Writing a Press Release for a Ready-to-launch App

Writing a press release before the official release of the app is a first step towards the pre launch app marketing strategy which no one likes to skip as it helps to build a strong base. Writing a press release is an easy task, but writing a press release that actually stands out is considerably a hard work. Every week tons of press releases are published online, limiting the chances of having a good amount of people to read the press release of the new app launch.

A great coverage is possible only when you put the mixture of time, effort, standard rules and syntax. Start putting in your efforts by collecting the mail ids of journalists, bloggers, etc. you know will publish your app. Instead of a press release, send them a friendly note first, including a sentence or two describing the app, a link to a screenshot or video, and a polite request for whether they’d like to publish your press release. Finally, send a press release of your app to those who accepted your request.

Here is a breakdown of elements, you need to write an effective press release that your reporters and bloggers can scan easily and get a good sense of what’s there something new and noteworthy about your app.

Press Release Structure

Let’s go through stepwise.

1. App Icon and App Name: Start your press release with the icon of the app at the top and place the name nearby so that people can easily recognize your app.

2. Subject: Put a short and sweet sentence as a subject line of the press release. It should be in a way that readers at least get the idea of entire news. For instance, it’s a new release; you can say that your app is available now on app stores.

3. Summary: It’s not easy to keep the users hook to read the full post. Summary is the chance for you to convince your users to read further. In summary, you have to tell them how your post is interesting and what they will get if they read it. Don’t make it too long to be boring. Keep it in the limit of two to three sentences.

4. Intro: Again re-explain your app in 2/3 sentences, but in a different way as it must look different from the summary. Add location and release data before starting introduction writing.

5. Screenshots: Constant reading sometimes makes the readers feel bored. Colorful images make the reading more interesting for readers. Put the screenshots of your app after intro to leave a long lasting impression of the app on the user’s mind.

6. Description: Here comes the key part of your press release. If readers reached to this part, it means they are willing to know about your app, its purpose, its features, its benefits or everything that describes the app. Explain the app, what it does, which features it contains, which benefits it delivers, why users must install it and be in touch with it.

7. Facts: Price, Availability & Coming Up: Put the facts in a one or two lines with the app price, release date, OS requirements, language, etc.

8. Website URL with Information: Mention the URL of your app or the website of your company along with an invitation to pay a visit to it.

9. About the Company: Put a line, describing about your company like the awards you won, apps you made, etc.

10. Declare Ending: Throw “###” at the end to declare the end of the press release.

11. Contact Information: Make a way for your users to reach you by putting some contact information at the end.

Conclusion

A good press release is the one written to the point, laying the true records of facts and made in a readable format. Attractive and informative headlines, useful summary and some images of the app, all together can give a beautiful shape to the press releasewriting for app that users like to read. Using the above given structure, you can also write a press release related to the new version of the app, additional features, necessary updates, etc.

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5 Actionable Ways to Monetize your Freemium Apps

Nowadays, the most effective way to earn money from apps is to launch a freemium app. Users are more attracted towards free app as a freemium app works like a sample which users can try for free and if they like it, they can proceed confidently for the premium version. Freemium app version keeps the users happy with limited features and removes the fear of losing money in premium app.

In the app store market, freemium models are making more money than paid apps. Numerous app marketing and advertising methods are there, opening the ways for developers and app marketers to obtain an ROI, if applied in a right manner, at a right place and at a right time. Here are several best-performing methods and a strategy to apply them with your app.

Add Ability using Add-Ons

Using add-ons, you can enable users to take direct action via apps. For example, your users are using freemium version of app, integrating add-on of premium version can motivate your users to upgrade for more features directly from app. It is a great way to ensure a good cash flow via a freemium app.

Content Subscription Plan

Content subscription plan works well for news, gossip and any other app, delivering any content to users. Users love to get tips on topics, they love to read. Paying a penny in a month for great tips is not a big deal for users. For example, women love to read beauty tips, you can offer them content subscription plan for daily beauty tips. So, if you have any app like this, you can open a huge opportunity to earn some money from your users.

In-app Purchases

You might be thinking that in-app purchases and add-ons are working in a similar way so both of them are same. Of course, they are working in a similar way, but they are different based on the features, they avail. Add-ons are just a part of additional features in an app while in-app purchases can be anything, it can be a feature, it can be an advertisement, it can be a new level of a game, new tips for an art app, etc. In-app purchases are named as the most common and effective of app monetization.

