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Top Tips On How Kickstart Your App Promotion

| June 8, 2021

You know the numbers. There are a billion smartphones in use, mostly iPhone and Android devices. There are hundreds of millions of tablets that have been sold around the world — used so regularly now that they drive more web traffic even than smartphones. You know that Apple alone has paid out over $8 billion to app developers — and payouts are increasing. You know that millions of people have downloaded billions of apps. So how do you stand out? App promotion.

You have a great idea for an app.

You build your great app.

Now what?

Unfortunately, too many apps make too little money. Almost certainly there are some great apps out there that fail to deliver not just on their promise but on the developer’s hopes for success.

You can do the obvious, of course: encourage your friends to download the app then give it a great rating. You can offer a half-off sale, for example, the moment sales appear to be slowing. These may help but you need to do more. Marketing your app is a must if you want your app to flourish — no matter how good it is.

Unfortunately, you may not have sufficient funds. However, there are many ways for you to promote your app for free, or at least for cheaper than you might already be.

For example, group messaging app, GroupMe, got 40,000 people to try out its app in only two days. How’d they do this?

They went to the very popular South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, and offered free beer and free grilled cheese to attendees. All visitors had to do was try out the app.

Likely, you can’t afford such extravagance.

Lucky for you, there are a variety of resources available to you. Idea to Appster can obviously help you understand the app market. You can also promote your app through a number of free services. 

Promote Through App Review Sites

There are numerous app review sites that may be interested in reviewing your app. TechCrunch is an obvious one, but less aspirational sites include: Mashable, FeedMyApp, and AppAdvice. Contact them. There are over 150 websites listed in the Ultimate App Review Site List, that’s a great place to start your app promotion efforts.

If you make an Android app, there are numerous popular app stores to sell through. Amazon’s Appstore for Android, for example, includes an online guide that makes it easy for developers to sell their apps through their store. Facebook has a similar app developer promotions guide, although they encourage developers to purchase Facebook ads — since you can determine how much you want to spend and who you want to see your ad, this may be a great idea.

Make sure to do the obvious smart (free) stuff:

App promotion tips:

  1. Use SEO to your advantage  

When describing your app (in any app store) use those keywords certain to attract buyers — and search engines.

  1. Make sure your icon is the best it can be

Think of all the app icons you’ve seen. Now look at the apps on your smartphone or tablet. Which ones stand out? What might your app icon look like? You want something that is visually appealing and relevant to the app. This can be hard but if you succeed, your icon becomes, well, iconic.

  1. Visuals make an impact

Similarly, make sure the screenshots of your app used in the various app stores make it obvious what your app does — and that reveal how great it is.

  1. No spam 

Do not spam, but certainly leverage sharing tools within the app — including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

  1. Use social media to the fullest

Maybe the most important rule of obvious free smart stuff. You need to be promoting your app all over social media. It needs its own Instagram and Twitter ofcourse, but you could also work with influencers or bloggers who can make posts about using your app. You might also want to consider creating a Youtube video of your app, or work with TikTokers who can do this for you in exchange for promotion on your end perhaps.

Developing an app is a major accomplishment. However, your work does not end there. Good luck!

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