I'm not big into games but the app store listing itself doesn't seem that compelling. Perhaps to people who follow the developer or heard about the game from the friend that's okay but I think to capitalize on traffic from the app store the listing itself could use some work.
The problem with optional cosmetics in a single player game is that cosmetic items are fundamentally status signals. If it's not a multiplayer game, people wont care. As an analogy, nobody buys fashionable clothes to wear at home.<p>This is why most single player games that are free to play go for the "pay for more lives" model. If you want more fun you need to pay.
> I would guess that my biggest issue is not the details of the IAP, but rather marketing. I don't really do much of it outside the occasional tweet or social media comment. These blog posts are my primary marketing strategy.<p>Spot on. Makers think releasing the product is the end. It’s actually just the beginning. Now that your product is released, you will live and die by the sword of marketing.<p>As an indie developer, I made a month worth of sales in 3 days when a YouTuber mentioned my app. Not even a big YouTuber (few tens of thousands subscribers).