Promotion and Sale of Physical Products

Apps can effectively play the role of an advertiser who promotes your products and convince users to buy them. High profile companies like Nike and FitBit, also has released their own apps to promote their products. Apps are delivering a better user experience due to which users are more addicted for apps and companies are taking a huge benefit of such addiction.

Offer Limited Experience At Free of Charge

Offer your freemium app with a limited experience and a premium app with a full experience. If users are happy with your freemium version, they like to be happier with the paid version. Excite your users with the limited experience and offer them a full experience in exchange of real money.

Conclusion

Popular apps like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, Pandora Radio, Hay Day, etc are totally free, but in actually, they are earning in millions even more than the paid apps. These lucrative yet free apps are called as freemiums and also considered as an inspiration for those, looking for indirect ways to earn money from apps.

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Which is the best Revenue Model for my App?

App Monetization, App Revenue Models

Apps can be monetized via paid models, freemiums, in-app purchases, and others. It depends on your business needs and targeted goals that which model you would like to choose from. Each model comes with a different set of benefits, shortfalls, and a different monetizing strategy. Let's see, which app revenue models have a best match with your business and its goals.

Model 1: Free App - Ad Revenue

In this model, your app will be free for users, and your revenue will come from ads shown by your app. Ad revenue model is a slowest money maker for which you have to keep some patience. Once your app gets fixed in a huge number of smartphones, it will give you a way of constant earning. Facebook, Yelp, etc are some successful examples of ad revenue model.

Characteristics

• It is easy to build traffic with free app
• From total app downloads, 95% are free
• Ad revenue model is quite challenging for startups

Model 2: Free App - Alternate Revenue Model

Alternate revenue model refers to offer an app at free of cost and follow the multiple ways of earning revenue from it. You can offer ads, deals, coupons, redirection to an eCommerce site, and other app monetization strategies. It means earning from the free app via different revenue models. Here, you are free to follow any strategy as per changing circumstances of your business or changing moods of your users. A popular app named Urbanspoon follows various revenue models including affiliate networks, ads, brand advertising, city search ads, etc.

Characteristics

• Appreneurs are free to follow and change the revenue model
• With alternate options, chances are more to grab the huge number of users
• Quite challenging to follow this model

Model 3: Paid App - Freemium Model

Freemium model includes two types of app: one is free to download for users and second one is a part of the upgrade with advance features for which users have to pay. Your free app will convince users to turn to upgrade version by paying for it. Freemium model is considered as the best money maker for apps of almost all categories like games, entertainment, utility, etc. StickTennis, Angry Birds, etc. are some great inspirations of the freemium model.

Characteristics

• Freemium model is a best way to promote your paid app
• With free app version, you can also use ads to earn revenue
• Appreneurs have to manage two apps

Model 4: Paid App - Price Model

Paid apps generate a direct and immediate income. But only few consumers get convinced to pay for the apps, they haven't used any more. For startups, launching a paid app had been an ever challenging task as their business name is not a brand on which users can trust and pay for their app. For big brands like Microsoft, it is easy to grab users even with paid app.

Characteristics

• A direct way to earn revenue, especially for big brands
• Quite difficult to get the users for a paid app
• Required to have a good traffic growing source

Model 5: Gaming App - Virtual Currency Model

Nowadays, virtual currency is the most profitable model in the app world. Gaming apps have their own virtual currency, which users can use to move to the further levels and to obtain this currency; users are required to pay real money. This model is connected with gaming apps and if the game is truly addictive in nature, then users will not wait a lot to pay for it. Some popular apps like Temple Run, Gunship Battle, etc. are additive games that easily convince the users to pay for virtual currency.

• Best revenue model for addictive games
• Easy to earn in a short amount of time
• Creating an addictive game app may cost you a lot

Model 6: An App - Subscription Model

Subscription model works best for magazine and video content publishers, but they have to put a lot of work to get the users sign up and keep up with a subscription on a regular basis. The developer has to maintain a constant innovation within the apps to keep up with this model as it is quite weak to hold the users for a long time.

