Mobile growth – What are key strategies to acquire first 100K app users and then to reach 1M?
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Answers below are by Ankit Srivastava,Caroline Lee, Ankit Chauhan and Rahul Varshneya.
Answered Mar 21st, 2015
Here is what I did to acquire 1 million downloads for my first app(or business you may say) within 8 months without spending any money on advertising. One fine day,I thought of investing my time into apps.
After learning on how money is made via apps,I realized a general purpose app with more user engagement will earn me more money than a niche app. Yes games can earn you a shit load of money but the average lifespan of a game is very small. And there are so many games out there that getting the attention of the users is very tough. And I don’t believe in getting lucky,I think none of us do. I think It’s better to buy a lottery ticket than to hope that your first game will become a hit. Do you know the flappy bird game was his 42nd game?He had been into developing games for 8 yrs.Imagine that !!
So after thinking for some time,I thought my first app would be a music player or an audio player.
When you search for a music player/ audio player on the play store,more than 300 results appear.
I am pretty sure there are more than 1000 music player/ audio player on the play store.
Scroll down to 50th music player/audio player ,even it would show 1million downloads.
You know what it signifies?It signifies that people try out the music player/audio player a lot. A good sign !!
What most of the music players/audio players lack?A good UI,
So these two things were my ways of getting downloads.
# A good UI
# A general purpose app
During the days I was developing the app,I used to read blogs while in bed, before going to sleep.
The blogs were Business, entrepreneurship apps etc. And I developed a habit of NEVER EVER giving up on something , if I BELIEVED it worked !! Believe me when I say it, I DON’T GIVE UP !!
It was my first app and since I was just a 20yrd old student(I still am a 21 yr student) ,I didn’t have any money to advertise.
However, I managed some money for other things like screenshots, video, website icon etc from
1. The selling point for my app was the UI/UX. And for me the presentation was everything. I knew I was short on budget,and I wanted to convert every click into a download (i mean there is a high probability that if a person clicks on the link,he may not download it because of poor screenshots)
So good, professional looking screenshots were important so for that I needed a photoshop professional.
(although I designed the app myself,I wasn’t very good at photoshop) so I hired a guy from freelancing websites.
Now I asked around the rates for an icon. It came out to be 20$
There are a limited number of repetitions a person would make for 20$
I thought the best way to get as many ideas for the icon would be by holding a contest for 40$(double of the normal rates)
Now the price I set was 40$ and not the normal rate(20$), the reason is,it seems like an opportunity for people that they can earn more than they usually do.
So they put in the extra effort.I got about 60-80 ideas for the music player/ audio player ,I didn’t like any of them.I awarded the contest to the freelancer on a condition that he will be making more repetitions for me. I paid the guy 50$ for 5 screenshots. Now you can get even better rates for screenshots from Get everything you need starting at $5
It is highly unlikely that u will get someone good, for the icon from fiverr,but get your screenshots done from fiverr,it will be cheaper. I then hired a guy for the video. Now if you don’t know how most of the videos are made, you may end up paying 150-400$
there are websites from where you can buy templates for virtually everything. http://Videohive.net is a website I got my template from. So I purchased a 25$ template, hired a guy for 40$ to do the changes to it.(His fees was 20$ , I offered him 20 extra so that he doesn’t say anything when I ask him to do many repetitions, He made at least 10 repetitions before submitting the final video)
So the whole video was done for 65$ His rates have increased now.
2. I got fake facebook likes(40,000 likes for 40$ people are real but they don’t come to know when they liked the page, there are scripts for fake facebook likes) as I thought it can be used as an audience,but turns out it was a waste, as Facebook has changed it algorithms, and a post’s visibility only increases if it gets enough momentum(i.e comments and likes).And it is quite obvious that no one would be interested in a post from a page which they never liked themselves.
The post never reached 40,000 people which were my intended target.
3. I wrote the description, optimized for ASO.There are websites for SEO (or ASO ,app store optimization)like sensor tower which can be used for figuring out which keyword to use.
