How Did BOWWE Become the Best Creator on AppSumo? [Case Study]

In the summer of 2021, AppSumo contacted us because they wanted our tool - BOWWE, to appear on their platform and compete with 20 of the best products in the history of AppSumo. As it turned out, the campaign was supposed to coincide with the most crucial trading time of the year - Black Weekend and lasted for almost ten weeks. 

We ended this campaign with the average rating of customers who purchased BOWWE equal to 4.95 (max 5.0). We have thus become the best-rated website builder in the history of AppSumo! How did we achieve such a high result, and what else did we gain from running a campaign on AppSumo? We present the course of our campaign step by step - see what our journey looked like from a tool without any history on AppSumo, to the highest-rated website and landing page builder on the platform! 

What is AppSumo? AppSumo is the world's largest marketplace that offers online sales and digital products at a discounted price in a lifetime deal. 

BOWWE has been on the market for many years, and in 2021 we appeared for the first time at AppSumo. As the popularity of BOWWE grew during this period and many publications appeared on the tool, AppSumo had to recognize us and recognize our creator as an ideal product to be included in their "select deal". After all, BOWWE is an online no-code builder that helps freelancers, small businesses, agencies, and other professionals grow by building successful online projects with great SEO.

However, our path to the "select deal" differed from the others. The standard selection process for the "select deal" can take up to 9 months - BOWWE was immediately offered to run the AppSumo campaign later only the terms of the campaign, which started on November 18, 2021, ended on January 19, 2022, were negotiated. AppSumo wanted our campaign to take off during the hottest time for trading - Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday.  

Since the AppSumo campaign is a significant opportunity to establish contact with a broad group of new recipients and obtain valuable feedback from them, it is worth preparing for it as best as possible. How to do it? 

For us, the basis of an effective campaign was in-depth research among products from the same category as ours - i.e., page creators and landing pages. What did we pay attention to?

1) Product description - we checked how the product is described. We paid attention to its distinguishing features and presented benefits that the customer would get from its purchase and what problems it would have solved (for them).

2) Plans included in the offer - we also looked at what plans each of the analyzed tools offers and what they have, and we paid attention to the limitations of individual plans.  

3) Opinions about the product - this point was the most important source of information for us. Analyzing the opinions on individual products, we learned what AppSumo users liked about the product and what they lacked. We also expanded our research to include other platforms that form the basis of opinions about various products (in our case, these were websites focusing on SaaS tools, emphasizing website builders and landing pages).

Conducting an in-depth competitor analysis will help you better understand your competitors and their strategies. This can give you a better idea of ​​what to expect and help you develop a plan that sets you apart from the competition and what is most important to your customers.  

Competitor analysis can also help identify areas where your competitor is weak and where you can stand out. Knowing your competitors' weaknesses can provide you with a strategic advantage in your campaign.  

Opinion appreciating the support of the BOWWE team on AppSumo

The conclusions drawn from the competition analysis described earlier also prepared reliable customer support. From the analyzed opinions and asked questions about products from the same categories as ours, we gained valuable knowledge about how customers communicate with AppSumo (so-called Sumo-lings). We were able to prepare for possible questions that could be asked during our campaign. Knowing what Sumo-lings depend on, we have prepared a ready-made database of queries and ready-made answers to the most frequently discussed topics, which we expanded throughout the campaign. 

This allowed us to have a consistent process right from the start of the campaign. BOWWE team provided immediate and consistent responses, which allowed for the smooth functioning of the support. Creating a database of questions also enabled the inclusion of additional people to our support and quick training of the person from AppSumo as part of the external support. 

Not only did we have to be prepared for the campaign, but our product also had to look and function as well as possible. Therefore, at the beginning of the campaign, we introduced many corrections and novelties to our wizard to make navigating BOWWE even more intuitive and creating projects faster and easier. Here are some significant changes that we have implemented: 

• Implementation of a new dashboard and significant expansion of its functionality
• Introducing new blog 
• Introducing a new style management
• New and improved widgets for text, headings, icons, columns, etc. 
• New user profile and account settings 
• Extending the possibilities of creating and managing projects
• New price lists

To keep users informed about what has been implemented and what we are working on - we have created a roadmap: https://app.loopedin.io/bowwe. It was very popular. At the end of the campaign, the number of unique entries on the roadmap exceeded 800!

