Category: Marketing

The modern addict is a very different image than the ones of the past decades. The addicts of our time are getting their fix from a range of online distractions. There is a great deal of literature and research that has gone into the narcotic effects of these sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, and, of course, Facebook.

In The Business Of Crafting Desire

In the modern age of selling distraction, it is the companies that can quickly form strong user habits that come out on top. These companies have a clever web of internal triggers that will cause users to visit their site without an external prompt.

READ ALSO: Getting Feedback for Your App

Marketing goes out of the window with habit-forming products. These companies simply become part of the daily routines of their customers. This is called the: ‘first-to-mind’ characteristic. When the customer is bored, sad, interested in a topic or has a spare moment they immediately think of the product and company.

The Basics

While it sounds very simple to create this kind of company as there are so many of these sites already active, it isn’t as straightforward. Manufacturing desire is a skill that takes time to develop. The successful companies are the ones that can create the right hook for their customers.

Habit-forming technology has some identifying characteristics that come up in everything from video games to advertising campaigns. These are the five steps to create an effective hook. Although the process can be applied to a varied selection of companies and products this guide is focused on consumer Internet companies.

1) Trigger

The start of the process is what powers whether it is successful or not. Most of the time the triggers work in a combination of both external and internal ones. The technology will provide the customer with an external trigger to start a cycle towards an internal trigger. Some example external triggers are links on a website, an email, or an app icon. The feelings that these external triggers create will eventually become internalized, and a habit is formed.

2) Action

Once the trigger creates a desire, then the action needs to be directed. This can be based on two aspects of behavior: motivation and ability. The key to encouraging the customer to take the action is to make it as obvious and to make it require the least amount of effort possible. This is the ability aspect of the process. At the same time, the design of the product must continue the motivation aspect by being immediately attractive.

3) Reward

The reward step of the process is one of the most intricate and needs to be carefully planned. It isn’t easy enough to give a predictable reward, it must be a variable reward. If you gave a person a box, and there is a minimal reward inside that was continually the same, they would quickly take the box for granted and lose interest. If the box occasionally threw out a larger more exciting reward, then that changes everything.

Creating intrigue puts customers into an intense hunting state of mind. This makes desire become the guiding force. As a variable reward system, it can form some of the strongest habits. With the examples of Facebook or Pinterest, it is the fact that rewarding content is different with each visit. It is not predictable, and, therefore, it creates a need to visit more often to get greater rewards and the user’s next big “hit”.

4) Investment

Most habit-forming processes finish with the reward and create a short loop. The key to manufacturing desire is the investing phase. This step has two main goals. Firstly the company wants the customer to have a high chance of passing through the process again and again. Secondly is to use the dopamine reward state to push customers into parting with some cash, time, data, effort, or social capital.

The difference between most sales pitches is that with manufacturing desire the investment will improve the service. In terms of online companies, it comes in virtual assets, learning about new features, and inviting other users. The company uses each investment to make the trigger even more attractive. This will eventually result in the reward being more exciting with every pass the customer takes through the hook process.

Using The Power Wisely

Habit design is a powerful tool and should be utilized carefully. It can create a whole range of entertaining parts of a person’s lift and healthy routines. It can, however, be used to create extremely damaging and wasteful addictions.

Whether it is right or not to use is certainly an important question but one that has to be answered while also remembering that the technique is already here and is here to stay. The benefits for companies are just too great, including greater access to the collection of customer data. The combination of access, speed, and data create a whole range of types of habit-forming triggers.

With such a powerful effect, it is clear how important it is for a company to understand the hook process and how to utilize it successfully. Equally, the average customer needs to know precisely how these processes work in order to prevent excessive and unwanted manipulation.

Being able to manufacture desire is what will differentiate between companies that succeed and those that fail in the future. This is especially true for those that can build a service around especially attractive internal triggers that don’t require any need for further marketing or external triggers.

By following the four-step process can help any company to create a successful hook based product. For the customer, being aware of the processes will help to keep this powerful technique from being put into the hands of companies that are profiting off of damaging habits.

With the right companies using positive triggers that generate healthy or life-affirming rewards will mean that manufacturing desire will place many customers on a hook cycle that will benefit them and their wellbeing in general.

If you spend months designing an app, creating a number of iterations, testing them, there’s no doubt you have a question: How to monetize an app?

After all that hard work you’ll want to get a bit of brand recognition, to heighten consumer awareness or to gain the loyalties of new customers. An app is only as successful as the number of users who download and use the application and just how much money the app generates in terms of overall revenue.

Read also: Crowdfunding apps

Sure, it happens once in a blue moon. Apps like Instagram, Vine, and WhatsApp come along and sell for huge sums of money. But, in the everyday world of app building and development, the average app won’t make billions. It’s just like the industry of publishing, there are thousands of authors, but only a few of them are bestsellers.

You need to be confident in the success of your app, but there is a small possibility that your app will land you in riches. Statistics reveal that around 2% of the app developers claim more than half of the app revenues. You need to be realistic about your vision of success, so let’s see what you can do with app monetization.

Read also: How do free apps make money

Business Model Decisions

There are several app monetization models and below you can see the most effective monetization methods as of March 2017:

[Source: Statista]

First, you need to define what you want to achieve with the app you’ve created. There are some questions to be considered:

• Can your app solve problems of the user, and if it is so, then how?
• What features make your app different from all the other apps on the market?
• Why will users pay for your product? What is its value?
• Research apps in the same category: What business model they are using to sell and market their apps?

Once you’ve answered the questions above, you can move forward to create your own mobile app monetization model.

Below are some of the major ways to monetize apps you can choose from.

6 App Monetization Strategies

Strategy 1: In-App Ads & Free Mobile Apps

This business model is most attractive for users because they can download your app for free, without paying any penny and you are able to make money by selling data-driven advertising space.

