By David Campbell
Like it or not, mobile is the first screen people see today. It’s growing and this is the place where your audience generally spends most of their time. Businesses go where their audiences are and if the audience’s first screen is mobile, businesses need to invest in going mobile, too.
The mobile app industry is already big and it’s growing faster than the speed of light. Mobile apps already generate over $25 billion in annual revenue, which makes it an absolute favorable investment for businesses of almost every size. It can be hard to make your mobile app stand out because mobile app space is being crowded with millions of new apps hitting stores every other day. No matter how many new apps are launching regularly, people only use a handful of these apps and the rest just go in the trashcan.
How do you make your app standout? Well, having a great idea is primary but you cannot succeed with this alone. You have to take care of other avenues like marketing, launching promotion, monetization, and more. In this post, we are going to discuss a few ideas that will help you launch your next mobile app successfully resulting in more downloads, comments, and usage, which means better success and more revenue for you.
Have a GREAT Plan
This is a general rule for any business, but when it comes to mobile apps, having a good mobile app business plan is a must. You will not last a single day in the mobile market if you execute an unattractive, cliché plan, which is already being put into action by former apps. In contrary to most common beliefs, pre-launch strategies are as imperative as post-launch strategies.
There are many steps you need to complete before launching your app. It includes minor but imperative bits and pieces like coming up with an interesting name for your app, designing a distinguished logo, researching and carefully selecting keywords that match your app, selecting the kind of audience you want to target, picking the right category for your app, and taking great screenshots of your app to display them in the app store.
Create the Right Promotional Content
Content is king, even in the mobile app world. I am not talking about mobile app content but the promotional content that you are going to use to attract a targeted audience. You need content so that you can rank well for your targeted key phrases and attract more audience on your app link in the app store. You want great content so people will subscribe to your website and get updates from time to time.
The content you need before the app launch will be website copy, blog content, press release content, interview content, speaking and presentation content (if you get the opportunity), plus more.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Launching an app without a content plan is a license to fail.” user=”clickdesk” hashtags=”content”]
Build a Web Presence
Launching an app needs a dedicated business website related to it so people can easily read more about it and subscribe to updates and more.
Unfortunately, a lot of people do not consider putting up a webpage as an influential step toward a successful app launch, but it sure is a nice way to make your app exclusive before and after its launch. Your page on an app store will have limited information about your app and your company, but your webpage can be loaded with informative descriptions and solutions to different queries in a very methodical way.
Develop a Pre-Launch Marketing Plan
Do you know why every year Apple’s upcoming phone designs leak out? No, it’s not security issues that they are not aware of; it’s the prelaunch marketing tactics that works for them. I am not saying the same idea will work for you, but the tactic itself should.
Obviously, app marketing is not limited to pre-launch, but if you have a solid pre-launch marketing plan, chances are you will get the right kind of attention and credibility even before the launch, which will help you launch your app more comfortably and with less doubts.
Get Listed on App Review Sites
This one is rather simple but important at the same time. A lot of people simply download apps once they read reviews on renounced websites, related niche press, tech news, or mainstream media. Generating press coverage for your app is one great way to attract reputable app review platforms. For example, Apple likes positive media coverage – by doing so you can easily make it to its Top 25 to 100 apps or New and Noteworthy lists. You can also make pitches to journalists who are pros at writing reviews to get a place in reputable review sites.
The more media coverage you get, the greater the amount of people who will download your app. More downloads mean more reviews and ratings, which also means more chances of hitting the first page in an app store within the respective category.
Optimize Mobile App SEO
Cindy Krum is the one name that comes to my mind when talking about mobile app SEO. She did a great presentation at MozCon 2015, talking about how mobile apps can be indexed in mobile search results.
If you want to know more about Cindy or mobile app SEO, you can always check out her website. The important part is that mobile app SEO is a new avenue where mobile app owners need to think and invest in for a consistent flow of traffic on a mobile app directly via search engine.
Prevent App Crashes
If your app has functionality issues, crashes, or the hosting server has a slow response time, you are dead. Always be sure that everything is working fine and if not, delay your launching date. Whatever you do, don’t launch with problems.
According to a survey, only 16% of users give a second try to an app that crashes and fails. Hence, it is your responsibility to make your app spontaneous and handy. Keep a track on everything as you go, from number of downloads to the number of complaints you get. Everything should be at your fingertips.
Launching an app needs a lot of precision and attention. Your app should be favored by customers and should get noticed among the clutter of millions of other apps in order to become a successful app.
