Just launched my first iOS for small business app after a year of building — are Apple Search Ads worth it for early traction?

  shipped an iOS app on the App Store about 6 weeks ago. invoicing + CRM thing                                                                                                                            

  for freelancers and small agencies. took me about a year to build solo,     

  nights and weekends with the day job still going.                                                                                                                      

  build was way easier than this part. I'm at 12 paying users so far which is                                                                                                                             

  something but not enough to know what's working. been doing reddit, linkedin,                                                                                                                           

  replying to freelancer twitter threads, even hit up old colleagues. trickle  

  of installs but nothing repeatable.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  was about to drop $300-400 on apple search ads and then read a thread saying

  don't bother until you have 30+ reviews because the ads just pull random                                                                                                                                

  installs that don't convert. now second-guessing it.                                                                                                                    

  if you've launched a paid app or saas in the last couple years:                                                      was apple search ads / google ads worth it before reviews?                                                                                                    

  did product hunt actually help or was it just a vanity spike?                                                                                                                                           

  one specific community / subreddit / fb group that actually moved the needle                                                                                                                            

  for you?   trying to figure out where to spend the next month. any pointer is appreciated