Here are the general rules of ASO
# A keyword should be 5 times in the description.
# Put the keyword in the name
# Put the keyword in the package name.
4. I Added 1000+ friends on facebook from my college before the launch
5. I launched the app.
6. I gave credit to those people on how they were so supportive and accepted our random friend requests and then sneaked in the download link with very pretty images.People like to take credits for no reason, just like they want to feel good and superior and want to be a part of something, without any reason,I just exploited it.
7. The early downloads and reviews were quite important
8. They reviewed and downloaded.About 200-300 of them.
9. Just after I launched it,I changed my schedule and started sleeping 9 hrs in 2 days .i.e 4.5 hrs a day, with 3 hrs of sleeping shifts.
I searched for lists of websites which review Android apps.Sent them a copy pasted message and often making intentional mistakes while typing the subject like “Android ‘ApP’ Review”, to get their attention as you are not the only one sending them emails. we tried to make it look as professional as we could.But tried to keep the message friendly.I posted them 100 each day.
Here is the list if you want to use it
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rskjn…
10. Posting on facebook groups.The post here doesn’t have to be professional and the screenshots should not look professional, if they are
,(these screenshots were different from the ones one the app page) you will give an impression that your app comes from a company and it won’t appear as a personal request but like an advertisement, which you don’t want.I posted them 100 each day. Got about 2000 downloads from such posts.
Don’t forget to make stories. No one wants to listen about your organization etc etc, but instead, tell them a story.Very little about the app, but focus more on how your app looks, believe me,it works.
11. Sending messages to YouTubers to review it. Go to their about page and you might find an email ,or you might even find a message button.
This is what i used to do,
Target keywords like “android apps” “android” “technology” “android app review” “best apps”
Search these keywords on youtube and sort the results by channels and open them up and drop a message.
Believe me when I say this, THERE IS NOT EVEN A SINGLE CHANNEL(which appeared when i searched the above) WHICH DIDNT RECEIVE MY COPY PASTE TEMPLATE. That’s right,I didn’t even spare a single channel. Your message shouldn’t be longer than 4-5 lines. This used to be my content. “Hi would you be interested in making a review video for my app? It is a music player/audio player, and what’s different about is the UI. It is something which you wouldn’t have seen before. Regards, Ankit.
Then posting on their new videos, asking people to try it and asking the channel owner to review it. I posted them 100 each day or maybe more.
I even posted on new videos of PEWDIEPIE etc etc so that people can see it.I targeted all the famous people’s videos, because they get millions of videos.
I knew if I get a few hundred upvotes, my app would get ten thousands of likes.
Sadly I haven’t come across a way to get likes on my comments.
Please let me know if you know how to.
12. Posting on Reddit, forums, quora etc.Got about 300 downloads from there
I did this for 20 days. Got about 15,000 downloads within the first 20 days. Yes even after trying so much, all I got was 15,000 installs within 20 days.(or 30,don’t remember)
I really was exhausted and I knew I needed a more sustainable way of getting downloads. I was getting 300-400 installs a day and I knew I won’t reach my target with so less number of installs a day.
So I started experimenting a lot. Like I used to spam on Quora, and realized how it can improve the ranks.
I started targeting good keywords and my main source of downloads is ranking within top 10 for the keyword “music player”
I have achieved a rank in 20’s for all the main keywords like audio player,mp3 player, player etc etc
These days my app gets 9000-12,000 downloads a day
and earns me anywhere between 120$ -150$
There is still a long way to go, but I know I will be there
Answered December 13th, 2017
You can promote your app and get 1 000 000 installs, but with the marketing budget, it will take less time. The main factor which has an influence on your app ranking is the quantity of installs and reviews during the first week after realize. So, do not fail your promotion and help you app to be on the top with next tools:
Optimize you ASO. This is easy, but important step for your app ranking on the store;
A huge number of installs and reviews can make your app more visible for organic users and they really work for getting a better position in the Top. It’s usually done through companies like CPIMobi or WhiteMobi. The average price for 1 install is $0.06;
Set up your personal website (and, optionally, a domain name).
