Did you know that there are about 2.1 million apps in the Google Play Store?
The Apple App store comes in a close second with 2 million apps. The Windows Store lags far behind with its paltry 669,000 apps.
No matter how you look at it, the mobile market is an ocean for revenue. Many video game companies and entertainment firms now focus their strategies on mobile.
If you want to know how to launch an app, you need to know a lot of things about mobile development. You need the knowledge on how to increase its mobile app ranking once it’s out as well. That means you need to devote a lot of time and effort to develop it.
But what are the things you must know to launch an app and get success? Read on and find out more today.
1. Know Your Audience First
Your mobile app launch should focus on researching your market. You need to ensure that you know the people using your app before you start. Doing this at the beginning of the process will help you save a lot of time and money compared to going in blind.
After all, you won’t know what type of audience your app attracts if you launch it into the market without prior research. Knowing what your audience wants will make it easier for you to understand the things they dislike about the apps out in the market. It gives you an idea of what the pain points are for your intended audience.
You need to uncover the reasons behind your users’ discomfort through their attitude towards existing apps. Without prior research, you might not have the means of seeing possible market threats.
That’s why it’s critical to invest in market research. This serves as the steady foundation that can help you for the rest of the mobile app launch process. Don’t hesitate to spend, but don’t take too long or you risk making your app irrelevant in the long run.
2. Define Your Positioning Statement
After you finish researching your app market, you need to make it into a deliverable. First, you need to do some research on the possible strengths and weaknesses of your mobile app. Once you determine that, you need to share these findings with your team as well as your stakeholders.
Remember the number of apps in the App Store alone. If you need to make your app as successful as they can be, you need to offer something others don’t. You must have uniqueness while giving value so that users get attracted to download and use your app.
Determine the things that make your app better than existing competitors. It’s important to do this even when you already have a clear vision on what your audience wants. The right term for this is the Unique Value Proposition.
With the sheer number of apps in the market, it’s important to give your customers a clear message on why your app is more valuable. It’s critical to convince them that your app is the most valuable one in a sea of similar apps. Your message won’t come through if you only limit yourself to describing your app’s functions.
What to Do with Your Team
You also need to pass this message around with your team members. They need to be on the same page as you when you propose the app idea. Strong internal communications are vital to the mobile launch to make everything smoother.
Otherwise, you might not communicate a concrete message to your stakeholders. That might prevent you from achieving that buy-in you desire.
3. Define Your Success Criteria
It’s a given for you to set some goals once you start developing your app. If you don’t, you won’t have an idea whether your app succeeds once it launches. Ask yourself and your team what success looks like for your mobile application.
Keep the goal simple and attainable, regardless of how complex your app is. Set your goals around the number of active installs each month. You can include the number of positive reviews as well as your average rating scores.
Those are just some of the few examples. You can use them alongside other, loftier goals you might have with your app. Always remember to check whether it’s feasible with your current budget and manpower.
4. Prepare Launch Activities
Once you’re finished with all the research, it’s time to set your focus toward the execution of the new app launch. To achieve success, you need to establish a marketing plan. This ensures that you execute the process in a proper and timely manner.
Promoting Your Content
This is now the best time to start marketing activities including social media promotions. You can also try giving early access to reviewers as well as advertise in other media. Keep focused on promoting yourself in social media platforms like Facebook since it has about 2.2 billion active users.
Make a timeline of possible events that can lead to your launch. That can help you set a launch date beforehand.
Identify Key Influencers
Do you want to launch mobile apps that get attention? If so, you need to know the people who influence your audience. Check the people who report on new app releases and connect with them using their social media platforms like Twitter.
Make sure to be persuasive when making your pitch. That will make sure that your app gets promoted by these influencers and reporters. It might help in ensuring that your app won’t be one of the 71% of those uninstalled within 90 days of use.
Make a Press Kit
Make it easier for bloggers and online journalists to feature your new app. Look for resources to give away so that everyone has the information necessary for app promotion. That means you need to give them graphics, app descriptions, site links, and contact information.
Use Product Curation Websites
There are a lot of websites out there that can generate hype for your app. Some websites have voting and review sections that can help you know whether your product is viable. That means you need to work hard in ensuring that your product gets a lot of positive attention.
Do your research when it comes to choosing a product curation site. This can help you find the appropriate one for your ideal market and mobile app niche.
Make Your Product Page Description
Ask yourself how you’ll construct a message that convinces people to download your app. Users will only see about five lines of your description when they first look at it. That means it’s important to make them interested enough to at least click through and read more about it.
Remember, the best way to monetize mobile apps is to make it solve a problem for users. You need to put it at the forefront of your product description. Give a few key features in the description to let users discover the rest when they install your app.
Your app store description is something like your advertising copy. Generate some hype so your potential users will download and start using the app.
5. Launch the App
With all these steps done, it’s time to submit your app to the App Store. Always remember the guidelines for submissions. That way, your app gets approved as soon as possible.
If you want your app to have higher rates of download and retention, make a good first impression. Do this within the first few days leading to your launch date. It’s a critical time period since it focuses on making it obvious to potential users how useful your app is.
But it’s important not to impress your audience too quickly. If you do, you risk losing them all at once. That’s why it’s important to let the influencers, reporters, and bloggers know about your app’s release date. Make sure to encourage them to try out your app and give their opinions.
6. Post Launch Follow-Up
After the launch of your mobile app, make sure to know your means of measuring the launch’s success. Look at the things that went well and check what needs improvement. The follow-up should tackle the rates of customer satisfaction, engagement, and retention.
Gauge your launch goals with your initial customer reviews. Most users abandon apps since they lose interest or their needs change. But the most common reason is the app’s general lack of usefulness to them.
It’s important to stay updated with market demand shifts. Adapt to the user expectations to ensure that your app remains relevant. That way, your user base will grow and make your efforts and resources all worth it.
Learn How to Launch an App Today!
Mobile app launch isn’t a single, one-time process. There’s always a lot of opportunities for you to grow and improve. If you want to learn how to launch an app, always remember that it’s a cyclical process.
You need help to reassess it as soon as a change in the market becomes apparent. After all, you need to update and relaunch your app to keep your users interested.
If you need a consultation, contact us today.
