Hey r/SideProject, I put my first paid app online about 5 weeks ago (v0.2.2 is the current version). The numbers aren't where I hoped, and I'd like honest takes from this community before I sink more evenings into the wrong things. Quick context: I'm a student in Canada. I'm a solo founder with no marketing experience, so building was the comfortable part and everything after it is new. The app is Bucket, a Windows desktop app that works as an alarm for your laptop when you work in public. You arm it before stepping away for coffee or the bathroom. If the laptop gets moved, the charger gets unplugged, or the Wi-Fi drops or changes, it sounds a loud siren until you enter your PIN. There's also a camera mode that draws an outline around anyone who walks up to your laptop. Everything runs on your own machine, with no subscription and no cloud service for the alarm. The pain point I'm going after: you need to grab a coffee, but you don't want to pack up everything or ask a stranger to watch your laptop. The numbers (after ~5 weeks) * 420 visitors to the site * 38 clicks through to the checkout page * 4 sales (and 4 downloads, since there's no free version) * $15.96 total revenue * Price: $3.99 (CAD) one-time through Stripe, no subscription The real puzzle isn't only conversion. It's getting the right people to the page in the first place. The honest problems * The installer isn't code-signed yet. Windows Smart App Control (on by default on new Windows 11 PCs) blocks unsigned apps with no "Run anyway" option, so some buyers can't even run it. I'm setting up code signing now, and even after that I expect a milder SmartScreen warning for a while. * Windows 10/11 only, 64-bit. No Mac or Linux. * Google sign-in only works for a test-user list right now. Email and password sign-up works for everyone. Because of the signing issue, I'm holding back on paid traffic and being upfront about it on the site. What I've done so far for marketing * Shared it with friends and in one campus group chat * Posted a few times on X * That's basically it Built evenings and weekends, around 5 hours a week. What I'm trying to understand * Is 4 sales after 5 weeks a normal slow start for an unknown indie app, or is something fundamentally off? * 38 of 420 visitors reached checkout (about 9%) but only 4 bought. Is that a trust problem, a price problem, or just a small sample? * Does "your laptop's little bodyguard" explain the product in the first few seconds on the landing page? * Is a $3.99 one-time price a good fit here, or does it make a security product feel unserious? Would $4.99 or $5.99 be better? * Is "students and remote workers in public places" the right audience, or am I missing a better one? * What would you focus on first in my position: signing and trust, the landing page, or finding the audience? Site: https://yourbucket.app Brutal honesty welcome. The small numbers are real and a bit humbling to write, but I'd rather understand them than hide them. Thanks.   submitted by   /u/Sad-Brain2871 [link]   [comments]