Don't put all your eggs in one basket

Continue marketing the app, and learning

As mentioned in the previous post I launched the app, now what?, the bigger race and the current goal is to successfully market the app. We all dream of our app blowing up instantly, thousands of downloads rolling in after one tweet goes viral, becoming one of those success stories the social media gurus always talk about. The truth is that rarely happens.

I'm not being pessimistic here, just realistic. The idea is to genuinely grow an online presence an identity, a brand instead of waiting for a miracle that never comes.

Let's go viral!

In the previous post I mentioned how I failed promoting my first app on TikTok. Since then I tried a new approach, convinced it would work this time.

Nobody goes to their favorite social media platform to watch ads. Since I genuinely want to build a community and yes, I also desperately want downloads I decided to create valuable content instead. Nice videos, an interesting hook, a trendy song. The kind of thing that makes people stop and wonder who made it, maybe follow the account, maybe even recommend the app to a friend.

None of the videos performed the way I expected. Some did fine at 500–700 views, most landed between 200–300, and a few didn't even break 100.

But I did pick up some useful TikTok vocabulary along the way.

Shadow banned, not original content, TikTok jail

I didn't just throw videos out randomly and hope for the best. I made a plan: a set number of videos, mixed formats, slow and steady growth.

The frustrating part wasn't the low view counts it was not knowing why. Some simple videos got 500–700 views while similar ones barely hit 200. Things that seemed to work didn't work the second time. There was no clear signal of what TikTok actually wanted.

So I started researching: Google, Reddit threads, TikTok videos about TikTok itself. That's where I learned about TikTok jail and shadow banning people complaining about the algorithm keeping them stuck around 200 views no matter what they posted.

My videos looked clean nice visuals, good songs, polished Canva editing but something about them felt mass-produced. And I think TikTok noticed. That was rough news considering I had already made around 30 more videos queued up for the next few weeks.

The new approach

Getting a bit fed up with TikTok, I decided to change two things.

First, I became more direct about showing the app while still providing value. Second and this one made a real difference I started doing all the editing inside TikTok itself. Adding text, filters, overlays directly in the app instead of importing a finished video. TikTok can now actually read the text and understand what the video is about, which helps it figure out who to show it to.

I switched to overhead screen recordings of me using the app doing different breathing sessions across different themes. The app isn't front and center, just enough in frame to spark curiosity, get someone to visit the profile, read the bio, and maybe tap the link.

Those videos did noticeably better. Nothing has gone over 700 views yet, but after 30 videos I'm on a consistent, steady flow. At this point, I'm calling that a win. Consistency seems to be the real key.

Will any of my videos go viral? Probably not viral in the millions sense. But if every once in a while a video hits 5,000–10,000 views, that's more than enough to keep things moving. The only way to find out is to keep going.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

I'm not giving up on TikTok, but I now see it as just one platform among many. In the long run, I want Ritual's presence to live somewhere I actually own ideally the app's own website, the source of truth.

Be there, always and first

Instead of a subdomain, I bought a proper domain ritualbreatheandreflect.com and instead of just a landing page, I built it as a source of value. I added a blog that covers topics related to breathwork, mindfulness, and the kind of things Ritual users actually care about. The goal is for it to be a resource that stands on its own.

The game has changed. Classic SEO fighting for the top Google result is no longer the only goal. The new frontier is GEO: Generative Engine Optimization. Instead of ranking on a search results page, the aim is to be the source that an AI recommends when someone asks about breathwork or stress relief. That's where organic, trustworthy, genuinely useful content wins.

The goal isn't to spam the web with generated articles, but to grow slowly and authentically building something real that people find useful, whether they discover it through search, through TikTok, or through a friend.

In the end, it's not just the app or the website. It's Ritual: Breathe and Reflect as a brand, as an identity.

YouTube, why not?

Since the TikTok videos already existed, it made sense to repurpose them on YouTube. TikTok is volatile it can make anyone viral overnight, but it can also bury you just as fast. YouTube is the opposite: slower, more stable, and especially powerful for evergreen content.

YouTube Shorts work differently from TikTok. The algorithm is a bit more forgiving, and crucially, YouTube resurfaces old content. A Short from six months ago can suddenly start getting views again. Daily Shorts are now being uploaded to the Ritual: Breathe and Reflect YouTube channel.

Beyond Shorts, I've also started publishing long-form videos full one-hour breathwork sessions combining healing frequencies, ambient soundscapes, and the visual breathing guides from the app. Think things like 528Hz Miracle Tone | Deep Relaxation & Anxiety Relief | 1 Hour Breathwork Ritual or 432Hz Nature Harmony | Coherent Breathing for Focus & Clarity, each paired with a different app theme. These are the kind of videos people put on in the background while they wind down, sleep, or focus exactly the use case Ritual was built for.

It's a slow burn, but YouTube feels like the right place to build something that actually lasts.

The bigger picture

TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, the website, the blog each platform serves a different purpose and reaches people at a different moment. None of them alone is enough. Together, they give Ritual a real chance to grow into something that people discover, return to, and recommend.

The app is built. The foundation is in place. Now it's just about showing up, consistently, everywhere that matters.

Stay tuned and feel free to share your own experience or tips over on Twitter.