The document summarizes the key steps in the mobile app lifecycle from ideation through post-launch marketing. It discusses how two developers came up with the idea for an RSS reader app after identifying limitations in existing apps. It then outlines how they validated the market need, designed the app through documentation of business and functional requirements, and tested a beta version with friends matching the target audience.

1. Making and Marketing Mobile
Apps
Rachel Pasqua
11 January, 2012

2. About Rachel
Executive Director, Mobile @ Organic
14+ years digital, 12+years mobile
@rachelpasqua
linkedin.com/in/rachelpasqua
facebook.com/rachelpasqua
About.me/rachelpasqua
www.rachelpasqua.com
© ORGANIC 2012 . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

3. The Mobile App Lifecycle
3

4. The app ecosystem is highly competitive
Most app discovery and downloads happen within the native mobile app stores where
visibility is based almost entirely on how many downloads you have.
Rank = + +
Downloads
Today’s Yesterday’s
from
Downloads Downloads
2 days ago
A marketing strategy for any kind of mobile app needs to have a strong focus on driving
downloads.

5. Understanding discovery paths is essential
Most searches for apps start outside of traditional search channels.
A successful app marketing strategy focuses on the areas proven to be key channels for
reaching the right potential users.
How do you discover the apps you download – choose all that apply (% of
80%
respondents) iOS
70%
Android
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Browsing through top app Searching for a specific Word of mouth Seeing ads while using News articles or blogs A brand I know Other
store rankings type of app other apps introduces an app to me

6. But it’s not
just about downloads
The end goal for all brands that develop an app is engagement – an always-on
connection with a user and a permanent spot on their mobile desktop.
Most brands fail in this regard – the average app is used a handful of times before
being deleted. Less than 10% of apps see repeat usage 6 weeks after download.
Retained mobile app users per month – Android and iOS
Stats courtesy of Flurry, February 2010
50%
45% iOS
40% Android
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6

7. Content Strategy = Engagement
26% of app users are loyal customers – the ones that will use your app consistently and
become - and stay - connected with your brand.
Content Strategy focuses on identifying, understanding and communicating with these
customers and using their insight to inform app development and marketing.
Testing Researc
Organic utilizes active listening, market research and targeted
Testing app prototypes
with groups of target
user testing to develop and validate a content strategy for mobile
apps. h and
Competitive
analysis
users to validate content industry insights.
and functionality
Active Listening
Monitoring conversations in key social
spaces about a brand/app.

8. Media Strategy
Media Strategy results in a well-planned and carefully curated combination of
= Downloads
Bought, Earned and Owned media which together create the downloads required for
natural visibility and create a consistent level of awareness that captures new users.
Earned Media Bought Media
Targeted mobile advertising
Blogs, Directories, email, PR Organic utilizes active listening, market research and targeted
user testing to develop and validate a content strategy for mobile campaigns generate the high-
and other earned channels apps. volume downloads required to
promote awareness and brand
achieve rank.
advocacy.
.com
Owned Media
Brand Web site, branded content and social spaces
support natural search visibility and awareness.

9. The Mobile Application Lifecycle
A successful mobile app starts with a good idea – but making that idea a reality is a
complex process. To succeed in this competitive space, content owners must
understand the full extent of the mobile app lifecycle, from content strategy to post-
launch marketing. Usability Testing
Content Strategy
Results
applied to
Research dev. process
Development
Launch Plan
Bought Media
Validation
Beta Testing
Dev & QA
Design &
Ideation
Earned Media
Owned Media
Pre-launch Content Strategy Post-launch Media Strategy
Active Listening &
Analysis

10. Pre-launch: Content Strategy
10

11. Ideate: coming up with an app concept.
The idea for Zynked was born when two Apple geeks couldn't find an RSS Reader that
suited their needs. In the fall of 2009, there were 50+ RSS apps in iTunes...
… but most had limited functionality and relatively poor design.
Richard, a designer David, a developer
& … felt they could do better.