Run regular contests. Ask your audience to complete a certain task (tweet, share content or invite friends) and reward them publically. Offer discounts. If in-app purchases are your strategy, choose days, at which you would give them at cheaper prices. Let the users know about it via push notifications or email newsletters. Stimulate feedback. For instance, get your users to rate your app. Hope it helps.
Answered Dec 12, 2016
I followed this $0 budget method to acquire 10,000 downloads in the just first month of the app release. I was working in a private MNC with a shitty salary and I wanted to change my life for good. I had to come up with something which could help me escape from the job system. Something of my own, some kind startup which helps me to earn more than my shitty salary. But I didn’t have a plan for a startup nor other people which could help me with funding or any other sort of help.
I had prior experience of Android but with not much success and no such app that could help me achieve this goal of mine to be my own BOSS. I never tried freelancing. The only experience I had of Android Application was a College Project which was based on Fitness Regimes. I started looking for successful Android Application which has helped developer earn BIG and here I was with a plan to develop a music player of my own for Android. There were tons of them and the reason I chose a music player was that every application I could find there had a least a million downloads so it was fixed that in the coming 3-4 months my app will be seen among other music player applications. The goal was set and the next step was to quit the job. It took me 3 months to develop the application with basic features. I needed not just one USP but a set of USPs and some planning to promotion.
So these things are my application’s USPs.
1. Best graphic
2. A general purpose app
3. Appeasing color pallet
4. Beautiful yet powerful
5. Has animations and smooth transitions
6. Works seamlessly without a flaw.
7. Drains less battery
I was done with the development and released the app with a normal icon searched from the net. I needed a unique app icon for the app which I got for $11 on fiver. I created the screenshot by myself and trust me they look, professionals, I had been taking an idea from other applications too which have top Google ranking in google play store. I still need an introduction video for the application for which I don’t have the required budget. I saw ASO for tons of application and was able to create one for my own
1. A keyword should be 5 times in the description.
2. Put the keyword in the name
3. Put the keyword in the package name.
To give my app a starting I was asking my friends and colleagues to download and review the application and later I realized that this won’t help me reach my goal because what I was getting was 10 – 15 downloads a day and my application was nowhere seen on play store when you search “music player”. I got tensed, after the good amount of efforts on the application development now I will have to spend time on promotions too. After the launch, I quit my job and decided to work full time on the application promotion as it was the only thing left which I could do my myself.
I kept adding friends, Even facebook blocked me from sending texts to anyone. The early downloads and reviews were quite important. They reviewed and downloaded. About 200-300 of them. Started posting on Facebook pages and groups and I did get some likes and downloads from there
Commenting on Application reviewer’s videos and sending them my app link asking for reviews through Youtube. Then posting on their new videos, asking people to try it and asking the channel owner to review it. I posted them 100 each day or maybe more. Posting on Reddit, forums, quora etc.Got about 200 downloads from there In the first week of following this routine of promotion, I got 1000 downloads and even 25 reviews. At the end of first week of promotion, I was getting almost 250 downloads/day. This graph was increasing exponentially. Earlier my app was not visible on searching “music player” on the play store. But, after I had been posting on Quora and other forums telling things about the application, the ranking was raised to 52 from being nowhere in the list in just 1 week. Applications with 50,000 downloads + apps were listed below my application. This was a sign of pure success with 0 spending on Promotion. I was doing this for 30 days and finally, I had the result. It was 10,000 downloads in the first month and with it came the $100. next $200 on its way for next month.
So I started experimenting a lot. Like I used to spam on quora, and realized how it can improve the ranks.
Answered Dec 12, 2014
I’ve got exactly what you need 🙂 There are many strategies that different products (mobile apps) adopted to gain initial traction. http://fifty2.in compiles some of the best actionable ones that focus purely on customer acquisition. Entrepreneurs have gone up to 2 million downloads and 450,000 MAUs using these.
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