Knownwell: 📈831K+ Views, 15.7K+ Likes, 1k+ App users

"I love this app. The support I get is better than from my own family." - TikTok comment

“I now understand the saying first time founders focus on product and second time founders focus on distribution. Everything is easier with users.”

He had finally built his dream app, but soon realized the toughest challenge was yet to come: acquiring users. His TikTok page shows the range of experiments and concepts he tried, none of which seemed to stick—until August 8, 2024. That’s when he launched a new format that skyrocketed to over 45K views, changing the course of his app’s growth. This is the story of how Nick Frankl created an AI journaling app called Knownwell and used a trending format to discover product-content-fit on TikTok.

Background 📓

Nick had just gone through a tough breakup and had a lot of emotions to process. That’s when his relationship with journaling began. By writing a little bit each day, he quickly felt a sense of relief. Realizing others were likely going through similar experiences, he decided to build an app to help with the journey. Knownwell is an AI journaling app that offers daily insights, including messages of support and encouragement. After experimenting with various approaches, Nick found success with a text message slideshow format he saw online, which stoked drama and crafted an engaging narrative. The twist? He added wholesome endings to tie in the app’s value proposition, offering a positive, uplifting resolution to every story.

Here are some of his most successful videos and how he did it 👇:

🎬 Toothbrush: 438K+ Views, 5K+ Likes, 700+ Saves

Hook: “I think you left your toothbrush…..”

Format: text messages screenshots + app screenshot + slideshow

Why this video worked:

• iMessages = credibility

• People love drama

• Naturally ties in app screenshot into the story

• Story is cont. in the caption

🎬 Breaking no contact: 104K+ Views, 2.7K+ Likes, 600+ Saves

Hook: “Hey sorry for breaking no contact but…”

Format: text messages screenshots + app screenshot + slideshow

Why this video worked:

• Investable plot = couples breaking up

• Sound matches mood of story

• Introduces his app within the first 4 slides

Key takeaways from Knownwell 💡

• Understanding his users pain points

  He realized that it would make sense to experiments with trying to understand why type of users would use his app and the situation they would be in.

• You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

  There were a couple of other therapy apps that have found success with this strategy, he simply hopped on the trend and modified it to fit his niche.

• It’s important to fail early on so you know what bad content looks like

  You need to first try and create content so you have a baseline to compare too.

• Drama sells

  People love investing their time into drama and stories. He used that to his advantage to create an engaging ad.

What you can replicate from this format 💰

• Create a story you think would sell

  It can be anything from an email thread from a boss to text message conversation.

• Use UI elements people are familiar with for credibility.

  Everyone knows iPhones iconic blue bubbles. This creates automatic trust.

• Figure out a reproducible format

  It's going to take some time for the algorithm to pump out your content to the right audience to make sure you pick a format you can stick with for at least a week.

• In what vulnerable state would your users best find your app.

  Is it a breakup, family issues, health issues? Create content that speaks to them and makes them feel like your app arrived at the perfect time.

A new era for content creation 😎

Earlier this week we released an article on a new format that was going viral all over social media last week. More than 5 accounts were spotted using this format which combined gained them over 20 million views. If you want to full read on the exact strategy they used a CapCut template for this viral format check out the full read here.

Be sure to subscribe for the next release of THIS weeks trending format 🔥

Know a founder that could use some help creating content? Feel free to share!

That’s all I got for this one. If you have any other viral consumer products you want me to break down my DM’s are always open.

Cheers!

Nick 🤝