12. Validate: mapping concept to market
Dave and Rich did some research and discovered that most RSS apps:
•Lacked intuitive design
•Had no “image only” features
•Were data dependent
•Had no sharing functions
•No ability to categorize or organize feeds
•Would not allow adding of new feeds
•Did not support offline reading
The comments made on the pages of the most popular RSS apps in iTunes
proved that all these features were in demand among their target
audience of media professionals like themselves.

13. Design and Develop: documenting your process
Dave and Rich compiled their research into documentation that would define and steer the
project – a Business Requirements document and a Functional Requirements document.
Business Functional
Requirements Requirements
This document clearly defines: This document clearly defines:
• Who the intended audience • User experience
is • Content sourcing &
• What the app does approach
• Criteria for success (KPIs) • Tools, functions and features
Proper documentation enables you to remain focused on your original goals as you move through design and

14. Test: vetting your app with the intended audience
When a beta was ready, they asked a few friends who matched Zynked’s target
audience to test it, asking them questions like:
•Is it easy to navigate?
•Are the tools user-friendly?
•What feeds and categories we should add?
•What social sharing tools should be included?
•Do feeds load quickly?
•Are there tools or content that are missing?
The resulting feedback was applied to the final build
of the application.

15. Pre-launch take-aways
Ideate
• Understand your audience
• Focus on the user first and the brand second
• Understand the tools and content that will appeal to your target
Validation
• Make sure there is a market for your idea
• Understand the competitive environment
Design and Develop
• Document your process
User testing
• Vet a beta with your target audience and apply their feedback to iterative
development and improvements

16. Post-Launch: Marketing
16

17. Zynked for iOS launched for November of 2009
The developers knew they had built the very best RSS reader app for
iPhone.
Clearly, their high-quality app would outsell the competition.

18. But it didn’t. Not even close.
• Zynked went on sale for $2.99.
• Sold 1,723 copies in the first three weeks.
• By week 4, downloads had plummeted to almost
zero.
Stats showed that Zynked owners were heavy daily
users and App Store reviews were positive - quality
was not the issue.
The issue was visibility.
The initial friends & family download rush had
subsided and Zynked had sunk so deep in iTunes that
no one was seeing it.

19. Because you can’t buy what you can’t find.
So what could Zynked do to stand out?
Appearing in the New & What’s
Hot sections or Top lists is a
surefire way to get downloads.
Unfortunately, it’s also a matter of sheer luck or
having a close connection with Apple.

20. It’s a crowded and complex ecosystem
If you aren’t featured, your best bet is to appear on page 1 and no deeper than page 2
of your two categories. You also want to appear within the top two pages of results when
someone searches for your keywords.
Achieving this depends heavily - if not entirely - on the number downloads you have.
At 10+ pages deep, Zynked was practically invisible.

21. How many downloads do you need?
No one knows for sure - according to the developer community, your rank is based
on the last 3-4 days of downloads, with today’s mattering the most.
+ + +
Rank =
Downloads Recent
Today’s Yesterday’s
from Usage/Engageme
Downloads Downloads
2 days ago nt
Recently however, there are whispers that it’s not just all about downloads
anymore – that how often your app gets used is factored into your rank as well.
So you need to drive downloads and encourage repeat usage.

22. So content owners face a catch-22
To get downloads, you need high visibility. And to get high visibility, you need
downloads. To achieve this, you have two options:
1million
sold!
Strike a deal directly with Apple to be featured in Make great apps, sell a lot of them
iTunes and/or advertising campaigns – cost and keep users coming back –
prohibitive for many and unachievable for most. easier said than done.