• Only some apps can have an assured success with it
• Requires constant innovation by developers
• The most risky model to follow

Conclusion

It is not mandatory to use any one model listed ahead. You can even go for multiple models with one app like following a freemium model along with ad revenue, so when users switch to upgrade, they can get rid of extra ads. Opportunities are many, but you have to be creative to grab them and get the most out of them.

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Mobile Website or Mobile Apps: What does your business needs?

App Marketing, Mobile App Monetization

When you are trying to decide whether you need a mobile app or a mobile website for business, you 

have to consider lots of factors ranging from cost to the development cycle to the targeted audience. Mobile website and mobile app both have their own advantages and disadvantages which one has to evaluate to reach the final decision. You can either create a mobile app or a mobile website or both, looking at the current needs of your business.

Key Difference between Mobile App and Mobile Website

Before analysing the ups and downs of mobile app and mobile website, you have to understand the 

key difference between them so that you can take decision more confidently.

A mobile website looks like any other website; just a difference is that a mobile website is designed for handheld devices or you can say for touchscreen devices like smartphones and tablets. Like any other website, a mobile website also includes text, data, images, videos, call-to-action, location-based mapping, etc.

Mobile app is a type of software that users download and install on their mobile device. Mobile apps can be used without internet connection. Users don't require opening browsers to use the mobile apps. To get an a mobile app for the particular operating system, users can visit various portals like the Apple app store, Google Play store, Blackberry App world, etc. Apps are also efficient enough to integrate contents like a website or much more than that.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Mobile Apps

Advantages

• Doesn't require any browser for use
• Adaptable by all screens
• Mobile app can use the other functions of device like GPS, camera, etc.
• Builds loyalty among customers and increases retention
• Runs faster than mobile website
• Doesn't require internet connection
• Users spend more time on apps as compared to the web
• Send push notifications to users
• App marketing ensures an improved ROI

Disadvantages

• Requires long term investment and high maintenance cost
• Updates require in every few months to keep the users hooked
• Require to insist customers for downloads
• Need good app reviews and ratings to get it up on the app store
• Require to create different apps for each platform
• Extra charges by app stores

Advantages & Disadvantages of Mobile Websites

Advantages

• Easy to update
• Requires low investment and low maintenance charges
• Easily searchable and optimizable
• Compatible with all platforms
• No extra charges by any portal

Disadvantages

• Relies on internet connection
• Need a browser 
• Has less control on the type of device
• Cannot send push notifications to users
• Can't use the other functions of mobile device

Which is More Preferable - An App or A Mobile Website?

You will find the answer of this question within the criteria of what you want to build or what your business needs. For instance, if you have plans to create a game, an app would prove to be a better choice or if you want to deliver mobile-friendly content across the wider audience, a mobile website is more preferable. In some cases, you might require creating an app as well as a mobile website to fulfil your business needs and connected goals.

Statistics: Mobile Apps and Mobile Web

• According to Neilson, smartphone users spend their 89% of time on mobile apps and only 11% on the mobile web
• Consumer retention and engagement with apps is higher than mobile web
• Apps offer a richer experience of in-app purchases or in-app ads, unlikely in mobile web
• An app can be sold or let you earn a good revenue via in-app purchases while a website cannot be sold and also cannot convince users to pay for surrounding ads.
• Freemium apps are earning higher revenue through various mobile app monetization strategies

Conclusion

In a quickly evolving mobile market, a mobile presence is must via app or a mobile web or both. You can't assure whether your decision is right or wrong, but looking at the current stats, benefits and shortfalls and most importantly, your business needs and user's expectations will take you close to the right choice.

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6 Easy Tricks To Increase Your App Reviews

What plays a major role in app visibility at app stores? Keywords, localization, price range and the most important – reviews. Opinions and reviews by users increase the visibility of your app, its search results and also boost up your mobile app marketing strategies. To make your app crop up in the crowded app stores, you need hundreds of positive reviews or opinions from users. Getting reviews is quite easy, but acquiring positive reviews is quite tough. You can’t force users to write reviews. Instead, you can take some actions to increase the number of reviews on the app store.

 Here are some easy tricks to acquire a number of positive reviews within a short time.

1. App Localization

App localization is a process of targeting specific countries or specific markets for your app. App developers can easily boost their app reviews, downloads, and revenue with the help of localization. App viewers are coming from different countries with different languages. Only 8% of the world speaks English as their native language. Suppose your app is only available with English language, you will get reviews only from 8% people of the whole world. To localize an app, you must avail it in different languages. Concentrate on the countries from which you think that people are visiting the most and avail the app in their native language.