How do in-app ads work in free mobile apps?

1. you gather information about the users
2. when you have formed a strong user base, you can sell the collected data to in-app advertising networks
3. publishers select your application to place their ads

As a result, users see the small banners or popups with ads. Ads typically appear at the top or bottom of an app. If the user taps the ad, all sorts of possibilities open up from watching a video to the redirecting to advertiser’s website. For social media apps like Tik Tok or Instagram in-app ads usually are represented by video placements. 

Also, there is one more interesting type of ad – notification ads.

Some people are calling them “Trojan horse ads” because they can send you push notifications with the ad even when the app is dormant.

Notification ads can be used while thinking about how to monetize the Android app. Because they are only supported on this platform.

Read also: How much does it cost to make an app

However, there are some shortcomings when monetizing free apps. For instance, some users find the advertisements annoying and decide not to use or even not to download the app with ads.

Also, you need to take into account that advertisements may significantly limit the screen space of your app.

Strategy 2: In-App Purchases

You get the revenue in this strategy by selling virtual or physical goods or services within the app.

It doesn’t matter what you’re selling. It can be clothing, gadgets, accessories or something virtual such as extra lives or in-game currency.

The in-app purchases implemented in your app turn it into another sales channel. This way of app monetization applies particularly well for e-commerce apps or games (where you can buy a bonus or a special ability to skip a level that’s driving you up the wall.)

One of the side benefits of in-app purchases is that you can get deeper levels of engagement by providing users with the opportunity to buy virtual goods.

The only drawback in this model has some cons since app stores usually take a cut of the revenue for virtual goods purchased inside an app. For instance, for songs or a game.

Strategy 3: Apps with Gated Features (Freemium)

This model is a bit like the free apps model.

The app is available for free but some of its features are locked (gated). To unlock these features or get an access to premium features users should pay some money.

In other words, users have access to an app’s basic functionality for free, but the premium features have their price.

The Freemium model is most relevant for games.

Angry Birds game is a great example of how a brand managed to get significant revenue using this strategy. Users were able to upgrade the game to the full version for a small fee.

Such an approach allowed the company to get an extremely large number of fans of the game. After having conquered a few levels, users became engaged enough to pay for the full-fledged version for more hours of fun.

Strategy 4: Paid Apps

You can assign a fixed price to every single app download. The price of mobile app development can vary depending on your app and its functionality. You will want to be fair about the pricing of your app, however. You have to persuade users to download the app by stirring a need or desire for the potential user. This means more marketing efforts.

If you set a price for downloading your app, it means you use the paid app business model. The user has to purchase your app from the app store to install it on his device.

The price of paid apps may vary and it usually starts from $0.99. It is the most common price as brands make money upfront with every new user.

The success of a paid app depends on your ability to showcase the value that users get with your app.

It is not an easy task to sell an app because app stores are so overcrowded and users can find a free alternative to your app.

Thus, your paid app should possess undeniable benefits that differentiate it from similar free apps. Provide your app with unique features, be it design or functionality, or brand. 

Strategy 5: Subscriptions (Paywalls)

This model is similar to the freemium model. Instead of the locked features, it makes money on narrowing conThe user. The user is allowed to view a limited amount of content for free. To get more, the user needs to sign up for a paid subscription.

This model allows you to earn revenue on a recurring basis as it most suited for content-focused apps (news, lifestyle, and entertainment). And it is very similar to the “pay later” or “free trial” model.

Apps with updating content can also earn money with ads that other brands place inside of them. Use an app revenue calculator to estimate the approximate revenue of your application.

Strategy 6: Incentivized Advertising

Incentivized Advertising is a kind of sponsorship. It means you form a partnership with advertisers, who reward your users for completing certain in-app actions. Your app earns money by taking a share of the revenue from redeemed rewards. RunKeeper became one of the first apps that adopted this app business model.

RunKeeper uses incentivized advertising to motivate its users to track their running activity to unlock exclusive rewards and promotions.

Takeaway

As the competition between the apps becomes more complicated, you should use a creative approach while building your monetization strategy. You shouldn’t limit your strategy to one model. You can work with blended models. For instance, start with a “free, but with ads” model and then offer users a paid upgrade to an ad-free version.

The end lesson here is: be creative and courageous as much, as it possible and you will bound to succeed.

App developers need to be familiar with a number of different devices and platforms in order to make their applications usable for everyone. Applications began when Apple introduced the App Store, which is now the primary way of accessing applications for phones and tablets.

Apps are now being developed for both iOS and Android platforms with some success but now there are even more devices and platforms being introduced to the mix. The platform that is gaining popularity quickly is the smartwatch.

Smartwatches have been around for longer than you might think but since their development over a decade ago, they haven’t seemed to gain any traction. That is all changing as companies like Google and Apple, and even smaller companies, are developing smartwatches that are more attractive and user-friendly for consumers.

Related reading:

Is Freemium Really Killing the Digital Gaming Industry?

With a market that is primed to accept a new piece of technology, these companies are taking advantage. They are lowering the prices, improving the features and the style of the watches as well as making them more aesthetically pleasing for the user. When a watch is more technologically advanced and more fashionable then consumers are more likely to be interested in purchasing and using it.

The growth in popularity of the smartwatch has been just as rapid as the developmental changes that have been implemented. Part of this means developing apps that are suited for the platform used by the watches.

The reasons for developing apps for smartwatches will prove to be challenging as well as fruitful for developers. We have listed some of the main reasons to get involved in the new platform below.

1. The New Kid In Town

There are only a select few operating systems for smartwatches, and there are already many apps available or being showcased for each. The Android Wear, Pebble, and Apple Watch Kit are all platforms that have yet to reach their potential in terms of available apps and features.

