How Entrepreneur & Kissmetrics Got It Wrong About How To Get More App Downloads
I really enjoy Entrepreneur. And I’m a HUGE fan of Neil Patel & Kissmetrics. I’ve got a ton of value from his blog & love what he does. Recently he posted an article by Brian Honigman, a content marketing consultant & contributor to Forbes, the Huffington Post, Mashable & Entrepreneur (also posted) which I felt I needed to respond to.
I wanted to set the record straight based on what REALLY works to get more app downloads, based on what I’ve seen in the app market over the last 12 months.
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How Entrepreneur & Kissmetrics Got It Wrong About How To Get More App Downloads
1. How Entrepreneur & Kissmetrics
Got It Wrong
A b o u t H o w T o G e t M o r e A p p
D o w n l o a d s
2.
3. A Word From Elaine
I really enjoy Entrepreneur. And I’m a HUGE fan of Neil Patel &
Kissmetrics. I’ve got a ton of value from his blog & love what he
does. Recently he posted an article by Brian Honigman, a content
marketing consultant & contributor to Forbes, the Huffington Post,
Mashable & Entrepreneur which I felt I needed to respond to.
I wanted to set the record straight based on what REALLY works to
get more app downloads, based on what I’ve seen in the app market
over the last 12 months.
Here is the original Kissmetrics post and Entrepreneur reprint.
Here’s my reply back. Would love to get your views and thoughts on
this.
4. Hi Neil & Brian, I have to
respectfully disagree with a
lot of this.
I’ve published over 200 apps in the last year and tried most of what you
have suggested in your article. A lot of it honestly just does not work in
real life.
5. Point 1
“You came up with a great
idea” – this is actually the
MOST important part and really
needs more discussion … to get
more visibility in the store
this NEEDS to be a great idea
… would love to get your angle
on how to choose this.
6. Point 2
“[You] hired developers and designers” – Easier said than
done. Also its the fastest way to lose your money and put
an end to your dream of app development when it all goes
wrong and your developer has disappeared off the face of
the planet and isn’t answering any of your emails any more.
In the first few months of business I lost thousands of
dollars like this, until I started to use the Haystack
Method.
7. Point 3
“Every developer dreams of experiencing the same kind of success
as apps like Angry Birds, Waze, Instagram, and Snapchat. A huge
part of the success of those companies, besides their
development, was their marketing strategy.” Stop dreaming those
dreams. There really is no such thing as first time success.
Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd game they published, and their first
big success. They spent 8 years and nearly went bankrupt in the
process. Overnight success doesn’t really exist in the app
market. Success comes after a ton of hard work that often you
never hear reported in the papers.
8. Point 4
“Let’s start with the basics – the app’s description”.
Honestly? No. It’s useful in the Play store for ASO, but
it’s only the rare person that ever READS the app
description. Do you? Or do you see a great icon, glance
at the screenshots, see they look amazing, see its got
great reviews and then download it to your iPhone / iPad
/ Android device?
9. Point 5
“Need some help finding the best keywords?” Yes – they are
literally gold to get your app found in the store. It would be
worth including if people DO need keyword help, that they
should
1. Remove any spaces to maximise their 100 character keyword
limit in ITC.
2. Localise their keywords for more downloads in non English
speaking countries.
10. Point 6
“Invest in Stellar Graphics”.
Yes. ESPECIALLY in your icon
(which people see first. If
this is bad they will never
see your screenshots, or read
your description)
11. Point 7
“When emailing a member of the media”. Honestly, for
apps unless you’ve got a monster budget and put your
ads on TV etc, this is a waste of time. PR releases,
etc, tried them all with no visible impact on
downloads. A friend made page 1 of techcrunch … great
DLs for one day, then back to normal.
12. Point 8
“Generate Buzz on the Right
Media Outlets” Again not a
valuable use of your time.
Much better to spend your
time on ASO (app store
optimization).
13. Point 9
“Advertise Where Your Audience
Lives Online” Until you know
your ARPU (average revenue per
user) do NOT pay for any ads.
This is just a fast way to
spend all your money without
much of a return.
14. Point 10
“Engage on Social Media”
Again, I saw no increase in
downloads from doing this.
Would love to hear from anyone
who has.
15. Point 11
Create a Website with Great Content”. You app does not
need to exist outside of the app store to get maximum
downloads. Does your app website get any / much
traffic?
People already in the app store are READY to buy your
app. People browsing your website and just browsing the
web. Bar a rare exception I haven’t seen this to work.
Again, love to hear from anyone who has in the
comments.
16. Point 12
“Make a How-to Video” Where
will this video be? On your
website? Emails to reviewers?
See my previous points.
17. Point 13
“BONUS TIP: Ask for Reviews” Definitely this is really
important, more so now than ever. You can use a free
service like Playhaven to have these popups appear when
the user has successfully completed your app / game
(and hopefully then is enjoying it and will give a good
review).