# SportsTime iOS Launch & Growth Plan (90 Days)

Assumptions used for this plan:
- You are pre-launch on TestFlight with no meaningful existing audience.
- Budget is $500/month total.
- You can ship product changes quickly.
- US-only, iPhone-only, sports leagues are US-focused.
- Pricing is currently `$0.99/month` and `$9.99/year` (strongly recommend testing higher price points in Month 2).

Proposed 90-day targets (edit as needed):
- Baseline: `12,000 installs`, `300 paid subscribers`, `D1 32%`, `D7 14%`, `D30 7%`.
- Stretch: `30,000 installs`, `800 paid subscribers`, `D1 35%`, `D7 16%`, `D30 8%`.
- 100k installs in 90 days is only realistic if a viral loop from sharing/polls lands hard; paid media alone cannot do this on $500/mo.

## 1. Positioning & Messaging

- Core hook: “Plan multi-game sports road trips in minutes, not spreadsheets.”
- Positioning statement: SportsTime is the only iPhone app that combines real game schedules, route logic, and stadium tracking into one trip-planning flow.
- Target audience psychology: sports fans with FOMO, completionist behavior (visit all stadiums), social bragging (share routes/progress), and “planning as entertainment” during downtime.
- Why they install: they want an answer to “What games can I realistically hit in one trip?”.
- Why they pay: unlimited saved trips, group planning/polls, and stadium progress tracking are “identity” features for serious fans.

Main competitor set:
- `Roadtrippers` and `Wanderlog` for generic road-trip planning.
- `MLB Ballpark` for in-stadium check-in utility.
- `StadiumTrack` / `Stadium Rover` / `Balltrip` for stadium/fan tracking or lightweight sports-trip planning.
- `SeatGeek` as adjacent discovery/ticket competitor.

Why SportsTime wins:
- Sports-native planning modes (`by dates`, `by games`, `by route`, `follow team`, `by teams`) rather than generic POI routing.
- Cross-league coverage in one planner.
- Built-in “fan progression” layer (stadium tracking + achievements), not just itinerary.
- Group poll collaboration tied to trip options.

Tagline ideas:
- “From Couch to Kickoff.”
- “Build Your Ultimate Stadium Run.”
- “Plan the Trip. Chase the Games.”
- “See More Games. Drive Less.”
- “The Road-Trip Brain for Sports Fans.”

App Store subtitle ideas:
- “Plan Multi-Game Road Trips”
- “Sports Route + Stadium Tracker”
- “Trip Planner for Sports Fans”
- “Find Games, Build the Route”
- “Road Trips for Game Days”

## 2. Pre-Launch Plan (30-60 Days Before)

Landing page strategy:
- One CTA only: “Get your first 3-game route.”
- Inputs on page: favorite team, home city, month, max driving hours/day, email.
- Output: send a personalized sample itinerary by email within 24 hours.
- Add 3 social proof blocks from TestFlight users and one short demo video.

Waitlist strategy:
- Segment by league interest and distance willingness.
- Send weekly “Route Drop” emails: one weekend plan, one 5-day plan, one “follow-team” plan.
- Use scarcity: “Founding 500 get lifetime Founder Badge in app + 1 free pro year.”

Beta/TestFlight plan:
- Recruit 150-250 testers with high intent from fan communities.
- Use a structured mission each week: “Plan and save 1 trip” then “Share 1 trip card” then “Log 1 stadium visit.”
- Track activation target: 60% of testers reach `trip_saved`.
- Run 2 in-app surveys: after first trip save and after first week.

Community building channels:
- Reddit: `r/baseball`, `r/NBA`, `r/nfl`, `r/hockey`, `r/mls`, `r/wnba`, `r/NWSL`, `r/roadtrip`.
- TikTok/Reels: 4-5 short videos/week, each showing real route scenarios.
- X/Twitter: daily “Can this trip work?” route posts with screenshots.

How to collect emails:
- Website route generator.
- “Free printable stadium checklist” gated download.
- “Opening Week Route Pack” gated PDF.
- QR code from social video overlays to waitlist page.

