The Ultimate App Marketing Plan: 56 Ways to Boost Your App Store Downloads

The Ultimate App Marketing Plan: 56 Ways to Boost your App Store Downloads

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Remember “Flappy Bird?”

At one point, the creator of that highly addicting and simple mobile app was pulling in about $50,000 a day, according to an interview on RollingStone.com.

Do you have dreams of your app going viral like that?

Marketing a mobile app is a very important component of an inbound marketing strategy because an app can reach a segment of your audience that a traditional website typically doesn’t.

There are plenty of ideas to help you start promoting your app. Here are 57 app marketing strategies, just to get the ball rolling.

  1. Help people discover the app while they’re browsing Pinterest, by creating a rich pin that links directly to the app store download.
  2. Promote the app on other app stores like the Amazon Appstore, SlideMe, and Getjar.
  3. Build an easy-to-use, ultra-targeted micro-site to promote the app.
  4. Generate a QR code to help people download the app.
  5. Create a mobile app ad on Facebook.
  6. Grow your app marketing email list, and regularly engage with users who have opted in.
  7. Talk to one person at a time at the beginning.
  8. Write blog posts that chronicle the life of the app, from concept to launch.
  9. Use StumbleUpon Paid Discovery to drive people to the app download page.
  10. Create high-quality screenshots to use within the app store.
  11. Ensure the app is being indexed by Google.
  12. Create how-to Vines based on specific situations.
  13. Develop an app demo video to showcase new and interesting features.
  14. Apply for mobile app awards like bestmobileappawards.com, Webby, and Awwwards.com.
  15. Record a podcast to market the app to busy people or those with long commutes.
  16. Have a brick-and-mortar store? Create collateral to promote the app.
  17. Promote the app with content discovery tools like Disqus and Outbrain.
  18. Offer a free trial of the app to break the ice with potential customers, but be sure to give them an incentive to stay with you after the trial ends.
  19. One of the basic tenets of inbound marketing is to provide value, and answering questions on Quora is a great way to build trust with potential customers. Find questions that the app could potentially solve, and link back to the App Store download page if it makes sense.
  20. Spend some time with app store optimization, so that the app ranks higher within the store’s search results. Like search engines, the higher your app ranks in the list for a particular query, the more traffic your app page will receive.
  21. Create an email nurture campaign to connect with people who have specific problems that your app could solve, and create a series of emails to communicate value over a while.
  22. Re-engage with current users using push notifications, search, and display ads to keep delivering value and announce new products or developments.
  23. Leverage existing audiences by exchanging ad space with other apps.
  24. Create a tutorial video of the app through Facebook Live.
  25. Add links to the app store download page to your email signature.
  26. Create a high-quality app icon to help your app stand out from the rest.
  27. Add app download links to your website, both directly in your blog content and also through rotating banners on the sidebar.
  28. Another way to use existing audiences as leverage is to write guest blog posts for related topical websites, and include a call to action within your author bio.
  29. Create an infographic that describes the steps in solving a specific problem, and distribute it to infographic submission sites.
  30. Pitch the app to review websites and include all the details and screenshots about the app in an easy-to-consume package.
  31. Build an app landing page on your website to collect email addresses and build your list.
  32. Reach out to influencers who might be interested in helping you promote the app to their audiences.
  33. Partner with another app to share the marketing opportunities and build an audience.
  34. Target specific niche audiences by posting an ad on Reddit.
  35. Create a slide presentation about the features and benefits of the app, and post it to Slideshare.
  36. Use Google Adwords to create display ads to push to potential subscribers.
  37. Roll out new updates regularly as this will keep the app fresh and valuable for your users.
  38. Become an authority in your app’s niche by blogging and connecting with people in the community, which can eventually help you land speaking gigs.
  39. Draft a press release about the launch of the app, and distribute it via sites like PRweb.com or contact other websites directly.
  40. Choose your app keywords and categories carefully. Read this guide on App store SEO.
  41. Create app mini cards to hand out to your friends, family, and other people you come into contact with.
  42. Facebook ad guru Jon Loomer has some great tips about creating a Facebook “passion page” to help bring top-funnel visitors to your app page.
  43. Mobile app professionals can connect with other developers by joining relevant LinkedIn groups and also finding groups of potential customers.
  44. Would you be interested in podcasting? Check out this step-by-step tutorial by Pat Flynn about how to do just that.
  45. Build a teaser website with a countdown timer to build anticipation for the app’s launch.
  46. Create cool t-shirt designs, hats, pens, or other swag with your app’s logo or name, and give them out for free.
  47. It’s not uncommon to receive negative reviews in the app store, but turn those negatives into a positive experience for users by openly and honestly addressing them.
  48. Need to hire someone to help market or develop the app even further? Post the job on various career websites.
  49. Install a heatmap on your app to help optimize the experience for mobile users.
  50. Blog commenting as a marketing tactic is still alive and well, as long as you provide value and move the overall conversation forward.
  51. You can build a good reputation and increase the opt-ins on your email list by hosting an app launch party.
  52. One way to increase sales is to offer discounts via push notifications to those who have opted in to receive them.
  53. Run a Facebook contest to get the word out about your app, and get interested people to opt-in to your email list.
  54. Turn your app users into brand evangelists by integrating social media within the app.
  55. Set up retargeting ads on Facebook, Google Adwords, and in-app to keep your product at the top of people’s minds.
  56. Monitor the performance of your app, and keep track of key metrics like requests, average response time, and failed requests.

Much success,

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