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Eamonn Carey Head of Digital, MHP Communications @eamonncarey [email protected] 05 October 2013 Marketing your app

Some thoughts on promotion, marketing and revenue generation for people building apps

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This is a presentation I gave at Mobily's Developer Day in Riyadh on the 5th of October 2013. In it, I look at how to promote your app, how to go out and find users and how to potentially generate revenues. Hopefully it's useful - if you have any questions, all my contact info is on the final slide.

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Page 1: Some thoughts on promotion, marketing and revenue generation for people building apps

Eamonn CareyHead of Digital, MHP Communications

@[email protected]

05 October 2013

Marketing your app

Page 2: Some thoughts on promotion, marketing and revenue generation for people building apps

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My  first  love

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What  everyone  wants

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The  reality

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Before  we  start  -­‐  some  reality

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Pre-­‐launch  and  launch

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Product  market  fit

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Make  it  social

• Connect  to  Facebook,  Twi7er,  Game  Centre,  your  phonebook  or  anywhere  else  that  can  help  you  grow  your  userbase• Don’t  be  spammy!  These  are  powerful  tools.  Use  them  in  moderaEon• The  right  tools  can  be  used  as  a  direct  channel  to  your  market

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Talk  to  the  right  audience

• Research  where  your  potenEal  users  congregate  • Find  the  right  forums,  blogs  and  plaGorms• Engage  with  them

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Manufacture  scarcity  

• Create  demand  by  making  something  slightly  more  difficult  to  get• Don’t  make  it  impossible  or  una7ainable  for  normal  users,  but  just  ask  for  a  li7le  effort

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Remember

• Users  need  to  be  pulled  in  -­‐  they  will  not  find  you  just  because  you  think  they  will• Connect  with  users,  influencers,  bloggers  and  journalists  early  and  oNen  -­‐  don’t  annoy  them,  but  do  make  them  feel  that  their  opinion  is  valuable  • Use  TestFlight  or  other  apps  to  let  key  influencers  or  journalists  get  a  sneak  peek  at  your  app• A/B  test  -­‐  look  at  the  numbers  -­‐  see  what’s  working  and  what’s  not  and  learn  from  that• Examine  potenEal  partnerships  -­‐  you’re  in  a  room  with  some  very  smart  people  from  Mobily  -­‐  could  you  work  with  them,  a  local  brand  or  local  media  organisaEon?  

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Scaling  and  retenJon

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Using  your  users

• Can  you  use  your  users  to  grow?• Dropbox  generates  3m+  referral  links  a  month  -­‐  cheaper  than  paying  $233  to  $388  for  a  paying  subscriber  • As  before,  don’t  be  spammy  -­‐  make  it  worth  your  user’s  while

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Give  users  a  reason  to  come  back

• A  5%  increase  in  customer  retenEon  can  mean  a  30%  increase  in  profitability  for  companies• The  probability  of  selling  something  to  an  customer  is  60/70%,  with  new  users,  this  is  just  5%-­‐20%

16Source  -­‐  Bain/Market  Metrics

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Paid  search

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• A  hugely  effecEve  way  to  find  your  audience• CPA  costs  in  the  Middle  East  tend  to  be  slightly  lower  than  in  other  markets• No  shortage  of  inventory  or  networks  to  work  with

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How  much  does  a  user  cost?  

18Source  -­‐  Fiksu  indexes

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Talk  to  your  customers

• Simple,  automated  emails  create  a  feedback  loop  and  make  people  feel  valued• Incredibly  valuable  way  to  get  feedback  from  people  who  are  not  obliged  to  say  nice  things.  • ConEnue  to  engage  with  press,  bloggers,  influencers  and  others

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Remember

• Launching  your  product  is  only  the  start  • Most  apps  are  downloaded  and  used  less  than  10  Emes• The  best  way  to  counter  this  is  to  turn  your  users  into  your  biggest  advocates  -­‐  make  it  worth  their  while• Paid  search  is  an  amazing  way  to  juice  your  DAU  and  MAU  numbers,  but  it  can  be  a  false  economy  -­‐  you  want  recurring  users  rather  than  one-­‐off  downloads• Don’t  neglect  the  press,  media  and  influencers  you  culEvated  pre-­‐launch• Always  listen,  learn  and  adapt

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Revenues

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Why  don’t  apps  make  money

• Think  back  to  product  market  fit  -­‐  revenue  needs  to  be  something  you  think  about  before  you  start  -­‐  where  do  in-­‐app  purchases  happen,  where  are  ads/rewards/incenEves  relevant,  how  do  I  maintain  scale• Most  app  developers  are  not  salespeople• Mobile  adverEsing  and  IAP  ecosystem  is  sEll  growing

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The  opportunity

• Great,  well  designed  apps  which  are  well  thought  out  can  sEll  rise  to  the  top• Brands,  organisaEons  and  businesses  want  in  on  this  market• Huge  opportuniEes  exist  for  partnerships,  sponsorship  and  more• The  right  partners  not  only  deliver  revenues,  but  also  scale• The  mobile  adverEsing  ecosystem  is  gefng  more  robust  -­‐  CPA,  CPC  and  CPM  rates  are  increasing  and  bigger  brand  buys  are  happening  on  mobile

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In-­‐app  purchases

• Make  them  must-­‐haves• Does  it  tap  into  the  fear  of  missing  out?• Don’t  annoy  people  -­‐  make  sure  they  can  sEll  play  the  game  or  use  the  app  without  IAP• Keep  it  simple  -­‐  too  many  opEons  confuse  and  annoy  peopleExamples• Unlockable  secEons  or  tools• Unlimited  turns  or  lives• ‘Save  me’• Remove  ads  from  app

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In-­‐app  ads

25Source  -­‐  PlacePlay

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The  difficulty

• eCPM  rates  and  average  revenue  per  daily  acEve  user  (APRDAU)  are  low  outside  the  US• Lots  of  mobile  ads  are  poorly  designed,  lead  to  non-­‐mobile  desEnaEons  and  are  not  naEve  to  your  app• Customers  hate  mobile  ads

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The  opportunity

• More  and  more  mobile  ad  networks  are  coming  on  stream  every  day• Test,  test,  test  and  adapt  -­‐  look  who  is  offering  the  best  inventory

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NaJve  ads,  rewards  and  incenJves

• The  best  ads  are  ones  that  don’t  feel  like  ads• Rewards,  incenEves  and  in-­‐app  placement  works  incredibly  well

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The  big  opportunity  -­‐  partners

• Partners  have  scale,  budget  and  a  markeEng  machine  that  can  help  make  you  a  real  success• Sponsorship  markeEng  offers  both  partners  an  opportunity  to  win

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Remember

• Think  of  how  you’ll  generate  revenues  early  and  oNen• Look  at  ways  of  integraEng  the  revenue  generaEon  process  into  your  app  in  a  seamless  way• Talk  to  businesses  and  partners  -­‐  you’ll  find  a  lot  of  people  are  open  to  co-­‐promoEons,  sponsorships  and  more• Read  -­‐  there  are  countless  threads  on  Quora  and  arEcles  elsewhere  talking  about  new  methods  of  generaEng  revenues• Don’t  just  make  money  for  making  money’s  sake• Don’t  annoy  your  users

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