Launched my mental health app on iOS, Android and web three weeks ago. Zero traction. No ad budget. Looking for honest advice from people who have been here
I have been building for several months. The app is an AI journaling tool built on CBT techniques that helps people understand why they are anxious, not just how to calm down. You write a journal entry, the AI analyses your thought patterns, identifies cognitive distortions, and gives you actionable insights based on actual CBT methodology.
Free to start. The product is genuinely solid. I am not just saying that because I built it.
And yet. Almost no users.
No marketing budget. Doing everything the bootstrapped way.
What I have done so far:
Launched on Product Hunt. Got some upvotes but no significant install spike.
Been active on social media every day, replying to mental health posts, sharing value, soft CTAs where appropriate.
Built 30 SEO focused blog articles targeting CBT and anxiety keywords.
Fixed all technical SEO, canonical tags, schema markup, sitemap submitted to Google and Bing.
Got listed on several directories.
Two genuine 5 star reviews on the App Store so far.
I know it is early. But without some momentum it is very easy to stay invisible indefinitely.
What actually worked for you in the early days with zero budget? Specifically interested in:
How you got your first 100 users without paid ads.
Whether App Store optimisation actually moved the needle or if it is mostly noise.
Which communities were actually worth the time investment.
Any mental health or wellness specific channels I might be missing.
Not looking for just keep going advice. I want specific tactics that worked for real products in similar situations.
Genuine feedback on the product also welcome if you want to know more about what it does.
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1st EDIT:
After a few hours of posting this, I had 1k views and 10 comments and I appreciate everyone's time, advices and tips! Taking notes and I'll look at implementing anything that sits in my power, skills and capability :)
I have no IT/Coding/Dev background at all. It took me 4-5 month to get it from idea to functional platform/app.
I hope that by sharing with you the link I will not get banned as I am new to reddit (and again, it is not for promoting the app but to get real, honest feedback) -. BrainHey.com