Loading...
Answers
MenuHow can I gain traction for my recently released app?
I am a young entrepreneur and developer. I released my app a month ago and believe I have a good product for an audience I know exists. However, I am strapped for cash and am struggling to get traction. Any help, tips, experience, suggestions and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Answers
you are on the right track mate,
i have been working with apps for over 4 years, and only recently been working with paid advertising - there is a lot you can do for free marketing - just google it, and keep trying and learning - this is great learning tool for understanding the entire App market place
dont let the lack of funds stop you - i built everything with nothing myself also.
Just focus on this
Your app is your business - your product.
Your active users are your customers - when a customer uninstalls your app you have done something wrong - and have lost a customer.
Focus on the quality and service of your app.
Once this is perfect then you can worry about marketing - u dont want to market a product that doesn't work well.
Start a blog - talk about your experiences, what you are working on the app, get people involved, have a beta test group for testing out new versions, work on your play store keywords.
Analytic are good for dissecting each parts of your app - just like any business - treat your customers well and with respect and you will get it back.
All the best - the app game is not an easy one but as long as you take it seriously, you will outperform most apps by a mile. As really most are just devs trying to make a living by flooding the market with cheap apps, so quality always outperforms
Here are couple of things I would suggest (most are FREE, just time commitment)
- Add your app to startup launch sites (like product hunt)
- Create educational / fun content and link to app
- Add blogs on FB groups
- Add blogs on LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn native publishing & medium (content repurposing)
- See if you can find guest blog opportunity
best
ali
If you don't have much budget, start writing.
What problem do you solve with your app? Start writing guest posts for sites that are visited by your target audience, and make those posts about something related to your app's value proposition.
Give away lots of helpful content, and readers will learn to trust you — when you're trying to sell a service, that trust is worth its weight in gold.
Test the conversions from your posts, too: did a post about X create a huge influx of sign-ups, but a post about Y didn't do much at all? Try writing more about X to find out if it's a hot-button for your customers, or if that first article was just a fluke.
You may also want to look at your acquisition funnel to make sure you've got the best chance of capturing and converting new leads.
I've helped a lot of people launch companies on shoestring budgets, so if you'd like a hand with building your strategy, let me know. I'd be happy to share what I know.
Good luck!
Seek out your target audience and aggressively collect reviews in the app store of your choice. This has shown to be a highly effective way of rising to the top of long, long list of apps available.
Further, many industry news websites are hurting for content. Approach them with how your app can solve a problem for their readership and you'll likely get some good press from it.
Best of luck and feel free to reserve a time here on Clarity for more.
-Shaun
There's a lot of ways you can do this.
You didn't mention what kind of app it is and what operating system it runs on. This could yield some specific ways of marketing.
If your app is sold on itunes, consider contacting the yahoo writer who releases "free today apps" on their columns.
Get an invite to producthunt.com
Leverage personas through instagram with pictures
build an audience through facebook groups for possible users of your app...
There's a ton you can do. Especially for free.
You should experiment with 3 different user acquisition channels every month unntil you can eliminate the ones that don't work and basically double down on the channels that's bringing you users. (I have a worksheet for this)
That's what I did for my startups (LawTrades and myFBcoverPhoto) and eventually grew the first to profitability and the latter to 10M hits/month without ever hiring anyone else or paying for users.
I know a lot of people will tell you about content marketing but that's just one peice of the puzzle.
I can't spell out everything for you in this answer but here's a high level overview of some of things we can discuss in a phone call:
- viral marketing (creating an app feedback loop)
- unconventional PR
- meetup.com / community building
- piggy backing exising platforms
- biz dev
- affiliate programs
That's already plenty to keep you busy for the next 6 months but there's more.
I'm a maker on Product Hunt so happy to submit your app there if the fit is right.
I have some free time this week to dig a little deeper if you want to hop on a call.
Either way, don't give up. It won't be busy but if you do the right things consistently it'll defiantly pay off.