23. Success = leveraging Bought/Earned/Owned
The key to driving downloads and engagement is to create the right
combination of Bought, Earned and Owned media for each unique application.
Storefronts
Bought Earned On-pack
Owned
.com
WOM
Bought media Earned media Owned media
Advertising channels Findability, awarenes Findability, awarenes
that create visibility s and s and
and drive downloads positive/negative positive/negative
of a mobile app – brand perception brand perception
includes driven by word of driven by word of
display, search, spon mouth, social mouth, social
sored spaces, natural spaces, natural
content, reviews, etc. search, blogosphere search, blogosphere
and press/media. and press/media. 23

24. The symbiotic balance is the same for any app
Bought drives the initial downloads required for visibility. Earned and Owned create an
organic framework that drives awareness and engagement over the long term.
As Earned and Owned tactics ramp up, Bought can scale down to a maintenance level.
LAUNCH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 …..
12
Bought
Bought
Bought
Bough Bought
Bought t
Earned
Earned &
Earned & &
Owned Owned
Earned &
Earned &
Earned &
Owned
Owned Owned Owned
Ongoing tracking, conversation monitoring and analysis

25. Bought Media: Premium Options
A significant Bought media spend – e.g. $50K+ per month for the first 6-8 weeks
post launch can generate enough downloads to propel an app into the top 25
apps in its main category or higher. Many of the top networks now offer
specialized cost-per-download or cost per install campaigns for app promotion.
25

26. Bought Media: Affordable Options
Since Zynked has a very small media budget, we explored more affordable
options, including paid video demos, incentivized reviews, and banner ads on app
directories.
Lots of
Downloads
Easy High
High
Discovery App Store
For Users App
Rank
Store
Multiplier Effect Rank
of
Bought Media
26

27. Owned Media: App Store Real Estate
The most important owned space is your app store landing page – this is where the
majority of users convert! The key is to ensure that it contains all the right keywords
and content to attract people searching for your particular type of app.
An estimated 80% of app search happens within the
App store.

28. Owned Media: Keyword Research
For Zynked, we identified the top RSS apps, assessed their content and compared the
keywords used to those used for Zynked. This enabled us to add what was missing as
well as to assess opportunities to add a few strong keywords that no one else had.
App Store SERPs show 5 results per search above the fold on
smartphones and 12 on tablets. The process of digging deeper than
the first page is very cumbersome, increasing users’ reliance on first-
page results.

29. Most placed in the searchusebyan consumer must all be found in one of your
The words
app stores box the exact search model
searchable fields. Understanding how consumers search for you here is extremely
important.
Example: a search for “NY Times” vs. a search
for “NY Times Newspaper”

30. Owned Media: App Metadata
Keep in mind that you can only change certain metadata when you submit a new build -
but you can’t submit a new build just to change the metadata.
Up to 4000 characters for App
Description but no more than 700
recommended (not searchable
but visible to users via iTunes)
100 characters only for
keywords including spaces and
commas (hidden)
Company name (hidden) Up to 250 characters
for App Name

31. Owned Media: Categorical Positioning
Zynked kept News as the primary category but switched the secondary category from
Utilities to Productivity where there is more demand for media-management tools.

32. Owned Media: Brand Web Site, Microsites
An app should have a dedicated, search-optimized page
on the brand Web site that illustrates benefits and links
directly to the download page in iTunes – these
awareness elements create rich SEO content.

33. Earned Media: Directory Submission
Zynked paid for expedited placement in the directories we deemed most valuable.
This effort was key in driving traffic back to our owned space (landing page) in the
App Store.

34. Earned Media: Influencer Outreach
We contacted high profile mobile app and gadget blogs with a promo code and a polite
request for a review on their Web site and in iTunes. We also invested in several press
releases.
Premium app developers should always include a promo
code that enables the reviewer to obtain a free copy.
Apple provides you with 50 promo codes for this purpose
with submission of a new app or an update.

35. Earned Media: Relationship and Link Building
We followed up on our requests for listings and/or reviews to ensure that we had back links in
place to our App Store landing page and Web site.
Any content that mentions an app favorably is an
opportunity to drive downloads – building links to these
sites is an important part of app marketing strategy
(mentions should always include the iTunes direct
download link).

