So you’ve finally built your mobile app and are ready to introduce it to the world? Congratulations. But unless you market your app to your target audience, it will get lost in the sea of other apps out there. This list is in no specific order, so you should pick the ideas that most appeal to you, and that you think will best fit into your existing marketing plan. Start with a handful—or even just one—and test what works for you and what doesn’t:
1. Define your landing page. Make a simple and clear introduction of your app—one sentence should suffice. Get inspiration from Tinder, which is one of the best example out there right now.
2. Start a blog. Regular updates on a topic that focuses on your core service makes you a niche expert, and perhaps worth downloading!
3. Use social media. But do it wisely; too many people think copy and pasting a link is enough. Engage your audience. Be interesting. Tease. Intrigue. Make yourself click-worthy and share-worthy. Be creative about your intro text. Mashable does this very well.
4. Use teasers. Create a teaser landing page before the app launches, and collect beta subscribers via an email submission field.
5. Create a video intro to your app. This is something you should be careful with. Creating a video for your app should only be an option if you have proven your app’s concept, you’ve gained some traction, and you’re sure that you have a winner. You wouldn’t want to spend a lot of money to produce a video for an app that has changed three times since it launched. If you feel ready for this step, check out Sandwich Video for inspiration.
6. Pitch tech blogs. This is a tough one. While you think you’ve got the most awesome app launching tomorrow, others might be less impressed. Don’t despair. Make a list of contacts, email them your perfect pitch, and hope for the best. Note: Do not stalk these editors, they get tons of pitches regularly and if they’re interested, they’ll contact you.
7. Ask for app reviews. Besides the big tech blogs, there are tons of app review sites. I run one of them, Mevvy, but there’s tons more. Here is a list of the best app review websites, but don’t stop digging for more. Even though you want the whole world to know about your app, try to stay relevant.
8. Contact writers in the niche. This is one of the most effective techniques out there. If you find people who care to write about [insert your niche here], then they might want to write about your awesome solution, too! Again, don’t be pushy—you don’t want to burn bridges with influential writers.
9. Use Disqus or other content discovery tools. Remember that blog I mentioned earlier? Be sure to plug in your Disqus channel. It helps tremendously in getting the word out, and drives traffic back to your blog or website!
10. Contribute to the online conversation. If you read news and articles on other websites, and the site uses Disqus, leave a non-self-promotional but valuable comment. This way you’re building your expert level on multiple ends.