Top 5 Mistakes Developers make Pre-launch
In this article I’m going to cover some of the biggest and most common mistakes developers are making that can more or less, be easily avoided, if they have the right information at hand.
1) No USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
Some developers seem to live and work in a kind of bubble, oblivious to the fact that their app could be a blatant rip off of a previous app store success, or perhaps there are other apps out there that do the same job but way better.
Needless to say, it is always recommended developers test their ideas and try to get as much unsolicited feedback as possible. Whether it be from: friends, family (don’t tell them it’s your app/idea, or they may just tell you what you want to hear) an even better source for this would be, PreApps If that doesn’t work, you can always recruit beta testers on forums such as: TouchArcade or Testology.
2) No plan and no budget for marketing
This is by far the most easily avoided mistake in this list. Developers spend hundreds of hours and even more money in product development (app development in this case), but give little or no thought to marketing or promotion until it’s too late, and there App is on the app store (Apple App Store or Google Play) dieing with every passing day.
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but.. hitting the launch button when you get approval will not magically yield you thousands of users. Maybe as a developer you’re thinking, “..if I build it and they will come”? Sorry. This isn’t Field of Dreams either.
As an App Developer, (whether you’re doing the coding or not) you need to always account for what will happen before, during, and after your launch. IN ADDITION to setting aside whatever marketing budget you can. This budget should cover at the minimal:
- Icon design
- Creating a Trailer (app intro video)
- Press release (writing and distribution)
- Advertising
- and more..
Neglecting to give attention or time to the aforementioned points is not only shooting yourself in the foot, it’s basically taking your App behind the barn and shooting it in the face.
Pre-launch strategy should begin at least 3-4 weeks before the date of your launch. When you launch, you will want to work closely and stay engaged with your users to derive feedback, reviews, and best of all..free advertising (if they like you). Just in case they don’t like you though, account for some on-going marketing budget as well.
3) Putting all your eggs in one basket
Most developers make the mistake of assuming that “If I just get on TechCrunch, Mashable, or MobileMinute – then I’m set!” While PR is an important aspect of the marketing mix, sending out a release and securing reviews is no gaurantee of success. The best apps will garner the best coverage, and coverage will drive sales. The best thing you can get from PR is essentially, marketing materials. Good comments and reviews you can put at the top of your app description.
At the end of the day, just like content, quality is king – if your app is not all that great, then the coverage will similarly, be not all that great. However, if your app is sensational – then you can expect some sensational coverage, reviews, comments, and sales. 😉
4) Not understanding the landscape
This one is as intuiative as some of the points listed above. Thing is, Apple and Google both want quality. But more than that, they want to showcase their technology and devices. I.e. If your app is a racing game, does it give the option to control the steering via motion sensor? Or do you just have arrows on the screen? When designing your apps as well as their functions you should always keep in mind, how can I make a great app FOR THIS Device?
It wasn’t too long ago late last year when I spoke with a Producer from Glue Mobile right before their release of Bombshells Hell’s Belles where he told me the exact same thing,
“The trick to getting featured is by featuring functions that show off the devices that Apple is making”
The same can be applied for google for that matter. But just because you do feature ‘the features’ of the device, is no gaurantee, it’s simply a smart move, and I’d suggest always thinking about it while developing your apps moving forward, or perhaps in your next update.
5) Not understanding your market
This actually goes hand in hand with marketing. All successful business owners know their customers well. With all the available analytics tools today there should be nothing stopping you from being able to perform the appropriate market research you need to reach out to your most interested users. Some free analytics services to get you started (if you don’t know of them already) would be: Flurry or Localytics.
In an environment as rapidly changing as the app economy, knowing your #’s is especially important to growing, retaining, and engaging with your users.
On a final note..
The App store is not a place to betatest your app with a ‘soft launch’ in a foreign country. It doesn’t work. Just think about this for a minute.
- For one, you need to make people aware that the app is there and this requires $ to target people locally.
- Second, you can’t really generate any meaningful media coverage as most of the big review sites are in the US and UK.
- Last, a small percentage of people who play your game will then leave a review, and if your app is not properly tested these reviews are likely to be along the lines of: ‘keeps crashing’, ‘complete crap…avoid’, ‘uninstall – waste of my life’.
Needless to say, you gain no useful information and these negative reviews can very well follow you to any other launches in the future and kill your app before it ever gets off the ground.
I always recommend having your app as polished as possible before it goes onto ANY store.
- Bug testing
- User feedback
- Trailer/media previews
..can all be done before the app launches.
The best chance of getting the downloads you need to make the launch a commercial success will be with a simultaneous global launch with a remarkable app and an powerful marketing/advertising push.
That’s where this guy comes in.
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