You must have a roadmap. Sumo-lings often ask about it. For many, it is a crucial element when deciding on the purchase of a product. Because it clearly shows in which direction you want to develop, that you have everything thought out and well planned. It inspires excellent confidence among potential buyers. 

BOWWE roadmap screen

Our roadmap also has the option to vote on the features that Sumo-lings and the rest of our users consider the most important (in our case, votes are cast by people from all over the world - France, Philippines, USA etc.)! There is also a separate tab in the roadmap where you can enter your ideas for the development of BOWWE.   

Details voting in roadmap BOWWE

To help users quickly get started in BOWWE and efficiently create projects, we have increased the number of our tutorials. This guaranteed users a sense that the tool is fully refined and complete, which also translated into sales results. 

Tutorials and other content supporting BOWWE users, were created (still being created) in several forms:  

1) Short "step by step" tutorials in the tool - while working in the BOWWE creator, you have access to short but detailed tutorials in the form of messages that allow you to scan the tool's functionalities quickly.

Step-by-step tutorial in the BOWWE creator 

2) Tutorials presenting the basics of using the tool - these tutorials are posted on a separate subpage in BOWWE (Tutorials) and contain detailed text instructions with a video explaining the essential issues related to using our tool. 

3) Tutorials explaining how to use widgets in the tool - this type of instruction can also be found in the "Tutorials" tab. They explain the exact purpose of each widget and show you how to use it.

4) Tutorials that are tips for efficient use of the tool - this is the last type of tutorials on the BOWWE website that provide useful tricks to improve creation in the tool. 

Types tutorials on the BOWWE website

We made sure that our materials were not only pure instructions but that they conveyed valuable knowledge and explained why we do something the way and not otherwise. We wanted our clients to know that the creator and the BOWWE team themselves provide everything they need to create online projects that will meet the essential principles of good SEO and professionally present their business.

To fully present your product on AppSumo, you need to prepare quality materials to present the offer's best aspects. 

A video tutorial is required from AppSumo so that their team can get to know your product best and then showcase it in their own video. Based on the tutorial we shot, AppSumo has created its own video review, a key element of virtually every product page on AppSumo. Recording a well-thought-out and transparent tutorial will allow you to present the best functionalities of the product in an accessible way. This is especially important for people who come into contact with a given tool for the first time and can decide whether it suits their needs based on the video. An additional advantage is the possibility of using it for your own use - for example, creating a few short tutorials about the product.  

When you enter the AppSumo website, it's easy to see clear guidelines for creating the main graphic- a screen from the tool against any background. Its primary goal is to present the tool's purpose and distinguish it from other products through the image itself. For BOWWE, this graphic was as follows: 

The main graphic on the BOWWE website on AppSumo

Remember - the main graphic for your product/tool will appear on the product page and the banner, carousel, search results, advertisements, or newsletter. Because on AppSumo, many product graphics are similar to each other, and the products appear next to each other, it is easy to create graphics that will get lost in the multitude of other products. Therefore, when planning its appearance, you should always keep in mind how it will look among other products. 

a) Banner on the main page  

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It is located on the main page of AppSumo and guarantees the greatest visibility and high traffic to your product page on the platform. However, not every product is shown there - BOWWE as a "select deal" appeared for only one day (later, we negotiated with AppSumo to reappear on the banner). The key, however, is that the main graphic should clearly convey what the product is about.  

Banner on the AppSumo home page

b) Carousel on the main page  

You can also appear on the home page in one of the numerous product lists under the banner. Even though it is still the main page of visibility in such a place, it does not give the same results as appearing on the mentioned banner. An additional disadvantage is an enormity of products on the home page, among which it is easy to "miss" the product due to the little distinctive graphics. 

Home page carousels on AppSumo

c) Search results on AppSumo  

Another place where the main image of your products will play an important role in the results of searches on AppSumo. For example, there are almost 500 products in the "Lead generation" category. This is a large number, and if you are not at the top of the search results - your potential customers may not even reach your product. In the case of extensive search results and the fact that you are competing with many other products - it is worth taking care of distinctive graphics. 

