In 2016, I went down a rabbit hole to understand the recipe for successful apps. Since: • Developed a quantified framework • Ran it through 100+ apps • Supercharged dozens of clients' apps for Here is the entire framework broken down for your #indiehacker app:

It all started on a long-haul flight when I was #hooked by @Nir Eyal's book. It made sense, but I thought there must be a way to quantify this user engagement thing. So we developed a framework and put it to test on over 100 apps. An experiment with surprising results!

While the framework has solely qualitative input, the quantified output was significantly correlated to the measured KPIs. An increase of 5 points on the framework's 0-100 scale resulted on avg. in: • 51% more reviews / download • 48% more daily sessions • 62% longer sessions

The user engagement mechanisms are an invisible layer between code & design. You could have the perfectly written & functioning code combined with the most beautiful design and get no results whatsoever. The secret sauce are the user engagement mechanisms.

The user engagement mechanisms are comprised of • Onboarding • Trigger • Action • Reward • Investment. In each of those, there are 3 mechanisms to master. Let's finally dive in:

Onboarding User: "Why and how should I use this product?" The three mechanisms to master in Onboarding are to (1) introduce your user to the service, enable them to (2) save their progress, and (3) get them to start using your service.

Introduction (Onboarding 1/3) BEST: The user is guided through a first experience of the service Medium: The user is shown a description of functionalities Low: The user can discover the service on their own

Save Progress (Onboarding 2/3) BEST: The user does not have to register to use the service, progress is saved differently Medium: The user has to register at a certain point on the user journey Low: The user has to register before using the service for the first time

First Mission (Onboarding 3/3) BEST: The user is animated with a specific task to accomplish Medium: The user receives an indication that they are ready to use the service Low: The user can start using the service by themselves

Trigger User: "What drives me to use this product again?" This comes down to (1) the call to action you’re sending, (2) the external trigger mechanisms you use, and (3) the need frequency your product is generating.

Call to Action (Trigger 1/3) (typically in push-notifications or e-mails) BEST: The user is asked to do a specific task Medium: The user is informed about events related to their use Low: The user is reminded of the existence of our service

Trigger Mechanism (Trigger 2/3) BEST: User behavior related (their "outside of tool"-behavior) Medium: Activity related (based on something happening in the app) Low: Standardized plan (one-size fits all)

Need Frequency (Trigger 3/3) BEST: The urge to use our service can exist at any moment Medium: The user can use the service without a specific task to complete in mind Low: The user is only provoked to use the service if a certain task is to be completed

Action User: "Is this product easy to use?" Once we triggered the user, Action happens. The goal for Action is to (1) set goals for the user, (2) guide them through the task, and (3) give them feedback upon completion.

Goal setting (Action 1/3) BEST: The user receives a specific task to complete Medium: The user receives suggestions to tackle different tasks Low: The user has to set and follow the goals himself

Guidance (Action 2/3) BEST: The user is guided by clear explicit steps and tasks Medium: The user has to find the way through the task himself Low: The user cannot complete the task in one run (i.e. medium switch)

Feedback upon completion (Action 3/3) BEST: The user receives feedback inside the service Medium: The user receives feedback outside the service Low: There is no feedback whether the task is completed or not

Reward User: "How am I rewarded for my use?" We all want to be rewarded for everything we do, hence, what about. A reward can come with different characteristics. We look at (1) the variability, (2) the time of anticipation, and (3) the types of rewards the app provides.

Variability (Reward 1/3) BEST: The user receives variable rewards Medium: The user receives unexpected rewards Low: The user receives expected rewards

Time of anticipation (Reward 2/3) BEST: Start ... something is happing or to be done ... Reward Medium: Start ... do something, do some more, do a lot more ... Reward Low: Start…Reward

Types of rewards (Reward 3/3) (This is the only goal without a hierarchy, here the goal is the accumulation of types. All 3 of 3 are BEST.) Reward of Hunt (Trophies, Badges, etc.) Social Reward (Likes, Comments, Leaderboards, etc.) Reward of Self (Progress, Mastering, etc.)

Investment User: "What do I gain from a long-term use?" Investment is key for retention. You need to (1) show the user how much they have invested in your app, (2) create loss potential, and - if it’s in the interest of the user’s goal! - (3) exert pressure with it.

Visualization (Investment 1/3) BEST: Achieved investments are actively communicated Medium: Achieved investments are visualized Low: Investments do not appear in the user interface

Loss potential (Investment 2/3) BEST: A physical loss Medium: A virtual loss Low: Investments do not have emotional worth and can easily be build again

Pressure Exertion (Investment 3/3) BEST: The user risks to lose achievements without further action Medium: The user cannot reach something without further action Low: The user can use the app without any pressure

That's the framework on user engagement mechanisms. I hope this helps unlock some growth for you & supercharge your app as well! I'll elaborate on each building block over the next few days & weeks. So feel free to follow along and please ask questions! I'm happy to help!

TL;DR: The complete user engagement framework • with 15 mechanisms to: a) measure your tool against b) actionable suggestions to improve • to identify shortcomings of your app • to predict the potential for success I even use it for startup investment decisions

If you found this to be helpful, feel free to share it with anyone you think might benefit from learning these mechanisms as well by retweeting the first tweet of this thread. Please reach out with any questions you might have. Happy to help! twitter.com/davidfuesser/s…