How To Get A Million Downloads To Your App And Make Big Bucks

You have built an app. It looks amazing. The UI is simple, attractive, full of elements that users will love. The test runs were also great. Your friends and family like it too. And you finally submitted it on the app store and google play store.

Now what?

You think people will come and download your app. And just like that, your dream of owning an app with a million downloads will become a reality. Well, let us tell you before it’s too late – it is far from the truth.

Just because you built a great app doesn’t mean people will come running to download the app and use it every day. You have to market it first. If people don’t know that your product exists, how will they download it? Because as the saying goes, what people see is what they buy.

So we are here today to help you give the tips and tactics to market your app and hit that dream 1 million downloads mark.

1. Beautiful App Design

This is no shocker! App design is the top priority of the million downloads checklist. Without an appealing design, people don’t like the app enough to stick around. With our world becoming more digitized, customers expect top-notch performance on their mobile and PC screens. And if your app fails to deliver, they will run away screaming and never come back.

You must focus on the ultimate goal here – to make users come back again and again and again and again. Because even if the downloads increase, but users won’t stay, you will not make money out of it.

2. Choosing the right platform

Which is the right platform for your app is ideally a pre-development phase question. The right platform depends on the audience you want to target. That is why there is no one correct answer. It varies with the kind of app you are building and where the ideal audience will be found.

If you build an app for ios, but half of your audience is using an android device. You will potentially lose more than half of your revenue because you chose the wrong platform.

The easier (and cheaper) option is to go for cross-platform app development. You don’t have to put extra bucks or time into research. Build an app that runs smoothly on all the platforms.

Also Read: Are You Looking To Hire React Native Developers To Build Mobile Apps?

3. App presentation

You will lose the first battle of 1 million downloads if the app presentation across the web is not good. It includes app icons, screenshots, videos, content, and any other stuff you publish about it.

Let’s start with the app icon.

3.1 App Icon

The icon is the first thing users see of an app. It has to be perfect. Before deciding on the final design, ask your designer/s to develop different concepts for the icon. Brainstorm a few ideas, sketch various concepts, and then pick one that appeals to you the most.

Going with the first design is never a good move. That is why it is a standard process to check multiple designs before marketing them to the customers.

3.2 Create Mesmerizing Screenshots and video

The introductory video on the app store should be catchy and present the USP of your app. It should convince users to download the app at first glance because you might not get a second one.

If you are not good at photoshop and video editing, paying professionals for an impressive set of screenshots and introductory videos is worth it.

3.3 A website with a landing page

Do you even have a legit business without a website? Your app is the main product of your business, and it needs its own landing page with a savvy description, images, demonstration video, and a highlighted download button.

A website is also helpful while approaching review sites for app promotions. We will talk about this later in the reviews section.

4. Have a game plan for App store optimization

App Store is the google for getting your app found by users. If you ignore the app store optimization, reaching 1 million downloads will be a painful process. An app store optimization strategy is the difference between companies that scale to millions of downloads and those that don’t.

Keep these points in mind while optimizing for the app store:

• Targeting the right keywords will help your download game a lot. Do a little research and find the set of keywords that are most relevant to what your product is offering. If your app ranks for the wrong keywords, that traffic will have no net impact on your monetization strategy.
• Write a good app description using the keywords three to four times. If you overdo the keywords, it will look spammy, and Google will penalize your app. You can increase the frequency of keyword use if the description is long.
• Use the keywords in the app name.
• Reply to the reviews and pay attention to the negative ones. Try to respond as soon as possible and if there is a review from an agitated customer, take that conversation on a private channel to avoid the extra attention on the bad review.
• If there is a complaint in the review, try to resolve the issue first and then reply to the user. But don’t delay it for too long so that the user feels unattended.
• Link building to social media, forums and communities is also essential.

Also Read: How To Test If An App Has An Audience Before Building It?

5. The free monetization strategy

There are many ways to monetize your app. For instance, you can charge a payment first like the OTT platforms before providing access to the product or service. Or you can give a basic version of the product for free and ask for a payment to upgrade to get all the features unlocked.

The most common monetization model most apps have is through running ads. It is easier to get users to download the app and make them stick long enough so that you can monetize their attention. The upside with ads monetization is that even if no new followers downloaded the app, the revenue is consistent with the old customers retaining on the app.

Most people prefer free apps, so the monetization strategy is vital in hitting the 1 million mark.

6. Positive Reviews

Users like to know about other customers before they buy a product to decide whether the product will be helpful for them. It’s natural. So other than making your app error-free, ask the customers to leave reviews on the app store. People love to know about real experiences, and reviews do just that.

You can also contact review websites on google to post about your app, its features, and performance. Such review sites have a loyal fan base that can give your app the media coverage it needs to get 1 million downloads.

Another way of getting people to try your app is by influencer marketing. Connect with influencers on social media channels and YouTube to do a review video or reel of the app. Find influencers with your targeted audience. The simple way to do this is by looking for influencers and websites in your niche. Because they already have the eyeballs of the people for whom the app might be useful.

The 1 million downloads journey keeps going…

So we have discussed eight ways that can help you get to that sweet 1 million marks. But these are useful to get further.

Just keep in mind that an app is about people – they are going to use it. Don’t get too caught up in the negative talks that prevail in the market; just build a great product that people will love to use, and your app will attract 1 million people to get onboard.

Also, marketing an app to 1 million downloads is simple, but you need to get a set of things right.

Ready to start your app business journey to 1 million downloads? We can help.

Our mobile app development team is full of tech ninjas who can build a great app. And our digital marketing team will take your app to people around the world. Contact us to collaborate for a great working experience.

We’re honored to mention that our efforts have been recognized by renowned B2B review and research platforms such as GoodFirms, Clutch, MirrorView, and many more.