BTW forgot to add this might also mean that Google will open up the search info on Play Store just like they did for Google search to enable advertisers to choose keywords more intelligently. This alone will probably make up for any other issues people have related to this new initiative.
I might be missing something here but why is everybody hating on Google for this? How is this different from having sponsored results in the search results on Google? I feel this is great for a number of reasons:
1. This allows apps which are new to not just rely on something unreliable as App store optimization to get downloads.
2. This will force app developers to think about monetization more seriously and possibly even get rid of free apps culture.
3. You can get users at the point of their query. Facebook gets you passive users. For example on FB you might need to reach 100 people to find one person who has a problem solved by your app, but using this you can find the exact people looking for apps which solve the problem your app is about.
4. The argument about Zynga and King owning the sponsored are false. It is like saying Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook are going to own the search results on Google.
5. Improvement in organic search doesn't need to happen without starting sponsored results.
Owenwil, I am curious to know why you consider these are spammy tactics. Do you consider the tactics used by Dropbox where users were given free space for sharing with friends as spammy? do you also consider sharing something which is valuable to your friend as spammy?
I think it is only spammy if the app misleads the users and sends out messages on their behalf without them knowing. If everything is done in a very transparent manner then I don't think it is spammy at all.
@nodemaker I think this raises some really interesting points. Based on my experience moderating an exclusive app entrepreneurs group on Facebook I have seen this come numerous times where an indie developer starts a post in frustration complaining how he needs a huge marketing budget to go up in the ranks on App Store. I hope either Tapdaq or somethings else can provide an effective solution for this problem.
Excellent post Ted. Being the owner/moderator of the closed Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/appentrepreneurs/) which you have mentioned and used as part of your growth hacks, I just wanted to tell people who have been complaining in this thread , theat the amount of value you have added to the group and its participants has been extraordinary. I remember you joining the group about 3 months ago and already you are the de-facto expert on App marketing for the group. Thanks for that
This is a very complicated question to answer for most app developers. We have been trying to discover the answer to this very question in the facebook group for app entrepreneurs and marketers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/appentrepreneurs/
One thing which has consistently stood out is that create an app which stands out. Learn marketing and build a network of apps. The finer details on app marketing are probably beyond the scope of this post.
excellent work. I can think of a similar app called LaDiDa which came out some time back and has been doing incredibly well.
One of the things which you can learn from LaDiDa is how they have used Youtube to market their app. In fact they claim that their growth is solely powered by YouTube and they do not have any other marketing going.
You should checkout the course on Udemy about youtube marketing by 500 startups where Prerna Gupta talks about how she went about marketing LaDiDa.
Scott, the price is definitely on the higher side but at the same time you seem to be serving a very niche market so it might work.
In terms of pricign I would actually look at the competitors. If the competitors have more or less the same functionality then it might make sense to try to match your competitor price.
If you don't have a competitor then $11.99 seems fine. Amazon app store is not a bad choice if you are looking for higher conversions but amazon app store is bad for discoverability. So if you have a good existing channel for gettign users exposed to your app then amazon app store might be better for you.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is that amazon app store high conversions are only for US users AFAIK.