12 mistakes developers make when promoting their apps

12 mistakes developers make when promoting their apps
Developing a mobile app is a long and tedious process, even for the tiniest of mobile
applications. It is only fair, therefore, that the developer reaps maximum benefits from
the finished product. However, most developers find themselves spending too much
time and money on mobile app promotion, only to end up with disappointing results.
This post looks at 12 of the most common mistakes developers make when promoting
their apps and how to remedy them to ensure maximum returns for their efforts and
get app reviews very quickly.
1. Failure to Adapt to Individual Platforms
Marketing strategies are normally unique across iOS, Windows, and Android
platforms, which basically means that a strategy that works on one platform will not
necessarily work on another. For instance, Android allows developers to release free
versions of their apps with limited functionality and the ability to upgrade to fully
functional apps later. On the contrary, Apple is yet to introduce trial versions of apps
on the App Store.
It also pays to understand the developer guidelines for specific platforms before
investing in development. Poor understanding of the guidelines puts you at risk of
having your app rejected, especially with thousands of apps seeking to get listed on
different platforms.
2. Underestimating the Value of App Store Optimization (ASO)
App Store Optimization (ASO) offers you the ability to increase the chances of your
app being found on the App Store by tweaking your app sales page with relevant
keywords. Failure to harness the power of ASO will often lead to low discoverability
and downloads, irrespective of your app’s design.
You can develop effective ASO strategies using 3rd party vendors as long as you take
into consideration the differences that exist across different platforms. Despite the fact
that ASO, like Search Engine Optimization, is a slow process, its use has been shown
to improve discoverability on the App Store.
3. Premature Beta Testing
Beta testing is a vital component of app development that increases the chances of the
final application being successful. However, releasing a half-baked application to the
App Store puts your application at risk of eliciting poor impressions among potential
users. When a new application is released, robots and scripts are usually on the
lookout to collect and relay this data to people who want to be the first to try out a
new application. If your application was half-baked, you miss out on the opportunity
to get viral traffic at launch, which is essentially free publicity.

If you are an iOS developer, Apple provides TestFlight, a tool that enables developers
to send their apps to pre-registered beta testers before posting the app on the App
Store.
4. Poor or Non-Existent Viral Loops
Viral loops enable your consumers to become your primary marketers. This often
results in a cheap and self-sustaining marketing process since your users keep on
generating more users. Viral loops are often incorporated into an app by encouraging
your users to come back to the app and share it with their friends in exchange for inapp
gains such as progress or quicker access to additional features of the app.
This is one of the best ways to beat out the ever-increasing level of competition on
App Store and Google Play since viral loops are virtually free and easy to integrate
into almost any app.
5. Poor Research
On many occasions, new app ideas drive most developers into a coding frenzy and
they often forget to do their research on the app idea. When developing your app, you
should always remember that your app would be competing with hundreds of
thousands of other apps on Google Play and the App Store. Therefore, your app
should display certain levels of improvements on existing applications in terms of
user experience or affordability.
Always make sure to download and study similar apps to find weak points and critical
areas that need improving.
6. Mismanaging Consumer Expectations
For any developer who is passionate about their product, it is easy to oversell their
app when giving a description, screenshot, or any other form of marketing outlet for
their app. Due to the high rate with which mobile apps are being churned out,
consumers are usually harsh when judging new applications. Therefore, when you
oversell your app but then under-deliver on general in-app experience, it is very likely
your app will receive negative reviews and negatively affect your app’s applications
search ranking.
You can manage consumer expectations by underselling, which is actually much more
likely to give you better reviews than overselling.
7. Developing Apps without a Strategy for Monetization
One of the main reasons for developing apps is to get money for your coding efforts.
This has become more challenging with the influx of applications on Google Play and
App Store. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you maximize the returns from
each application install that you actually get. You should plan and integrate your
monetization strategy early during development in order to reap maximum rewards

when your application is ready for the market. Some of the common ways to be paid
through your app include in-app purchases, ad revenue, and subscriptions.
8. Inability to Analyze Critically Analytics Data
Many developers employ one or more tools within their applications to enable them to
collect pertinent data points that give feedback on aspects such as acquisition,
engagement, and retention. Such data points give the developer an all-round picture of
their application. Still, many developers lack the knowledge to analyze the data
collected by analytics products within their applications, therefore losing out on
countless opportunities to benefit from their applications.
9. Developing Apps with a Preference for the Latest Hardware
As is the case with software platforms, failure to adapt your apps for a wide range of
hardware platforms will reduce penetration of your app and decrease its impact on
potential markets. With each new high-end smartphone showcasing advanced
hardware capabilities, it is easy for developers to fall into the temptation of
developing apps that are exclusive to these advanced devices and forgetting other
middle to low-end smartphone users. Users will most likely uninstall apps and give
them negative ratings whenever the app chokes the performance of their smartphones.
10. Failure to Update the App
All applications need regular updates to fix bugs and to integrate customer feedback.
The app should have a reliable feedback collection mechanism that will ensure
customers are able to relay their experience with your app. This goes a long way in
improving your customers’ experience and motivating them to share your app, which
means more revenue for you.
11. Letting in-app Advertisements get in the way of Customer Experience
In-app advertisements are a great way of monetizing your mobile app. However,
when the advertisements keep popping up every few seconds or occupy a large are on
the screen, your app is most likely going to receive negative reviews and subsequently
uninstalled. The best approach would be to strategically place the advertisements
within the app so that the user’s concentration or enjoyment is not interrupted.
12. Overlooking free, basic tools for Promoting your App
At some point, most of us have been guilty of running to spend our advertising budget
on expensive ad campaigns and forgetting some of the simplest advertising tools
available. Creating a Twitter, Google+, Instagram, or Facebook account for your app
or starting a blog for promoting your app are sure ways of spreading the word about
your new product without a budget.