Journey to App - Part 9 - Marketing and Support

With the App completed, and while we are waiting for Apple to review it, it is time to focus on some of the non-development activities.

There are several things that will help make our app more successful.  These include establishing a support site, and Marketing the App.

Support
Since we are charging for the App, having a professional support site is expected.  For support, I use http://desk.com.  Desk.com offers a free package for a single user.  This works great if you are an independent developer.  Desk.com has all of the features that you would expect of a support site, including articles, Q&A, and can integrate to email and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.  For the Go PDF App, I created a new FAQ topic, which has an RSS feed that I encorporated into the Go PDF page.

Marketing - Web Site
There are many ways to market your app, but starting with a simple web site or page is a good way to start.  Finding a good host for your site is covered is many blog posts, so I will not go into it in this post.  One thing to consider when making your page for your app, is that most users will visit your site from their mobile device (at least that is what my web logs show), as they may be thinking about installing the app, looking for some additional information, or looking for some support information.  So when creating your web page, consider that the page should look good on a PC, Tablet, or Handheld device.  Check out jQuery Mobile as a framework for your web page to deliver a responsive design.  The web page for the Go PDF app is at http://www.snackableapps.com/gopdf.html if you want to take a look.

Marketing - Press Releases
Another way to get the word out is to write a press release.  There are many different sites that will publish your press release, some for free, and some paid.  Here are two sites that I have used in the past.  For paid releases (currently about $20) http://prmac.com does a good job.  For free press releases, I have used http://www.pr-inside.com/.    Press releases can increase your exposure and help drive app downloads.

For Go PDF, I have drafted a press release, which can be found at: http://www.snackableapps.com/dl/gopdf/GoPDFV1PressRelease.pdf

Marketing - Social Media
If you have bunches of friends on facebook or twitter followers or other social media circles ... get the word out.  Your friends are more likely to leave good reviews which can help attract users to your app.

Tracking your App in the press
Once your app is released, consider setting up a Google Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts).  Google will monitor your key words, and email you if your key words show up in new web pages.

Running Total Hours
Activities

• Update Support Site - 0.5 hour
• Update Web Page - 1 hour
• Write a press release - 0.5 hours

Total Hours 37 Hours

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Next Part 10 - Cleanup and Publishing the App