How to seed early users:
- DM 100 fan creators/podcasters with a custom route built for their team.
- Offer “free pro for creators + audience code”.
- Run “First 1,000 Founders” campaign with public counter.

## 3. App Store Optimization (ASO)

Keyword strategy:
- Intent cluster A: `sports trip planner`, `stadium trip planner`, `game day trip`.
- Intent cluster B: `road trip planner`, `multi stop route planner`, `travel itinerary`.
- Intent cluster C: `MLB trip`, `NBA trip`, `NFL trip`, `NHL trip`, `MLS trip`.
- Intent cluster D: `stadium tracker`, `ballpark tracker`, `sports bucket list`.

Title/subtitle structure:
- Title format: `Brand + core intent`.
- Candidate title: `SportsTime: Stadium Trips`.
- Candidate subtitle: `Plan Multi-Game Road Trips`.

Screenshot strategy (8 screens):
- 1: “Plan by dates, games, routes, or teams.”
- 2: “See all games in your trip window.”
- 3: “Get optimized route options with drive time.”
- 4: “Compare itinerary options fast.”
- 5: “Save trips and revisit anytime.”
- 6: “Track stadiums visited across leagues.”
- 7: “Plan with friends using trip polls.”
- 8: “Share polished trip cards and PDFs.”

Preview video plan:
- Video A (15s): instant value, “from dates to route in seconds.”
- Video B (30s): real scenario, “hit 3 games in 4 days.”
- Video C (20s): stadium tracker + achievements + social sharing.

Review/rating strategy for first 100 reviews:
- Trigger `SKStoreReviewController` only after `trip_saved` + second successful session.
- Do not prompt after errors or paywall rejection.
- Send direct asks to top 100 TestFlight users with one-tap review deep link.
- In-app “Founding User” card asking for review after user shares a route.

Localization strategy:
- English (US) first.
- Spanish metadata next for US Hispanic market.
- Localize title/subtitle/keywords/screenshots before localizing full app UI.

## 4. Launch Week Strategy

| Day | Objective | Tactics | KPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (Mon) | Final prep | Freeze build, finalize ASO assets, schedule manual release, set analytics dashboards, queue 7 short videos | Zero blocker bugs |
| Day 2 (Tue) | Public launch burst | App Store live + Product Hunt launch + waitlist email blast + creator DMs (30) + ASA exact-match campaign start | Day-1 installs, CVR |
| Day 3 (Wed) | Reddit credibility | Post 3 value-first route breakdowns (not promo spam), reply to comments for 4 hours, publish one “how I planned this trip” thread | Saves/comments/clicks |
| Day 4 (Thu) | Short-form reach | Publish 3 TikToks/Reels showing team-specific route examples, CTA to free route planner | CTR to App Store |
| Day 5 (Fri) | Press + podcasts | Send 50 personalized pitches to sports newsletters/podcasts/blogs with team-angle hooks and demo links | Replies/bookings |
| Day 6 (Sat) | Community activation | Run “Weekend Stadium Challenge” with hashtag + share card template, repost user submissions | UGC count, shares |
| Day 7 (Sun) | Conversion optimization | Analyze funnel drop-offs, ship onboarding/paywall copy fixes, rotate ad creatives, publish launch recap thread | Activation uplift |

Product Hunt strategy:
- Launch Tuesday 12:01am PT.
- First comment must include one specific use case and roadmap.
- Ask 25 close contacts to engage in first 4 hours.

Reddit strategy:
- 70% value content, 20% discussion, 10% product mention.
- Post local/team-specific trip examples, not generic promo.

TikTok strategy:
- Repeatable content format: “Can you hit X games in Y days from [city]?”
- One visual hook in first 1.5 seconds, route reveal by second 5.

Influencer outreach:
- Target micro-creators in sports travel/fan vlog niche (`5k-100k followers`).
- Offer custom route build + 1-year pro for coverage.

Press outreach:
- Pitch angle by season moment (opening day, playoffs, rivalry weeks).
- Focus on niche sports outlets first, then broader travel tech.

Hacker News:
- Use only if you pitch technical angle: route algorithm + schedule constraints.

