3 Ways to Engineer Your App’s Growth

 

You’ve taken the initial plunge, building a dynamic and user-friendly app — now, how can you jump start its growth?

“Growth Hacking” is one of those buzzwords that gets thrown around a lot in the startup world. But what does it actually mean?

Essentially, growth hacking is the combination of marketing and technology that utilizes creative, low-cost solutions to efficiently grow a business. Growth hackers meticulously tweak every possible variable to determine how best to sustain rapid, viral, and inexpensive growth.

Successful app developers rely on affordable growth hacking to expand their user base and translate interest into actual downloads. Ensure that your next app finds its way out of the app store and onto thousands or even millions of smartphones with these top growth hacking tips.

1. A/B Testing

A/B testing is a simple and efficient way to test your app’s functionality, comparing two iterations of your app to determine which is more effective. Users are directed to one of two versions, and you can monitor how the changes you’ve made to Version B perform against Version A. This process, which provides a useful method of modifying and tracking the impact of different features, is essential to a successful growth hacking campaign.

2. App Store Localization

Consider localizing your app in a variety oflanguages to expand its appeal to a global, non-anglophone user base. Free services like Google Translate provide users with an easy-to-use service that can translate your app copy into over 100 different languages. Google Translate isn’t always perfectly accurate, however, so focus on translating keywords rather than entire app descriptions if you decide to use an automated translator. This approach could yield significant results: localizing your app can increase downloads by as much as 200%, according to App Masters.

3. Paid-to-Free Campaign

App Masters and Entrepreneur both agree that running a paid-to-free campaign — in which a paid app is offered for free for a short period of time — is a great way to boost downloads of your app. If your app is already free to download but includes potential in-app purchases, consider making these features free for a limited time. And get the word out about your paid-to-free campaign by contacting websites or blogs that attract app-savvy consumers, such as AppAdvice, Gizmodo, or TechCrunch. Offering exclusive news on your paid-to-free campaign can quickly attract thousands of new eyes to your app.

While launching and publicizing your paid-to-free campaign, create a database of new users’ email addresses. You may not be generating tangible profit with a paid-to-free campaign, but the wave of new downloads it produces can be leveraged to drive your app’s growth. A concrete way to convert these new downloads into dedicated users is through email marketing, which encourages increased user engagement by keeping customers informed of updates to existing apps along with new apps you’ve developed.

By implementing these simple strategies — from A/B testing and localization to paid-to-free campaigning — your app should see a surge in new downloads. That’s right: making your app the next viral sensation is only a growth hack away.

Don’t have your own app yet? No worries, and no prior coding experience required! Check out AppMakr’s DIY platform for your one-way ticket to the top of the app stores.