The apps that are available add something to the usability of the watch and the overall performance. This makes the smartwatches something even more appealing and more functional than an average watch or timepiece.

Getting into this amazing market of applications early will create a place for the developer in the market. This also means having an understanding of how the platform works from the beginning and being able to compete with the skills of other developers in terms of flexibility. Developers can become well known in the industry when they get into smartwatch app development right from the start.

2. Improving UX

Since this is a relatively young platform in the development world, there are a lot of functions that have yet to be discovered or added. These missing features could make the user experience even better and could be something that developers can use to make a name for themselves. There is a huge amount of room for improvement in terms of the stock of apps and the features they could add to the watches.

It is normal for operating systems to be updated and improved with new features and elements put out by the company. This often happens frequently over the lifetime of the app. This is the case with apps used on platforms that have already been well developed.

Before companies are able to begin making improvements for the smartwatch platform, developers have the opportunity to make a contribution by making these improvements for the companies in order to better establish their brands. Pebble alone already has over 5,000 apps and that number is only growing. Developers need to get into this market if they want to be successful overall.

3. Paid Apps

While apps for phones and tablets are often free or based on a rate that reflects the use of the app, smartwatch apps are often paid downloads. This is good news for everyone involved in the development, as monetary elements are definite.

Most users are expecting to pay for the apps that they use on their smartwatches as that was what the system used when the watches first came onto the scene. Because of this, there are more chances for developers and companies to make more money from the apps they put out to customers.

The unique additions that these apps add to the smartwatches make them more usable and provide valuable functions for the user that they are happy to pay for.

4. The Issue Of Fragmentation

Understanding that fragmentation between platforms has been a headache that all developers and companies would like to avoid. It is also why most have put more time and effort into keeping the operating system of the smartwatches easier to use and understand.

While phones have different platforms that need to be accommodated for, the smartwatch platform is more controlled, with little variation. This makes developing apps much easier.

5. Impressive Attributes

There are things that smartwatches can do that will impress any user. Their functionality includes a lot more than just telling time. There are sensors that allow the watch to collect data and interact with other devices.

This is primarily useful for fitness and notifying the user but the watch is becoming more versatile than ever before with the ability to make payments and operate the user’s vehicle.

The potential is there for developers to use to their advantage. There are ideas that can be developed for the watch specifically and elements that can be used to enhance the user experience fully.

You’ve come up with a brilliant mobile app idea and you want to develop it and make it popular. It is relatively easy to get an app idea off the ground and into the hands of users. In fact, a good developer will include you in every stage of the app’s creation and planning, and you’ll appreciate the end result. It’s important that you bear in mind though, that even some of the best-designed apps go unacknowledged and ignored.

These incredible apps are buried among a million other applications and lost in the app stores that are milling out apps by the thousands. So what do you have to do to ensure the success of your app? Are there things you can do to prevent your app from being lost in the deepest recesses of a virtual app store? Yes! Check out some of the following solutions below.

Simplify Your Login

The minute your user downloads your app and launches it on a mobile device, the first thing they encounter is a sign in or login option and/or a menu page. You need to make app access a simple as possible. Today’s mobile users are impatient and their attention span is limited. Apps need to offer near-immediate gratification, otherwise, it is likely you will lose the attention of the user as they move onto some other app that will offer instant satisfaction. Social media integration is definitely recommended here as with a few taps of some icons and the user of your app is in and ready to access your content or play the game you have created.

Typically, new app users do not care about having to go through all the fuss of creating a user identification and password, and then verifying everything by email before being able to enter the application. If you are going to have a log-in option with a user id and password, at minimum give your user the option to sign up using social media integrated features as well.

Market Your App

The only way you are going to attract downloads is if you put every effort into app promotion. Through marketing, you can introduce the app to your target audience; track downloads, and monitor the success of your marketing campaigns. Marketing also allows you to tell users what your app offers, how they can use it, and how it will benefit the user.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that marketing starts only after the app is completed. In fact, you need to market the mobile app pre-launch. You can use some people to beta test the app and allow them to generate a buzz about the application via word of mouth and social media.

Create a webpage and make it the official page of the app where users can download the app and access any new updates in the future. Use the page to share your story (consumers love a back-story) and tell them what inspired the app. Write about the development process. The more you can connect with your users the better.

Social Media Sharing

Social Media is just a part of online marketing now. You can create an official page for the app and invite friends to like the page. You can use the page to make announcements about the app, discuss changes to it, and to advertise it to others. Users can like your page and share it with others. It is a super fast way to spread the word about your app and what it offers.

When you use social media outlets, you can offer users incentives and you can even reward them for sharing your information and posts. Reward them for inviting the people they know to your page, and you will get more organic “likes” then you can imagine. Add a function within the app where users can share the app with friends on social media too; it is a simple way to get people to share with others.

Simplify the Entire App

The interface of your app needs to be flawless. You want to keep things neat, nicely designed, clean, and smooth. Always remember you have impatient users who will drop your app like a bad habit if it is not visually appealing and easy to use. At any given moment, if your application makes the user feel like they are inconvenienced, aggravated, or even cheated, they will remove your app. Even worse, they may give you bad feedback and spread bad messages about your app via word of mouth. What this means is the simplicity of your application is at the heart of your app’s success and your reputation.

Make the features the user will use the most the easiest to access. Present the functions in a prominent area of the app. Make everything about the app obvious and intuitive. If you have an app you are creating that is based on a website and the user is already accustomed to the online experience associated with the website, they will expect the app to deliver a similar experience. Make sure your app and website line up in terms of functionality as much as it is possible to do so.

