7 FREE ways to Promote your App
Author: Evelin Ríos
We should already be more than clear that an app, no matter how high quality and innovative it is, will not have significant downloads by itself on Google Play or the App Store. On Google Play alone, more than 3,700 apps are uploaded every day. This makes finding our app in these stores practically like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, there is good news.
There are very effective and free ways to get downloads for our apps, and that’s what we’ve been doing with this series of articles that, by the way, concludes today.
The strategies that we will see below have been shown to work very well to drive traffic to our apps. Although some are easier to do than others, they all add to the task of getting more users to know and use our apps.
TAKE PART IN CONTESTS
Contests tend to draw big crowds, because people always want to know what the revolutionary new app will be.
Participating in a contest will not only allow you to get more exposure, but if you win a prize, you will increase your credibility, number of downloads, reviews and many other benefits.
Many of the contests are free or have a very low entry fee, making it a very simple way to get downloads for your app.
Important
Usually awards are only given to the best applications based on an innovative idea and in sections such as design, usability, utility, among others, so you should only apply with your app if you objectively believe that you deserve the award.
You should first check how good the winning apps from previous contests are and determine if your app can handle them. If not, take some time to improve it until it is ready and apply again when you are sure.
Contests
Here are some of the contests you can participate in:
- The Awards
- Global Mobile Awards
- Apple Design Awards
- MUX Awards
- BMA
- The Webby Awards
- The Media Excellence Awards
- Appy Awards
- Best App Ever Awards
These other courses are specifically for videogames:
CREATE YOUR OWN CONTEST
Creating contests is a great way to publicize an app. People love participating in contests, because there is always the illusion of being able to win a prize.
Users can participate in the contest by obtaining points for different tasks; download the application, share it, make your friends register in it, reply about very specific things about the app, take a photo using the app, among others.
Once you have everything prepared and start the contest, you must promote it on all social networks and other media so that it can spread widely and encourage as many people as possible to participate.
ATTEND EVENTS
Attending events, conferences or meetings is very important, as it provides the opportunity to communicate directly to people about your application, in addition to meeting new people in the sector and growing your contact base.
The idea is to have a brief conversation with the people at the event, give them your business card, ask them to take a look at your app and to contact you in case they have any comments.
SPEAK AT EVENTS RELATED TO YOUR APP
Honestly, this is not for everyone, but if you have the confidence to speak in public, you can benefit from it.
Speaking at events related to your app will allow you to expose your app to potential new users and also establish yourself as an authority, making it even easier to get downloads in the long run.
There are many events that you can speak at; from small meetings to conferences and even online webinars. You should find the type of talk that is most comfortable for you.
Start by looking for events that have something to do with your application and, once you have identified some, look for videos of previous events to see the format and type of talks they have had. Then think of an appropriate topic and find a way to submit it. Most conferences facilitate the presentation of talks and you can usually contact the organizer directly for meetings.
CREATE AN EMAIL SIGNATURE
Email is still a very popular communication tool, and statistics confirm this. Currently 293.6 billion emails are sent and received daily, with 91% of people checking their emails every day.
If you don’t include the link to your application in your email signature, you are wasting a great opportunity to get new users.
Get into the habit of always adding the name of your application in your signature. You can take advantage of the function that most email managers have, such as Gmail, Outlook, among others, which allow you to establish a signature so that they are automatically included in sent messages.
JOIN GROUPS ON LINKEDIN
On LinkedIn you can build excellent relationships especially by joining groups of developers and entrepreneurs. This will allow you to discuss any bugs, features, updates, or ideas. Also, you can share your application with them and offer them promo codes to test your application.
We also recommend requesting comments on your application. This will not only increase its visibility, but will also help you develop it even more.
You can also find these types of groups on Facebook. This way you will have two important sources of information and exposure for your app.
USE OFFLINE METHODS
Don’t be afraid to try some older marketing methods. Create small flyers and deliver them to people on the street, or hang them on notice boards in schools, supermarkets, cafeterias and other places. Even if you get 5 or 10 new downloads, you have only invested minimal effort in this technique.
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
With this we come to the end of this series of articles where we have shared a large number of free and very effective strategies to use so taht our apps receive thousands of downloads.
In the first article, we focused on strategies that would improve the app internally, since we consider it very important to have it as optimized as possible before working on its exposure. However, we recommend that you take a look at all the strategies, assess the ones that you could implement and start working on them so that your apps begin gain popularity.
Remember that there are also promotional methods on paid platforms, such as Google Ads, which are important to consider if you require faster results.