I created my app, CopyNote, two years ago, and here's how much revenue I'm making now
Hello fellow devs!
I just wanted to share a bit of my journey in trying to make revenue from my iOS app and get some advice on how to expand to a larger market, especially the US.
I’ve been working on my little iOS app called CopyNote for 2 years now. I often found myself retyping the same phrases or responses when writing emails and responding to messages—like sharing bank account info, addresses, or phone numbers with friends. CopyNote was designed to solve that problem and streamline your workflow with just a single tap.
Key Features:
- Save Frequently Used Notes: Store texts, templates, images, reminders, or anything else you need to reference often.
- One-Tap Copying: Insert any saved note with just one tap—no more dragging to copy-paste.
- Direct Sharing to Social Media: Share your notes directly to social platforms (like Twitter, Facebook, etc.) from the app itself—perfect for quick posts. In fact, many of our users are businesses that frequently share content via Facebook or Instagram.
- Customizable Shortcuts: Set up shortcuts to make accessing your saved notes even faster!
My Journey to Monetizing:
When I first launched my app, I decided to offer it for free with ads, hoping to quickly build a user base. It worked to some extent—I gained users—but the revenue from ads was minimal.
Next, I pivoted to offering a premium version with no ads and a lifetime subscription. This generated some decent revenue in the beginning, but I started losing motivation to keep updating the app. It became a grind to constantly find new users, and I hit a wall.
At that point, I decided to make the app completely paid after free trail. I knew this might upset some users, and sure enough, I got a flood of 1-star reviews. I expected it, so I didn’t stress about it too much. But over time, the paid model started to pay off, and now I’m at about 200 daily active users and generating $300+ in monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
The challenge now is that most of my users are based in Korea, which is a relatively small market. I’m looking to expand, especially into the US market, but I’m not sure where to start.
If anyone has experience expanding their user base, particularly in reaching new markets like the US, I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions. What worked for you? How did you find new users and gain traction in bigger markets?
Here’s a link to the App Store: CopyNote on the App Store
Link to Facebook: CopyNote on Facebook
I’m currently revamping the app and the App Store page with an entirely new design, as well as working on increasing our online presence on social media. Hopefully, this will help with growth.
If anyone’s interested in checking it out or has feedback (especially suggestions for improvement!), I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to DM me!