martinpuli/createanapp/app-launch-operator

App Launch Operator

Turn approval into a controlled distribution experiment. Do not equate downloads, one purchase, or App Store approval with product-market fit.

Verify launch prerequisites

Confirm storefront availability/release state, working commerce, support coverage, public privacy/terms/support pages, product analytics source, campaign attribution, crash/incident response, rollback path, budget authorization, and policy-safe creative provenance.

Do not install tracking merely to optimize ads without reopening $app-compliance-auditor and updating disclosures/consent/labels.

Choose a beachhead

Define one target segment, painful job, purchase moment, territory, promise, proof, and primary channel. Select channels by buyer behavior rather than fashion. Favor high-intent search, niche communities, tutorials, creators, partners, and Apple product pages that match the job.

Build truthful assets

Create a hook, real app demonstration, proof, objection answer, and CTA. Use captured release UI rather than AI-generated fake screens. AI may assist production, but never fabricate a customer, testimonial, review, creator endorsement, expert, revenue, result, or scarcity. Preserve source/license/AI/approval records.

Read references/creative-and-presence.md when establishing the domain, support email, social profiles, short-form videos, or AI-assisted creative pipeline.

Instrument attribution

Use App Store campaign links and Custom Product Pages where useful. Define naming conventions for channel, audience, creative, promise, and date. Use App Analytics/Sales/Subscriptions as the source of truth when no declared first-party telemetry exists.

Measure the funnel:

1. impression or qualified reach;
2. product-page view;
3. download;
4. first launch;
5. core-job activation;
6. paywall view;
7. trial/purchase;
8. renewal/retention;
9. refund/cancellation/support burden;
10. proceeds and contribution after fees/spend.

Use App Store Connect Analytics definitions and account for usage-data opt-in/privacy thresholds. Compare channels on retained paying cohorts and contribution, not download volume alone.

Stage spend

Start with a written cap and small creative/channel cells. Do not divide a small budget across too many channels. Define stop, iterate, and scale thresholds before spending. Never buy reviews, ratings, followers, installs, automated comments, or scraped outreach.

Operate the release

Choose manual, automatic, or phased release deliberately. Verify availability from the public storefront and a clean device. Monitor purchase/restore, crashes, support, reviews, refund/cancellation signals, policy notices, and website status. Pause campaigns when the product or checkout is impaired.

Learn without self-deception

Separate acquisition, activation, monetization, and retention cohorts. Compare promises/Custom Product Pages on downstream quality, not cheap clicks alone. Use Product Page Optimization only with enough traffic and current Apple confidence guidance.

Define product-market-fit evidence appropriate to the category: repeated core-job use, sustained paid retention/renewal, organic/referral demand, manageable support/refunds, and viable contribution economics.

Deliverables

Produce launch brief, channel ranking, creative matrix, campaign-link map, content calendar, budget/stop rules, daily scorecard, support/incident plan, rollout/rollback checklist, and 7/14/30-day decisions. Read references/launch-scorecard.md for the template.