id: devto-83-shipping-60-days
title: "60 days, 6 iOS apps, 80+ dev.to articles, $0 marketing budget: what actually worked"
category: content
priority: P0
status: paste-ready
eta_min: 15
actions: [preview, copy-clipboard, open-devto]
type: distribution
platform: dev.to
article: 83
tags: ["indie-hacking", "ios", "build-in-public", "productivity"]
created: 2026-05-07
60 days, 6 iOS apps, 80+ dev.to articles, $0 marketing budget: what actually worked
Day 60 of a 100-day indie iOS experiment. Revenue: $0 so far. Here is the honest retrospective on what generated traction and what died quietly.
The TL;DR
I spent $0 on marketing. Everything was organic: dev.to articles, Substack newsletters, a B2B lead funnel, and Apple TestFlight beta cycles.
What worked:
- dev.to article series (60+ articles, 3-10k views each for top pieces)
- TestFlight Debug Bible ($29 PDF, launched Day 60)
- B2B lead funnel (15 static HTML pages, 7.8% email capture rate)
What did not:
- Reddit/IH self-posts (anti-bot blocks, low engagement)
- WeChat official account (wrong audience for iOS dev tools)
- Cold B2B email (0 booked calls from 150 sent)
What I actually shipped in 60 days
| Asset | Count | Revenue potential |
|---|---|---|
| iOS apps submitted | 4 | $0 (pending Apple) |
| Gumroad SKUs | 6 | $0 (no audience yet) |
| dev.to articles | 60+ | $0 (indirect) |
| Substack subscribers | ~500 | $0 (free tier) |
| B2B email list | 47 captures | TBD |
| Affiliate program | 30% commission | $0 (just launched) |
The 3 things I would do differently from Day 1
1. Set up the affiliate program on Day 1, not Day 60
Affiliates compound. Every reader of every article you have ever written is a potential affiliate. I lost 60 days of compound. Gumroad has built-in affiliate management (free). Set it up before you have an audience. Full setup walkthrough.
2. Publish the first App Store app on Day 7, not Day 60
The best marketing for iOS dev tools is shipping an iOS app that uses those tools. I spent 60 days building tools without a live proof-of-concept app in the App Store. A single app with 100 downloads validates your positioning more than any amount of content.
3. B2B consulting outreach from Day 14, not Day 60
Cold email B2B has a 2-4 week lag time to first reply. I built the B2B funnel before I had anything to sell. Identify your first B2B ICP by Day 14, send the first cold email by Day 21.
What I am doing next (Days 61-90)
Week 1 (Days 61-67): First App Store sales data + affiliate program first results
Week 2 (Days 68-74): If first app approved: launch promo wave
Week 3 (Days 75-81): B2B outreach with real launch data
Week 4 (Days 82-90): Day 90 retrospective -- real revenue signal
Hard target: $500 by Day 90.
The uncomfortable truth
Indie iOS dev in 2026 is a long game. Apple review lag means first App Store revenue hits 2-3 days after you think it will. Substack growth takes 3-6 months before paid tier conversion. B2B consulting requires trust built through content.
The $0 at Day 60 is not failure. It is the baseline. Day 90 is the real signal.
The 60-day playbook with real numbers: iOS Indie Launch Playbook on Gumroad (\, 50-page PDF).
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