Search results in the Web development category on AppSumo

d) Adwords (paid ads)

In the case of Adwords, you have to bear in mind that the image will also be visible outside of AppSumo. However, the appearance of paid ads is not the most crucial issue in the campaign - they provide some traffic on the product page. Still, greater visibility is guaranteed by, among others, banners on the home page.  

Ad with BOWWE by AppSumo

e) Newsletter 

During the campaign, your product can also be included in the e-mail messages sent by AppSumo. BOWWE was included in it at the beginning of the campaign, among other tools, starting the promotion simultaneously.  

Then our tool was also included in it at the very end of the campaign, this time individually. To have your products in such an e-mail by AppSumo, certain conditions must be met, including a minimum of 20 opinions about the product on their platform. 

Excerpt with BOWWE from AppSumo newsletter

The banner, the carousel, and the search results play the most important role of all the places mentioned. However, to properly select effective graphics for them, it is good to quickly insert possible graphics in places where it will appear during the campaign (carousel, search results, product page). Don't choose the graphics hastily - we used the conclusions drawn from the competition's research and chose the graphics on their basis.

In preparation for creating a product page on AppSumo, you will receive an "AppSumo Content Form".  It contains individual sections to fill in about the product, which will be used to create the final text for the product page. AppSumo determines the final appearance of the text; this content is edited by the platform copywriters, who make sure that your product description is engaging and in line with AppSumo's communication style. 

Excerpt from the description of BOWWE on AppSumo

The description on the product page on AppSumo includes text and additional graphic materials. These can be simple graphics or gifs showing the functionalities included in the product description. In the case of BOWWE, we decided to use interactive graphic materials. They showed better the tool's capabilities and, through movement, attracted more attention than ordinary, static images.  

One of the gifs showing the functionalities of BOWWE

Our standard offer on bowwe.com includes three products (1 - Websites and Landing Page, 2 - Micro page, 3 - CV and Portfolio) and two additional (under development) - e-commerce and mobile applications. 

Of course, this division is caused by different target groups. The offer with the website and landing page is mainly addressed to people who run campaigns and deal with online marketing. Micro page, on the other hand, goes primarily to people active in social media, while private individuals mainly use the Portfolio CV.  

Our standard offer bowwe.com

Knowing our offer and recipients, it was evident to us that we should run three separate campaigns on AppSumo. AppSumo believed otherwise. Citing good knowledge of their platform users, they said it would be best to include all three products in one offer. We agreed - after all, AppSumo has had many campaigns behind them. We were just starting our first one.

Our offer on AppSumo

You cannot expect from AppSumo - a platform with thousands of products, that its consultants will know each product and its recipients exactly. You also can't deny their excellent consulting services, but you have to be careful with them. They are most helpful for people without much business experience. 

In our case, following the advice of AppSumo and including all three products in one campaign turned out to be a mistake. We even received inquiries from Sumo-lings whether it was possible, for example, to replace the Micro page with a Landing page. If there were a separate campaign for each product, we would have the opportunity to obtain even better results because each offer would better meet the recipients' needs. 

Question from client regarding the exchange of CV and MicroPage on the Website or Landing page

Our AppSumo campaign coincided with a very intense time of the year - mid-November until January 19, 2022. It was a period of Black Friday and Cyber ​​Weekend on AppSumo, followed by the holiday season. The campaign was specially selected for a time when people are incredibly optimistic about making new purchases and looking for unique offers. The advantage, therefore, was the possibility of obtaining high visibility of our product. 

The downside was our novice rank. We were one of 20 other companies selected by AppSumo and the only one without any history on the platform. We didn't have a single campaign behind us, and we missed the AppSumo reviews. Many of the selected companies had even 2 or 3 campaigns behind them. 

Another aspect was that positioning on a platform like AppSumo is extremely important. It has a significant impact on the results of the campaign. It must also be remembered that it is also determined by the results of previous sales and product reviews, so these were factors that we lacked. 

The start of the campaign was good. About 48 hours after its launch, we had over 5,000 visits to the BOWWE website on AppSumo, 22 sales, 32 questions about the product, and one review with the highest rating of 5/5. 

After a few days, the results started to decline despite good beginnings. It was due to several things. How, then, was our offer distinguished?