2. Ask Nearby People for Reviews

Unless your app becomes widely popular, it is hard to get people to review the app. But there is one step you can take towards the beginning of your app visibility. Ask the people closest to you to post reviews for app like friends, families, relatives, etc. Their positive summaries will invite others to have a try and post their own opinions. This is the best way to add credibility to your app and enhance its reputation in app market.

3. Activate Customers Using Social Networks

Keep your communication gateways open all the time to stay close with your customers and their smartphones. Not always users remain active in your app. Sometimes after using an app for one time, users forget about it. To remind your inactive users, send them a message related to app update or any other announcement (better to offer a new benefit to them within an app). Tell them to give a try to your new update and report their experience in the form of reviews.

4. Feedback Reminder

Motivate users by developing a feedback reminder which reminds them to post reviews. Create a reminder in such a way that when the user starts your app, a pop up window should launch, telling him to post an opinion regarding the app experience he received. Remember one thing that a pop up window should not irritate users by asking them again and again. It must launch after 10 or 20 days of app download. Asking for opinions will add value to your customers and in turn, an increase in app reviews.

5. Exchange Reviews with Others

You are not alone who want reviews, there are many developers grappling for the same. Coordinate with the developers who can give and receive from you. Ask them to review honestly on your app and in return, give them review on their app. In short, give them an exchange offer. A meaningful feedback from developers will add a great value to your app as they deeply understand what mobile app is and how its software works.

6. Be a Follower of User’s Advice

Users post review in two situations: 1. when they are extremely happy with your app and 2. When they have a serious complaint for app. To continue the success of your app, you must recognize what problems users are facing on and how to fix them. Which additional features are needed by users and which features are useless or needed to eliminate. Finding the solutions and implementing them is a quick way to turn negative reviews into positive ones. This will also help you maintain a long term relationship with users.

Conclusion

The more positive reviews you have, the more people tend to download app. App reviews not only influence people for downloads, but also increase rankings of app on app store, ensuring app visibility at a higher level. Acquire maximum reviews from nearby people and exchange the reviews from those who are looking for the same. These reviews will push the visitors to download your app and give an opinion about app experience.

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Google Play vs. Apple App Store: An Opinion on App Store

Submitting an app to Google Play Store and submitting an app to Apple's App Store, both the processes are the two opposite sides of the coin. App submission is an easiest, fastest, and less chance of rejection process at Google Play Store, and vice versa at Apple's App Store. Similarly, app marketing becomes easy with Google play store and turns into a tough process with the Apple app store. Let's see the time taken by Google Play Store and Apple's App Store in accepting the new app and a key difference between them.

Total Review and Approval Time Taken By App Store

• Apple's App Store: 5 Days
• Google Play Store: 2 Hours

App Submission Difficulty on a Scale of 1 to 10

• Apple's App Store: 8 to 9 
• Google Play Store: 2 to 3

Guidelines Level

• Apple's App Store: Pretty Strict
• Google Play Store: Very Reasonable

Rejection Possibilities

• Apple's App Store: Common
• Google Play Store: Rare

The above data shows that if we submit an app to Google Play store, we will see it marked as published within an hour or two. But, with Apple's App Store, we can't expect the same.

Human involvement is absent at Google Play Store, that's why it takes a little time to publish. In contrast, Apple App Store follows a strict rule of checking the app by involving a human reviewer. Apple keeps the new app in a queue for review and once the app approved, it gets published on iTunes store in a day. But, if Apple rejects the app, the process goes longer from app return to resubmit again by removing the errors responsible for app rejection.

Google play leaves a lot of freedom for app makers, which is good at one side and bad on another side. Virus Shield, a top paid app on Google Play Store, costs $4 and shows over 10,000 download with 4.7 star rating. In actual, the app has nothing and proved a fake app. Additionally, Google play store has an estimated 42000 malware apps.

Apple app store possesses a complete different nature than Google play. Due to a strict selective process and guidelines, the developers get hurt who work hard on their rejected apps. But, it is also true that because of such strictness, iOS users love their apps. Apple aims to deliver an excellent, safe and secure experience to their users; that's why it reviews each and every app carefully. The Apple team communicates with the developers via email to tell them the list of errors, their apps have. Once the developers resubmit their error free apps, Apple approves them pretty fast.

