You have been able to successfully design and develop your mobile app. Congratulations! It is an impressive milestone to have been achieved for any startup founder. I am certain that throughout the journey of building your mobile app, there must have been quite a number of blockers and other unprecedented situations that were quite frustrating. But, regardless you still pulled through. Congratulations once again.
Now that your mobile app is ready, I am sure all you want to do right now is to get your app to go live on the app stores so your users can download and start actively using the app. Well, that is great but, I am sorry to be the bearer of not-so-good news – An app going live rarely ever translates to a high number of active users.
However, before your app goes live there are 5 boxes that need to be checked. If you can successfully check these 5 boxes it increases your chances of growing your active user base as well as enough room to improve your product.
Here are the 5 boxes you must check before you launch your mobile app.
1. Create a Landing Page:
Please remember a landing page is not a website. Many times when you tell people to get a landing page, they think you mean a website. They may be similar but they don’t serve the same purpose. The specific purpose of a landing page is to get some web presence for your mobile app and capture email addresses from users or visitors. The emails captured via the landing page will help you drive reviews and downloads at the time of launch. You should also take advantage of social media platforms to promote your app before you launch and after you launch.
2. App Store Optimization:
This is critical to launching a mobile app. In fact, you can’t launch your app on any of the app stores without going through the app optimization process. however, it needs to be done properly. There are four major elements that you need to take into consideration when it comes to app ranking and optimization. They include:
a. Proper visuals and branding
b. Accurate use of Keywords (both in the name and description)
c. App downloads
d. Positive reviews received
The last two are an offshoot of the first two. If your app content is properly written with the right use of keywords and if your branding speaks directly to your customers, it is certainly going to drive positive reviews and downloads.
3. Have a Go-to-Market Strategy:
A lot of founders make the mistake of thinking the bulk of the work stops at launching the mobile app. But it really doesn’t stop there. Apps are a going concern. You have to actively put strategies in place to keep them in the mind of your customers. Your go-market-market strategy should include:
a. How you intend to reach your audience
b. What channels you intend to reach your audience
c. What content you need to get their attention
d. How you intend to measure the impact of your marketing activities
e. How you intend to define your success and your failure
Having all these put in place will allow you to understand how to circumnavigate the market and the measures to take to ensure that your product stays relevant to your customers
4. Define your monetization strategy:
Before your app goes live you need to be clear on how you intend to make money from the app and when you intend to start making money from the app. Methods of monetization differ across the board for different apps. However, founders need to know what method they can seamlessly synchronize into their business model.
You could start with freemium when you initially launch and then switch to paid subscription depending on how you intend to drive adoption.
5. Create a channel for user feedback:
This is an underrated hack. But, the more you talk to your customers the more their affinity for your product and brand grows. Aside from app store reviews, create a community channel where you can actively talk to your customers, collect their feedback, address their concerns and carry them along on your short and long-term for the product. This way you are going to drive your adoption at an exponential rate. Also, you will be able to iterate and make adjustments to your mobile app based on useful customer feedback, not assumptions.
If you are able to check these boxes and have all these 5 items in place then you are more than ready to take your app live. Remember to schedule a release date in consideration of all the 5 items listed above. This way all your strategies are in alignment with when your app is available to the public.