Landscape or Portrait

Ahhh…the blessed “dual-orientation” on many mobile devices: Users either love it or hate it, there really is no in-between. When you are developing an app, you have to consider dual-orientation as well. How does the app look in landscape mode? How does it look in portrait mode? Where is everything Located? Is everything easy to access in both modes? Are all the gestures the user has to make to operate the app smooth and easy? Make sure your dual-orientation factors are user-friendly.

Final Iteration

Final Iteration? The truth is, there isn’t one. When you have an app you’ll want to update it regularly. You may have to debug it, create new versions, add new features, and regularly update it so it remains compatible with mobile devices. Keeping your app current and giving the user new elements will improve the likelihood of your app’s long-term success.

Useful article: Tips on How to Choose a Successful Name for Your App

The cellular marketplace today is constantly developing, becoming one of the fastest-growing and innovative markets. But when it comes to all those apps, terms, store, mobile, and other similar things, it can seem a little bit difficult to understand how all those pieces come together. Proper optimization of the app store is the key to success.

READ ALSO: 10 tips to make your app look cool in the App Store

But even if your app is really good, it’s still very easy to get it lost among the thousands of others available. Below you can see some tips on how to better optimize your mobile, apps, and the store so these all can be involved in a successful marketing strategy.

General Concepts

The main idea of an app store optimization is to make the app more visible for the end customer. The client should see your app among the first customer search results. As it happens with most search engines, if you’re not seen on the first results page, the chances of being visible drop significantly. Visibility is the core point here: the more users can view your app, the more purchases and downloads you’ll get.

It was noted by Google that most of the apps were downloaded and installed after they were found in search engines. To become sure that your app is properly shown in the search engine results, it is important to do a careful review of keywords and other related factors.

Mobile, Apps, Keywords & Store

As it was mentioned before there are thousands of apps available on the mobile marketplaces today. You have to stand out. The first thing you should pay attention to is keywords. These help the search engine to note your app. The main keyword that describes the app should be a part of your app’s title.

Spend some time to explore the common search terms before specifying the name as changing it later can negatively affect your branding. The other keywords can be used for overall terminology and product description. And even after the app is already released, make sure to proceed with the research in order to update the keywords according to the target market’s research habits. This will let you keep the highest positions in the search results.

Downloads

Despite the fact that you can’t control it, the high number of downloads can become an awesome marketing tool. Make your app a celebrity by highlighting the total amount of downloads in the description of your product. Being popular, your app will easily attract new customers.

Get Positive Reviews

Sometimes these are difficult to control but high ratings play a significant role. Each time you search for something on eBay or Amazon, your opinion about seller’s reliability and the product’s quality is based on the amount of 5-star feedbacks the seller has.

Another step is to look through accounts of buyers that purchased the product from this specific seller. The total amount of downloads is important, but positive feedbacks along with generous reviews can do wonders encouraging users to buy your product. So, each time you sell something, subtly ask your customer to leave feedback or at least rate you.

Timeframe

Be prepared to spend enough time to build a high-quality optimization plan for a successful app store. You’ll have to adjust your app’s keywords and description regularly. Sometimes you’ll have to revise the keywords you use, making them more adjustable for search engines and your target market. Actually, it’s almost impossible to make the first set of keywords optimal.

That’s why it’s very important to be ready for constant changes in trends as well as to the regular slight changes in descriptions in your app store. Keep in mind that your time is important, but the results are even more important. Try to not to make your app one of those thrown onto an app marketplace without any strategy in mind. Your sales can be significantly reduced because of no effort being put into optimization. Track every sale’s rank and respond regularly, especially when competition arises.

Marketing as the Core Element of Your Strategy

Once you’ve drawn the customers’ attention to your product, another key to success is to make sales’ raise a priority. Your app’s icon should be unique and eye-catchy. The description should be well-read and explain all the details about your app. Use the keywords carefully as these shouldn’t damage the overall readability.

Add some screenshots that show general usage situations and explain to your customers how people usually use your app. This will let them feel that they already own the product and enjoy its benefits. The most successful commercials allow users to discover the trial version, so they can understand the product’s integrity before they finally buy it. This represents a bond of intimacy before the clients even pay for it. It will be also great to include a short video that will personalize your app and explain what the product offers to its potential owner.

Conclusion

As you could observe, mobile, apps, and store all together compose a special consumer’s marketplace. There are several key elements that make an app store optimization plan. The most important part here is optimizing the keywords in your app title and description so these can benefit to search engine results.

The other factors to consider are the downloads’ count and positive customer reviews. The last ones can be used as effective marketing tools. But you can’t take direct control over them. Deciding to do a correct store optimization plan, you should be prepared to regular updating of keywords and descriptions as these can change its popularity and let the competitors enter the market.

To become sure you are on the top of search results, you should regularly change the keywords making them current and focus on the target market. Finally don’t forget about the art of sales. After you’ve managed to get the top position in the search results, you need to market your product to potential customers.

A stunning icon, proper description, a couple of screenshots, and a short video presentation will help you to achieve the goal.

Nowadays when the tech world is rapidly developing it takes a lot to put away “business-sharks” or throw them off balance. But even in the ever-changing area of the business industry, the conversion caused by the mobile field is a lot to take in. Mobile is not just a whole new landscape. It is a different state of mind.

One helpful step in adapting to this new reality is letting confusions and misunderstandings go away. It’s one thing if you’re building a mobile app as a hobby. However, it’s another story if you’re going to develop a business. To assist you to do that, here are some simple tips to follow.

1. Capital accumulation depends only on the client base

Today’s business directors clearly understand that having a numerous client base does not mean that your product will be turned into a benefit for your profit. A lot of mobile apps are being offered free of charge. It means that mobile promoters need to make more efforts while creating their mobile application monetization plan.

They may learn from other mobile company’s mistakes that have translated their achievements into cash. But there is one positive moment in the Smartphone revolution that has created some new profit sources. Nowadays, entrepreneurs don’t need to encourage users for using their products because user data is becoming a whole new currency. 

