What should a Developer do to promote Phone Apps?

With a market saturated with over 1 million phone apps, very few find the success that developers are looking for. Customers are picky, and with plenty of apps to choose from, they can easily find several apps that do the same things. Developers need to be very deliberate when creating and marketing apps. Let’s take a look at what Developer should do to promote their Phone Apps and get the attention they are expecting.

Attractive Pricing

Overpriced and underpriced apps are two of the major problems, and developers need to strike a balance between them. If an app is very simple and has many competitors, pricing it at 99 cents is probably the best option because it can compete with similar options. On the other hand, if an app is unique, complicated, or handles information that users want to keep private, pricing it higher can make users feel like they are getting a higher quality product.

User Friendly

Users don’t want to have to read a manual to figure out how to use an app. It needs to be simple to understand the first time around, with intuitive menus and controls so any phone user can successfully learn the app right away. In addition to having a simple and intuitive interface, the app should focus on providing a simple service that people understand the need for. Someone should be able to explain in a sentence what the app is for, which makes it easier to spread news about it by word of mouth.

Social Media Presence

One of the major reasons people have smart phones is because they want to stay connected with people through social media. They are looking for this in their apps as well, and if an app has clear and simple ways to share information through social media sites, it is likely to get more attention. Plus, when people using social networks see their friends post information shared from the app, they will be  more likely to buy the app too.

Try-Try but don’t Cry

A developer’s first app is not likely to be a huge hit. It takes time to build up a loyal audience, and each time developers add another good app, it increases the chance of success for its other apps. It is like building a brand, with a wide variety of products. As customers start to like a brand as a whole, they will be more loyal to it with each app the developer releases.

Continued Engagement

Selling an app is not just about one big hurrah on the day it launches. Instead, it is a long process from a pre-release murmur all the way through continued marketing weeks and months after the app is released. In addition to trying to build hype before releasing an app, developers should continue to market it and improve it after the release. As they add new features or give updates to current users, these users will be more likely to talk about the app and increase its ongoing sales.

Maintain Uniqueness

If there is a popular app that already does a great job at a specific task, developers should not bother creating a similar app unless they can bring something new to the table. Copycat apps aren’t terribly successful. On the other hand, developers who see copycat apps appearing after they release their own apps should take this as a sign of success and continue working on their app to make it better and keep it at the front of the market.

Cross-Marketing

If the only place a developer markets an app is on a phone or in the app store itself, this app is less likely to be successful. Instead, developers should cross-market online through similar apps for computers or with a stellar website that draws people from their computers and encourages them to pick up their phones to buy the app.

With the increasing number of smart phone users, apps aren’t going anywhere. But the market is going to become increasingly competitive, and developers who are serious about selling their apps need to step carefully to avoid making the mistakes that lead to failure. The most important thing to remember is to consider the app from the perspective of a user.

What makes you want to buy an app, and what features lead you to recommend an app to others?

Thanks Jaime

Tagged as: Apps, Developer, Phone Apps, promote, Smartphones