5 Ways to Get More Downloads for Your App (By Luthando)

Have you created a super cool new app? Have you also tested and tried your application with a few potential customers? If so then you must be excited about the next phase in the life of your application; that is the launching phase? But how does one tap into the world of the cyber market and get the application noticed amongst the (around) 2 million customers that are buying applications from the official stores?

There are two major types of ‘official stores’ or online application platforms from where users can download different types of applications. One is the App store, which is the official online store for Apple or iOS devices. The other is known as ‘Google Play’ and is the official online store for Android applications. But before we get to learn about how to get more downloads for our applications (or apps), it is essential that we learn about the ways in which users discover these apps. Knowing these ways will help us make a marketing strategy which will not only get our app out in the market, but it will also help us to ‘sell’ the app, so at the end of the day we are able to get more installs and downloads.

For starters, the official stores at times advertise certain applications, so when users log on to their respective platforms they can see whatever new applications or top rated applications there are. Then word of mouth is another popular way through which people find out about new apps. I don’t know about you but for me applications like Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, Temple Run and so on never existed till a friend of mine introduced me to all these amazing applications. Once word gets out about your application, then a viral process starts and everyone starts hearing about it, which means: more downloads. Another way is through Internet browsing, where users usually use search engines to search for new applications, or they find out about them through advertisements on different social networking sites.

Now that the potential user has found out about your application, do you think they will just instantly start to download it? If that were the case then wouldn’t all us developers be living in ‘developer’s heaven’? Unfortunately it takes much more than the potential users stumbling upon your application to make them download your application. Your application has to stand out and appeal to them in order for them to download it.

So what gives your application the wow factor? Actually it’s more of how you market it than the content itself. The content is important but that is something the user will find out about only after they have downloaded the application. So here are 5 ways to get more downloads for your application:

1. Great Translated Descriptions:

Descriptions are a great way of letting users know what the application is all about, but what if there happens to be a language barrier? To overcome this, try to localize the descriptions for as many countries as you can. This way you will expand your number of potential users who actually understand what the app is all about. Not only that but make sure the description has multiple keywords in it which will make it appear in internet searches. Lastly your description should tell about all the permissions the application will need from you, once you have downloaded the application. Some times an application has in-app purchases so mention those as well. Make it all crystal clear before hand. People hate being deceived. The last thing you want is a user downloading your application and then deleting it because they weren’t aware that they would further be charged for in-app items.

2. Videos:

What can be better than visual aids for your application? Make a video and show your users your application. This way they will get the perfect description about what the application is all about. If you have some extra cash, then you could maybe hire mobile specific video editors to edit your video and make it compatible for smartphone screens. Also, if possible do localize these videos according to regions as well, as at the end of the day all you want is to capture users.

3. Limited Time Offers:

Who doesn’t love sales? I am sure almost everyone does. So from time to time, trying giving your users limited time offers. They can be of any form; you can make the app free for some time (so as to encourage people to download it and try it so that they can later on recommend it to their friends), give a discount on the application for a time period, make some special in app offers and so on. There is so much you can do it and then later on you can even advertise your application on daily deal sites, where you can let users know what special offers you have on your app for the current time period.

4. Professional Real Life Screen Shots:

They say a picture speaks a thousand words and how true is that. So why not use pictures as a medium to showcase your application. But instead of just taking screen shots of the app in use, the better option would be to create a situation and take pictures of normal, everyday people using the application and then adding those to the applications profile. This will give it a more real touch and users would be encouraged to download your application.

5. Google Image for Google Play:

If your application is available on Google Play as well then make sure that you do not skip this part. Many developers tend to ignore this part, but it is important, as this is the largest area you have to highlight your application. Make sure that you utilize it as best as you can and do use text, in the form of tag lines as well.

All of the above mentioned steps are important but never forget the importance of getting the word out. If you can hire a PR company or acquire the services of a medium sized blog, let them talk about your blog as it will help intrigue the interest of the reader and you never know that particular reader might download your application after reading about it on a tech blog. Other than that from time to time check out the analytics for your app, so that you can gauge user behaviors from the time they download the application till the current time. This way you will better be able to asses and judge the success of your application.

Lastly, try to do CPI burst campaigns as often as you can so that you can help your application reach the top 50 lists, after all usually platforms list the top 50 apps by default, so if your app is there, it will definitely attract attention.

Try doing all the above steps and if lady luck is on your side then definitely your app will start to get attention and downloads for the app will increase as well. Good Luck!

Source: www.askpaccosi.com