2. A good marketing strategy means to be in the spotlight

The first rule is to choose quality over quantity! A small group of trusted and nicely selected users would be more effective in earning capital than tons of users.

It’s weird to see that even nowadays big companies are looking for collecting as many app downloads as possible instead of focusing on loyal users. While it may appear to be silly, to invest resources in a smaller source of customers instead of a wide range is what mobile marketing calls for. 

3. Stay away from the red ocean strategy

A highly competitive market must be a prerogative. However, it doesn’t mean that you should fall out of business. User’s instability sometimes could work for you if you have a creative background and managing and marketing skills to beat up a rivalry.

Conducting close focused research and the market investigation is important in any case, and even if you come up with a completely original idea, you would still have to do enormously hard work to succeed. The notion line is simple: don’t let the opposition turn you back and simply make a task to improve your skills and win a competition.

4. Entrepreneurs are the chosen few

Due to opening new markets and fields of investigation, the popularity of mobile app solutions has turned a lot of entrepreneurs without a solid tech background into qualified mobile leaders.

Because, the fact we carry a cell phone every day, use different apps, play games, and live a digitized lifestyle creates plenty of possibilities for building our own successful business. 

5. Creating a great product is the most important issue

There are plenty of mobile companies that believe wholeheartedly that storming the App Store with their digital products without any proper basis is a profitable business deal. You need to give your product a favorable push with a smart launch strategy, followed by disputable optimization efforts.

You must take into consideration this little but very useful truth, and set a target replacing the misguided notion of “If you create it, they will buy”.
And last but not least. Here is a story about the owner of a small community-minded mobile coffee truck. She needed an effective way to increase her customers including a simple messaging system that will show the truck’s location and suitable hours.

Since launching her app, the benefits to her project have exceeded all the expectations. Her winning app feature is a loyalty card that she actively promoted. So, it is a good sample of a good strategy for small business development. She said:” Customers save money, and we make money. So, it’s a win-win.”

Even an experienced entrepreneur can learn something useful from this list of tips.

There are tons of money to be made from app development. This ranges from the paid apps’ initial sale to in-app purchases. Several companies find it suitable to utilize a mobile advertising platform to monetize their apps in order to multiply their investment. You probably have several advertising platforms for your app to select from; however, the challenge to this is that you have no idea where to begin.

This happens often to most app developers and budding entrepreneurs, which is why some professionals shortlisted top-notch information to offer those who are facing trouble choosing, to make a decision. Here is a list of the top 9 best app advertising platforms guaranteed to bring you optimum revenue.

1. Tapjoy

All top mobile game developers might want to consider Tapjoy. This is because it has experience with in-app purchases, which is among the most utilized way of achieving optimum app monetization. Undoubtedly, Tapjoy takes the lead in the gaming domain. What do mobile gamers do when they are asked to pay just to finish a game? Some pay up, most gamers quit. In order to avoid this, Tapjoy has introduced incentivized downloading by providing gamers the prospect of earning virtual currency by partaking in real-world actions.

This in turn enables them to get awarded in the virtual world through access to premium content in over 20,000 games to the present day in the Tapjoy network on more than a billion devices.

2. AdMob

AdMob is among the most commendable advertising platforms presently available. It is sometimes referred to as ‘the child of a search engine giant, Google’. It has gained its reputation from its enormous advertisers’ network. Also, the fact that it is owned by Google, which is also reputable and renowned, is a major plus for this platform.

With the vital part to Google’s success being coding, AdMob SDK offers coherent software development tools for app developers to link popular mobile programs such as Windows Phone, iOS and Android. To top it up, AdMob has an elevated CPC to aid users get the leading ROI.

3. Aditic

Aditic is a prime mobile advertising network that was established and is owned by a mobile marketing company called Sofialys. Aditic offers support in various platforms including Blackberry, Android, Java, iOS, and Samsung Bada.

4. Millennial Media

Millennial Media is renowned for being the chief mobile advertising network, which climbed its way to the next level via the first public offering. Millennial Media acts as both a campaign platform and marketplace. For someone looking to quickly and easily structure a campaign for advertisers to rival for their business, the Millennial Media Platform offers affluence of intelligence and research for that particular use. In addition, it also provides users with a systematic dashboard from which they can obtain reports of all transactions such as date ranges, pacing, targeting, and pricing.

Millennial Media offers enormous deals to mobile developers, individual development teams, and game publishers. It allows advertisers to display ads from other networks via their Ad Network Mediation support system.

One can assign traffic across networks based on CPM. This is doable by utilizing location, revenue, and percentage. Through this platform, one has the ability to cross-promote their apps within its own application. Millennial Media is by far the best combination of advertising and monetization for your app according to experts. This is due to its flexibility.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FIVE-STAR APP DEVELOPMENT

5. Byyd

It was initially known as Adfonic but was recently re-branded to Byyd. Byyd provides approximately 95% fill rate for iOS and Android platforms. With their main focus on rich media ads, Byyd provides advertising platforms for big brands and corporations such as ESPN, Samsung, and Amazon. One great major advantage to Byyd is that one has the means to structure and manage several accounts.

6. Chartboost

Most gaming app developers opt for the Chartboost ad platform because of its commitment to serve gaming ads with integrated serves and built-in analytics ads, basically to accomplish your cross-promotional marketing campaign needs. This means that you can obtain more particulars on what a user is doing with your game.

Chartboost platform has several creative solutions that are intended for the heavy utilization of app marketing in a professional manner. Since the targeted audiences are already present and playing the game, and are always looking for the next fun gaming app, the ads displayed are basically about the downloading of new gaming apps and cross-promotion. The best thing about Chartboost is that it only takes 5 coded lines to begin.

