Marketing for App Developers

A presentation at Release Notes 2017 in October 2017 in Chicago, IL, USA by Tracy Osborn

Slide 1

Slide 1

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Marketing for Developers What to do to get your app seen
(without selling your soul.)

Slide 2

Slide 2

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Hi, I’m Tracy! @limedaring (daring, not darling)

Slide 3

Slide 3

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 4

Slide 4

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring “We estimate that up to two-thirds of the apps in leading consumer app store catalogs receive fewer than 1,000 downloads in their first year, and a significant proportion of those get none at all. ” — https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/top-app-stores-risk-losing-control-app-discovery

Slide 5

Slide 5

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring What you can do to 
 ensure your app gets seen:

Slide 6

Slide 6

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Pre-Launch

Slide 7

Slide 7

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Marketing is not a substitute for a bad app experience .

Slide 8

Slide 8

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring “90% of users reported they stopped using an app due to poor performance while over 86% deleted or uninstalled at least one mobile app because of its flawed functionality. ” — https://www.experiencedynamics.com/blog/2015/03/30-ux-statistics-you-should-not- ignore-infographic

Slide 9

Slide 9

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Make sure you have a good user experience , are solving a need , and reduce bugs and errors .

Slide 10

Slide 10

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Do market research .

Slide 11

Slide 11

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Who are your competitors?

Slide 12

Slide 12

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Who are your competitors? • What are their keywords?

Slide 13

Slide 13

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Who are your competitors? • What are their keywords? • What do their reviews say?

Slide 14

Slide 14

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring http://blog.safedk.com/marketing/app-developers-competitive-analysis-right

Slide 15

Slide 15

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring appbot.co

Slide 16

Slide 16

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Know how to 
 describe your app .

Slide 17

Slide 17

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring What’s your elevator pitch? You’ll use this in your marketing to come. Figure it out now.

Slide 18

Slide 18

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring ☹ "

Slide 19

Slide 19

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Have a landing page and 
 start building your email list .

Slide 20

Slide 20

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring theweathertron.com

Slide 21

Slide 21

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring getslowly.com

Slide 22

Slide 22

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring unbounce.com

Slide 23

Slide 23

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring leadpages.net

Slide 24

Slide 24

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring drip.co convertkit.com campaignmonitor.com mailchimp.com

Slide 25

Slide 25

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Consider a product video.

(Can cost $$$)

Slide 26

Slide 26

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring howmuchtomakeavideo.com

Slide 27

Slide 27

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 28

Slide 28

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Research forums and communities.
Start interacting now.

Slide 29

Slide 29

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring designernews.co

Slide 30

Slide 30

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring news.ycombinator.com

Slide 31

Slide 31

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Build interest early (and keep it) with content marketing.

Slide 32

Slide 32

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Tell your story

Slide 33

Slide 33

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring stuartkhall.com/posts/an-app-store-experiment

Slide 34

Slide 34

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring appbot.co/books/how_i_got_2_million_downloads

Slide 35

Slide 35

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring appbot.co/books/how_i_got_2_million_downloads

Slide 36

Slide 36

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring “One thing that Chip (the CEO of Wahoo) said to me on the first call we had will stick with me for a long time … ‘ We probably wouldn’t have considered buying your app if we hadn’t read the story ’” — appbot.co/books/how_i_got_2_million_downloads

Slide 37

Slide 37

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Writing is great for 
 promotion that doesn’t look like promotion

Slide 38

Slide 38

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some common complaints:

Slide 39

Slide 39

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some common complaints: • But I’m terrible at writing!

Slide 40

Slide 40

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some common complaints: • But I’m terrible at writing! • Writing takes too long!

Slide 41

Slide 41

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some common complaints: • But I’m terrible at writing! • Writing takes too long! • But I have nothing original to say!

Slide 42

Slide 42

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Tie your postings 
 into your mailing list .

Slide 43

Slide 43

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 44

Slide 44

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Set up social media accounts 
 to share this content (and start bringing in emails to your mailing list).

Slide 45

Slide 45

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 46

Slide 46

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 47

Slide 47

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 48

Slide 48

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring meetedgar.com

Slide 49

Slide 49

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Share your content with your communities (that you started interacting with before.)

Slide 50

Slide 50

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Stick around and answer comments promptly. 
 More discussion = more interest = 
 more views.

Slide 51

Slide 51

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Keep your mailing list active.

Share your content and use your readers as beta testers.

Slide 52

Slide 52

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring In essence: Build a community of people interested in your app before launch.

Slide 53

Slide 53

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans

Slide 54

Slide 54

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring (Things to set up just before you) Launch

Slide 55

Slide 55

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Create a plan.
Write out your marketing schedule.
What and when .

Slide 56

Slide 56

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring linkedin.com/pulse/creating-your-90-day-online-marketing-plan-maggie-patterson/

Slide 57

Slide 57

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring App Store Optimization

Slide 58

Slide 58

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon.

