The iOS App Marketing Strategy Guide

Get Your App Reviewed

If you don’t have tons of money to invest in advertising, then your app success will depend a lot on the coverage you manage to get.
You need people to learn about your app. And a great way for that to happen is a blog post or an article on a well-known website.
It’s not easy though, as bloggers and journalists are highly solicited everyday, and don’t have time to try every single app. That means you need to pitch it right, and to the right persons.

A word on paid reviews

Some blogs will ask you for money in exchange for a blog post or to move you up the review queue.
If you decide to pay, makes sure its worth it and that it will actually bring you (loyal) users. Make sure that your targeted audience reads that blog. Because maybe your money would be better spent elsewhere.

Identify your press and blog contacts

Don’t loose your time and other people’s time: pitch your app to people that have a chance to be interested in it.
As much as possible, contact individuals and avoid mass emails. It takes more time, but increases your chances.
Identify who writes about your kind of apps.
But don’t hesitate to target smaller blogs at the beginning, as well as non-US blogs. Guess what? There are tons of people with iPhones and iPads outside of the US. And it keeps on growing.
Try to find out about newspapers that could cover your app, too. Check out the most famous ones and find the journalists that write about mobile apps (tip: use the search field). When you contact “traditional” journalists, a press release is a good thing to have. Take a look at Muck Rack to know which journalist is talking about what and find some (US) contacts.
Check out who talked and talks (set up Google Alerts) about the type of app you’re launching. Contact them and ask them for feedback.
Find out if there are any specialized magazines in your app niche that could care about your app and that you could contact.

Pitch Perfect

Knowing who to contact is the first step.
Now you have to make these people interested enough to read your email, try your app and write about it (some write before trying).
Bloggers and journalists receive tons of emails, but they can’t review everything. However, they are always looking for cool new apps and stories to talk about (it’s their job).
To do that, you need the right pitch.
Not only do you need the perfect sentence to explain what your app is all about and why their audience should care, you also need to make sure to include some key elements in your email:

• Your app name as it is on the App Store
• Who your audience is, what your app does and why its approach is unique
• Your app price
• A link to your product page (website) and to the App Store product page
• One or two of your best screenshots
• A short promo or demo video
• Contact info and Skype/Twitter IDs

Also, it doesn’t hurt to greet the person by her name, and to show that you do know what they’ve been writing about (or other things they’re doing).
When (if) they do answer you and are interested in trying your app, then send them some promo codes.
Check out our blog post on how to pitch your app and get it reviewed for some more information and an email template. And read the excellent book Pitch Perfect from Erica Sadun and Steven Sande. They are bloggers at TUAW, so you should probably read what they’re saying.

Don’t only sell the app, also sell the story

Some apps have some pretty cool stories behind them.
Take the example of the 1 Second Every Day app and its Kickstarter Campaign. It’s an app with a cool concept, but Cesar did more than just say “I’m building this”. He actually recorded 1 second every day for a year, and that’s the story he’s been selling (and why he got so much coverage).
If you have an interesting story behind your app, don’t hesitate to tell it. Write it down, and use it when you’re contacting bloggers and journalists.
More than just your app concept, an interesting blog post about your app story and your experience can give you some good visibility in the tech community when you submit it to Hacker News.
A website like HARO (Help A Reporter Out) sends directly to your inbox topics on which journalists and bloggers want to write. Check out if your story and experience are a good fit, and reach out to them!

Don’t turn down opportunities

If your app has some kind of success and people like it, there are chances you’ll be contacted by others.
As much as you can, send them the promo codes they are requesting, and accept to answer their questions and do interviews. You never know who will read or listen to it.

Marketing Your App With Video

Video is one of the most powerful ways to get your message across about your app. You might think we’re biased, but we’re definitely not the only ones saying it.
Done right, a demo video for your app can bring you several marketing benefits.
It can help you boost your app visibility, increase user engagement and retention, and get more (qualified) downloads. And that’s without mentioning branding and SEO benefits.
People are highly solicited nowadays, and they don’t have time to download each app they hear or read about. This is true for smartphone users and bloggers/journalists alike.
A demo video allows you to show in a very short time what your app is all about. It sounds cliché but it’s true: if a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video can achieve. Here are a few tips to produce an efficient demo video:

• Consider your audience. Keep your app target audience in mind at all times when creating your script and video.
• Write a script. This will save you tons of time and will allow you to make sure the message you convey is the right one. Just like for your website, don’t hesitate to get feedback on your script (before getting started on your video). If you can, try to bring him some emotion and story telling.
• Make it short (between 20 seconds and 1 minute). You might be tempted to show every feature of your app, but the truth is people won’t take the time to watch your 3mn video.
• Focus on the benefits and and added value of your app. Focus on what makes your app unique and worth downloading. Avoid boring and keep things dynamic.
• Make it efficient. Your goal is to show what your app is all about, but you also want people to remember it and be able to download it. Make sure you display your app name, icon and a call to action inviting viewers to download the app on the mobile app stores. Displaying your website address helps, too.
• Keep it simple. If you’re not a video expert, it’s safer to keep it simple so don’t use crazy cheap-looking effects or complicated scenario. A simple structure like intro -> core feature(s) -> outro is most likely enough.

You made (or hired someone to make) a cool and efficient video, now use it everywhere you can to promote your app.
Some mobile app stores (Google Play, Amazon) have been allowing you to add a video to your app page for a while. And now it’s coming to the App Store as well with iOS 8!
You can (and should) also use your video on your app website, in your public relations efforts, when marketing on social media or even at events and tradeshows.
After actually trying your app, people watching your app video is the next best thing that can happen. Make the most out of it.