Farcaster

User retention can make or break your mini app.
If users don’t stick around, your growth stalls.
I just ran a retention deep-dive on Drawcast, and today I launched the first experiment to improve it. Let’s dive in 🧵

Builder: drawcast.xyz, mathcast.xyz, okcomputers.club, onchainbits.xyz, BA5ED Merch, basedyear.com and more | Host @ Based Budapest

1/ What’s retention, really?
Retention = how well your app keeps users coming back after their first visit.
High retention means people get value and stay engaged.
Low retention = silent app graveyard.

2/ When someone opens your app for the first time, your #1 job is:
➡️ Deliver core value fast.

That first session is critical — it shapes whether they return tomorrow, next week, or ever again.

3/ To understand retention, I grouped users by behavior:
• When they joined
• What they did in their first session

This helped reveal where people drop off—and why.

4/ My hypothesis - New user retention depends on whether someone:
✅ Submits a drawing
✅ Guesses someone else’s drawing

Which of these is more "sticky"?

7/ So I made a change: New users now see an onboarding modal that invites them to start by guessing, not drawing.

The idea: Guessing is easier, quicker, and delivers instant positive feedback—so it gets people hooked faster.

6/ Even with limited data, early signs emerged: ➡️ Guessing > Drawing for retention.
Players who guessed something were more likely to return in Week 1 and Week 2. It’s a strong signal (though not causal yet).

5/ I built 3 cohorts to explore this:
• Cohort 1: All new users
• Cohort 2: Users who guessed a drawing on Day 1
• Cohort 3: Users who submitted a drawing on Day 1