Not only the submission process, but Google and Apple are also followed by a different process when it comes to app store optimization. Getting good rankings for apps is far easier in Google play store than the Apple app store.

Conclusion

Before developing an app, one must go through the App store review guidelines whether it is for Google Play Store or Apple app store. Getting familiar with guidelines will save you from headaches of long term processes of resubmission. If your app gets rejected by Apple, you can have a word with the reviewer as he will guide you for the reasons behind the app rejection.

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How to Pick High Performing Keywords for Your App?

When it comes to app visibility, the name and keywords of app counts the most and when it comes to convincing people to download your app, the rest like description matters much. Read more to know how to put the best name, keywords and description of your app.

App developers are looking for answers of three questions after creating a complete app. They are:

• How to get an app discovered easily?
• How to improve app store ranking?
• How to drive app downloads?

There is only one answer of all these questions that is picking up the best keywords for an app. Keywords are a vital part of app marketing. A correct keyword research and selection is necessary to get the real results in short time. Keeping this in mind, here we have arranged some best ways to search and select the best keywords for your app.

App Name Acts As a Keyword

An app name itself acts as a keyword. So, you have to take care while selecting the name for your app. An app name must be recognizable when people search for it. For example, if user searches for note making apps, an app name with a word “note” in it will be more recognizable by user, giving him an idea of the app, he is looking for.

Have a look on apps, similar to your app; also words that very-well describe your app. Put a list of collections and think of the best suggestion for your app and for your targeted users as well.

Competitor’s keywords + Highly Relevant = Perfect Selection

Competitor’s keywords help you more to reach the best selection. Take a look on apps, having features similar to your app. Find out the keywords from them and take the keywords highly relevant to the name and features of your app. This step will ensure the discoverability of your app even before gaining any reviews and ratings.

The Way Users Search

It is important to understand how your targeted audience will search for your app. Keyword research is widely depends upon this aspect. The words user’s type to search for an app are the words that you have to select as keywords for your app.

Space Analysis

Apple allows putting keywords within the limit of 99 characters while there is no limit on keywords with Google play store. But it is important to put the keywords in some limit like not too short and not too long. A keyword with 3-5 words are more targeted to specific searches and also come with less competition, giving your app a chance to get discovered more easily. You can also use short tail keywords with 2 words as many users prefer to type short terms.

Put a Correct Combination of Words in App Description

Many app marketers think that description must be a combination of keywords. Not at all. You have already integrated selected keywords with your app, no need to describe the same with the description. An app description must be a combination of words that gives an exciting overview of the app. The user must understand what the app does and how it drives some benefits for him.

Make the Most of Localization Features

If your app has localization features, it’s a good opportunity for you to make the most out of it. Specify the locations for which your app is available. Also, don’t forget that people of different countries perform searches in a different way. So, your keyword selection must be according to the searches of various countries.

Keyword Testing

User’s behavior, not always remains the same. They can search with some words today and they will search with other words, tomorrow to find the same thing. After selecting the keywords, you have to test them by seeing the results, your app is showing. If the results are dull, change the keywords, until they give you the best results as per your expectations.

Without the correct selection of keywords, it will become more difficult for your app to come up in front of your targeted audience. Research is a key to reach the relevant keywords and user’s searching habits is a key to select the best keywords. Constant practices for the above tips will improve the discovery of your app as the time goes on.

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Why Engaging Users to your App is a lot like dating them?

When your app, its description, its videos, screenshots or anything else you attached to make your app be more descriptive and understandable for users, becomes successful to convince users to install it, it means you convince a user for first dating. They will download your app, install it and play with it for the first time just like a first dating of your app with a user. Your hopes for second date will increase at the time of first dating or maybe the user will become agree to maintain a long term relationship with your app.

But it depends on app whether it convince user for upcoming dates or not at its first attempt. Well, there are three possibilities can take place during the first date.

• Users have obtained a good experience at first time and they end up with the planning for second date.
• Users become agree for a second date, but without much keenness.
• At the first date, they had a miserable time that they left the date within a half time and decided to never come back again.

Each Appreneur wishes to have the first possibility with their app which is quite difficult to achieve, even after having a great app. So, along with app marketing what efforts one must follow to increase the chances of first impression? Put the following efforts in front for first impression.

