#99 - Going Viral on TikTok

#99

                            August 2, 2021

                #99 - Going Viral on TikTok

                        A midnight phone call, topping the App Store charts, improvements to our Goodreads import, being featured in Bustle, and a request for help!

View this email in your browser

#99 | 2 August 2021

Going viral on TikTok

On Tuesday July 27th, I went to bed at my usual time of 11pm...

...only to be woken up by a phone call at midnight. 👀

I immediately knew it was Rob, mainly because he's the only one that can get through to me directly when I'm asleep. (Technically Abbie could as well, but if I'm asleep then Abbie is definitely also asleep. 😆)

A TikTok video about us had just been released and was going viral, there were now a couple thousand people simultaneously using the product (we were used to a few hundred at a time), and we were struggling to support the load. 😩

Turns out BookTok is a very powerful place!

Rob and I worked for 6 hours straight and eventually managed to get the apps stable. We'd gained 20,000 new users in that time.

By the end of the day, with 40k new users, and tens of thousands of app downloads later, there was a surprise waiting for us in the App Store charts:

Number 1 in Book App Store Charts in the US (pictured), UK, Canada, and Australia! 🙌🏾

Since last time...

We pushed a new update to our Android app, which fixed a lot of the compatibility issues that we were having with the first version! 🎉

We also added a long overdue feature to our Goodreads import:

Now we automatically pull in your owned books!

(Note: This feature is only for users who've not yet done an import.)

Outside of product updates, we were featured in Bustle! 😍

Next two weeks

I need your help for the next issue of this newsletter...! 😌

What have been some of your highlights of The StoryGraph's journey since you've been reading? Hit "Reply" to let me know!

And by the next time you hear from me, our Up Next feature should be live, along with an extra special addition for Plus users:

What I'm reading right now

Short stories aren't my favourite, but I don't think I've given them enough of a chance. 

Given I need to read A translated book by a Chinese author for The StoryGraph's Translation Challenge and I've been wanting to explore more Chinese Science Fiction, Broken Stars seemed like a brilliant choice: 

Have a great week (and please remember to send me StoryGraph journey highlights!),

Nadia

P.S. Know somebody who's an avid reader or would enjoy following along with this journey? Please do forward this email to them! Thank you. :-)

Haven't tried The StoryGraph yet? Check it out today!

Love the app? Consider upgrading to our Plus plan!

Want to volunteer? Apply to be a Librarian!

Were you forwarded this email?

If you liked what you read, you can subscribe for future updates and catch up on past ones.

<p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51)">Subscribe for a behind-the-scenes look at my StoryGraph founder journey and beyond.</span></p>

Want to change how you receive these emails?

You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

                            Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to The One-Woman Dev Team Diaries: