With so many apps making it to the App Store daily, it becomes really difficult to figure out what is it in your pockets that the world is yet to see. But it isn’t the only question in this exam that you don’t have the answer to. A bigger question is how your app will be recognized among so many faces. Even if you’ve cracked the recipe of a successful app, it won’t be a part of every household kitchen unless you’re already a very reputed chef and people follow your recipes.

First, you need to work on App Store Optimization and make sure that you’ve been through all the checkpoints and everything’s fine. The App Store Algorithm keeps changing from time to time with new updates and you must keep a good eye on it. But just keeping up with the flow doesn’t mean that you’re going to win the race. It just guarantees that you’re in the race and sometimes not even that when you get lost in the middle.

As a young/new developer, you’re mostly running short on budget and therefore can’t afford a big banner for promotion purposes. All you have is a 7-inch tablet and here’s how you can make the most of it:

A WEBSITE WILL DO
While you can’t provide all the info related to your app on its iTunes or Google Play page due to the restrictions, what you can do is create a website for the same. There you can share the related videos, images, any tutorials and even let the people know about your upcoming projects. So it’s a great way to promote you and most of the developers already have such a link on their description pages in the App Store (or Google Play).

BLOGGING
Blogs always cook up interesting discussions. So start a blog for your app and let the users start discussions regarding any features of the app or their experiences. You can also use it to sort out any issues. But make sure the blog is always active.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Where’s better to promote your app than your Facebook and Twitter pages? After all, everybody’s there and easily accessible. Moreover, create accounts on any other social platform such as Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. You should be easily accessible to the users when they need you.

WHERE’S YOUR REPORT CARD?
When your app is out, get it reviewed by experts. There are many websites that review apps for a small fee. You should contact them.

IMPROVE YOUR SEO
SEO works for everybody, then why don’t you? Do so for your website as well as blog and it’ll help a lot. So when a person searches for puzzle games, make sure your name is in the first list.

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
Just like movies have trailers for their promotion, why don’t you have any promotional video for your app? If you want your buzz in the town, first you need to press the buzzer. Make your videos entertaining and keep the viewers guessing. Animation videos are also a good option and you can find the right tools to create them online.

LET YOUR FRIENDS CREATE THE WAVE
Ask your friends to spread the word about your app to everyone they know and keep the chain going. The more mouths are talking, the more ears and listening and the more eyes will be watching your creation.

SOCIAL GROUPS
Find social groups centric around your app and post any info you’d like to share with them. Share your website link as well any new apps you’re soon to launch.

GET INTO NEW BLOGS
If I’m a painter, I would take my paintings to an arts exhibition. Similarly, if you’ve designed a puzzle, there are many blogs around that niche and you’d find many interesting ones where you can share your app info. Let them know about your app. These blogs are a great source of new users.

PRESS RELEASE
Media is the obviously one of the best source to take your app to the people. If you can get a good word of mouth from them, half the job is done. So create an impressive press release and let the media do its job.

MY APP’S FOR FREE!
If you’re new in this business and you want people to download your app, take off the price tag and you’ll see the difference. It’s always difficult to convince people to buy a new product. So make it free for first few days and if your app’s really good, they’ll buy it.

PLEASE LEAVE SOME FEEDBACK!
You as a developer don’t get to see the problems what a user will point out. So ask the users to leave behind some feedback and if you have good reviews, they’ll add to your rating. But it’ll be better if you get those reviews on your website and not on the app’s description page. Otherwise, a bitter tongue will change the taste of everybody.

VIP TESTIMONIALS
If you can get on board any popular personality in the tech world to check your app and write a small feedback for it, it’ll be of great help. You can use it on the app’s description page as well as your website.

PARTICIPATE IN APP COMPETITIONS
Competitions always have the scope for the right promotion. They are meant for public and fans are present in huge numbers. In online competitions, many people follow and stay in touch with the updates. So it’s a good place to showcase your app. It doesn’t matter if you win or not, you’ll have some mouths running.

NAME IT, ANYWHERE!
Including the name of your app in your email signature is a good way to spread the word.

RUN A CONTEST
It can be any fun game related to your app such that people enjoy it but also get to know about your app. The winner can be rewarded with free download or you can have some other prizes as well.

NEW IS BETTER!
Keep upgrading your app at regular intervals. Adding new features will keep the users engaged and asking for more. Keep the app community active and fresh as new.

POSITIVE ACTIONS TO NEGATIVE REACTIONS
While there will be many positive reviews for you, there will be some negative as well. But don’t ignore them. In fact, react to them in a positive way. See why they’ve posted so and try to find a solution rather than hiding the problem. Many times, the person writes back happily and even changes the rating.

ANSWER THE QUERIES
Find out which forums have your app talking and answer any queries you find there. Keep an eye on all such forums if possible or at least the ones that are popular and active.

A RETURN GIFT!
Who said that it’s only the user who follows the app? You can also follow your customers on Facebook, Twitter, etc. The ones that have been with you from day one and are still active on the forums deserve some appreciation. So you can email them thank you cards or even have a talk with them. It’ll certainly make their day!

As a developer, you might already be following some of these ideas while some will be new to you. I hope there’ll be at least one new idea that’d have been helpful to you. Also, if you have any such ideas that I missed out on, I’ll be glad to hear from you!