Flamme achieved a Day 30 retention rate of 50%, surpassing TikTok (approx. 40%) and Instagram (35%). The initial version had a dismal 0.8% rate, but it was gradually improved through a "carrot and stick" approach, applying BJ Fogg's habit formation theory.
Link to this point #1Superwall
Full App Growth Guide 2026 - How to Make Viral Content to Get Users & Make Your App Retentive
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Overview
An, the founder of the couple app Flamme, reveals the entire process that led to achieving a Day 30 retention rate of 50%—higher than TikTok's—and acquiring 50 million views and 150,000 users entirely organically. This was accomplished by dedicating 4 hours daily to TikTok research and leveraging the "VSC Framework (Viral, Scalable, Convertible)." The video is a comprehensive masterclass, covering everything from retention building using BJ Fogg's habit formation theory to distribution strategies, AI playbooks, and iPhone farming.
Key points
The key to boosting retention was connecting it not with the user's own feelings, but with their partner's emotions. Losing a streak was linked to "making your partner sad," which became a powerful motivator for action.
Link to this point #2For two months, An spent 4 hours daily scrolling TikTok to study its algorithm, developing the VSC framework (Viral, Scalable, Convertible).
Link to this point #3As a TikTok farming strategy, 20-30 accounts were operated on over 10 iPhones (mainly iPhone 8s). Different Apple IDs and proxies were set up for each device, establishing a criterion: under 300 views indicates an account issue, while 300-1000 views suggests a content problem.
Link to this point #4The AI playbook, over 10 pages long, consists of three parts: product context, past winning scripts, and master prompts. A daily operational cycle was established to manually record all content in an Excel sheet and feed successful patterns back into the playbook.
Link to this point #5Conversion rates by content type were: memes (0.05-0.2%), slideshows (0.05-0.2%), reaction + app demos (0.3-0.5%), and direct app demos (0.5-1%), indicating that showing the product itself is paramount.
Link to this point #6The biggest lesson learned from investor conversations was that excellent retention alone is insufficient; fundraising is difficult without proving a distribution strategy. Funds ran out at the end of 2023, forcing monetization.
Link to this point #7When setting up TikTok accounts, using the same Apple ID across multiple devices allows TikTok's fingerprint detection to link accounts, causing one ban to affect all. This wasted 3 people x 40 hours = 120 hours.
Link to this point #8Widgets are visually prominent on lock and home screens, serving as a more powerful retention tool than notifications. The success story of Couple Joy with lock screen widgets was used as a reference.
Link to this point #9The golden rule when asking for help is to start with small requests and always "Give First." An offered his fitness expertise, building trust within the community despite lacking tech knowledge.
Link to this point #10Put this knowledge to work.
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