How I'd grow Punkt

Punkt is a mobile journaling app.

To quote them: “Punkt makes journaling secure, private, easy and fun. But the best thing about journaling is that you’ll become a happier person.”

A-okay! But there’s not enough emphasis on what makes Punkt different from similar apps…

Well, Punkt has a big difference: you only need to write one sentence per day.

But this is a feature. Is there a benefit for the user?

Just take a look at what their actual customers say.

Some wanted to start journaling, but never did. Others tried and gave up. With Punk, they journal everyday!

That’s the USP that should be on their website and app page. Unlike other apps, Punkt makes it insanely easy for everyone to start a journaling habit, and keep at it.

Pro tip: if you have a CTA, you shouldn’t send visitors to another website, or distract them. You want to reinforce your value proposition.

Example: putting customer testimonials near the CTA. It’s a proven way to raise the conversion rate in the deciding, yes/no, moment.

Want more downloads? Decrease friction as much as possible on the app page. For a freemium app like Punkt, this means clarifying the free and paid features.

Right now, users don’t know if they’d be able to use the core functionality for free. I’d definitely change the copy.

Regarding the pricing, data shows that more than 1 out of 2 Punkt paid users will buy the lifetime plan. But a CLV of 15 is not high enough to sustain future marketing efforts.

How do they raise it? We know active users really like Punkt, and they can afford to spend money.

I’d add a 2nd tier with even more features for $29. Extra features would improve the power users’ experience.

I’d eliminate the monthly and annual plans (it adds confusion with a pay-what-you-want model), so that Punkt only has 3 tiers: free, standard ($14) and pro ($29).

To create a simple marketing strategy, Punkt can start by visualizing a breakdown of possible users at each stage of the buyer’s journey.

Then, try to find the best channels to reach users, keeping their limited resources in mind.

A really simple example:

- People who don’t know about benefits of journaling - Social media
- People who know about journaling but aren’t doing it - Influencers
- People actively looking for an app like this - ASO and SEO

Social is the perfect channel to introduce Punkt to people who have no idea that journaling could be beneficial.

The goal of their social media strategy needs to be to create content that makes people curious enough to go take a look at the app.

Social should feature stories of real-life Punkt users - people go on social media to chill, not buy.

Write about who the users are, what their day-to-day looks like, and how using Punkt helps them. Highlight a different benefit every week: improved mood, memory, etc.

There are also people who know about journaling. They might follow a healthy diet, practice meditation, or show interest in general well-being.

They don’t need to be convinced of journaling’s benefits. They need a good and practical solution (with a little push) to try it.

To introduce themselves, Punkt could reach out to a list of creators who already have an engaged following in those niches.

And for the extra push, they could set up a referral code. Users get a discount, creators get a commission, Punkt gets new customers.

Some people are already looking for a journaling app. Search and ASO are the perfect channels to intercept them.

Punkt must keep an eye on: app name, app URL, app subtitle, keyword field, in-app purchases, rating and reviews, update cycle, and downloads and engagement.

SEO - there’s a good search volume for high-intent keywords. They need to use their strengths to increase domain authority.

Punkt was featured on 9to5mac, so reaching out to tech sites that covered journaling apps, using 9to5mac as social proof, could work

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