7. AppLovin

AppLovin serves requests for over 7 billion ads every single day together with 10 terabytes of user data. It allows you to provide your users with personalized recommendations as well as selected promotions and other benefactions.

ANDROID APPS VS. IOS APPS – WHAT AND WHY IS BETTER?

8. Flurry

The main vision of Flurry is to make your app flourish in these new economic times. Their main goal is to generate as much revenue as possible for your app based on app monetization. Its crew Flurry has assembled a magnitude of user data set in relation to global consumer usage, from over 700 million smartphones and other mobile devices as well.

Furthermore, it utilizes cutting edge analytics to elevate your ad to the right position and at the right time. Flurry is used for takeover, video ads, and interstitial on Android and iOS. However, do you know what is Android Boilerpale? 

9. Vungle

Contrary to what the majority of people believe, users don’t find all ads are boring. For instance, think about all the people who are attentive to the astonishing ads that air during events such as the Super Bowl. Vungle is committed to aiding you to convert your app into engaging and captivating video ads, which will keep your end-users fixated on it.

With so many app monetizations and app advertising platforms out there, mobile advertising can sometimes become daunting. However, the above-compiled list of the top 9 app advertising platforms should make the selection process easier. Each of them offers a unique take on app monetization to increase revenue for developers.

Now, you are almost ready to make your app popular.

In this strange and relentless world of mobile application development, the first impression is the thing that matters the most. If your app attracts attention – this is the goldmine.

While it seems to be an obvious thing to claim, some tend to ignore the user experience and first impression, hoping that content alone will make it gangbusters. It doesn’t work like that, however, because in order for the user to get to your amazing content, s/he needs to have your app on their mobile devices.

The consequences of failing to make a positive and ultimately engaging impression are well-known, but there is hope as there are several fairly simple ways of making your application look attractive in the app market.

Here are 10 tips that will help you to make your app look cool in the app store.

How to Market Your Mobile App?

Clearly defined target audience

App store works in mysterious ways at times. There are thousands upon thousands of applications of all walks of life — but only those which happened to be in top-25 charts are making serious business. The rest is just there doing time and stuff. Why is it so?

The reason for that lies in the users. For the most part, they are not looking for some peculiar deep cut options, they need to do something, and they simply take what is lying on the surface. The logic behind this decision is simple — apps presence in the top-25 is a noteworthy sign that this particular app is actually useful and trustworthy.

This means — in order to get through you need to be in the top-25. How? Two words — App marketing.

If you want to compete with the big boys — you need to convince users that your app is worth attention. Your goal is to thoroughly explain what makes your app better and/or different from the others.

How? Look at the application from the user’s point of view. Channel directly to their needs and expectations for certain kinds of apps. Why should he care about it? That’s the secret.

Focus on local markets and work on regional rankings

Another important element is knowing where your target audience is situated country-wise. It is one thing when you need to get into the top 25 of the United States and completely another when you need to get into the United Kingdom top 25. Thresholds are different and the competition varies.

By localizing your target market and focusing your efforts on building up the presence there you can save yourself a lot of time and money. It is that simple.

In the case of non-English speaking countries, it makes sense to make a fully localized version. Even though it seems like everyone knows English — not everyone is comfortable using it. The thing is — for the most part, users prefer to use an application in their native language. Adding support of other languages broadens the international appeal of the application and immensely widens your audience.

Apply an App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Stores are huge. It is easy to get lost there. The success of an application depends on the discovery factor. For the most part, users are either skimming on the top or going straight through the referrals. The majority of users don’t go beyond that.

But since there are hundreds upon hundreds of various applications trying to present themselves in the most engaging manner possible — the competition for the top spots is very high. Even if your app is actually better than the others in a selected field — it doesn’t mean it will stand out in the search results. Quite the contrary is within a probability.

Hopefully, App Store SEO aka ASO can help.

How? You see — search engines are weird beasts with less reason than a bag of bats locked in a submarine. They live by their own rules and you can study them in order to turn the tables into your favor.

By applying ASO you give yourself an additional advantage in the quest for user’s discovery. Simple adjustment of the description and elaborations of the title can work magic for the discovery factor. Combined with high volume low competition keywords — it moves your app up the search results ladder straight to the top.

Learn more about app store optimization or google play store optimization.

Make your app icon distinct

An icon is the first thing users see of your application. In many ways, it is a “make it or break it” situation. You either hook the user, and he goes on to check out the description and the screenshots, or he just moves on through the search results.

An icon shows what your app represents. It is your coat of arms. It tells what the app is about through common symbolism.

Here are a few handy tips on making a distinct icon:

• It should be catchy and easy to remember;
• It should not be cluttered (remember that it’s the icon, not a screen)
• It should be tied to the purpose of the app;
• It can be a play on words or images based on the app’s purpose or name.

Make a convincing screenshot showcase

Screenshots play important role in the consideration of whether to download an app. On the surface it seems like a nothing deal — just throw in a bunch of screenshots that show how an app works – that’s how app developers usually see it. But in reality, it is a bit trickier.

Upon selecting screenshots for the App Store page, you need to keep in mind how users perceive them. They need to understand what is what and how it works through static images. If done right, screenshots can serve as a strong rationale for your mobile app marketing campaign. However, you should keep them to the point and ultra-descriptive.

Here are several things you need to keep in mind about the visual presentation in the App Store:

• Show full cycle of navigation (for example, on-boarding process)
• Show features of the app and appropriate screens for them
• Record a video of how the app works
• Tell a story to the user of how s/he could use the app

Take full advantage of the video opportunities

While adding video presentation to the page may seem abundant — it can be used to further the impression of the product and incite positive decision i.e. download.

How does it work? Basically, this is like an ad for the app. Don’t simply repeat your screens, but rather, make the user want to use your app and be happier / healthier / more positive (whatever your app is designed to do).