Our products were classified as a “select deal” during the campaign, i.e., an offer specially selected by AppSumo. It was supposed to guarantee us greater visibility on the platform and intensive promotion by AppSumo. However, in both cases, we got less than we expected.

BOWWE on the banner on AppSumo homepage

Even though we were selected for the "select deal" to guarantee greater product visibility, our product wasn't visible. At the campaign launch, we were on the banner located on the AppSumo homepage, but after one day, our product disappeared from there. The presence on the banner on the home page is one of the primary sources of traffic, which translates into more significant interest in the product. Disappearing from the banner at the beginning of the campaign deprived us of some traffic from Sumo-lings. We discussed this problem with AppSumo, and we managed to negotiate a reappearance on the banner (and on the carousel).

Carousels on the AppSumo homepage

Carousels on the AppSumo homepage are also the place where your product should appear to get Sumo-lings attention. As there are several carousels on the home page that showcase a wide variety of products, your graphic must attract attention and encourage recipients to learn more about the offer it represents. In the case of carousels, we also had to negotiate more visibility. 

Search results on AppSumo

Among the search results for the categories under which our product was submitted, we did not appear at the beginning. This meant that the user had to search to reach us. We had to solve this problem ourselves. We conducted keyword research on Appsumo - it turned out that previously our offer wasn't optimized for the keywords most searched for by Sumo-lings. By entering individual vital phrases in the search engine on the AppSumo platform, e.g., website builder, we checked the automatic completions it proposes. These are the phrases most searched for by Sumo-lings. We divided them depending on the frequency of searches, and then we chose the ones that had the best chance of better positioning our offer. As soon as we added relevant keywords, traffic increased. However, they had to be updated regularly as their popularity changed rapidly. 

To avoid losing customers who have already expressed their interest in BOWWE and purchased a plan from the AppSumo campaign, we have created a sequence of e-mails. They included a thank you for purchasing our product. They also encouraged users to freely use BOWWE, among others, by sending the essential materials (tutorials, articles from the BOWWE blog), which allowed for quick familiarization with the functionalities of our creator. 

AppSumo had a lot of promise regarding our campaigns on their platform. What did we actually get from these promises? 

AppSumo uses Slack to add details about the campaign and send more critical information. This is a quick way to get in touch with the AppSumo team. We had no significant problems with getting feedback from them through Slack. 

There is also a general channel that connects the AppSumo community. This gives you the additional opportunity to promote your product and get advice from more experienced members of the AppSumo community.

Appearance of Slack used to contact AppSumo

We also had a "guardian" from AppSumo, to whom we provided more information about our tool and details of our offer. Mostly he was supposed to help us handle our chat and respond to customer inquiries. This option was exciting because the BOWWE team works in Europe, while most buyers were from the States. It was as much as 7 hours of difference that we had to cover somehow.

We had to deal with the chat ourselves and solve customer problems on an ongoing basis. However, it was not a loss for us. We decided that using the help of an external person who doesn't have as much knowledge about BOWWE and about our clients will not help us.

Additionally, we did not want to miss any opportunity to talk to clients. During them, we gain a lot of valuable knowledge, which often comes as a surprise to us, and we have been working on our product and selling it for many years! 

Most of the products campaigning on AppSumo are provided with a video review based on the previously uploaded video. It aims to introduce the Sumo-lings tool, showing its most important functionalities. This video is posted on the Appsumo product page and their YouTube channel - AppSumo / Products. Our video had over 2,000 views there. We also used AppSumo's video reviews to promote our product outside of their platform. We made the video available mainly on our social media. 

AppSumo may also use paid advertising to promote products having campaigns on their platform. Ads can be seen on several media, including Facebook.

In our case, however, it was not an intensive promotion. We had, among others, an ad informing about the offer and reminding about the upcoming end of the campaign. So there were two, maybe three types of advertisements displayed a couple of times for the entire ten weeks of the campaign, which didn't differ significantly depending on the product.

Ads about BOWWE by AppSumo

Regarding affiliate marketing (AppSumo informed us about a huge database - thousands of affiliates), we did not see much actions for BOWWE in relation to it. There are only two very low-quality articles from two affiliates.

