Marketing for App Developers

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

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

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

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@limedaring

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@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

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

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@limedaring Pre-Launch

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

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@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

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

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@limedaring Do market research .

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@limedaring • Who are your competitors?

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

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

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

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@limedaring appbot.co

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@limedaring Know how to   describe your app .

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

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@limedaring ☹ "

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

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@limedaring theweathertron.com

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@limedaring getslowly.com

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@limedaring unbounce.com

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@limedaring leadpages.net

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

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@limedaring Consider a product video.

(Can cost $$$)

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@limedaring howmuchtomakeavideo.com

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@limedaring

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@limedaring Research forums and communities.
Start interacting now.

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@limedaring designernews.co

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@limedaring news.ycombinator.com

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

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@limedaring Tell your story

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

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@limedaring appbot.co/books/how_i_got_2_million_downloads

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@limedaring appbot.co/books/how_i_got_2_million_downloads

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@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

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

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@limedaring Some common complaints:

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

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

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

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@limedaring Tie your postings   into your mailing list .

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@limedaring

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

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@limedaring

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@limedaring

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@limedaring

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@limedaring meetedgar.com

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

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

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@limedaring Keep your mailing list active.

Share your content and use your readers as beta testers.

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

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

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

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

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

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@limedaring App Store Optimization

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@limedaring • Have a good eye-catching icon.

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

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

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

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

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

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@limedaring

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@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 .

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

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@limedaring

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@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/

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

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@limedaring

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@limedaring

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

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@limedaring

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@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.

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@limedaring Create a press kit.

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

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

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

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

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@limedaring Post-Launch

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@limedaring Submit to review sites .

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

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@limedaring producthunt.com

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@limedaring news.ycombinator.com/show

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

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@limedaring Cold emailing #talkpay

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@limedaring Some guidelines:

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@limedaring Some guidelines: • Keep your messages short.

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

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

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@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.

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@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.