When you develop a to do app, people use it and email you with ideas, complaints, and thanks. For a year and a half I hustled to build a better productivity app. I spent long days:
- Drawing mock-ups designs
- Researching
- Coding
- Debugging
- User testing
- Reading user feedback
- Redesigning
- The list goes on...
However, it never struck me that by making an app designed for getting shit done, my users would end up being amazing.
Do.List isn't a game or a TV show, it's a productivity app. You don't thank someone for it unless it's helping you tackle life. When you start getting thanked, you realize how many people really, really needed a better productivity solution. Before suggesting new features, most people say thanks and it's been pretty cool. Here are some excerpts:
“Hi,
I really love your app. Really and truly. ”
This guy suggested a small design change and his response to my reply was:
“...thanks for the response! solid app though, for habit tracking etc, and i’ve tried them all. 5 stars!”
You hear that? "I've tried them all." No one tries productivity app after productivity app just for fun. These emails are from people who are clearly busy, with a lot on their plate, and they're psyched because Do.List helped them manage their life. How cool is that? I hustled and my hustle now helps them hustle.
It's a continuous hustle loop, fueling each other's goals. Let me share one last email from three days ago:
“Congrats on the best to do / task app out there on the market. Can see you have put a lot of time and effort into this. Thank you.
Any chance of...”
That blew me away: "I can see you have put a lot of time and effort into this." No lazy person would ever appreciate all the little details I fussed over to create a truly helpful to do app! Meaning that type of observation only comes from someone who's busy. I have the coolest users on Earth, they're the people getting shit done.
Not only are my users awesome because they clearly hustle and are super focused on doing more, they also send in suggestions. They help me be better at what I do and that's made all the difference.
The early versions of Do.List were liked but not loved. This was for version 3.1.2:
That shows that 48/72 people gave it five stars, that's 66% of reviewers. But while that version was out, people sent in their ideas and thanks. Those emails and reviews fueled the planned improvements. So version 3.2 ended up having a few more people who loved it:
Out of 50 reviews, 35 gave it five stars, that's 70% of reviewers. However, people still had complaints and others had ideas. They got in touch. We'd email back and forth and I'd try to balance everyone's suggestions to figure out what would benefit everyone. Then came version 3.3:
With 41/47 reviewers giving five stars, that's 87%. That kind of version by version improvement doesn't come without awesome users letting you know what's working and what they need.
Now Do.List still isn't for everyone. That one two-star-reviewer left a written review and I'm happy to share it:
“I’m am surprised at the number of positive reviews. This app should be free with optional in app purchases. Then when you try it, you would know realize you are wasting your money. I wish you could see the reviewers real names.”
This person's pissed. I've never paid for a review in my life but they literally call out the legitimacy of my other reviewers. Obviously, Do.List doesn't fit everyone and this person certainly doesn't see the value. But here that review is next to the next two reviews:
I get a kick out of that top review: "It works! It helps." Very to the point, they must be busy! (-: But that middle review is one of those awesome ones, a mother of four saying "this helps me keep my whole life in order". How cool is that?
This cycle between my users and I, it's the coolest thing in the world. I help them, they help me. My wife and I are planning to have kids in about a year and every $1.99 purchase makes us a little more financially stable for when that time comes. I made something that's helping people manage their life and they're giving me two bucks, encouragement, and ideas that help me make the app better. I hustle to fuel their hustle, their hustle fuels my hustle.
If you decide to try Do.List and have some ideas on how to improve it, get in touch: dave@yourdolist.com
This was a story of hustlers.