Because the AppStore is the only store that we are allowed to actually sell our iOS apps directly, many developers choose to only list their products in the AppStore. However, by doing so, a developer has ignored many distribution channels where an app can be marketed. In addition, if a mobile developer is on a different platform, many app stores exist for which to list apps. In my last post I covered designing the shelf space of the Place “P” of marketing. In this post I’ll suggest various first tier (app stores) and second tier distribution channels in which to […]
The structured approach to marketing should appeal to most technical people. Marketing can seem like a magical black box, but the 4 P’s: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place (aka distribution) are what’s inside. The best marketing plan can be broken down and addressed in each area. Let’s tackle Place—anywhere your app has a virtual space on a shelf, with a link to buy. Foremost is the AppStore, but it’s not the only Place. Place is everywhere your product is listed from your website, aggregate app listing websites, and perhaps inside app-listing-apps. Free apps have additional areas where they can be […]
Many developers are using a “shoot from the hip” approach to marketing their apps, if anything at all. It’s not that developers don’t want to market, but the question often is, where to start? As an engineer, I was always excited when encountering a formula or a structured method in my business classes. In marketing, there IS a structured approach—the 4 P’s: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place (aka distribution). Often we think of Promotion as the only form of marketing, but three other areas can also be tackled. In order to have a strong marketing plan, each area must be […]
Last week I attended 360iDev, an iOS developers conference, in Denver. In my last post I covered all the great things that happened as a result of attending conferences. Not only are they valuable education, but also a indirect marketing benefit. Nearly every person I spoke with at the conference this week agreed that the return on investment, although unmeasurable, easily covers the cost of attending the conference. 360iDev is not only a conference focused on technical sessions for developers, but also runs the gamut of sessions from UI/UX design, to graphics design, to management, to great business-side information from […]
Next Sunday I’m traveling to Denver for the 360iDev conference. I’m looking forward to learning some new tricks when I attend the design and business tracks (my responsibility in our partnership). But better than the sessions is the networking. Through the eight years we’ve been in this business, I’ve attended several conferences and each one [...]
The AppStore to some, seems like a new phenomenon, but Electronic Sales Distributors (ESD’s) have been around a long time. Selling software has evolved tremendously over the years and has helped make sales easier to complete. In the case of the AppStore, distribution has pretty much been taken out of the equation in how it [...]
Designing an iPhone UI for a productivity app can take many directions and each time you make a choice, someone will not like it, yet others may think it’s brilliant. (Of course, you hope the latter are the ones leaving reviews.) Today the landscape in the app store affects how you design your UI—you need [...]
Discussed this week on twitter was the recent nexus sales tax law passed in California that may affect affiliates who promote products on their websites. Through a series of tweets, I explained why using Linkshare’s affiliate program for iOS products is unaffected. That said, I thought sales tax deserved further explanation and would be a [...]
I’m going to go a bit non-tech in this week’s post, since I just got back from a four day cub scouts camping trip to Camp Freeland Leslie, a boy scout camp in Wisconsin, where we attended Webelos Adventure Camp. Nowadays it’s so easy to get caught up in technology and always being connected that [...]
In marketing an app, one of the areas that needs attention is your website. The AppStore description and screenshots are sometimes not enough for every customer to make a decision. Sending them to your website gives you another chance at convincing them to purchase your product. In addition, many people do discover apps via search [...]
