This is big news (and I’m a day behind). Yesterday, Mobile Orchard posted that Apple has apparently stopped pushing updated apps to the top of the “new release” stack on the app store.
A lot of developers used updates to bump their app to the top of the “new releases” list and get more exposure. If this news is true (and I haven’t verified it yet), that is no longer an option.
This means three things:
- 1. A big launch is key (even vital), especially for hit-based apps. Building pre-launch buzz and having a big-launch marketing strategy are crucial.
- 2. Since you don’t have a second chance to get noticed on the app store itself (unless Apple somehow discovers you), you really need to make sure your first version is something special (and relatively bug-free). The “just get it out there and see what people think” mentality may not cut it in this market. Thats unfortunate but we have to play by Apple’s rules in this market.
- 3. At the rate the app store is changing, we simply cannot depend on it as a marketing outlet. The days of throwing an app in the store and hoping for the best are over. Now, more than ever, developers need to find creative ways to market their app outside the app store both for launch buzz and sustained exposure.
Obviously it was/is not my intention with the app I'm developing to continually release silly updates to push my app in front of more eyes. But it seems everyday I continue working on my project I get more uneasy about my app fading into the background no matter how good it is.
I don't have many Twitter followers and I have no real experience in online marketing. It's just me, myself, and I working on this project and I fear I won't have the resources necessary to show people why my app is different, special, and worth a buck or two.
It's funny that for my first app I'm more nervous about it failing because of poor exposure than from poor development. (Although, I am taking my time making sure my code is as good as I can possibly make it. I will NOT release until I would pay the price for it… if not more.)
That's the problem that software developer company had since the beginning. Actually they don't even have a distribution tool as good as iTunes.
You don't have enough Twitter followers? Maybe you should create an account ad hoc for your application and start engaging your future market. And if this time doesn't work, you will learn for sure several things that will give you a better shot next time.
Andrew, I think your situation is quite typical of iPhone developers. We are one man shows who may not have the resources or expertise to market our apps. This is a problem that won’t go away.
I think marketing can be learned. Just do it. Start a blog, engage on Twitter, see what happens. Its going to take a lot of time and commitment and there is a lot to learn. Its not impossible, though. I think you can learn the basics in a few months of trial and error.
If you don’t feel you have time to learn this stuff, partner with someone who does.
Think about it this way: since your situation is typical of most iPhone developers, overcoming it will make you stand out from the crowd.
Thanks guys, its good to know I’m not alone. It’s a tough market with over 100,000 apps in place. It’s just gonna take some trial and error I guess.
This is another reason to focus rather on releasing less, but better quality apps. It’s going to be much harder for small developers like myself to start their little iPhone businesses going in the App Store, but I believe that it’s a good decision in the long run as we’ll have to focus on delivering really outstanding experiences and apps.
Andrew, agreed. Since the app-store-as-marketing strategy is no longer viable, developers are going to need to focus on quality rather than quantity and spend more time on marketing each app.
Jeremy, I wanted to give you an update. We had an app that was re-released today and it is not showing up at the top of the release date sort as of 7:30PM on 11/12/09.
[...] Bei der Einreichung einer neuen App oder eines Updates (nach neusten Meldungen angeblich nicht mehr möglich) in den App Store fragt Apple nach dem gewünschten [...]
WireBear: thanks. Looks like this is real, then.
[...] Jeremy over at tapity.com blogs about how he goes about designing and marketing iphone apps: here is his post on a recent app store policy changes. [...]