversity: Brain Training
“Thank you for setting this up, it’s such a great idea 🙌” - Manuel K, developer of Zenitizer
This is such a cool idea! Thank you for your work!” - Justin F, developer of Mastowatch
Here’s how it works:
How app advertisements work in rakTech LLC apps
Today, SKOverlay serves up app ads in three rakTech apps: Hello There, Artbox, and Bento Craft.
• In these apps, indie app ads are displayed at every launch, and then every 4 views of the home/primary screen
• These popups are enabled by default for every user
• Users on the Free tier (Artbox/Hello There) cannot disable the pop ups
• Users subscribed to either Hello There+ or Artbox+ have the ability to turn these off
• Bento Craft users also may disable app ads
• You would pay a one-time $3 fee per app per target that you’d like to advertise with
Here’s an example of an app ad in Hello There:
Your app ad would go here! Along with other indies who have signed up. The app shown at any given moment is random by using SwiftUI’s randomElement() function. Again, displaying these ads is configurable for Plus users in Settings. They have the option to completely turn off these ad overlays. Free users do not (Bento Craft being the exception).
Impact
From September 1, 2022 to September 1, 2023, Hello There and Artbox have had a combined 2.5 million App Store Impressions. Both apps have been featured by Apple in various collections and promoted In-App Events.
As of Sept 20, 2023 there are over 25 participating indie apps!
As of Nov 29, 2023 there are over 30 participating indie apps!
| App Name | Developer |
|---|---|
| Distance Tracker All Sports | Rozga Wojciech |
| Paku Air Quality | Pitou Technologies, LLC |
| Remembered: Back Up Your Brain | Michael Gruenthal |
| Braille Scanner | Aaron F Stephenson |
| Photo Widget | Sindre Sorhus |
| Flashtex: Learn Flashcards | Mika Kruschel |
| Learn Japanese: Benkyō | Romain Pellen |
| RCKit RevenueCat Dashboard | Dylan Lualdi |
| Net Worth & Investment Tracker | Fiduciary |
| Actions | Sindre Sorhus |
| Sticker Drop Maker Studio | Aaron F Stephenson |
| Brainiversity: Brain Training | Red Sprite Studios |
| Snippits Studio | Jonathan Tsistinas |
| SugarBot: Food Calories Counter | Majid Jabrayilov |
| Every Word: Audiobook Player | Mike Apurin |
| Any Text Widgets | Sindre Sorhus |
| Favorites Widget | Sindre Sorhus |
| Quick Launch | Sindre Sorhus |
| AI Actions for Shortcuts | Sindre Sorhus |
| One Task | Sindre Sorhus |
| Memo Widgets | Sindre Sorhus |
| Doodle Draw | Sindre Sorhus |
| Mastowatch | Justin Ferrell |
| Aiko | Sindre Sorhus |
| Fast Barcode Maker Scanner | Aaron F Stephenson |
| Hyperduck | Sindre Sorhus |
| Zenitizer Meditation Timer | Manuel Keyl |
| MeterStats Energy Tracker | Alexander Kaessner |
| Söka: Bucket Lists Made Easy | Roderick Munro |
| NumberTabs | RadiumDynamics |
| FitWoody | Cori Health & Care S.L.U. |
| Less is More: Daily Word Game | Mechanical Animals |
| iStory | Timelabs Ltd |
| Daily Planner Diary | Aaron F Stephenson |
Sign up
If you’re interested in advertising your apps with rakTech apps, please fill out the submission form below!