Factors Influencing First Impression

First impression of the app really matters, as that is the only chance for an app to convince users to carry on further. In app case, first impressions are dominated by following given factors.

• Design: A simple and appropriate design, serving a clear purpose of your app is what users want. They hate unnecessary designs and elements added to it. The users will agree with the useful behavior of app.

• Functionality: First screen of an app should reveal the whole functions, so that users can understand easily what the app does and why they should continue with it. Users should feel like they need a high class degree to be able to play with your app.

User Onboarding

Onboarding refers to inviting new users for a must have experience and put the best efforts to keep them active. Check out a few essential with user onboarding.

• Exclude the Tutorials from App: Onboarding and tutorials, both serve a similar purpose of making the users understand about the app. Still, it’s better to keep the tutorials aside, and try a good way to let the users know about the app.

• Showing is always better Than Telling: Don’t tell your users what they have to do, instead show them, how they can move further with the app. Guide them like a teacher explaining via graphics at the very first stage of using the app.

• Don’t be Overwhelming: Integrate the only features, users need, especially when it is their first time with the app. Reveal them the features they want so that your app can leave a long lasting impression on them. But don’t be ever overwhelming as it might confuse them for the app.

Commitment for Upcoming Dates

Users feel to be more engaged with apps, hooked with commitments. Determine the needs or expectations of users from your app and give them the same in the form of subscriptions, in-app purchases, etc. Or commit them that they will soon get what they are wishing of. Integrate commitments as the part of your app marketing campaign.

Slowly Fall More

As we have talked earlier to not to be overwhelming, but you can expose more and more in a slow manner. Keep on adding additional and advance features to your app, so that users always find something new and exciting. Use email notifications or push notifications to alert the users about new updates or upgrades. Not only updates, you should send them emails regarding the various uses of a single app or its benefits – one by one. Schedule your emails within every 2-3 weeks.

More Promises

Tokens, virtual currency, extra lives, offers, additional discounts, etc. there are many more things, you can offer through the app. Promise your users that you will give them such and fulfill your promises at a committed time.

Conclusion

Users try for new apps when they heard about them from their friends or they get impressed by reading the features of app. Many users expect to see the same features they had read on, when they first time use the app and being an app owner, it is your duty to fulfill their wish if you want to make them impress at a first date.

Image Credit: blog.usekahuna.com

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How to Increase App Visibility Using Cross Promotion Methods

Mobile app marketing, an important part of app success, but can also be a time and money consuming process. Obviously, there are free ways to market your app like using social media, a beautifully constructed landing page, and so on, but as all you know that all of these freeways are less effective than paid ones and require too many efforts to reach the results.

Today, you will learn about a unique way to market your app at zero or little investment and fewer efforts. Cross promotion will cut your cost and efforts as well, giving you great results at the end.

What is Cross Promotion?
Cross promotion is a type of marketing where two or more companies are promoting one another’s product. In cross promotion, you have to partner with those looking to promote their apps – app developers, app marketers, appreneurs, etc. They will promote your apps on their preferred places, and in return, you will promote their apps at your preferred places. Cross promotion for applications works like an exchange offer. In most cases, it is free or sometimes people charge a little amount to do the same – probably less than those paid app marketing strategies.

Carry out some research on cross promotion as there are so many ways to cross promote your app, all are followed in a different way with a different set of rules. From the index of various cross promotion strategies, here are some great ways to implement the same with the effective set of rules.

Cross Promotion within Your Own Apps

Candy crush saga gives an option to play the other game if you want to achieve more lives to play more at a time. The same rule, you have to apply on your previously created app and newly created app. Your previous app is already available within the smartphones and sure, it has some features which users can unlock if they are giving something in return of it. Allow users to play with a new app, if they want to unlock some great features of old one. You can also insist them to post a feedback regarding their experience with a new app as it will improve your app visibility. This formula works more effectively with game apps.

Make sure that whatever image created to pop up the app in front of users, must be excellent enough to reveal the new app at its best potential.

Connect with other App Developers

There are many app developers, looking for the easy ways to promote their apps. You can easily find them out as some of them might be in your network and others will be in their network. Give them an exchange offer where you will promote their apps and they will promote your apps. In this way, you don’t need a single penny to invest in; all you need is some effective places where you can promote others apps and they get a real time result from it.

