How Hard Is To Be An Indie Mobile Developer

We keep talking about marketing strategies and how startups and big companies managed to create great campaigns. But, how about independent developers? How difficult is to apply the same technique when you are the only person who does the entire work? How is it like when you are the one who gives the orders and you accomplish them when it comes to promote your app?

Challenges Of Being An Indie Mobile Developer

Despite the fact that being an indie mobile developer means to be your own boss, there are also some obstacles on your way to reach your goals.

Overcrowded Market

Yes, this is true. Apple App Store and Google Play Store have millions of apps that can discourage you when you want to upload your creation. And you feel even more overwhelmed when you see the huge number of downloads for the most popular apps and you can’t find yours without writing your username in the Search field.

Small Budget

When you read all the news about the success of other apps and you see the colossal amount of money invested in a campaign you consider you don’t have a chance without a great budget spent on ads. Not everyone affords to throw millions of dollars on promoting an app.

You Have To Do All By Yourself

This is a tricky one. You will run a one man show. You need to come up with a great idea, to test the market and to make it visible to your users. Even if the budget isn’t a great concern, the time required by all these stages is very impressive and you know you can’t be in two places at the same time.

Solutions For Succeeding As An Indie Mobile Developer

It is very hard to raise your app above all the others in its category as an independent developer but it is not impossible. Let’s see how.

Develop A Great App

It is obvious that you need to have an outstanding app. So, don’t copy an idea that was already done by tens of other developers. “Find a solution for a problem” is becoming a real cliché but it is true. The main condition is to be sure that the problem is real and that you solve it in the easiest way. Other than that you can find an app used by some people and to make it better. There are apps that offer essential answers for many users but they are too complicated so they need you to make them more intuitive and more appreciated by users. Don’t forget to validate your idea to be sure that your efforts will be rewarded.

Pricing Model

When it comes to select the monetization model it is not easy to put a fair price tag on your work. You would think that everybody else will appreciate your efforts but the hopes won’t bring you any income. A solution that works is freemium to encourage users to download your app and when you observe their enhanced interest for its features then to convince them to pay for premium content. Even if you make sure that every install increases your revenue with a paid app, a solution that brings you users is to run paid – to – free campaign and to announce the press that your app is free for a limited amount of time. The condition is to address the right audience who is willing to spend money on your creation.

Take Advantage Of Alternative Markets

The big problem is that you have to fight with all the big players in the main app stores. Luckily, both Apple and Google have special sections reserved for independent developers. Additionally, remember that there are also other markets that will allow you to make your app visible to potential users. They all come with pros and cons but you have nothing to lose if you take advantage of the opportunity created by a wider area of customers who have bigger chances to reach your app.

Marketing Your App For Free

Not every method to promote your work has to cost you money. There are a lot of free solutions to bring your app in front of your users. Creating a community around your app and at the same time, a relationship with your users will transform them into your team members.

Convincing them to be your ambassadors will help you to promote your app even more if you would have a marketing expert hired for this job. Provide relevant content and engage your customers with creative and interesting ways of interacting with your product.

Build Smart Campaigns

Even with a huge budget you won’t see the wanted results if you don’t create your strategy in the right manner. First you need to think about your goal and then you must measure the most important metrics and optimizing your campaign whenever you have the chance. Remember that a big number of clicks won’t bring you the same amount of users and that you need to gather valuable users if you want to see the return on your investment.

Apply Growth Hacking Strategies

When you struggle marketing your app, a solution would be to take a closer look at others’ experience and to adapt their tactics for your app. This strategy is called Growth Hacker Marketing and it can help you acquire a lot of new users and not only that, you will win loyal customers. Study what experts have to say about this domain and act according to your app category.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It is definitely a full time job to create an app and to promote it all by yourself, but there are many methods that can bring you on the right path. Here at AppSamurai we help and encourage not only startups but also independent developers to acquire loyal users. With our advices you can reach the desired success. Moreover you can take advantage of our great competition to earn free ad credit for your creation. Remember, this is not about us, it is about you and your app. So, don’t lose your hope and run your battles like a real winner.