Writing
Notes from the work.
Paid UA for subscription apps and mobile games: what I test, what the numbers said, and what I would do again. New pieces also go out in the newsletter.
Jul 2026What happens when I remove the trial from my app?A subscription app removed its free trial for paid Meta traffic. Conversion went from 7.1% to 12% and cost per result fell from $58 to $40. The full test, week by week.Jul 2026Can I trust the Meta algorithm? Perhaps.An audit of $383K in Meta tROAS spend, country by country. 7% had been failing the exact metric the algorithm optimizes, and no dashboard flagged it. The scoring framework that catches it in thirty minutes a month.Jan 2026I admit I paused a $45K Meta campaign. Here's why.A bootstrapped fitness app, $1,500 a day, 40+ creatives, and a $30 cost per trial that would not move. Why we paused instead of pushing, and the five lessons from the decision.Jan 2026Google Search Ads for app installs: the complete breakdownGoogle Search for app installs is broken by design: no keyword control, no search term visibility, and iOS attribution that dies at the App Store redirect. The five workarounds and their trade-offs. Co-written with Burak Arslan.Dec 2025Meta Andromeda killed your 2025 playbook. Here's the 2026 one.Andromeda changed how Meta processes signals and finds audiences. The full playbook: channel order, Tier 1 West testing, IPM benchmarks, the three-phase campaign structure, signal choice, scaling, and subscription cash flow.Oct 2025When ad volume misleads, why IPM is not enough, and how emotion builds ROASThree ways teams think about creatives: counting them, chasing IPM, and building emotional connection. Which stage a team is at usually shapes performance.Oct 2025The case for second-tier markets (when Tier 1 CPIs hit double digits)Tier 1 CPIs in double digits force the real question: which countries give your app the best CPI to CPA ratio? On pricing power, saturation, and the middle zone where the math still works.Aug 2025The lonely first minute testOpen your app like a total newbie, no context, no reviews. How many users get from cold install to the first meaningful action in minute one? If fewer than 40%, fix onboarding before spending on UA.Aug 2025How I use AI to improve App Store screenshots (with the exact prompt)Competitive insights instead of vague design feedback: upload your screenshot strip with ten competitor strips and let AI count who does what. The exact prompt I use, and what it returns.Jul 2025Frequency beats duration: what Meta's attention research saysNotes from an official Meta event in Berlin, with research from Kantar, Lumen, and Playground XYZ: 46% of conversions happen in the first 2 seconds, and repeated short views beat one long one.Jul 2025The ROAS equation: intent, fit, funnel, and costIntent alone doesn't pay your bills. A simple framework for how ROAS actually works across Apple Search Ads, Google, Meta, and TikTok: ROAS is (intent times fit times funnel strength) divided by cost.Profitable App Growth · weekly · 1,000+ subscribers · Subscribe on LinkedIn ↗