Other Methods

Other methods involve an approach to bloggers, website owners and ask them if they can keep a download link or images of your app if you give them something in return. Sometimes they demand for little money to do so or sometime they can demand for some tasks to be completed by you. For instance, many years ago Mass Effect 3 and Amular Reckoning enabled users to download the demo of one game to unlock the features of another game. Similar type of idea becomes more popular with the entrance of game apps and increasing craze of users for them.

Conclusion

In spite of providing instant and assured results, only 7% of total developers are using cross promotion methods. Well, it doesn’t mean that it’s a bad idea, but it’s a best idea most probably for game section. Some extra research needed for app developers with a different genre. An effective cross promotion is majorly depends on the beauty of splash screens – used for app promotion at different places. Studies say that app developers using cross promotion have 181,800 active users as compared to 76,600 active users with those, not using this method. It shows how much effective cross promotion is and how much it will rise in the upcoming years.

Image Credit: insidemobileapps.com

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App Marketing: How to Put Your App Ahead

Have you dream of putting your app ahead of others? Well, your dream has become a huge challenge to achieve as app stores are overwhelming with 1 million plus apps. Of course, app economy is teemed with plenty of money, but only few app owners are taking a huge part of money with them. Remaining have lost in the crowded app markets. Even the apps – which are perfect from A to Z and surely, incorporate useful features for users – have failed to make the grade. Such apps are trying to come up to standard with the help of app design and development only. But the fact is apps can't reach the surface without app marketing. It doesn't only refers to app promotion, it includes considerations of app owners for its targeted audience, app pricing, marketing and app store optimization. Here's a quick look on all of them.

User Insights
It's important to know what users want to have and don't want to have in an app. How they behave once they install and start using your app. The more you recognize these factors, the more you come close to success. Efficiency, Easiness and Convenience – are the three prime reasons that make users habitual of an app. Make sure that your app consists of all these reasons, the absence of even a one can hinder your success. One more thing, if the user already has an app which is similar to your newly created app, he has no reason to download it. You have two options, one is to create an ideal app and second one is app with features second to none.

Pricing
An app can put a strong impression in user's mind from its price tag. If you fail at one attempt, you must try again by changing your app price. With price drop, 1665% increased has been shown up by iPhone apps that is also within next five days. What would you say to this? You must learn that how pricing makes the app visible among users, enhance the popularity and continue to build user engagement.

Marketing Efforts
Only promotion is not enough for effective app marketing effort. You must consider the effects of different mobile app trends on your app's visibility in different countries. Which app categories are garnering the maximum user's attention? You required to rework on your app to make it fit into the current market trend. To make the efforts more effective your app must work according to the demands of users and trends.

App Store Optimization
App Store Optimization (ASO) pertains to increasing the chances of app visibility. It's end-goal is similar to goals of SEO experts – driving traffic, higher app rankings and visibility enhancement. Here also, optimization process begins with app name, its keywords, icons, screen shots, ratings and reviews. ASO increases the exposure of app store attached to your app.

Conclusion
Generally, websites are launched first and its promotion is next to it. But with mobile app, you must start app marketing before the launch of app. It will make your app a buzz and you will notify good scores of downloads within a short period after its launch. Within your marketing strategy, user's insights should be at first and the rest should be next.

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Why Your App Stand Behind Without Mobile App Marketing?

“Build an ideal app, submit it to the app store and it will come up”. Long are the days gone when this concept was actually true. Now, app markets are crowded with millions of app and of course, when users search for apps, they will meet with few popular, not all. So, what creates the difference between successful and failure apps? One is quality and value of the app and second is mobile app marketing. Large amount of developers believe app marketing as crucial part of app's success. Because it is understandable that a new released app can't get noticed within the market already saturated with tons. And yet, you haven't applied any marketing strategy, surely, your app is far behind your competitors. Here are the reasons why.

Successful developers Can Do It

Two types of app development studios: one with great products and top level marketing teams and another one with fine apps and zero marketing. The key difference arises when you choose your development partner. If your choice is first one, you have higher chances of higher scores on the app store and if your choice is the second one, you app might suffer from lower rankings. Experience boosts creativity which you need for your successful app.

