Fellow Devs: How do your promote you app?

[ccrraaiigg007]

I have an app that I think is good. (everybody who has downloaded the trial has bought it. all 18 of them) I think i could sell more if I got some exposure. How do you get exposure for your apps?

 

[11B1P]

May I suggest better grammer? Just messing with you. Your thread title is "misworded".

 

[Wobjoi]

I have an app that I think is good. (everybody who has downloaded the trial has bought it. all 18 of them) I think i could sell more if I got some exposure. How do you get exposure for your apps?

Will watch this thread with interest as I have one app in the market place, and am about to launch two more with a fourth being developed at the moment. I have put a lot of effort into my apps, and would like to know what some people can suggest with getting marketing and exposure for my apps as well.


So far my only thoughts are:
1. Getting my app as a feature app on the store. Not sure what is involved with this just yet.

2. Maybe asking the good guys here at WPCentral to have a look at the apps I will have published and post a review on them.

Watching with interest.

Dan.

 

[Stiv]

Promoting and marketing an app is in many ways much more difficult that creating an app. This is mostly because there's only so much you can do yourself. You are almost completely reliant on other people which can be a very frustrating experience because you know that just 1 good word by the right person or website can make a massive difference to the success of your app.

I recently released a game that got a very brief mention on a French Windows Phone site. That 1 mention shot the game up to 60th position of all free games in the French marketplace. I can only dream of what would happen if WPCentral ever mentioned one of my games on the front page.

In my opinion your best marketing opportunity, and the one you have most control over, is the “New” list. For the first couple of days after your app is released it will be towards the top of this list. You will want to maximise this exposure with screenshots that sell the app, a compelling app description and most importantly, a high quality app icon. Do not underestimate these 3 things. It’s your one chance to let your app sell itself.

Of course, that doesn’t help when your app is already out there. So if you’re looking for more ideas check out this great link that has some really good suggestions:

AdDuplex Blog: 25 Ways To Promote Your Windows Phone App for Free

Of course, your app looks like it’s targeted at a very specific audience so generic advice might not help. You might be better off posting about your app on golfing forums to try to drum up some interest there.

Anyway I hope this has been useful, good luck!

 

[jimski]

Not a developer here, but a reviewer. So a different perspective. First and foremost, make a well designed app. Looks are important, but so functionality. I don't do it as often as I used to, but 90% of the 400+ apps I have downloaded (using about 240 now) I found by scanning the New section in Marketplace on my phone. Typically I look for interesting titles, and yes, sometimes icons. Not really a gamer (sorry) but productivity/utility apps are always of interest. So are news and other info gathering apps.

App descriptions, as well as informative screenshots are important. Especially if the app is monetized and you don't offer a trial. If the app has two or three 1 star ratings, you are effectively toast. So if you have issues with a first release (noted in comments) you need to address them in your description, which might draw so new users to give it a try.

Absolutely make certain that a user can contact you in some way. I have paid for apps that didn't work out of the gate and there was no way to contact the dev so the app got the 1 star of death review. I have contacted many devs after trying an app with multiple bugs, and after working through the problems, wrote a great review. Actually waiting for one to pass certification right now.

Here's an idea. Look at the top apps in Marketplace and try to visualize what makes them highly rated. Know your competition.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro

 

[Stiv]

Thanks for the comments Jimski! It's great to hear from the reviewer's side of the fence!

 

[Miss.Donna]

Re:

Also you can promote in portfolio submission website http://www.behance.net/MobileAppsDevelopers .

there you have to promote your apps screenshot and put link for download to your website

Even you can submit your apps in Apple - iTunes - Everything you need to be entertained. and many more apps submission websites.

 

[DavidinCT]

A tip I heard from a MS dev thing for Windows phone is... update your app. When your app gets updated (version 1.0 to 1.1 for example), it gets put to the top of the new app list.

So, updating and giving new features promotes your app more. Update often and if you make a great app, adding new features all the time, it should sell more.

Instead of adding 10 features or bug fixes at one time, it might be better off to add 2-3 at a time, update versions and get put to the top of the list every week or 2...

but, could be a pain from your end users who have to update their app all the time... if you balance it out, you can get more sales and not piss off your current users..

 

[diapers]

A tip I heard from a MS dev thing for Windows phone is... update your app. When your app gets updated (version 1.0 to 1.1 for example), it gets put to the top of the new app list.

So, updating and giving new features promotes your app more. Update often and if you make a great app, adding new features all the time, it should sell more.

Instead of adding 10 features or bug fixes at one time, it might be better off to add 2-3 at a time, update versions and get put to the top of the list every week or 2...

but, could be a pain from your end users who have to update their app all the time... if you balance it out, you can get more sales and not piss off your current users..

Hrm I don't know about the update thing. I normally uninstall any app that constantly updates itself.

 

[jimski]

A tip I heard from a MS dev thing for Windows phone is... update your app. When your app gets updated (version 1.0 to 1.1 for example), it gets put to the top of the new app list.

..

Hmm, not sure of this. I check the New list all the time, and don't recall ever seeing an existing app on that list, simply because it was updated. I could be wrong, but having checked the list hundreds of time you would think I might have run across a few.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro

 

[Stiv]

A tip I heard from a MS dev thing for Windows phone is... update your app. When your app gets updated (version 1.0 to 1.1 for example), it gets put to the top of the new app list.

I think this might have been true in the beginning but it got abused with a lot devs releasing "nothing updates" just to get to the top of the list. The official marketplace doesn't show updates at the top any more but there are a bunch of other WP websites that have lists of apps that have been updated recently.

 

[Red Lemur]

I don't think the WP7 app store has ever puts updates to the top of the what's new. It used to be the case with the windows mobile 6 app store.

I think it's a shame that it doesn't - I'd much rather buy an app where the developer cares about existing users (e.g. by continually creating new features / adding new content etc.); and that system would encourage developers to do so.

Best way to market an app I've found is by listening to your users. Obviously have an easy way for them to contact you within the app, and encourage/respond to their ideas & suggestions. Loyal users tend to market the app for you by word of mouth.

 

[CommonBlob]

Firstly, make a good app, if it sucks it doesn't matter what you do.
Be active on twitter, facebook, social networks. Be active on forums. Be helpful and get people to take notice of your app.

If you do something cool, give a tip to wpcentral (and maybe some other wp sites) and they MIGHT look at it, i'm still trying, but they definitely look at some!