Android Apps Marketing: Secrets to Selling Your Android App

by Jeffrey Hughes

Overview

The Easy, Complete, Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Android Apps!

There are huge profits to be made in selling Android apps! But with more than 70,000 apps now available, posting your app to the Android Market is no longer enough. You need to market your app effectively. Don’t know much about marketing? Don’t worry: This book gives you all the step-by-step help you’ll need. Top app marketing consultant Jeffrey Hughes walks you through building a winning marketing plan, crafting highly competitive apps, choosing your message, building buzz, and connecting with people who’ll actually buy your app. Packed with examples, this book makes Android apps marketing easy! You’ll learn how to

• Identify your app’s unique value, target audience, and total message
• Understand the Android Market’s dynamics
• Cut through clutter and get your app into the top selling categories
• Set the right price for your app and effectively sell its value
• Get reviewers to recommend your apps
• Write effective press releases
• Time your marketing and publicity for maximum effectiveness
• Blog about your app and get the attention of influential bloggers
• Use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media to generate buzz
• Use promotions and cross-marketing just like professional marketers do
• Measure and improve your results with Android Analytics
• Generate a loyal audience that will buy your next app, too
• Earn steady revenue, build a brand, and make a real business out of app development

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780132378253
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	09/20/2010
Series:	Que Biz-Tech
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Jeffrey Hughes brings more than 18 years of industry passion as a marketer, publisher, and keynote speaker in high technology industries, including such companies as McAfee, Blue Coat Systems, Webroot, and Novell. Hughes is the author of 12 books and numerous trade press articles on marketing and technology topics. He is also the author of the popular book iPhone and iPad Apps Marketing: Secrets to Selling Your iPhone and iPad Apps (ISBN: 9780789744272).

 

Hughes is the developer and lead instructor for Xcelme’s (www.xcelme.com) popular app marketing courses, which have helped scores of developers learn how to market their apps the right way in a highly competitive market.

 

Hughes is a frequent contributor of articles to popular app sites. He has also been a consultant for a growing number of independent developers and small companies, teaching them how to launch and market their apps as well as offering marketing expertise and consulting services to help their apps gain maximum exposure. Hughes has a B.S. in marketing and a minor in computer science from Brigham Young University. He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: Your Marketing Message 4

