ai app growth marketer. free playbooks from inside the ad account.
Ar.Bhavesh, the app growth guy. scaled ZuAI to 2M users at $0.02 CAC.
Three pages worth reading first.
What does an app growth marketer actually do?
acquisition, activation, retention, data, tools and cost, from inside a $300k/month ad account.
pricingWhat it costs to work with me
how engagements are priced, what each one includes, and when i will tell you it is too early.
the frameworkSocial Burning
the organic-to-paid growth framework for apps: test creative organically, pay only for proven winners.
What founders read first. Start with these.
App growth marketing: the complete guide for 2026
paidPaid user acquisition for apps: what it is and how to run it in 2026
paidPaid user acquisition AI tools: what to use for app ads in 2026
ai agentsAI marketing agents: how AI agents in marketing work, with real examples
ai agentsAgentic growth marketing: what it is and how to run it
app storeASO checklist: a 40-point App Store and Google Play audit
app storeApple Search Ads payback period: how to calculate it (and ROAS)
learnCPI vs CAC: what's the difference for apps (and which one to optimize)
learnLTV to CAC ratio for apps: formula, what's good, and CPI vs LTV
playbooksHow to get from 1,000 to 10,000 app users
free toolLTV to CAC calculator: ratio, payback and CPI to CAC
Pick a channel. Every playbook, in one place.
Free playbooks for your first users.
your first 50, 100, 1,000, 10,000 and 1M users, one channel at a time.
- How to get your first 50 app users (when nobody knows you exist)
- How to get your first 100 app users: a channel-by-channel guide
- How to get from 1,000 to 10,000 app users
What an app growth marketer does.
definitions, the role, the metrics, and how apps get their first users.
- CPI vs CAC: what's the difference for apps (and which one to optimize)
- LTV to CAC ratio for apps: formula, what's good, and CPI vs LTV
- Consumer app growth marketer: what makes consumer different
App user acquisition.
Meta, TikTok, Apple Search Ads, creative testing and CAC.
- Paid user acquisition AI tools: what to use for app ads in 2026
- Paid user acquisition for apps: what it is and how to run it in 2026
- How to lower CAC for a consumer AI app
UGC for apps.
creator engines, Spark Ads, and turning organic winners into paid.
- Are TikTok dark ads better than Spark Ads? Spark vs dark ads for apps
- TikTok Spark Ads for apps: turn organic winners into paid
Reddit app growth marketing.
subreddit research, comment-first seeding, the SAFE playbook.
- Reddit growth marketer for apps: what one does and how to hire one
- Reddit marketing for apps without getting banned
App Store guides.
ASO, product pages, screenshots, Apple Ads and Google Play.
- Apple Search Ads payback period: how to calculate it (and ROAS)
- ASO checklist: a 40-point App Store and Google Play audit
- App store marketing: how to get an app found and downloaded
Agentic growth marketing.
AI agents for growth work, building one, and marketing your own agent.
- Agentic growth marketing: what it is and how to run it
- Agentic app growth marketing: where AI agents actually help an app grow
- How to build an AI growth marketing agent (n8n + Claude, step by step)
Hire an app growth marketer.
cost, operator vs agency vs in-house, and how to interview.
- What are the red flags when hiring an app marketing agency?
- Best app growth marketer in 2026: a scorecard, not a ranking
- App growth marketer in San Francisco: hiring for Bay Area apps
an app growth marketer is the person responsible for getting an app more users who stay, at a cost per user the business can afford. the job covers user acquisition, onboarding, retention, measurement and ad creative, run as one system. it is judged on retained users and CAC, not installs, clicks or impressions.
Prefer to write it down? Send me your details.
tell me about your app and your #1 growth headache. i read every one myself and reply with ideas. no pitch, not a sales call.
Frequently asked questions
What does an app growth marketer do?
an app growth marketer finds the channels that bring in users who stay, then runs them: writing creative briefs, launching and killing campaigns, fixing onboarding where new users drop, and reading retention and CAC every week. the job ends in live campaigns and better numbers, not a strategy document. read more
How much does an app growth marketer cost?
it depends on the model. an in-house hire in the US is a six figure salary plus equity. agencies charge a monthly minimum on top of ad spend. independent operators price sprints or retainers by scope. ad spend and creative production are separate, and together they are usually the bigger number. read more
Should I hire an agency or an independent operator?
before product market fit, one senior operator usually beats an agency, because you need judgment and fast decisions more than capacity. once channels are proven and you need several run in parallel, an agency's team and process start to pay for themselves. pick by stage, not by price. read more
When should I hire an app growth marketer?
when a cohort of users keeps coming back, you have a monthly budget you can afford to test with, and the founder's time on growth is slowing down product. if you have not measured retention yet, measure it first. hiring before that mostly buys expensive proof that the product leaks. read more
Bring one real growth problem. Leave with the fix.
the teardown is free: your acquisition, creative and retention, and the one play i would run first. no pitch deck, no agency handoff.