Best of luck,
Raad
Related Questions
-
how to start earning on clarity.fm
Most of the earnings come from the people you are in contact with. The platform is not that big at the moment but it can be earned. My recommendation is to create content on your private page web, facebook, instagram ... and leave a clarity link through your work. If you need extra help call me for 15 minutes.DB
-
How much equity should I ask as a CMO in a startup?
Greater risk = greater equity. How likely is this to fail or just break even? If you aren't receiving salary yet are among 4-6 non-founders with equivalent sweat investment, all of whom are lower on the totem pole than the two founders, figure out: 1) Taking into account all likely outcomes, what is the most likely outcome in terms of exit? (ex: $10MM.) Keep in mind that 90%+ of all tech startups fail (Allmand Law study), and of those that succeed 88% of M&A deals are under $100MM. Startups that exit at $1B+ are so rare they are called "unicorns"... so don't count on that, no matter how exciting it feels right now. 2) Figure out what 1% equity would give you in terms of payout for the most likely exit. For example, a $10MM exit would give you $100k for every 1% you own. 3) Decide what the chance is that the startup will fail / go bankrupt / get stuck at a $1MM business with no exit in sight. (According to Allman Law's study, 10% stay in business - and far fewer than that actually exit). 4) Multiply the % chance of success by the likely outcome if successful. Now each 1% of equity is worth $10k. You could get lucky and have it be worth millions, or it could be worth nothing. (With the hypothetical numbers I'm giving here, including the odds, you are working for $10k per 1% equity received if the most likely exit is $10MM and the % chance of failure is 90%.) 5) Come up with a vesting path. Commit to one year, get X equity at the end. If you were salaried, the path would be more like 4 years, but since it's free you deserve instant equity as long as you follow through for a reasonable period of time. 6) Assuming you get agreement in writing from the founders, what amount of $ would you take in exchange for 12 months of free work? Now multiply that by 2 to factor in the fact that the payout would be far down the road, and that there is risk. 7) What percentage share of equity would you need in order to equal that payout on exit? 8) Multiply that number by 2-3x to account for likely dilution over time. 9) If the founders aren't willing to give you that much equity in writing, then it's time to move on! If they are, then decide whether you're willing to take the risk in exchange for potentially big rewards (and of course, potentially empty pockets). It's a fascinating topic with a lot of speculation involved, so if you want to discuss in depth, set up a call with me on Clarity. Hope that helps!RD
-
What are average profit margins in Ice Cream store business?
Hi! I am owner of an ice crean chain with 45 stores in Chile. We have stores in shopping centers, streets and also karts that you can put in events and parks. The average cost margin of ice cream (depends on the amount of materials you use in producing the ice cream) is around 40%. This is italian gelatto where you serve the ice cream without a specific measurement so your costs can vary due to the size of each portion you serve. About the brand you should focus on your unique value proposition and what kind of ice cream you are selling. We import the pastry from Italy and the fruits and milk from our country. Your ROI depends on your sales price and costs. If you focus on high market ice cream you can charge high and keep costs down.MF
-
What is the average series A funding round at pre revenue valuation for a enterprise start up w/cutting edge tech on verge of our first client.
With all respect to Dan, I'm not seeing anything like that. You said "pre-revenue." If it's pre-revenue and enterprise, you don't have anything proven yet. You would have to have an insanely interesting story with a group of founders and execs on board with ridiculous competitive advantage built in. I have seen a few of those companies. It's more like $3m-$5m pre. Now, post-revenue is different. I've seen enterprise plays with $500k-$1m revenue/yr, still very early (because in the enterprise space that's not a lot of customers yet), getting $8m-$15m post in an A-round. I do agree there's no "average." Finally, you will hit the Series A Crunch issue, which is that for every company like yours with "cutting edge tech" as-yet-unproven, there's 10 which also have cutting edge tech except they have customers, revenue, etc.. So in this case, it's not a matter of valuation, but a matter of getting funded at all!JC
-
What is the most creative way to introduce myself (and therefore my service) to 100 key decision-makers without selling or pitching anything?
You've answered your own question. Reach out to your prospects with the question, such as "How would you...". Ask what people want then give it to them if you can with integrity and thoughtfulness.DI
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.