• by Barbie Romero , April 16, 2025

Hallow, the prayer app, reached #2 on Apple’s App Store last Ash Wednesday. Stephen Spiewak, Director of Organic Marketing, shares insights on improving app discoverability and reducing churn.

1. Any recommendations for app discoverability for brands that are launching apps or those that have apps already but would like to climb the rankings?

   You can definitely run some A/B tests on your App Store name, subtitle and description but anecdotally, in 2025, it feels fewer people are executing non-branded searches in the App Store. What does that mean for marketers? It means that performance marketers need to be closely aligned with their brand counterparts in all things, including App Store visibility.

   On the performance front, nothing sends your app flying up the App Store rankings like a surge in the velocity of installs. For seasonal businesses, this means coordinating all of your marketing efforts across channels to peak at the right time, when it matters most for your business.

2. Since Hallow is using an app subscription model, what have been the most effective ways to reduce churn?

   Hallow has the advantage of extremely cohesive campaigns. People might see Mark Wahlberg in a TV commercial for us, Google something about him working with Hallow, land on a page that describes our partnership, and then download our app–which features content that he is helping to voice.

   We’re a content company, so it might work a little differently for us than businesses in other industries. We’re a content company, so we need to create world-class content constantly, but I think some of the lessons are industry-agnostic. Are your performance marketing teams bidding on terms related to some of your top-funnel, influencer work? Are your performance teams even up to speed on influencers and partners?  Does your app experience,  landing pages, App Store screen shots, emails, etc reflect the top funnel marketing you’re doing with influencers, partners and events? Creating that cohesive experience keeps people around long enough to demonstrate the real value of your app.

   For us it comes down to the content. We’ve tested different offers to win back canceled accounts, from discounts to extended trials, but the most ROI-positive initiatives have been promoting new content releases.

3. What do you wish we’d stop doing as marketers?

   Proclaiming different channels are dead and having these conversations that lack nuance and creativity. In the past few months, I’ve seen headlines around SEO, influencer marketing, organic social media, UGC posts and email marketing all proclaimed as “dead.”

   Is AI upending so much of what we do? Of course. But let’s approach it from a point of view that it’s an exciting time to innovate and reimagine what’s possible instead of stigmatizing entire industries.

4. What is your favorite app you like to use (other than Hallow)?

   Since baseball season has started, I’ve been really enjoying the MLB app. As a New Jersey native and Mets fan living in Chicago, it allows me to watch nearly every game.

   Beyond the fandom aspect of it, I’m amazed at how it pioneered so much of our current content experience. We are so accustomed to streaming shows wherever we are, on different devices. People don’t realize that the MLB has been doing this for over 20 years!

5. How do you recharge?

   Perhaps it’s not a surprise, given that I work for Hallow, but prayer and my faith life are important ways I stay grounded. I also enjoy spending time with my family, exercising and cooking. I’m currently trying to learn Japanese, but that can sometimes be more demanding and less recharging.

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