Affiliate marketing would significantly increase our possibilities by treating the campaign on AppSumo mainly as a tool to increase the reach of BOWWE and reach a larger group of recipients. Therefore, when negotiating the contract, the appearance and scope of such activities must be clearly defined (we don't know if it is possible to include it in the contract, but it is worth trying) not to miss any chance to get the most significant benefit from cooperation with AppSumo. 

Newsletter from AppSumo reminding users about the end of the BOWWE campaign

At the end of the campaign, AppSumo also offers the option of releasing a newsletter. It reminds AppSumo users that the product is ending its movement, which is the last moment to buy it at a bargain price.

However, to take advantage of this form of promotion, certain conditions must be met - the average rating of the tool must be at least 4.0 tacos out of at least 20 reviews (which BOWWE achieved). This newsletter-like type often results in the most significant jump in sales compared to the rest of the campaign - we recorded more traffic to our product page on AppSumo and several sales.

For our support to be the best and to answer all questions about the offer and the tool itself, we created a database of questions and answers, which we then updated with each new question.

We also created a schedule where the marketing department had specific days allocated to the chat on our website and our product page on AppSumo. Due to the time difference between Europe and the United States - where most of the customers were from, we had to be flexible and ready to answer a possible question at any time of the day.

Fragment of the BOWWE support schedule during the AppSumo campaign

All this allowed us to provide our customers with AppSumo efficient and helpful support, which has been appreciated many times in the opinions about BOWWE. We made sure that no question waited more than 24 hours for an answer and that each person who contacted us with an inquiry received a comprehensive answer. As a result, we had no unresolved questions at the end of our campaign.

The appearance of the "Q&A" section after answering all the questions

Q&A on AppSumo itself requires knowledge of specific rules for answering questions on this platform. The dashboard, which you and your team get access to before the campaign starts, has a section that shows the status of answers to customer questions. If any questions are unanswered, this section will tell you how many "unresolved" questions there are and a hint from AppSumo to try to answer each question within 24 hours - our team provided answers in much less time!

Dashboard looks for the BOWWE campaign on AppSumo

Just answering the question that appears on the AppSumo platform is not always as easy as it may seem. Questions awaiting answers are marked in color and "Unresolved" at the top. Use the Ctrl + F shortcut to find them faster and search for "unresolved".

An example of how an unrelated question looks on AppSumo

If you want to answer the question, you need to press the "Reply" button at the bottom, and after entering the answer, select "Mark as Resolved" so that the question does not appear unsolved anymore.

The appearance of the options with an unresolved question on AppSumo

Remember to pay attention to this, especially in the case of reviews. Otherwise, they will not be included in the average rating. However, if you make a mistake or your answer looks different after publication than in edit mode, you must contact AppSumo directly with a request not to accept the wrong answer (you can do it via the Slack channel).

Running a promotional campaign yourself to raise the offer on AppSumo is not a necessary step. It depends on the answer to the question - how great did you expect yourself to achieve and whether you have already achieved them.

For some, the mere presence on such a platform may be enough. It was not enough for us because AppSumo did not show our offer sufficiently, so we had to conquer it ourselves.

AppSumo has a lot of traffic (3 milion unique visitors) - we didn't get event half of this. Our primary goal in running the campaign on AppSumo was to increase the reach of our tool, introduce it to a new group of recipients and receive valuable feedback on it. As the mere presence on the platform did not give us what we expected, we were had to conduct an extensive promotional campaign on various social media.

We used channels on Slack, where a group of our potential recipients was located. We also operated on many Facebook groups devoted to the offer appearing on AppSumo and the SaaS product offering itself. Added to this were Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, etc.

Conquering the campaigns on AppSumo through other marketing activities has brought big results. During the increased promotional activities on social media, the views of the product on AppSumo grew, and the page views on the bowwe.com.

As this was only our first AppSumo campaign, we prepared ourselves as best as possible. We couldn't predict several situations, such as poor promotion of the offer by AppSumo. However, we made adjustments to our campaign on an ongoing basis (negotiating more visibility with AppSumo, optimizing the offer with keywords, etc.). We got a great result - with an average rating of 4.95 we are the best-rated website builder on AppSumo!