Paid ads in launch week:
- Spend `$120` max in week 1 for signal collection.
- Keep campaigns narrow and high-intent.

## 5. Growth Engine (Post-Launch)

Organic loops:
- Poll invite loop: each poll invite sends a deep link; recipient installs to vote.
- Share loop: route cards/PDFs include app watermark + CTA.
- Progress loop: stadium milestones create social posts (“12/30 MLB parks completed”).

Referral system:
- Give 1 month Pro for every referred user who completes first `trip_saved`.
- Cap at 12 months to avoid abuse.

Viral features to prioritize:
- Public “Team Trip Templates” share pages.
- “Weekend Route Generator” for each league.
- “Stadium Chase leaderboard” by city/team fandom.

Content strategy:
- Daily short route content tied to upcoming schedule windows.
- Weekly newsletter: “Best trips this week from [major US cities].”

SEO strategy:
- Create indexed pages: `/routes/[team]/[month]/[origin-city]`.
- Publish “best sports road trips by month” content with real route screenshots.

Community building:
- Launch a Discord with 3 channels only: `route-help`, `trip-recaps`, `feature-vote`.
- Host weekly “route office hours”.

Retention strategy:
- Push notifications on intent:
- Trigger if user planned but did not save in 24h.
- Trigger when favorite team has dense game window.
- Trigger when user is near unvisited stadium.
- Email cadence:
- Day 1: “Your first route + edit tips.”
- Day 3: “3 trips you can do from your city.”
- Day 10: “Track your first stadium visit.”

## 6. Paid Acquisition Plan (If Budget > $0)

Budget recommendation at `$500/month`:
- Apple Search Ads: `$325`
- TikTok Ads: `$125`
- Meta Ads: `$50`
- Creator seed spend: barter/free-pro only unless one creator clearly performs.

Apple Search Ads strategy:
- Campaign groups: brand, competitor, category, discovery.
- Start exact-match with high intent keywords only.
- Use CPT caps tightly; pause anything above target CPI by day 4.

TikTok ads strategy:
- Use native-style UGC clips, not polished promo ads.
- Creative angles: “I planned this Yankees trip in 30 seconds”, “3 games, 4 days challenge”.

Meta ads strategy:
- Interest stack: league fans + road trips + travel planning.
- Run one retargeting ad set once pixel audience exists.

Creator partnerships:
- Prioritize sports trip vloggers and fan podcasters.
- Give creator-specific deep links and offer their audience 30-day pro.

Expected CPI ranges (US, non-gaming guidance + practical inference):
- Apple Search Ads: roughly `$3.5-$6.0` per install.
- TikTok: roughly `$1.5-$4.0`.
- Meta: roughly `$2.0-$6.0`.

Testing plan:
- 2-week sprints.
- 3 creatives per channel minimum.
- Kill rule: pause ad after `3x target CPI` with no activation.
- Scale rule: increase 20% budget/day only on ad sets hitting activation and paywall conversion thresholds.

## 7. Analytics & Tracking Setup

Must-have tools:
- Product analytics: `PostHog` or `Amplitude`.
- Crash/perf: `Firebase Crashlytics`.
- Subscription tracking: StoreKit transaction events + server-side receipt status.
- Attribution at this budget: Apple Ads native attribution + SKAN/AdAttributionKit signals.

North-star metric:
- `Weekly Trip Saves (WTS)` and `Weekly Activated Users (WAU-Activated)`.

Core funnel:
- `install -> first_open -> onboarding_complete -> trip_options_generated -> trip_saved -> paywall_view -> purchase_success -> week1_return`.

Event schema to implement now:
- `app_first_open`
- `onboarding_started`
- `onboarding_completed`
- `planning_mode_selected`
- `sports_selected`
- `date_range_set`
- `regions_selected`
- `games_loaded`
- `trip_options_generated`
- `trip_option_viewed`
- `trip_saved`
- `trip_shared`
- `pdf_export_generated`
- `paywall_viewed`
- `paywall_cta_tapped`
- `purchase_started`
- `purchase_success`
- `purchase_failed`
- `subscription_renewed`
- `subscription_canceled`
- `poll_create_started`
- `poll_created`
- `poll_invite_sent`
- `poll_vote_submitted`
- `stadium_visit_logged`
- `achievement_unlocked`
- `push_opt_in_status_changed`
- `push_opened`
- `deeplink_opened`
- `referral_accepted`

Required event properties:
- `league`, `planning_mode`, `trip_option_count`, `trip_distance`, `trip_days`, `origin_city`, `paywall_trigger`, `product_id`, `price`, `utm_source`, `creative_id`.

