So you’re building the ultimate on-demand platform for an under-serviced marketplace where you provide excellent value for your buyers and sellers. Even with strategy and development on point, you ‘ll need a marketing budget to drive Apple App and Google Play store downloads.
Five Marketing Methods and their Cost
There are several ways to boost app downloads and adoption. Let’s take a look at a few and what they cost.
Promotional Websites
Budget $2k to put up a simple WordPress website. Once your site is up, post about your platform and its development through well-written posts and media. Register social media accounts around your app to build a community. Get in touch with popular tech platforms; some might review your app for free, but publishing a sponsored post can be expensive (sites like VentureBeat charge as much as $6k per article while smaller platforms charge as little as $100 per post). Generating pre-launch buzz may also help you get noticed by the App Store and Google Play editors.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising includes social-media advertising, in-app ads and AdWords campaigns which drive traffic to your website and acquire early adopters. Budget at least $10k to drive traffic via Google AdWords. Most paid advertising-cost estimates exceed $1 per download; an expensive proposition given there is no guarantee a download will translate into revenue. Paid advertising can easily exceed build cost; that’s why most start-ups focus on alternative marketing techniques.
App Videos
An app trailer video can make or break your business. With Photoshop and After Effects, you can make an amateur video for negligible cost. You should enlist the help of a professional to ensure it looks credible and provides persuasive info that captures your app’s essence. A high-quality CGI video trailer with an original soundtrack will cost at least $10k.
App-Store Optimization (ASO)
ASO is only thing stopping your new app from getting lost in a morass of millions. A distinctive and informative icon, App Video, SEO-savvy title and description with awesome screenshots and excellent reviews are essential. Address these items early in the dev process with professional help. A good developer will defray much of the need to outsource additional help, but you should budget at least $2k -$5k to build your app’s profile in an ASO friendly manner.
Influencer Marketing
In an age when celebrities charge hundreds of thousands for promotional Instagram posts, influencer marketing cannot be ignored. The average company makes over $6 on every $ 1 spent on influencers. Study your target market to choose influencers your audience looks up to. It’ll cost anywhere from nothing to thousands to get reviewed by a specialized influencer.
What does it Really Cost?
Budget least $30k broken down as follows:
- $10k on Google AdWords;
- $4k-$6k to hire an experienced WordPress developer and content manager to handle the blogging;
- $2k to $4k on ASO, but you might need to spend considerably less if you hired a leading developer
- $5k to publish several sponsored posts on platform websites;
- Hiring influencers will add another $ 1k to $10k.
No marketing spend will work unless your app is performs well and offers real convenience. Focus on quality and implement your marketing strategy early. For more on marketing your app, read our post here.
This blog is very helpful to me and my team who are in middle of looking for marketing experts for our app. Thank you for the topic!