For example, how the app solves a particular problem or how it allows doing more than other apps. The key element is relatability. If the potential user can’t relate to the problem depicted or doesn’t identify himself with the target audience, chances are s/he won’t get the app (unless s/he falls in love with the design or micro-interactions…)

Make description credible

While the visual aspect is able to raise awareness and carry out the first contact — it is a description that makes a final stroke in the “to install and or to pass on” story. The well-written description of an application works on two fronts:

• Explains what the app is about;
• Presents apps value proposition;

Keep in mind that the text consists of two parts. One that is seen in the search results and the rest of the app page. You need to make the opening lines as catchy as possible so that the user will go to the app page and consider the download.

Think about it from a user’s perspective. For example, you need an app to take notes. You’ve found one and it looks kinda fine, but the description is just some atrocious mix of buzzword mumbo-jumbo and hapless braggadocio. You go “yikes” and move on.

Here are several handy tips on how to make app description work in your favor:

• Must be written in an engaging manner;
• Must explain the purpose of an app in plain words;
• (optional) Show the benefits and advantages of your product in contrast with competitors;
• Must be slightly intriguing.

Secure glossy user reviews and ratings

User ratings and app reviews are an incredibly influential factor when it comes to consideration on whether to download an app. Basically, the better app store reviews the better conversion. However, it is also one of the places where you have little control over the situation.

It can go both ways — scare off potential users due to exposing flaws and inconsistencies or convince them to try it out by the sheer power of positive reaction.

How to secure good reviews? It all comes to one thing — make a good app that is actually useful and tested through and through before going on the market. And if there any problem occurred, just fix it on the notice.

Word of Mouth matters

Referrals are one of the most common ways of discovering new applications. What makes it happen? In a nutshell, it is a direct result of the positive reception of your application. I.e. app is so good, users are telling other users to try it out.

How to make it? Basically, try-hard, and make a good app, spice it with a clever marketing campaign, and voila.

However, because of that, there is little to no control over it. You can’t artificially generate positive word of mouth.

Sure, you can strike a partnership deal with an influencer who will recommend your app to his audience but that is not a guarantee of positive word of mouth. In fact, it can backfire as an attempt to shove something down the throat.

Make frequent updates

One of the most effective ways of maintaining a consistent presence in The App store is through a steady stream of updates. The logic behind it is simple — it shows that an application is still moving forward and evolves into a better thing.

There are several types of updates worth mentioning:

• Regular updates — refined features, fixed problems, etc;
• Optional updates — supplementary features (new photo filters, etc);
• Seasonal updates — April’s Fools Day treacherous trolling user experience;

Every update in one way or another is a legitimate reason to remind already engaged users about an app and also attract new users through readjusting ASO.

In conclusion

Promoting an application is a challenge. But with these little tips in mind, you can be sure that all your marketing efforts will be ultimately fruitful.

Let me just outline, that currently there are over 2 million apps in Google Play Store. That is quite a good deal of applications, isn’t it?

Sounds like a piece of great news for all smart gadget users out there, but not as good for app developers.

Getting to ASO itself, which is basically app optimization for improving its’ ranking in App Store search results, the surprising thing is going on. A large amount of publishers still doesn’t invest in app store optimization.

But here is one thing – before people use apps for diverse purposes, they tend to search for these. Consequently, everybody wants the highest rankings in Android App Store, because you get more app downloads. It can sound simple in theory, but in fact, takes a while trialing and fixing mistakes.

While nobody really knows the exact algorithm of Google ranking, there are a few well-tried tricks that work to lift your app up in Play Store. Google Play Store algorithm seems to be more complicated when comparing to Apple App Store.

Here is a list of primary Google play store app ranking factors:

• Number of ratings
• Number of installs and uninstalls
• App involvement (frequency of use)
• Growth of downloads in the nearest 30 days
• Backlinks to your app

In fact, there are a lot of common things in app optimization for Android and iOS. But let’s dive more into specific features of ASO Google Play Store, shell we?

7 game-changing tricks for Android app optimization

1. Find and track the keywords

This basic, yet deciding, step means EVERYTHING on your way to Google app store search optimization. Without this information, you won’t even find out whether your google play search optimization is working or not.

Apparently, it’s important to choose the words according to your target audience.

The keywords in Google Play Store you select should properly describe your app, so people are encouraged to download it once they find the app in the search. Besides, you want keywords to be as relevant to your application core as possible.

And to hit a maximum of your target audience, these words better be the most requested, at the same time overlapping competition as little as possible.

There are cases in-app publishing when particular apps gained about 300% downloads raise only from keywords optimization.

Remember not to overplay with this part to really improve Google Play ranking.

Tools for keywords research:

• Google Keyword Planner
• Wordstream
• Sensor Tower
• Wordpot
• AppCodes
• Ninja Search Combination Tool

You can also dig for more keywords either in users’ reviews (check Review Mining), or survey your target audience on Social Media, through e-mail newsletters, etc.

2. Include keywords in the title

Speaking about the name of your application, it might be the most determining factor in ASO.

First and foremost – keywords placed in the title of your application should be with the most massive search traffic. Take time to search for this essential, because once you decided on the title, it becomes a staple. And you really want the head of the app to be descriptive, unique, sharp, and appealing.

This way you create the most comfortable and “easy to figure out” experience for the searchers.

Once your app is published, starts getting downloads and reviews, it will be also spread by word of mouth. So it’s not the best idea of switching and trying different names at that stage.

Mind! Your title should not exceed 25-30 characters. Otherwise, you risk losing users distracted by not seeing a complete name in a search list and shifting to a bunch of other apps out there.

3. Description really matters…for Google

Here goes a major difference between Google Play Store and Apple App Store search optimization principles.

