Launching a mobile app is an achievement worth celebrating, but it’s far from the finish line. In fact, it’s often said that launch day is when the real work begins. The weeks and months after launch are when your app will really be tested, and whether it’s a simple platform for daily usage or an advanced finances app, these things must be considered. You’ll see how well it keeps users coming back and whether it can make steady money. On average, apps lose about 90% of their daily users within the first 30 days — a tough stat that shows just how important your post-launch strategy really is.
From converting fleeting visitors into engaged account-holders to keeping those users coming back (and paying) over the long haul, app owners must execute on several fronts at once. Here, we’ll explore three essential steps for ensuring your freshly launched app doesn’t just survive, but thrives.
Turn visitors into loyal customers: Creating an account is the first step
A download or a one-time visit means very little if the user drifts away. The first big goal after launch is to turn casual visitors into registered account-holders, because that’s the foundation of a loyal user base. Nowhere is this strategy more refined than in online gambling and gaming apps – particularly digital casino platforms – where the competition for players is fierce. These platforms have mastered onboarding in a way that feels welcoming rather than pushy. As one analysis describes, they focus on drawing users in and offering value, instead of slamming newcomers with demands to sign up:
Gaming websites and online casino platforms have a very smart approach to onboarding their website visitors as account holders. They don’t cover the screen with annoying messages to create an account; rather, they create a welcoming environment that attracts people. There are lots of examples, but let’s take one of the popular digital casinos—Ignition. To log in to Ignition Casino and play online games, the platform provides welcome bonuses. At first glance, this might seem like a random gift, but at its core, it helps visitors start engaging with the mobile app. “You don’t have money to start playing? No worries, here’s a gift.” That’s basically the philosophy—and it’s smart, and it works.
Ignition Casino’s homepage exemplifies this welcoming approach by prominently advertising a “$3,000 Welcome Bonus” and a bright “Join Now” call-to-action, rather than assaulting new visitors with intrusive pop-ups. The message is essentially: come on in, we’ve got a gift for you. This kind of incentive lowers the barrier to entry – if a curious user doesn’t yet have funds or confidence to start playing, the app hands them a starting stake as a gesture of goodwill. It’s a smart strategy that quickly converts curiosity into commitment, as the visitor feels rewarded simply for signing up. The brilliance of such welcome bonuses is not just in attracting sign-ups, but in kickstarting engagement: suddenly that new user is trying out games or features they might otherwise have skipped, which increases the chances they’ll stick around.
Show me the money: Establishing sustainable app revenue streams
After launch, another immediate challenge emerges: how will your app make money and sustain itself? Success isn’t just measured in downloads or active users – it’s also in having a business model that keeps the lights on. Remember that building and running an app incurs ongoing costs. Servers, updates, customer support, and other maintenance can run about 15–20% of the original development cost per year on average. In fact, if an app is neglected post-launch, it risks being pruned from app stores altogether – Google removed 1.1 million apps in one quarter of 2024, and 74% of those were “abandoned” apps not updated in over two years. To avoid that fate, you need steady cash flow to fund updates and improvements. That means monetization can’t be an afterthought; it should be a priority from day one of the post-launch phase.
The good news is there’s a world of monetization options, though it requires savvy selection. Most mobile apps are free to download – nearly 97% on Google Play as of 2025 – which means you must find indirect ways for the app to earn revenue. Advertising, on the other hand, can turn a large user base into revenue by showing ads – either via ad networks or direct sponsors – and it’s become a vital monetization method for free apps. (Mobile in-app ads are so prevalent that they’re projected to make up 80% of all mobile ad spending by 2025.)
Crucially, don’t limit yourself to a single revenue stream. Apps that rely on just one method (say, only banner ads or a one-time purchase fee) often leave money on the table. As one industry expert quipped, sticking to old-school models like basic banner ads or paid-only downloads is likely “leaving serious money on the table.”
Keep them coming back: Reducing churn with continuous improvement
Getting users through the door – and even getting some revenue flowing – won’t mean much if your users vanish after a few days or weeks. The third crucial post-launch step is retention: keeping your users engaged, satisfied, and coming back regularly. User churn (the rate at which users quit your app) is the bane of many startups. Without a plan to combat churn, you risk watching your hard-won users disappear. Consider that without an engagement strategy, up to 90% of new installs never become high-value users past 90 days. Retention, therefore, is not just a user metric – it’s a business lifeline.
So how do you keep users around? Start with the basics: app quality and performance. No amount of marketing can save an app that’s crash-prone or painfully slow. Technical glitches are a silent churn driver – around 11% of app users will uninstall an app over crashes or sluggish performance. Likewise, ensure your app isn’t needlessly hogging storage or battery, as those annoyances drive uninstalls too. Regularly monitor crash reports, fix bugs, and optimize load times. Not only will this please users, it also protects your app’s reputation on the app stores (bad reviews due to crashes can repel potential new users).