Part II: Delivering Your Message 5

Part III: Pricing Your Android App 5

Part IV: Implement a Marketing Plan/Launch Your App 7

Conclusion 8

I YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE

1 Your Android App Marketing Strategy: Grand Slam or Base Hits? 9

We’ve Seen This Before 10

The Big Win--Grand Slam 12

The Steady Win--Base Hits 14

The No Win--Strikeout 16

Benefits/Drawbacks of the Big Win and Steady Win Strategies 18

Summary . 19

2 What Makes for a Winning App? 21

Build Something Unique 22

Deliver New Features 25

Tie Your App into Trends and News 26

Tie Your App into Seasons and Holidays 28

Tie Your App to Part of a Wider Solution 29

App Created from Other Platforms 30

Summary 31

3 Identifying Your App’s Unique Value 33

The Four Questions 35

Who Are Your Competitors? 36

Identifying Your Competition 38

Learning from Your Competition 41

What Are the Key Features of Your Android App? 43

What Are the Benefits of Your Android App? 44

What’s Unique About Your App? 45

Summary 47

4 Identifying Your Target Audience 49

Refining Your Audience 51

Segmenting Your Market 51

Picking Your Market Segment 56

Targeting Your Market 57

Summary 58

5 Building Your App’s Total Message 61

Choose an Effective App Name 65

Basic App Naming 66

Get Creative 68

Search for Synonyms 68

Use Google to Help 69

Select and Test Your App Names 70

Android Market Text: Lighten It Up 70

Make Graphics Your Focal Point 72

Make Your App’s Icon Pop 73

Build a Simple, Clean Product Website 74

Who Is Your Audience? 75

Developing Great Web Copy 75

Make Your Content User Friendly 76

Strive for Immediate Positive Reviews 77

Summary 79

II DELIVERING YOUR MESSAGE

6 Electronic Word of Mouth 81

Creating Electronic Word of Mouth 82

Positive External Reviews 84

Coordinated Marketing Effort 85

Generating Demand 87

Reaching Interested Buyers 87

Choosing the Right Delivery Methods 88

Three Key Areas 88

Direct Marketing for Your App 89

Direct Mail 89

Email 90

Promoting Your App 92

Your App in Traditional Media (Newspapers, Radio, TV) 92

Advertising Your Apps 95

Paid Search 97

Online Advertising 98

Building a Community 99

Summary 101

7 Using Social Media in Your App Marketing 103

Selecting Your Social Media Tools 106

Using Facebook 107

Using Twitter 109

Using Blogs 111

Using RSS 112

Using LinkedIn 113

Using YouTube 114

Video Basics 114

Summary 115

8 Timing Your Marketing Activities 117

App Buying Cycles 118

Is Your App Seasonal? 119

Hitting the Grand Slam 120

Timing the Launch of Your App 122

Submitting Your Android App 122

Summary 124

9 Getting the Word Out About Your App 125

When to Write a Press Release 126

Do You Have What It Takes? 129

Writing Your Press Release 130

The Anatomy of a Press Release 131

Embedded Links 135

Attaching Multimedia to Your Press Release 136

Press Release Signature 137

Publishing and Distributing Your Press Release 138

When to Launch Your Press Release 138

Summary 139

III PRICING YOUR ANDROID APP

10 Pricing Your App 141

Competing Against Free Apps 143

Be Found 144

Make Your App Better 144

Make Your App More Intuitive 145

Provide Better Graphics 145

Create Documentation 145

Offer Some Technical Support 145

Develop a Reputation for Customer Service 146

Go Viral 146

Some Pricing Misconceptions 146

Offer a Free Version of Your App 148

Setting Your App’s Price 149

Summary 153

11 Conducting an App Pricing Analysis 155

Cost/Benefit Analysis 156

Quantifying the App Development Costs 157

Quantifying the Benefits 160

Performing a Cost/Benefit Comparison 162

Breakeven Analysis 163

Some Caveats 164

Summary 165

12 Selling Value over Price 167

Selling Value 170

Selling Quality 170

Selling Usefulness 171

Selling Return on Investment 173

Additional Thoughts on Selling Value 174

Summary 176

13 Breaking into the Android Market Top Paid Apps 177

Develop a Great App 178

Beat Up Your App Mercilessly 180

Have Friends in High Places 180

Cross-Promote 181

Price It Right 182

Integrate Your App with Other Apps 182

Optimize Your Web and Android Market Copy 182

Develop Your Brand and Promote It Like Crazy 183

Reach Out to Google 185

Summary 186

14 Level the Playing Field with a Free App 187

Build a Standalone Paid App 189

Build a Free App, Build a Following 190

Build a Paid App and a Free App at the Same Time 191

Free Apps with Ads 195

From Paid to Free 198

Summary 198

15 The App Pricing Rollercoaster 201

Raising Your Price 203

Lowering Your Price 203

Temporary Price Drops 206

Value-Add Sales 206

Summary 206

16 App Promotions and Cross-Selling 209

Promotional Marketing for Android Apps 210

Cross-Selling 214

Up-Selling 216

Summary 217

17 Using Android Analytics 219

Analytics Components 220

Track Your App’s Sales 220

Track Your App’s Location 220

Track Your App’s Usage 221

Track Specific App Events 221

Measure App Interface Patterns 222

Top Analytics Vendors 222

Flurry/Pinch Media 222

Mobclix 223

Analytics and Privacy 225

Managing User Privacy Expectations 226

Summary 227

IV IMPLEMENT A MARKETING PLAN/LAUNCH YOUR APP

18 Why Have a Marketing Plan? 229

Focuses on Your Target Market 231

Allocates Marketing Funds 231

Measures Your Progress 232

Provides a Roadmap for Growth 232

Helps You Obtain Funding 233

Coordinates Your App Launches 233

Sets Realistic Sales Targets 234

Evaluates Your Competitors 234

Sets Prices and Defines Promotions 234

Defines a Strong Value Proposition 235

Summary 236

19 Components of an App Marketing Plan 237

Marketing Goals and Objectives 239

Product Objectives 239

Your Android App Sales Objectives 239

Profit Objectives 240

Pricing Objectives 240

Market Analysis 240

Business Environment 241

Demographics 241

Competition 242

Consumer Analysis 242

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis 242

Strengths 243

Weaknesses 243

Opportunities 244

Threats 244

Marketing Focus 244

Your App’s Functionality 244

Promotions 245

Price 245

Financial Information 246

Marketing Calendar 246

Summary 248

20 Marketing Essentials 249

Updates to Your App: Write About What’s New and Exciting 250

Striking a Balance 250

Summary 253

21 Twenty-Five Essential Android Marketing Activities 255

Delivering Your Android App to the World 256

Seek Reviews from Any Site That Matches Your App’s Category 256

Showcase Your App on the Android Market 256

Use Press Releases Consistently 257

Consider Email Marketing 257

Create Word of Mouth Buzz 258

Consider Targeted Advertising 258

Utilize Analytics for Your Apps 259

Android Pricing and Promotions 259

Develop a Pricing Strategy 259

Promote from Ads Within Other Apps 259

Build an App Product Website 260

Increase Your Website Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 260

Let Visitors Market Your Site 261

Social Media Marketing 261

Use YouTube Promotions 261

Use LinkedIn Groups 262

Use Blog Promotions 262

Create a Facebook Fan Page 262

Employ Digg Articles and Videos 263

Visit Forums and Post Comments 263

Other App Marketing Activities 263

Create Trial and Paid App Versions 263

Use App Launch Sponsorship 264

Continuously Feature Improvements 264

Collaborate with Other People 264

Seek Non-App Review Sites for Your App 265

Exchange Ad Space 265

Create an Icon Worth Remembering 265

Determine Your App’s Unique Value 266

Summary 266

22 Implementing Your Plan 267

Implementation Steps 268

Managing Your App Marketing Activities 271

Summary 272

23 Android Apps for Corporate Marketing 273

Is an Android App Right for Your Company? 275

Build an App to Extend/Reignite the Brand 276

Apps to Extend a Web-Based Product’s Use 279

Summary 280

A Competitive Worksheet 281

Index 283