Google picks up the keywords from a description of your application. Obviously, we need to get the most out of it.

Experience shows that using keywords 4 to 5 times throughout the app’s definition will improve your rankings up to 20 spots. But again, do not stuff your description with the whole range of keywords straight – that’s a way to turning it into spam.

4. Now visuals – App’s Icon, Screenshots, Promo Video

Looking for an appropriate application, a lot of searchers will “window shop”. And the app’s icon is the first thing to pay attention to. It should be of high quality, utterly informative, and attractive design. There are also clear specifications Google expects your icon to include, so you can, obviously, Google it 🙂

Killer name and icon might be not enough for catching your prospect’s full attention. So make sure to use all 8 available screenshots for different types of devices – phones, tablets, TVs. You need a set of high-resolution screenshots with the descriptions on them to show the most goodies of your app.

To make these pics even edgier, use various dynamic tools (Promotee, Adobe Photoshop, PlaceIt, Screenshot Maker Pro) to simulate running the app on the device.

A stunning Promo Video is a cherry on the top of your cake. That is why Google Play is so awesome. You simply upload it to YouTube in a matter of minutes.

Make your video short and on point to respect your people’s time, they will appreciate that a lot! You wanna highlight only major features and advantages within your app.

5. Work those reviews and ratings up

The truth is it takes a number of downloads to get displayed. So asking for reviews and improving ratings of the app is a significant scope when doing a qualified ASO.

Zendesk claims in its’ recent survey that around 88% of consumers are mostly influenced by online product reviews before they make a decision to buy an app.

So again, head to your customers and ask to leave favorable reviews. As far as your app is satisfying and involving, it won’t be a problem for them.

For Google Play Store there is also a great chance to avoid negative reviews from users.

You can simply provide them with a clear direct channel for giving feedback to developers within the app. This way you can ask users for reviews (Important! Only when they are the most engaged, not really when they are busy performing tasks on the app, ok?). Just preface by asking a simple question – are you enjoying the app?

6. Localize your app

You always want to translate the application to the languages of your target regions. It’s a true must to offer a localized version of your product, except a common international option.

7. Backlinks are going to make wonders for your app

It’s the same as with a normal web search when links from reputable A list resources increase spreading the application over the net. You don’t wanna deal with low-quality Z list link farms for getting optimal results.

Therefore, it will be great to promote your app on some popular websites, asking them to write about your application and providing a link to your app page. You may also consider starting your own blog and contact press for people to get more opportunities for exploring your app.

Overall picture

A global trend is all about the growing price of each app installation and the same rising number of downloads required to appear in the featured ratings of Google Play Store. So promoting the app can become a truly challenging activity for the narrowed budget companies.

At the same time, Google Play Store optimization can complete your whole marketing strategy at a lower cost and give tangible results already in the short-run. Don’t waste that chance and absolutely try it.

Happy app store optimization, guys!

If you decide to rebrand your product, don’t forget your mobile strategy. It’s always a decisive ritual of transformation when you decide to rebrand your product line because mobile is no longer a by-product.

Mobile strategy plays an integral part in a whole process, whether it’s to stand out from competitors, increase sales, exclude a negative image or present new features. We have compiled 5 marketing questions each entrepreneur should ask themselves before starting a rebranding journey.

1. Do I really need an app?

Apps aren’t suitable for all types of companies, so why this question is important. You definitely need an app, when you can offer mobile users an improved, balanced experience that connects with your brand’s nature. The app should work in a way users can interact with the label. On the other side, when should you remove your app?

There are many apps that need a real purpose because a lot of brands are launching an app just for the sake of one without counting of the added value. The best proof that your app isn’t worth your precious time and money when it demonstrates the same content that is featured on your website.

2. The interface of the website. How should it look?

Let’s be honest, there is nothing more embarrassing and irritating in 2015 than creating an awkward website that is not suitable for mobile screens. Moreover, visiting sites via mobile phone far exceeded desktop, users. All that really matters that you must guarantee that your website is mobile-friendly because consumers will buy or download your product using their mobile devices.

3. Should your brand use Multilingualism?

If companies want to interact with consumers and form a deeper connection, they must speak “their “language. During the rebranding process, the majority of labels change their names and logos to show a new identity. This new “personality” will most likely endeavor to advertise new fresh ideas and values, but don’t forget that the language used by your project should reflect this “breezy identity”.

4. Target the proper audience?

When you decide to rebrand your product, usually your target audience isn’t going to remain the same. It is a great opportunity to focus your strength on those you are trying to attract the most.

The same thing with a mobile strategy: Your new label’s audience must apply in your mobile ad targeting. Truth be told, mobile is a perfect background for brands who want to check different groups as the eventual target audience.

5. How should I introduce my new marketing concept?

For those who are making some changes to their concept, there is one important rule. They should inform their customers and the whole market about the name, slogan, or logo changing for their company.

In this case, you can use some really aggressive strategy like a mobile advertising campaign on popular platforms. This method will inform customers about your re-branding.

For example, Airbnb decided to change its logo that was not appropriate for the entire concept of the company. A new logo was about the Belo symbol that stands for ‘belonging’. Their entire strategy was built then on the ‘belonging’ basis and theme.

It was perfectly adapted to their website, interface, and, of course, mobile application. However, they did not prepare their customers for changes, and the brand got its portion of negative feedback after the logo was released. People just called it ‘ugly’ and ‘weird’ with no idea what it was.

So, what lesson can we learn from this example? Well, you should remember that before showing your audience your new image, look, and concept you should educate them. And mobile marketing would be the perfect decision for that task.

So, you should launch some really massive educational campaigns to demonstrate your new features, logo, corporative colors, and stuff. Lead your customers to step by step to the whole new concept. This will be your perfect foundation for rebranding.