 
Research, Ranking Algorithms and Competitions

End-goals of app marketing are similar to SEO like higher rankings, increase in downloads, driving revenue, increase in the number of users, etc. Hence, it is also named as app store SEO. So like SEO, research of keywords takes place here along with planning to make them up. Algorithms are needed to taken in to considerations. Analysis on competitors is must. If you ever try to upload app without any research or analysis, you know what the result would be. Little visibility, less exposure, few downloads and all in turn, waste of investment.

App Marketing Campaign is Available for Every Budget

If you are afraid of cost or your intention is marketing costs are too high to afford. You must rethink on it. You can select marketing campaign as per your budget or you can do it with your own, without spending a buck. Web is a glut of knowledge for everything. Starting from basics to advance, you can learn and implement multifarious app marketing techniques.

Conclusion

Many app developers and marketers are following app marketing techniques. But only few of them reach to actual success. Sometimes, these strategies fail to work as per your expectations. The reason might be the quality and performance of your app or it might be your wrong direction towards. If you are not familiar with app marketing strategies, you must do so before you jump on. Learn about mistakes – you might have done unknowingly and remove them to increase the chances of your app visibility.

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How to optimize the orientation of iOS screenshots.

Your app store optimization efforts can deliver best results when guidelines meets innovation. Read more!

Screenshots are one of the most critical aspect of App Store Optimization. While there are tons of apps to choose from, users are sure to end up examining the app icon, its description and most importantly the screenshots of an app to judge the application’s overall appealing factor and infact the quality of the entire app. Further, their inclination is directly going to affect whether to download the app or not! Hence, it is more of an opportunity for developers to make the most out of their screenshots; because apart from the icon, screenshot is the only feature that communicates to the users about the app’s visual appeal.

Today, we will be closely focusing on optimizing the iOS screenshots. The optimization of iOS screenshot is dependent on few factors that are mentioned below.

·         The orientation of the screenshots

·         The screenshots efficiency in communicating its purpose

·         Smartly using all the 5 slots of screenshots offered by Apple

·         Localization of screenshots

·         Conducting competitive analysis

·         A/B testing

Working precisely on each of the elements mentioned above can help you in leveraging the effectiveness of your screenshots. For now, let us study how to optimize the orientation of iOS screenshots. For that, we will require to have a closer look at what kind of orientation best suits each of the device and when can you consider experimentation.

The orientation of screenshot is fairly dependent on where is it being placed or which device is being considered for the screenshot. There are 3 possibilities.

1.    iPhone

2.    iPad

3.    Desktop iTunes/Web

Screenshots for iPhone:

Considering the iPhone, the portrait or the vertical orientation comes as a default. As a result, the audience is used to viewing the screenshots vertically as it itself falls in place on the iPhone screen. Even then if you consider choosing the landscape orientation, it will be flipped to the portrait orientation which might be bothersome for the audiences to deal with.

Have a look at these vertically oriented screenshots of Candy Crush Saga on iPhone device.

Whereas, these landscape oriented screenshots on an iPhone device requires making quite an effort to view the details.

Screenshots for iPad:

Landscape pictures can be saved for iPad as they seem to fit perfectly on to its bigger screen. Portraits can also be considered for iPad as it will be viewed equally correctly. However, there is a difference in the overall appeal of the picture due to the size of the screenshots of the landscape and the portrait when viewed on the iPad. Have a look.

Here, you will notice that the Clash of Clan’s screenshot with the landscape orientation looks much more attractive compared to the Flappy Smash's vertical screenshot.

Screenshots for Desktop iTunes:

Desktop and web itunes, both are confined to showcase the default iPhone screenshots. Though, the landscape screenshots that usually end up flipping in portrait orientation on the iPhone screen, shows up as a landscape orientation on the desktop iTunes. As a result, there appears to be less uniformity as the second screenshot gets cut-off. Hence, choosing to showcase portrait screenshots means enabling audience to view two full screenshots.

Let us compare them with examples:

Here,you can see that the first screenshot of Minecraft pocket edition shows vertical orientation on the desktop iTunes. While, the second screenshot being landscape oriented gets cut-off, which really doesn’t give an appealing view altogether.

Whereas, here you can see that two full screenshots of Temple run gives a much more appealing view when compared to the former orientations.

These guidelines will help you conduct the best optimization of the orientations of your screenshots. However, experimentations accompanied with guidelines can deliver innovative results and it can always be considered by potential developers to come up with something that suits best to their application.

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