XYRM Innovation: 01/01/14

Dell World 2013 Video Recap: From Pitch Slam Contestants to Elizabeth Gore of UN Nations - Dell World Had It All!

Consumers have literally millions of mobile apps to choose from when downloading a new app to their smartphones. However, if youâ€™re an app developer looking to stand out, this makes marketing more important than ever. Even if your app serves a uniquely valuable purpose, unless you have a way to get that message out to customers, your app is destined to fail.

With so many developers and apps crowding the marketplace, your marketing strategyÂ needs to both hit marketing fundamentals while innovatively reaching your audience in ways your competition isnâ€™t. Try some of the following ideas to market your app in ways other companyâ€™s donâ€™t.

Start Early

Donâ€™t wait until youâ€™ve submitted your app for approval to begin generating buzz. Remember, your app is software. From game developers to account software designers, every type of software benefits from having the market warmed-up at its time of launch. Even though app purchase decisions are often made on the spur of the moment, the same principle applies to launching apps, too.

One way to do this is to spend time where your target customers hang out. Do they spend time on Reddit? Offer a Reddit-exclusive sneak preview and ask if there are any features potential users want you to add before launch. Contact websites that feature articles aimed at your audience and offer to do interviews or share sneak-previews.

You could also work on building an email list of potentially interested customers so you can alert them when your app launches, instantly getting a Â sales boost.

Advertise In Your Apps

While this practice is very common in free-to-play games (that monetize through in-app-purchases), advertising your apps in other apps can raise awareness. Doing this has several benefits:

Youâ€™ll target users who you know are willing to pay for your apps because theyâ€™ve done it before
Youâ€™ll create awareness for your development team and generate more interest in apps sold by your company
You wonâ€™t have to pay expensive pay-per-click fees for advertising on other sites
Youâ€™ll naturally have a big increase in other app downloads

The actual method you want to use for in-app advertisements depends on your app and customers, so test a few methods and stick with the one that works best.

Get Reviews

Not only will reviews let your customers know your app is worth buying, itâ€™ll also help to build your link profile and boost your SEO. If you want to know where to begin, check out this list of iOS review sites in order of their Alexa rating (and which will help your SEO the most).

Try youAPPi (And Other Listing Services)

Just like youâ€™d make sure your local business is listed on the right online directories, you need to make sure your app is listed in the right places, too. This will make it a lot easier for you to be able to track down. Sites like YouAppi allow you to get your app in front of the eyes of potential customers.

Investing in services like these usually arenâ€™t free, but the additional downloads youâ€™ll get make them more than worth it.

Advertise On Your Mobile Site

Does your business have a mobile site? An unobtrusive advertisement for your mobile app on your mobile site will naturally connect your smartphone, tablet, and other mobile-device users with your app.

Have a Great App

The most important thing you can do to promote your mobile app is to have an app worth promoting. Throwing together a cheap, buggy app designed to sell ad space isnâ€™t going to fool anyone. The most successful apps offer users valuable content, functionality, and more.

Dell World 2013 Video Recap: From Pitch Slam Contestants to Elizabeth Gore of UN Nations - Dell World Had It All!

Start Early

You could also work on building an email list of potentially interested customers so you can alert them when your app launches, instantly getting a Â sales boost.

Advertise In Your Apps

While this practice is very common in free-to-play games (that monetize through in-app-purchases), advertising your apps in other apps can raise awareness. Doing this has several benefits:

Youâ€™ll target users who you know are willing to pay for your apps because theyâ€™ve done it before
Youâ€™ll create awareness for your development team and generate more interest in apps sold by your company
You wonâ€™t have to pay expensive pay-per-click fees for advertising on other sites
Youâ€™ll naturally have a big increase in other app downloads

The actual method you want to use for in-app advertisements depends on your app and customers, so test a few methods and stick with the one that works best.

Get Reviews

Try youAPPi (And Other Listing Services)

Investing in services like these usually arenâ€™t free, but the additional downloads youâ€™ll get make them more than worth it.

Advertise On Your Mobile Site

Have a Great App

The Secret to Achieving Resolutions: Setting Small Goals

The New Year provides an opportunity to start with a fresh, clean slate. However, more than nine out of 10 Americans (92%) will not to keep their resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, or find romance. It can be the same with the goals small business owners set for themselves to grow revenues or become more profitable.

The number one reason why New Yearâ€™s resolutions fail isnâ€™t feasibility or a lack of motivation.

The number one reason resolutions fail is all about time.

It is easy to become overwhelmed by the goals you set for yourself in the course of the next year.

Procrastination is a significant part of the problem. At the beginning of the year, people rationalize â€œI have over half a year left to do what I said Iâ€™d do.â€ And when the summer months roll around, there is still enough time left in the year that you might not feel a real sense of urgency.

Before you know it, the holidays roll around again, and yet the resolution has not been accomplished.

Set Achievable Goals

â€œFor many people, this depressing chain of events recycles on a yearly basis because far-away deadlines allow us to be slack on execution. Give yourself too much time and you will procrastinate. Itâ€™s human nature,â€ write Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, co-authors of The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months,

Instead, Moran and Lennington advocate setting realistic deadlines that will be better motivators to take action. â€œSuccess is all of the little things you do throughout the year to make your goals happen,â€ they explain.

I always advise taking a look at smaller chunks of time when setting goals for a small business. One can compare January to the previous month of December or to January a year ago to gauge what direction the company is heading.

Setting a goal of 50 percent growth in a year is noble, but it can be daunting. A smarter way is to plan smaller, more manageable and less overwhelming growth rates for each month of the year. By the time next December rolls around, the overall increase for the year may indeed be closer to the target.

Every day should be filled with important, attainable goals. For example, one goal could be as simple as committing to reaching out to one new prospect each work day. Over the course of the year, this could add up to over 200 contacts. Even with a modest success rate of 2%, you could find yourself with four new accounts over the course of the year. If one or two of them are substantial new clients, you may indeed hit projected growth targets.

Achieve Little Victories For Big Results

By settingÂ attainable goals and achieving little victories on a weekly basis, the outlook will seem brighter. And, as a result, your commitment to growth will grow throughout the year.

In business, as in life, unexpected occurrences can put things out of whack. Natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy, set back thousands of small businesses. In 2013, the government shutdown had an unanticipated devastating effect on companies that directly and indirectly rely on federal spending. Machines break down. Key employees leave. New competition arrives in the marketplace. The key is to establish good habits and to have systems in place to spur business growth despite outside influences.

Little things that mean a lot over the course of the year include:

Committing to contacting a set number of potential clients each week, setting appointments when possible, and keeping them on a regular basis.
Improving your record keeping so that you can monitor whatâ€™s happening in your business and subsequently implement changes where needed.
Paying bills in full and on time in order to increase credit scores in case you need an infusion of working capital or seek to expand.
Keeping abreast of changes in technology and making upgrades in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Smaller, monthly improvements will add up during the year. Committing to certain tasks and maintaining that commitment will manifest in greater overall performance.

Do not set yourself up for failure like the people who aspire to drop 20 pounds or drop two dress sizes and then become depressed and discouraged when it doesnâ€™t happen within two months. The successful individuals will make it a point to drop one or two pounds a week over the course of 10-12 weeks.

Set achievable goals, over small periods of time. Â They will be easier to reach, and as you reach each goal you will feel motivated because of your small successes.

Continually reaching small achievable goals is the key to long-term success â€" this year and every year.

Achievable photo via Shutterstock