Here are the most important lessons we learned from the first BOWWE experience at AppSumo:

Do in-depth research among your competitors on Appsumo. Check under which categories and keywords they appear on Appsumo. Take a close look at their offer to define your price list better and indicate your greatest strengths. Also, pay attention to your competitors' communication with customers. Is it quick and helpful? Do customers get what they expect? If not, what are they missing? Learn from the mistakes of others and apply best practices in your strategy.

Also, be sure to check who will be campaigning simultaneously as you. These may be products in a completely different category than your offer. However, it may also turn out to be a competition that will be compared with your product. Consider the possibility of receiving questions like "How is your product different from XYZ? XYZ has fewer restrictions on offer…" and prepare the appropriate answer. Do not respond with hostility to inquiries about competitors. Take advantage of these opportunities to present your product's highlights and enter into a deeper discussion with Sumo-lings.

Answer to the question comparing BOWWE to other AppSumo offers

When negotiating a contract and refining the details of the entire campaign, remember that you and your team know your product and its recipients best. This does not mean that you should reject any suggestions and advice from AppSumo, but if you are sure that your offer should look like this, follow your experience and knowledge.

What is especially worth paying attention to when negotiating with AppSumo?

a) Presence on the banner and carousels - this is one of the most effective ways to get high visibility on this platform. Don't let your product be there for only one day!

b) Intensive affiliate marketing - ensure that the contract specifies the form and amount of this type of promotion.

c) The appearance of the campaign - as already mentioned, it is you, not AppSumo, who know best not only your product, but also your recipients. If you think that, for example, you need a separate campaign for each of your products, follow your experience.

d) Simple pricing with restrictions on offer - Sumo-lings rarely do an in-depth review of product offerings that interest them. Think about what limitations you can put in the offer so that they are not noticeable at first glance and the offer looks unlimited. Note that you are selling a "Lifetime deal" on AppSumo, so if you don't limit your offerings, you'll start adding to AppSumo customers after a while.

e) Clear terms of the contract - make sure that all arrangements with AppSumo are confirmed on paper. This way, it will be easier for you to predict the reach of the campaign and consider whether it is worth boosting it with an individual promotion.

Also, keep in mind that while the campaign is still in progress, you can always try to negotiate with them if you find that AppSumo's actions are not as intended. For example, during the campaign, BOWWE managed to negotiate a reappearance on the carousel. However, it is better to determine as much as possible during the preparations for the campaign because AppSumo will not always agree to make changes to an ongoing campaign.

By getting to know the specificity of customers on AppSumo, it will be easier for you to create the right offer that will be attractive to them and prepare for possible questions that may be sent to the support department. So what is worth knowing about Sumo-lings?

Efficient support is one of the critical elements of a successful AppSumo campaign. Treat customer service issues with the utmost seriousness. It is not only a way to gain customers and convince those unconvinced but also a way to build a relationship with them.

Sumo-lings love to ask questions. We answered almost 80 questions throughout our campaign and only on the AppSumo platform. In addition, there are also questions from our chat on the BOWWE website - which is also necessary when running this type of campaign.

Chat statistics on bowwe.com from the entire AppSumo campaign

The communication with clients did not consist of a quick answer to the question and solving the conversation. First, we made sure that our answers were always accurate and complete. To make it easier to convey specific issues to the recipient, we also created short videos that took them to step by step through the problem's solution. Our responses have been appreciated many times.

Review about BOWWE from Sumo-ling

We drew many conclusions from the conversations with clients, learned new things, and received constructive feedback about our tool. Often, clients had long and valuable discussions with us.

Through support and in-depth conversations with Sumo-lings, we noticed a significant problem resulting from a poor understanding of the offer by customers. It was important that the number of Landing Pages in our offer = / = the number of domains. Typically, one landing page corresponds to one domain; however, not in our case. It caused us a bit of trouble, especially since the landing page was the most important in our contract.

For us, it was logical to have an unlimited number of landing pages. When users asked us about this, we didn't know what was happening. We only found out after one of the deeper discussions with one of the clients, and we immediately asked AppSumo to re-edit our offer. If we had not used the opportunity to talk with the client for a longer time, we learned much later that our offer was misunderstood.

