As a Mobile Marketing Director with over a decade of experience in both startups and large companies, I am well-versed in mobile marketing but lack knowledge in coding and no-code tools. However, I decided to take on the challenge of creating a kids’ meditation app for several reasons.

Firstly, my children’s favourite meditation app vanished. This app was unique as it prioritised addressing feelings before diving into meditations. I wanted to recreate this valuable resource, mostly for selfish reasons, so my children could have a tool to help them manage their emotions.

Additionally, the ease of creating apps, as advertised by various platforms, intrigued me. The world of AI also fascinates me, and this project seemed like a perfect opportunity to explore its capabilities.

After a few weeks, I successfully created the first draft of Mini Meditators. Contrary to the advertisements, the process wasn’t as straightforward as the no-code app builders suggested and definitely took longer than five minutes to create.

Here’s how my journey unfolded:

Initial attempts

•  I started by building a mockup on Canva, hoping to find a tool that could transform it into an actual app. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one.
• Next, I tried using templates from Figma to create the app, but this approach failed to yield any tangible results.
• I then explored Bubble, utilising a free meditation template I found online, but progress remained elusive.

Breakthrough with Bubble

Purchasing the InnerSpace Bubble template marked a turning point. Customising the template was relatively straightforward, and my Canva designs provided a solid starting point. This phase is where AI became instrumental.

Leveraging AI for design and content

ChatGPT helped me create a fun logo and various headers for each meditation. By establishing brand guidelines, ChatGPT generated cohesive images that perfectly matched my vision.

Also Read: Artificial intelligence and the art of building presentations

For the meditations themselves, I provided ChatGPT with a template based on my kids’ favourite meditations and ideas they gave me for new meditations to try out. AI expanded this into full scripts, and after experimenting with several tools, I found Play.ht to be ideal for voice generation.

Integration and monetisation

 To convert my Bubble project into a native app, I chose Natively for its native capabilities and integration with RevenueCat, to ensure I can monetise my app. Natively, it also includes basic analytics and OneSignal for notifications.

While setting up, I encountered some challenges and hired an Upwork developer for US$50 to add a feelings page and resolve a few bugs.

This project has been an exciting opportunity to learn new skills and delve into a new domain. My next steps involve converting the app to iOS, integrating RevenueCat and paywalls, and then promoting it before adding more features for future versions. 

I’ve already shown the app to my main target audience, my children, and they love it. Seeing their excitement and approval of something I built from scratch specifically for them has been incredibly rewarding and was my main KPI for this project. The cost wasn’t US$0, but it was low enough that I would encourage anyone with an idea to experiment with the new AI tools available and see what cool app they can create.

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