mobile-apps, advertising, android-development, app-store-optimizationI’ve just rolled out my new android app, which I’ve created spending hours and hours in front of my screen (as I’m not that long in this business).
Now, I’m offering in-app purchases, like the player (yes it’s a game) can play level 1 and he can unlock level 2 & 3 by spending (in my opinion) a tiny little amount of 1$. In addition, I’m also monetizing my app with 2 ads in it.
The last 2 days, 200 users have played my app per day, and none bought it and the ads just made like 0.2$ per day.
But these 200 Users came from my ads on facebook, which I bought there, If I didn’t bought it, I think noone would have ever noticed my app. I’m paying 0.1$ for a new user, that’s not much, but if noone buys the game or the ads are not being clicked, I’m not earning money..?
Can you tell me where I can learn promoting an app correctly and perhaps tell me what is actually going on at the moment?
I see apps with 100 thousand downloads in the store without doing in-app purchases, why can they do such things, and how did they get so many downloads?
Rule #1 of marketing is to make a product that doesn’t suck. No amount of marketing will help if your app sucks. And the best way to know if a game sucks or not is to test-drive it by handing it to the youngest kids that might end up using it.
To give a short example, my wife and I recently visited friends who had a 4 year old son. I re-installed Cut the Rope on my tablet so he could play.
When I initially purchased Cut the Rope in 2010, it was a seamless and remarkable playing experience. I gave it a well deserved 5/5 rating back then, and the game kept a number of kids busy and engaged for afternoons on end until I deleted the app.
Upon re-installing it, I passed the iPad without much second thoughts. I was speechless a few minutes later. The app was bubbling with obnoxious prompts to buy other apps, prompts to get power-ups using in-app purchases, and what have you. I had to disable in-app purchases and step him through how to go ignore the prompts so he could play unsupervised. And it was so bad that I was tempted to pop into the App Store to slap a big fat 1/5 review on it for the trouble.
It got worse. When my tablet’s battery ran out, his father downloaded Cut the Rope 2 Free on his own tablet so the kid could continue playing. Big mistake.
The UX was abysmal. Between the full screen video ads, the all too big and misplaced restart level button that the kid systematically tapped because the next level button wasn’t grabbing his attention, the forced discovery of features and power-ups that interrupted game play, the in your face in-app purchases, and the need to tap on a map to access the next level (something which he couldn’t grasp), it was simply hopeless.
Someone out there might be making data-driven decisions and a bit more money on the app. Perhaps even a lot more. But my own rating would have been 1/5, and I doubt I’ll ever purchase anything made by Zeptolabs again.
With that said, back to you: test your app’s UX.
Really… Hand it over to the youngest kid that might play it, to verify that it does NOT suck.
Observe the kid playing for a half hour or so without any help. Then run home and fix everything that obviously needs attention. Rinse and repeat. Run this test with as many new kids as necessary, until they’re at home using the app.
It might take you a few weeks of work, but it’ll be well worth it: your app usage will increase by orders of magnitude and word of mouth will kick in.
For the rest, it’s the usual stuff. Off the top of my head:
Make a website that showcases your app, with good copy and that oft-requested but oh-so-often-missing gameplay video.
Get reviews on game review sites, post it to mobile gaming forums, etc.
Get reviews on mom-at-home sites and what have you that your buyers (read: bored moms at home and geek parents) and end-users (read: bored moms at home, bored adolescents, and commuting parents) might be visiting.
Run some FB ads. ($0.10 is super cheap, go for it once you get conversion right.)
Using ads with an in-app purchase to get rid of them makes you look cheap. In-app purchases to go deeper into the app (chapter 2, chapter 3, and beyond) make you look premium. Imo, pick one; not both.
One-time use in-app purchases make you look greedy and cheesy but they’re the most lucrative.
The list could go on. But whatever you do, fix the UX first to ensure your app doesn’t suck.
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