Developing an app can be a lucrative venture. But turning your app into a profitable venture can be a challenge. With over 160,000 apps launched every month on Google Play and iOS app stores, it is clear that the app market is saturated and competitive.
Unfortunately, it is no longer enough to have an exceptional app that is excellently built with a user-friendly interface and features; your app has to stand out amongst the competitive app market. Fortunately, it is still possible to stand out and succeed in the competitive mobile app market.
A big part of succeeding in this competitive market is to have a successful app launch. Therefore, having a successful mobile app launch strategy is crucial to the success of your app. We understand the importance of having a successful mobile app launch. That is why we will be sharing expert tips for a successful mobile app launch.
Tips on How to Launch an App on Android and iOS Successfully
Phase 1: Pre Launch
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Do Market Research
The very first step on your mobile app launch checklist should be to conduct market research. This is an essential step that shouldn’t be missed as it determines if there’s a demand for your app.
With over 160,000 apps launched daily, the chances of having apps identical or similar to your app are high. This is why running a competitive analysis is essential. It would be best to study your competitors, so you know how to differentiate your product from a saturated market.
Find out what your competitors are doing and how you can do it better. You should be looking at everything from the name of the app, reviews, user interface, pricing, features to app updates. It is also important to understand the size of your market, who exactly is your target audience and the best way to sell your app to them.
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Test App with Target Audience
After conducting market research and gaining insights into the competitive app landscape, the next step is to test the app with your target audience. This is crucial as their feedback can help you determine if your app can stand out in the competitive app market.
Conducting early user testing helps you avoid mistakes before launching the app. The insights gained help you ensure you have a market-leading app. Early user testing also helps you get brand ambassadors before your actual app launch. They can be the first reviewers for your app on the App Store.
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Implement an In-App Analytics and a Feedback Channel
It is important to have in-app analytics and an in-app feedback channel. In-app analytics allows you to measure and monitor app engagement and usage behavior. This provides you with insights into how users use your app. The insights can be used to create a successful marketing strategy and app launch strategy.
Having an in-app feedback channel is crucial to the success of your app. Users need to have a way to share their feedback or issues. Without an in-app feedback channel, reviews will be used to share their negative feedback and issues. This will affect your ratings, visibility, and the number of downloads. Implementing in-app analytics and an in-app feedback channel also helps to improve the user experience.
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Develop a Marketing Plan
It isn’t just enough to have your app on the App Store. A successful app launch strategy needs a successful marketing strategy.
To spread the word about your app and get people to download your app, you need a marketing plan to increase your app’s awareness. The marketing strategy should include a plan for capturing your target audience’s attention. This will include choosing the right marketing channels and having the right messaging plan.
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Define Success Metrics
To have a successful mobile app launch, you need to define what success looks like. It is important to set measurable goals. The standard metrics for a successful mobile app launch can include the number of downloads, app ranking, store page views, store view to download conversions, number of ratings, average rating, revenue generated, average active users, average session duration, etc.
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Develop Content
It is crucial to spend time creating all the content you will need for the app launch. This will include website content, app descriptions, launch announcements, social media content, press releases, etc. This content isn’t just limited to copy but will also include visual content like social media graphics, website banners, etc.
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Register Domain and Create a Landing Page
Next on the mobile app launch checklist is registering your domain name and setting up a landing page.
Having a web landing page is suitable for creating brand awareness, building customer loyalty, and it’s good for brand credibility. The landing page should have important information about your app. Important information like what your app does, its features, you can share screenshots of its user interface and the launch date.
It should also have a call to action and a contact form for potential users to fill out. This will help your future lead generation and marketing efforts.
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Set Up Social Media Pages
You need a social media presence to help increase brand awareness and promote brand engagement. We also recommend being active on the social media pages pre-launch. You can share teaser content, development updates, etc. This will help to generate interest, early signups and build customer loyalty.
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Create a Promotional Video
An essential step on the mobile app launch checklist is to create a promotional video to capture your target audience’s attention. The video should be able to describe your app compellingly in under a minute. This video can be used to promote your app on various platforms like the landing page, social media page, etc.
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Identify Influencers and Extend Your Network
Before you launch your app, it is crucial to create some buzz around the app. You can create a buzz by reaching out to your network to help promote the app. Reach out to influencers, bloggers, and reporters in your app’s niche to help promote the app. You can also promote the app in popular communities amongst your target audience.
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Optimize for App for App Store Submission
How to launch an app on Android and iOS successfully can be very different. Apple and Google have different submission guidelines. It is vital to research the different submission guidelines before the launch to optimize your app for all the app stores.
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Prepare Press Kit
Having a successful mobile app launch is dependent on creating sufficient buzz around the app. To increase the odds of getting press coverage, it’s good to make it easy for the press to get information about your app. The press kit should contain a press release, app logo, app icon, promotional videos, app screenshots, app description, app reviews, company information, links to the website, and social media accounts.
Phase Two: The App Launch
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Start the App Store Optimization Process
App Store Optimization is a vital part of your mobile app launch strategy. It helps your app become more discoverable and to rank higher in the marketplace. A place to start in-app store optimization is using the right keywords, descriptions, et cetera. You can also look up your target markets’ trending search terms.
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Promote App with Paid Ads
Many brands are reluctant to use paid ads to push growth, but your app needs them to launch successfully. Paid ads help increase awareness, boost your app’s visibility, and helps to kick-start organic growth.
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Build Store Ratings
The launch day is not too soon to start building the app ratings. Having many good reviews will help with boosting visibility and will help your app rank higher in the marketplace. It will also help attract new users, increasing the number of downloads.
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Notify Your Network
Spread the word about your app launch within your network and the network you have built in the course of launching the app. This will include influencers, leads from the landing page, reporters, et cetera. Encourage them to download the app and to rate the app with a compelling email newsletter.
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Design a Dashboard to Track Your Metrics
It is very easy to lose track of all the results and metrics. Often, they can be scattered across many tools. Having a unified system will make tracking the results and metrics easier.
Phase Three: After the Launch
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Monitor App Feedback
After the app launch, the work doesn’t stop there. It is important to regularly monitor the app feedback from users. What are your customers saying about the app? What updates do they need? How do they rate the app?
It is also important to continue measuring and monitoring their usage patterns and track key metrics. This will give you insights to help with improving the user experience and ensure continued app success and growth.
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Promote Good User Engagement
As important as customer acquisition is to a successful app launch, customer retention is equally as important to the overall success of an app.
A big part of customer retention is engaging with your users. This is why it is important to communicate with your users. It would help if you encouraged them to engage with your brand, and in turn, you have to engage with them.
You can engage with them by reaching out to them in the app, through social media, and regular emails. Let them know they are valued by providing channels to share feedback and proactively and respectfully responding to their feedback.
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Release Regular Updates
To stand out in the fast-paced and competitive app market, you need to be constantly evolving. For you to create an app that stands the test of time, you need to have ongoing developments and updates. Building the app and launching the app isn’t the end of the whole process. You have to be constantly evaluating, promoting, and improving to ensure you have a truly successful app.
Start Your Journey with ShiftUp Today
At ShyftUp, we understand the importance of user acquisition to a successful app launch and the continued success of your app. We can help the app stand out amongst its competitors to ensure profitable user growth and sustainable growth. Contact us today; let’s help you build a successful app