Slide 59

Slide 59

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring smashingmagazine.com/2017/01/designing-better-app-icons/

Slide 60

Slide 60

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring developer.apple.com/app-store/product-page

Slide 61

Slide 61

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring smashingmagazine.com/2017/01/designing-better-app-icons/

Slide 62

Slide 62

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon. • Research keywords.

Slide 63

Slide 63

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner

Slide 64

Slide 64

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 65

Slide 65

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring •

100 characters allowed — don’t use spaces. •

No need to put your app name in keywords. • Track how well your keywords are doing and replace as needed .

Slide 66

Slide 66

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon. • Research keywords. • Optimize your app name.

Slide 67

Slide 67

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 68

Slide 68

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring “The title of an app should be unique and creative , but also clear and preferably short and on point .

The search ranking algorithm of app stores handles the app title as relevant metadata .”

— https://appradar.com/academy/app-store-optimization-guide/app-title/

Slide 69

Slide 69

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon. • Research keywords. • Optimize your app name. • (New) Optimize your subtitle.

Slide 70

Slide 70

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 71

Slide 71

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 72

Slide 72

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon. • Research keywords. • Optimize your app name. • (New) Optimize your subtitle. • Write a good description.

Slide 73

Slide 73

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 74

Slide 74

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon. • Research keywords. • Optimize your app name. • (New) Optimize your subtitle. • Write a good description. • (New) Add promo text.

Slide 75

Slide 75

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Create a press kit.


 Include an overview, screenshots at various sites, icons at various sizes, etc.

Slide 76

Slide 76

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring apptamin.com/blog/press-kit-for-your-app

Slide 77

Slide 77

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Ask for reviews in your app?
Be careful with the new guidelines.

Slide 78

Slide 78

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/9/15768196/apple-ending-annoying-app-store-review-prompts

Slide 79

Slide 79

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Post-Launch

Slide 80

Slide 80

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Submit to review sites .

Slide 81

Slide 81

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring maniacdev.com/ios-app-review-sites

Slide 82

Slide 82

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring producthunt.com

Slide 83

Slide 83

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring news.ycombinator.com/show

Slide 84

Slide 84

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Pitch to blogs, press, potential users. 
 Share your press kit. Personalize your emails.

Slide 85

Slide 85

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Cold emailing #talkpay

Slide 86

Slide 86

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some guidelines:

Slide 87

Slide 87

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short.

Slide 88

Slide 88

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human.

Slide 89

Slide 89

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human.
• Give someone an obvious benefit.

Slide 90

Slide 90

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human.
• Give someone an obvious benefit. • Better to do it mostly manually rather than automated.

Slide 91

Slide 91

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short. • Make it personal. Sound like a human.
• Give someone an obvious benefit. • Better to do it mostly manually rather than automated. • Use something like Boomerang for Gmail so you remember to follow up if they don’t respond.

Slide 92

Slide 92

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Run giveaways to increase promotion?

Slide 93

Slide 93

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring m edium.com/@ypchoudary/can-you-use-giveaways-to-promote-your-mobile-app-7c7fee52522c

Slide 94

Slide 94

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Use affiliate links for 
 additional revenue and tracking.

Slide 95

Slide 95

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring apple.com/itunes/affiliates

Slide 96

Slide 96

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Collaborate with other businesses

Slide 97

Slide 97

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 98

Slide 98

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Be careful and 
 do your due diligence.

Slide 99

Slide 99

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Look into paid app marketing channels 
 and advertising. 
 (Be cautious. May cost $$$)

Slide 100

Slide 100

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 101

Slide 101

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring reddit.com/advertising

Slide 102

Slide 102

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 103

Slide 103

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Use updates to re-market your app.

Slide 104

Slide 104

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring medium.com/@freddiewrites/writing-great-app-store-release-notes-3f4cf291e9aa

Slide 105

Slide 105

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring medium.com/@freddiewrites/writing-great-app-store-release-notes-3f4cf291e9aa

Slide 106

Slide 106

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Perhaps: Translate your app for other markets.

Slide 107

Slide 107

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Watch your stats.

Slide 108

Slide 108

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring

Slide 109

Slide 109

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Resources for more

Slide 110

Slide 110

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring releasenotes.tv

Slide 111

Slide 111

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring stackingthebricks.com/articles

Slide 112

Slide 112

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring devmarketing.xyz

Slide 113

Slide 113

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring indiehackers.com

Slide 114

Slide 114

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring reddit.com/r/iosprogramming

Slide 115

Slide 115

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring reddit.com/r/iosprogramming

Slide 116

Slide 116

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring In conclusion…

Slide 117

Slide 117

RELEASE NOTES TRACY OSBORN

@limedaring Thank you! Psst: hellowebdesignbook.com