Hey there, indie-developer! You’ve done your thing, created a new app, and uploaded it to our Aptoide App Store. Congrats! You are now the proud owner of something that our marketplace denizens will use and enjoy. But is the adventure over? How do you know you’re hitting the mark? What if your app isn’t as successful as you’d expect it to be? How do you boost up your advertising? Here are a few tips and pointers on what you can do to make your app grow bigger and bigger.
Tip 1. Never take your target for granted and get Analytics
Most creators build an app when they have found a hole in the market or something that a certain type of person would want to use. Yet, audiences are volatile and difficult to pin down. Did you know that Teen Vogue Online’s bigger audience is actually composed around twenty year olds? Make sure you have your analytics set up and running to track your app downloads, revenue and usage. There are plenty of useful trackers out there for a variety of prices that won’t blow your bank.
Tip 2. Make it easy for early adopters to communicate with you
How do you make sure that your users love what they have just downloaded? It’s time to greet early adopters and listen to what they have to say – make them your beta testers, even if you already had beta testers to begin with. Make sure you give them some place to give feedback that is not just the app store page. Now would be the best time to create web and social media pages. Users will gladly give you their opinion. This will also help you with people finding your app through search engines.
Tip 3. Make it personal
People love it when you treat them as such – people. Have you caught an early user’s email in your database? Send them a quick but personal email to ask if they can share their first opinion of the app. What would they change and what were their expectations when downloading? Gather round a diverse group of people and ask them to test the app and share their thoughts. Have a list of questions ready: "What do you think of the loading time?"; "What do you think about the graphics?" or "do you feel there’s something missing?" - are just a couple of examples.
Also, make sure you respond to their comments in the Aptoide store – this not only improves your app rate, but makes you look ready to evolve and improve.
Tip 4. Don’t be the one alone in the frontlines and be distracted
Make sure that user and consumer experience contact goes to a different inbox or phone number than your personal one. The Internet does not sleep, so if you’re getting notifications all the time, you may be distracted from more important things, like your own sleep and improving your app.
Tip 5. Experience is king, so keep updating
Content is still one of the most valuable assets, but UX is an important factor for an app’s fate. If the end-user isn’t able to intuitively get information, then the user flows need definite improving. Consider different contexts and how differently things can be understood, or users will start looking for something else. With new updates, bring new designs, test them out on your users and drink from their feedback. If the code of the app is synchronized to the design and flows of your app, you won’t have issues regarding user retention.
Tip 6. Don’t stop deploying and cross-testing
Not all Androids are created equal – even within the same brands. This is why you should cross test and make sure the app responds to several screens and multiple devices. But you already knew that, right?
Tip 7. Your app is always a Work in Progress
Make sure you update your app as much as you can to make your usability better, fix any bugs and improve and bring new features in. Also automate your testing with each launch as well to prevent more complicated bugs with each update.
In ye old days of app creating, an update was a risk. Nowadays, not so much. In fact, watching a project evolve will make users feel like they’re part of the community, and it will bring novelty to your product.
Tip 8. Keep it simple – Retention matters
It’s been proven that the most valuable apps are those that found their niche and dedicated their heart and soul to that group. Don’t add too many features and don’t stray from your first goal. List features into importance tiers – figure out the real selling point of your app. Focus on that one thing and remove what you feel is unnecessary to it, or leave it to another app.
Don’t overcomplicate and don’t waste your time on inventing the new wheel.
Tip 9. Stop trying to be part of the “cool” kids: brand identity doesn’t follow trends
This is like what we were saying above – try to improve, but don’t sell your identity in exchange to getting some new kids on the block. Acquiring new users isn’t the only way to grow. In fact, it’s keeping the ones you have the most difficult part of the job. Focus on your churn rate and ask people why they would ever consider stopping using your app.
And also, they’re not that cool. Even if they are, they always think someone else is “cooler”. It’s a never-ending struggle.
Tip 10. Plan for the worst – create backups, make a contingency plan
We know you have thought about the zombie apocalypse (hell, we did!) and maybe not the Aptoidal doomsday. Just make sure you have access to database backups, tracking, and know your deployment well and at all times. And keep a baseball bat nearby. Just in case.
Would you like to learn more about what you can do to leverage your new app on Aptoide? Get in touch with our Developers Relations team and and we'll gladly help you out.