Marketing techniques for mobile applications

You have put in hours of work to create something wonderful. First of all, congratulations! It was certainly not easy. Now all you need is an audience, right? However, therein lies the problem. That coveted audience can be hard to find. Very hard, actually. Your application can easily be buried in the sleet pile that self-published marketplaces are, dismissed as not worth it, or worst of all: not seen at all! If you are sure that your only problem is that you are missing an audience, that your product is perfect, then this free marketing guide will undoubtedly be of some help.

If you’ve ever had more than one look at the mobile gaming markets (Google Play, App Store, Windows Store), then you’ve seen the clones that occupy it. Each title is synonymous with Shock, Legend, Runner or has a bird or an animal of some kind; the icons are usually a screaming person, a close-up of food, or a classic neon-colored rehash. While it would be wise to avoid these clichés, the bottom line here is that it will be difficult to stand out. So to get started with your marketing campaign, start locally. Build a base there; then expand.

Of course, tell your family and friends. Later-

Print flyers with ripped tabs at the bottom. Each tab should have the URL of your application printed on it. Interested consumers can remove these tabs to remind them to download it later. You can find free bulletin boards to post your flyers in most laundries and many grocery stores. College campuses also typically have quite a few bulletin boards. Word of mouth is a good start, so think of each extracted tab as a new speaker, who will then share it with your friends around the world, who in turn could spread the word even more. Also, consumers will often be friendlier and more likely to write a positive review if they think it will help someone in their circle, even if that circle is the entire city. Loyalty work for sports teams; may work for your application.

Create business cards to distribute whenever your application pops up in conversation. A custom bumper sticker or car magnets are a good way to make every trip you go on an advertising excursion. Avoid placing steering wheels under the windshield wipers, as they are more likely to annoy you than arouse interest. A custom-made t-shirt with the app name, images, and where to download it is another good way to passively advertise while walking past the big local events (balloon races, rib fights, farmers markets).

Once you’ve marketed locally, go online. Here, obviously, you will find a much larger potential audience. To get started, make blog posts on your personal websites about your app or game. Also, create a YouTube game video and video trailer to showcase your work. Also, since you will be sending some emails, create an auto signature with your name and links to your app or game.

Forums are a good place to find an audience. SlideDB, ModDB, IndieDB, and Penny Arcade allow you to submit a post about your game, as well as updates. Reddit is a very popular website with subreddits (smaller groups of particular interest) that welcome posts about independent games. / r / IndieGaming and / r / freegames are two of those subreddits with many followers, but a simple search can lead you to many more. The development software used to create the game also has related company forums where you can share your game. Beyond this, use social media. Post on Twitter, making sure to use hashtags like #indiedev #gamedev and those more specific to your app or game, to get views beyond your followers. Tweet the independent game reviewers with your app information. Post to Facebook to connect with family and friends and keep them updated; and Instagram as well as Pinterest, again using tags to reach new markets. You can create a press release and submit it to press release websites in the hope that journalists will pick it up to write a story, or send the press release directly to local newspapers or magazines.

Consider publishing to non-mainstream platforms like GooglePlay. Other such publishing platforms include: SlideME, GameJolt, and NewGrounds. Video reviewers are also a good idea to help build buzz. ArcadeGo is one such promoter, but many others can be found by searching for ‘gameplay videos’ and following the game reviewers to their account pages, where you can find them and contact them via email requesting a review.

Free app review websites are another way to get seen. Submit your app to all the app reviewers you can find and a good number of them should accept your game or app if it’s high quality. App reviewers include: The Great Apps, Indie Game Dev, AppsZoom, AppBrain, AppZoom, Indie Game Hunt, and Super Game Droid.

If this all sounds like a lot of work, it’s because it is. Finishing your app or game is only half the battle. The other half seeks an interested audience. Get to work and reach out to these reviewers, forums, and your local community; however, it will help ensure that you receive more care than doing nothing.

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