Android Apps Marketing

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.

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