It’s time to let go of the myth of “no marketing.” As appealing as it might sound, you can’t simply publish your mobile app and expect it to go instantly viral. Marketing takes strategy and focus, something we’re all about at Appmasters. Of course, even the best marketing strategies can have a few weaknesses. That’s why we’ve put together this list of pitfalls to avoid. If you can navigate successfully around these much-too-common mistakes, you’ll have a big leg up over your competition.
- Over-promising
One of the biggest marketing mistakes that many apps make is promising too much. Sure, you want to sell your product and show what makes it great. But don’t advertise benefits that aren’t there or features you don’t really have. It might be tempting to say, “but we plan on adding those!” However, if you don’t have them yet, they shouldn’t be a central part of the marketing. Over-promising leads to poor reviews, the death knell of many an app.
- Forgetting to research your competition
Before you complete your own marketing plan, you should carefully research everything else that’s out there. How does your app differ from similar apps? What makes it better? You don’t need to start making attack ads, but you should be ready to showcase how you stand out. And if you don’t think you have any competition whatsoever, you’re probably not done with the research phase.
- Waiting too long to think about marketing
When should you start thinking about marketing? Around the same time you begin thinking of a killer app idea. How you market your app should be an essential part of your plan from the start. You want to get out of the gate with a great logo and title, valuable marketing collateral such as a video, and a list of already-interested email subscribers. To get all this done in time, you need to be thinking about your strategy early and often. Releasing your product without any marketing only works if you are Beyonce.
- Not setting a release date
On a related note, you should have a set release date and a countdown to launch. This helps build momentum and excitement for your app. Pick a generous date to allow yourself time for beta testing and working out bugs. Constantly moving the release is just as bad as not having a set date.
- Publishing too early
A final common mistake is publishing the beta version of your app directly on the app store. This is a great way to collect a lot of negative reviews quickly. Of course you should test your app, but it’s better to do so in private. Instead, collect a list of emails, and use a service like Apple’s TestFlight to show the app to a limited number of subscribers. That way you’ll get the feedback you need without the negative press.
If you’ve already fallen into one of these traps, don’t despair. There are plenty of ways to bounce back and recover, which we’ll discuss in the coming weeks. Great app marketing doesn’t come down to a single “do” or “don’t”. It’s all about having an effective, multi-faceted strategy.