October (a very full) Recap
Rebranding, 5 workshops / podcasts, and a lot of learning
Hi there,
This month I’m trying something a little different. It’s inspired by Kate Syuma’s Growthmates newsletter who did a great October recap.
I wanted to test my own version and see if you enjoy it. Hit reply and let me know if you’d like a November version or prefer the usual format (I won’t be offended, it’s an experiment)
October was a full one.
Between a rebrand, a new client, a trip to New York, and a lot of workshops and podcasts going live, it felt like my brain was running a marathon…
the good kind, where you cross the finish line with a notebook full of ideas.
Here’s what I created, what I learned, and what I’ve been enjoying. All the content is free to consume online.
What I’ve been presenting
1. Paddle webinar: End-to-end monetisation
We talked about optimising the full funnel, not just the paywall. My favourite discussion point was around activation.
Takeaway: If your retention curve is dropping fast, don’t start at the paywall. Start with what happens in the first 30 days.
Good for: anyone working on subscription app monetisation.
2. 0 to 1 Growth podcast with Mobile Dev Memo
We got into early validation and how monetisation should be part of product-market fit. My favourite example was Fluent Forever, an app that raised over $500K before launch by pre-selling beta access.
Takeaway: Don’t just validate that people like your idea. Validate that they’ll pay for it.
Good for: Founders building MVPs or early-stage apps.
3 & 4. Two workshop for Women in Experimentation
The first was a brainstorm session about using ADHD to your strengths in growth, it’s resulted in a Slack channel where we’ve been supporting each other since.
The second was on LinkedIn growth and posting. Twenty women in growth joined to kickstart their LinkedIn posting. It’s a competition we run every year with Convert to help women build the confidence to share their knowledge.
No public recording, but reply if you’d like the slides.
5. App Growth Annual
My Jobs to Be Done to grow your app workshop wasn’t recorded, but you can rewatch my session on Monetization Trends with Alice Muir.
6. 5 Monetisation Trends to Watch for
And this week I’m wrapping up October with a Halloween session with Steve P. Young with more on Monetization!
We will diving deeper into those monetisation trends, experiments to consider and doing some live app teardowns.
What I’ve been writing
Not 100% true, because articles take 1-2 months to go live :), but figured what was live was much more interesting than what’s planned:
From review to roadmap (RevenueCat)
How to turn your app reviews into a free user research lab.
Takeaway: Tag reviews by intent and emotion, not just topic. Patterns appear faster.
How to build an app growth team (RevenueCat)
What separates teams that experiment from teams that grow.
Takeaway: Connect every experiment back to impact, not just insight.
The CRO advantage of going slow with your data (Convert)
My “anti-AI” piece of the month.
Takeaway: Manual data reviews once a month reveal patterns automation can’t.
7 unexpected uses for your paywall (RevenueCat)
Your paywall can do more than sell.
Takeaway: Use it for onboarding, segmentation, or feedback loops.
That last one just went live today at 2 pm GMT, hence I scheduled today’s newsletter slightly later.
What else happened in October
Rebranding
The month started with my rebranding! Here’s why I invested in my rebranding I’m so glad I did it and feel reenergized as a result of it.
It’s a bit early to see results, but on LinkedIn since then, impressions are down 16.4% while engagement is up 5.9%.
That means an overall engagement rate increase of 32.7%: fewer views, but better ones. I’ll keep an eye on it and share what happens.
New York for RevenueCat App Growth Annual
As mentioned, I had a little New York trip! I went to the App Growth Annual and came back full of energy and with a slight case of jet lag.
My husband kindly came with me and kept me company around the conference events, so I got to explore a bit of New York too (including seeing Chicago the musical).
My month’s lows
I think it’s important to keep things real here. I promise you the messy insights into growth, so here they are:
One client had delays with their trial product run, which breaks my heart as they’ve already had so many production challenges. It makes it harder to have an impact.
I’ve noticed a drop in my course sales this year. Not sure if it’s AI-related or something else, but the trend continued this month.
A content partnership pauses next month onwards (not Convert or RevenueCat) because they want to focus on getting someone to manage partners on board first. Understandable, but still sad about it.
I’d hoped to make more progress on implementing my rebrand, but that will need to wait another month. I spent way too many hours updating Google Slides because my new theme won't automatically apply.
I’m six weeks into stopping caffeine because of my ADHD medication, and I still hate it ☕️. Decaf is not the same. I miss coffee.
My no-work Fridays haven’t happened much (read: at all) this month, which means weekends have been more about catching up on household tasks than relaxing (we still haven’t finished rebuilding our fireplace after 11 months).
I’ve also dropped the ball on longer dog walks (literally, too, I’ve lost five dog balls this month). As I write this, there’s a very grouchy dog staring at me, waiting to go out for his morning walk, hoping to find a better balance next month.
What I’ve been enjoying
Back to more positive things! Some other things happening beyond clients, workshops and articles.
A breakfast hosted by Growth & Company with the CEO of Purdy & Figg reminded me that single-channel focus can work if you drop the “growth at all costs” mindset and accept the ups and downs. I would say it is easier for subscription businesses with greater built-in stability.
I also went to see Susie Wolff speak in London about being the first female F1 driver. I was so dedicated that I missed the Mexican Grand Prix live and watched it on the way home (only to fall asleep on the couch for the last 20 minutes of the race).
Her story, and her book Driven, are both incredible.
From a learning point of view, I’ve been listening to some Business of Apps podcasts, including one with Plantin about testing new Web2App funnels. As well as many other podcast episodes and articles, while researching my own content.
On a personal level, I’ve switched up my workout routine from Peloton to Ladder. I’m just over two weeks in and really enjoying the new challenge. Less biking, more strength and running again. It’s been a good reset.
If you missed my newsletters this month
No worries, this is what I covered:
Looking ahead to November
Next month I’ll be at Conversion Hotel in the Netherlands, which I’ve been attending for years.
My mum and a friend are both visiting London (separately), I’m doing a cooking class with another friend, and I'm finally seeing Abba Voyage with my mum.
I’ll also be having a fireside chat with Ruben de Boer about experimentation vs growth.
And a few new articles are going live soon... but you’ll have to wait and see which ones.
So a bit calmer than October, but still lots of exciting things!
Till next week,
Daphne