Metrics to track weekly:
- Install-to-activation rate.
- Activation-to-paywall rate.
- Paywall view-to-purchase rate.
- D1/D7/D30 retention.
- ARPPU, trial-to-paid (if trials added), refund rate.
- LTV/CAC payback window by channel.

## 8. 90-Day Execution Roadmap

Week 1-2:
- Ship analytics and event taxonomy.
- Finalize ASO metadata and first 8 screenshots.
- Build waitlist landing page and route-lead magnet.
- Recruit first 150 TestFlight users.
- Publish 10 short videos before launch day.

Week 3-4:
- Launch publicly.
- Run launch week playbook.
- Collect first 50 public reviews.
- Ship onboarding and paywall copy improvements from funnel data.
- Start weekly route newsletter.

Month 2:
- Release referral loop and creator deep links.
- Add public route templates for SEO pages.
- Run 2 pricing/paywall experiments.
- Publish 20 additional short videos tied to schedule moments.
- Scale only top-performing acquisition channel.

Month 3:
- Double down on best league-specific growth channel.
- Launch “Stadium Challenge” campaign with leaderboard.
- Expand metadata localization to Spanish (US-focused).
- Add one retention feature tied to favorite teams and upcoming game clusters.
- Prepare playoff-season campaign calendar.

## 9. Aggressive Growth Ideas

1. Build “Weekend Trip Generator” web tool that creates shareable route images instantly.
2. Make first poll free (even on free tier) to maximize invite-based installs.
3. Run “30 Stadiums in 90 Days” public challenge with weekly leaderboard.
4. Auto-generate team-specific social content daily from schedule windows.
5. Offer fan podcasters a custom route segment they can run each week.
6. Launch “Founder handle” badges that appear on shared cards for status.
7. Create local city route packs (“Best Chicago-based sports trips this month”).
8. Ship one-tap “Share to Instagram Stories” templates for every saved trip.
9. Partner with sports betting/travel newsletters for co-branded route drops.
10. Build seasonal event pages around rivalry weeks and playoffs for search capture.

## 10. Biggest Mistakes to Avoid

- Keeping pricing too low for too long; it hurts perceived value and makes paid growth non-viable.
- Gating every social loop behind paywall; you need free-tier virality before monetization pressure.
- Launching without instrumentation; no event-level data means blind iteration.
- Broad targeting (“all sports fans”) instead of high-intent segments by league/team/city.
- Posting self-promo spam in Reddit communities; you will get blocked and lose your best channel.
- Ignoring retention and over-focusing on top-of-funnel installs.
- Shipping with schedule/timezone inaccuracies; trust is the product in planning apps.
- Running too many channels at once as a solo founder; pick 2 organic channels + 1 paid channel.
- Not building reusable creative systems; growth will stall if content production is ad hoc.
- Delaying referral/deep-link loops; with $500/month budget, this is your real growth lever.

## Sources

- Wanderlog App Store listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wanderlog-travel-planner/id1476732439>
- Roadtrippers App Store listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/roadtrippers-trip-planner/id944060491>
- Balltrip App listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/balltrip-app/id1625957435>
- StadiumTrack listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stadiumtrack/id6752205919>
- Stadium Rover listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stadium-rover/id6744362780>
- MLB Ballpark listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mlb-ballpark/id513135722>
- SeatGeek listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seatgeek-buy-event-tickets/id582790430>
- TripIt listing: <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tripit-travel-planner/id311035142>
- AppTweak Apple Ads benchmarks (US CPI reference): <https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-blog/apple-ads-benchmarks>
- AppsFlyer market trend references:
  - <https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/performance-index/>
  - <https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/top-5-data-trends-report/>
