How to get 1 Million downloads for your Mobile Applications?

Mobile penetration is just getting started in emerging economies and it is already the go to device for communication, entertainment and even work. The Mobile revolution started in 2007 with the iPhone and it has grown steadily over the years.

Building for the future involves building for mobile now. Facebook has over 1.57 Billion users on their Mobile platforms. This is a huge sign. There are many countries which are mobile first, where the first device in the household is a mobile phone.

Mobile is here to stay and to cash in, you will need to go mobile.

Maybe you already are and you look at article after article on how to build a mobile app and get a million downloads. A million downloads has become a basic step these days. But, still a lot of people struggle with it. So this article dissects the aspects of getting to a million downloads.

Now there are two kinds of applications.

• That you build solving a problem
• Another you build for fun and it is something fun.

The applications you create to solve a specific problem have a very specific niche Maybe your application is to help mothers track their child’s eating habits or it’s for cyclists to track distance, time and speed. Or maybe your application is location specific.

If that’s the case then there are a few things you should already prepare for.

• You should know that the size of your audience is limited and it is difficult to get a large amount of downloads.
• There are specific groups and channels that will get you a lot more downloads compared to others.
• Being present, even physically in places where your customers are can be helpful to your app cause.

This article is for the second kind of application that is more generic and applicable to the world. These are the applications that make thousands of dollars in monthly revenue.

• Icon

Make an appealing and catchy app icon. Your application will be lost in between thousands of apps if your icon does not stand out.

• Impeccable Design

The first step to creating an application with a lot of downloads is impeccable design. The design standards in the world are extremely high and because of this your design should look good and be up to standard. Users can also see the design of your app in the app store page and it should be appealing enough to want to download.

• Naming

The name of your app should be simple and easy to understand the recall value should be high so it’s easy for people to tell their friends and also catchy enough it to keep it registered in their minds.

4. Go mad with marketing

You have to go crazy with marketing in terms of the different things you do and the varied platforms you go to. People literally are everywhere. Make sure to mix you marketing and advertising with

• App review sites
• Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Quora – Customize a strategy for every platform.
• Email Marketing
• App directory sites
• Guest blogging
• Content Marketing

Pace out your marketing because your downloads should be regular and consistent to be ranked high. If you have a steady stream of downloads then the app store’s algorithm picks up your app as an app that is doing well.

• Improve your keywords

Similar to SEO you should focus on your keywords very strongly. Make sure to have 2 or 3 main keywords for your product and use it extensively in your description. People search for specific keywords on the app store and to rank high, you need to have these specific keywords in your content.

• Keep those reviews high and Retain Users

Nothing better than a happy customer. A happy customer gives you a good review and an app with a better review will rank higher if everything else being the same with a competing app. The user’s behavior within the app is also a parameter. See how often your users the app and focus on retaining your users by sending them appropriate notifications and reminders.

6. Make the product talk

Your mobile users having a great experience is important, but more importantly is them telling their friends about it. Make sure to add share buttons within the app also add tools that help your users spread the word.

• Build a story and start establishing a presence

Stuart Hall, the founder of Appbot in his now famous article suggests that building a story and buzz about your app before you even start can help a great deal in establishing interest and getting loads of downloads.

• Customer Support

Users leave reviews and feedback. It is up to you to act on it and improve it. Make it easy for them to contact you through your site or social media. This way you can have a one on one communication with them and they will also feel good that you are taking time out to reply to their requests.

More importantly your app can stand out, if you have something creative. This is a very underrated aspect of the startup world these days. Creativity.

There are a lot of apps that seem to be doing the same thing and some niches have close to 15 to 20 competitors. The best way to stand out and get a lot of downloads is through creating something new and novel.

There are numerous problems faced by people all over the world and by picking a good one, you stand a chance to making thousands of dollars. Most people see it as getting 1 million downloads, but they don’t focus on the basic.

What is the problem and why is it appealing to my audience. If you are able to get to the bottom of this, it’s just natural progression that you would get to 1 million app downloads.