In the current marketplace, whether you are an individual mobile app developer or working with a team of professionals, you have equal opportunity to develop and sell your apps to millions of global users. However, things get a little different and also a little complicated for individuals because of limited resources and capital. Contrary to general perception, programming is just a single phase of the entire app development process.
Marketing mobile apps has become a challenge for developers because of the tough competition but on the other hand now there are more marketing tools available than ever before. Regardless of how good your mobile app is if people do not know about it then you shouldn’t expect it to sell itself. Let’s see how you can market your mobile apps and get users all over the globe.
Solve a Problem
Regardless of how hard you try to market your mobile app, you cannot possibly sell a product that doesn’t work. You need to develop something people are interested in. Ideally, your mobile app should solve a problem that people experience everyday or when performing certain tasks. For example, Uber is specifically developed to help people travel around the city faster and in more convenience way.
In other words, your mobile app shouldn’t be just an app version of your website. Of course launching a mobile app for your retail website is a great idea but make sure the app has some innovative features exclusively.
Blogging
Blogging is also an efficient way to grab your users’ attention without spending tons of money on advertisement. You can post news and relevant articles on websites/blogs related to your niche. This way, your target audience would be able to discover your app.
Make sure the language and tone you use is not promotional because you are not selling your app there. You are just providing valuable contents to your target audience.
Fancy QR Codes
QR codes have tons of uses and gladly you can use them to market your mobile apps too. QR code is a fancy way to spread the word to your potential users. You can use QR code of your mobile app to advertise it via your official website, other websites, business cards, emails, brochures and even remotely related things to your mobile app.
Social Media Ads
Social media advertising has revolutionized the entire advertising and marketing industry. Social media networks like Facebook allow businesses to advertise their products, mobile apps and services to their target users based on their demographics, interests, devices and many other factors.
Social media ads increase the conversion rate dramatically because of highly specific marketing and they also reduce advertising costs. In other words, social media allow you to identify and advertise your mobile app to your target audience.
Unofficial App Stores
You shouldn’t solely rely on the official app stores like Google Play Store and iTunes but instead try to expand your territory by launching your mobile apps on unofficial app stores. Interestingly, submitting your mobile apps on unofficial app stores directly affects its sales/downloads on official app stores.
However, always go with reputed app stores and some of the most popular unofficial app stores are GetJar, Opera Mobile Store, Amazon App Store, AppBrain and others. Some of these stores offer exclusive offers that could attract lots of users.
Smart SEO
Surprisingly, when it comes to mobile apps marketing and advertising, SEO matters a lot here too. Of course you want your app to appear among top entries when someone searches for relevant apps. For example, if your mobile app is related to wallpapers, then you probably want to target users who use such terms. You need to follow the traditional recipe of identifying and targeting keywords which could be used in your case.
Take Advantage of Mobile Website
If you already have a website and now you want to launch its mobile app version then you have advantage here and you should use that leverage smartly. People who use your website are perfect candidates for your mobile app and you should keep them in mind while developing the app. Make sure the app is easier and faster than the website so people prefer it.
App Icon
With millions of apps out there, small things matter too and you shouldn’t waste such opportunities. Make sure your mobile app has a unique, eye-catching and easily understandable icon. Check out what kind of icons popular mobile apps use and you would be surprised to know their simplicity.
Amazing Screenshots
Just like the icon, screenshots matter a lot too. People see screenshots to get the idea about that mobile app and if those screenshots are not self-explanatory then you are losing potential users. Make sure those screenshots show features and interface of your mobile app clearly.
PPC Mobile Ads
PPC also known as Pay Per Click is a relatively older yet highly effective advertising mean that millions of websites and businesses use. If this is something that attracts you then go with mobile PPC advertising. PPC mobile ads only appear on mobile devices that make it easier for you to target your users. You can start learning about PPC and PPC mobile ads via Google AdWords.
Make it Practical
That’s no brainer; your mobile app must work. It needs to be useful and practical. For example, if you have launched a mobile app for your retail website then people would be interested in the app because of the convenience it offers. If your mobile app works slower than the website and has bugs in it, then it is completely useless.
How Bugfender Can Help You Sell Mobile Apps?
Although there is an increasing demand for quality apps but it is getting more and more difficult to build bug-free and stable apps for mobile platforms because of numerous reasons including platform complexity and number of different devices. Bugfender is designed for developers so they can deliver the best quality apps by remote monitoring app behavior on users’ devices.
Unlike other reporting tools, Bugfender does not focus on reporting crashes but it notifies developers about other associated issues that do not crash the app entirely but force it to behave abnormally.