Karol’ message to Sumo-lings regarding the creation of an unlimited Landing page

Users appreciate effective support - preparation helped us manage communication efficiently. We devoted a lot of attention to our clients and provided quick service and assistance, which was appreciated. We achieved 20 reviews on AppSumo with an average of over 4.94 ratings. Thanks to this, AppSumo also included us in their mailing when our offer was about to end as a reminder of the campaign's last days.

Assessments at the end of the BOWWE campaign on AppSumo

It is not always profitable to rely 100% on AppSumo for the visibility of your product. We were had to conquer our offer because AppSumo did not provide the visibility we had hoped for. Bumping up the AppSumo campaign on social media contributed to the influx of new customers. What's more, if you take part in the affiliate program from AppSumo, you can use this promotion to increase your profits from the campaign.

In our case, participation in the affiliate program helped us increase the visibility of BOWWE and taught us some things to remember about campaigning on social media.

The results of the activities of the BOWWE team in the AppSumo affiliate program

Think about what you expect from campaigning on a platform such as AppSumo. Ask yourself what value and benefits you will get from it. Why should you run a campaign on AppSumo, where you have to sharing your profit  with AppSumo when you can do the same discount yourself? You can consider the problem by taking into account various aspects:

You need to assess whether the cost of acquiring a customer will be the same with and without AppSumo or if it will be different. It will be easier for you to decide whether it is really worth investing your time and money in running an AppSumo campaign.

Reviews on AppSumo are considered a valuable source of information about the product. AppSumo itself thinks the number of positive opinions to be an essential factor influencing the visibility of the product on the platform. The result of the campaign may be to build a database of the views about our product, but there is also a chance that not all of them will be beneficial for the product itself.

Remember - AppSumo is a platform that reaches millions of internet users. Running a campaign on this type of platform is visible on the outside, which means that the campaign can have colossal coverage. However, it can also have a downside.

If your campaign is unsuccessful, it may harm your business. If your potential customer finds out that such a campaign took place, they will want to learn more about your product. If he sees on AppSumo that your product has received no feedback, has had a low number of inquiries, or, worse, has negative reviews, it won't be easy to build trust in him and convince him of the value of your product.

You have to remember that AppSumo only looks at its own interest, and there's nothing wrong with that! That's why you and your team must fight to get the most out of campaigning on this platform. 

If you decide to run a campaign, take advantage of being on an entire platform of your potential audience. Focus on presenting your offer in the best possible way and increasing the recognition of your product. Make contact with Sumo-lings and try to maintain it even after the campaign is over. Acquire customers and consider their feedback, which you will later use when developing your product.

By regularly observing your campaign's statistics, it will be easier for you to react quickly to changes taking place in them. It is best if you create a separate document in which you will save the results of the campaign yourself. The statistics provided by AppSumo are not only often inconsistent with actual results but also only cover seven days. This is a brief period that will not tell you much about the effectiveness of your campaign if you do not have data from earlier days, preferably weeks.

Statistics in the BOWWE dashboard on AppSumo

During our campaign on AppSumo, there was a sudden deterioration of results (website traffic, conversion amount, etc.) - thanks to regular observation, we were able to quickly respond to it, not only introducing actions to improve results but also looking for the factor that caused it's deterioration. This is how we noticed how much impact the banner presence or positioning of the offer with the right keywords has on the results.

I am sharing our experience with AppSumo to show you what your first campaign might look like and what to look for when preparing for (and then running) it.

There are entrepreneurs for whom the campaign on AppSumo turned out to be a turning point that showed the value of their project and won them, loyal customers. For others, the campaign on AppSumo turned out to be a disappointment, showing the weakness of their product or not bringing the profits they expected.

From the perspective of the BOWWE team and me, AppSumo had a positive impact on us. It made us believe in our own product and brought many new users and fame to our tool. We also gained good opinions on the product and discovered the directions in which it is worth developing it.

The information that BOWWE turned out to be the best builder in the history of AppSumo was also a great success! Of the other Builders who ran the Appsumo campaign, ours received the highest average rating - 4.95. This news confirms that the entire BOWWE team is doing a great job and our tool responds to the needs of many audiences.

I am delighted with the opportunity received, and I plan to repeat the campaign, but this time on different terms and based on the experience gained.