36. Earned Media: Twitter
40% of tweets come from a mobile device – these users are 1 click away from a
download. For Zynked, we created a unique Twitter identity but tweeting from your
brand account can be just as effective.
Tweeting regularly about an app, or, if
appropriate, creating a unique Twitter
identity for an app, generates general
awareness and spreads the word.

37. Earned Media: Facebook
Here we posted about the new version, its features and the many benefits of using
Zynked, plus our ideas for the next release. For brands with an existing Facebook
Page a custom tab is also a great idea.
Dedicated Facebook pages and/or tabs
enable app developers to generate
awareness and keep fans up to date on new
features and content.

38. Earned Media: Social Sharing Tools
This turned every user into a brand ambassador and every tweet and share into an
endorsement for Zynked within their social graph.

39. Earned Media: Community Management
Prior to launch, Zynked was tested not just for bugs but for validity.
The content owners put beta builds in front of people they knew who matched the
target demographics and we asked them:
•Would you buy this app?
•What would you change?
•What would you add?
They responded to every Facebook post and tweet.
They took every review seriously. And applied what
they learned to making a better app.

40. Zynked ran Paid Media for 1 month.
The effect on rank and sales was obvious - from an average of 0-5 downloads per day to
between 50-70. But once the spend was over, sales went right back to almost zero.
Daily downloads from January 15th 2010 to February 18 2010
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

41. Campaign Results
In one month of paid media placements and incentivized reviews, Zynked
went from less than 20 downloads per month to 700.
But the content owners were still barely breaking even.
Price of Zynked: $2.99
- CPA: $1.99
Profit: $1.00
- 30% Apple rev share: $.89
Final Profit: $.11
Zynked moved up in natural search results page for the keyword “RSS”.
But the lift would only last as long as spend continued.
Note: Apple’s rev share is 30% of sales – not 30% of profit

42. Increased sales did equal increased natural visibility
Daily downloads + rank from January 15th 2010 to February 18 2010
Downloads Rank
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
4-Feb
15-Jan
16-Jan
17-Jan
19-Jan
20-Jan
21-Jan
22-Jan
23-Jan
24-Jan
25-Jan
26-Jan
27-Jan
28-Jan
29-Jan
30-Jan
31-Jan
1-Feb
2-Feb
3-Feb
5-Feb
6-Feb
7-Feb
8-Feb
9-Feb
11-Feb
18-Jan
10-Feb
12-Feb
13-Feb
14-Feb
15-Feb
As our downloads increased our rank moved into double-digits but we never
cracked the top 50.

43. Meanwhile, Earned and Owned ramped up
Despite a noticeable dip when the Paid campaign ended, we began to see another
uptick as the Earned and Owned tactics fell into place. Zynked never rose higher than
6 pages deep again, and the numbers were lower by half but we still saw consistent
downloads over time through Earned and Owned efforts alone.
Daily downloads from February 19th 2010 to March 22, 2010
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

44. In the end, Zynked became a free application.
In the Spring of 2010, we withdrew the premium version of Zynked and re-launched as
a free app with iAD. This version generated more profits than the premium version ever
did.
The efforts of a sustained Paid, Earned and Owned
media strategy were too much for a small mom &
pop content owner.
But there’s no question that they worked.

45. Key take-aways for launching a new app
• Do your keyword research assess competitors and similar apps – don’t rely solely on
brand keywords
Pre-launch
• Use that research to build keyword rich app store metadata
• Create a list of target blogs and app directories
• Create a dedicated Web page or separate site for your app
• Plan and budget your Bought media
• Plan your Twitter strategy
• Plan your Facebook strategy
• Test a beta with your target audience – and be ready to make some adjustments
based on their feedback
• Integrate sharing tools into the interface of your app
• Submit to app directories
Post-launch
• Reach out to influential bloggers and request reviews
• Use Google alerts to keep track of every mention of your app
• Request back links from every place your app is favorably mentioned
• Tweet, blog and post to Facebook
• Engage your users and respond to their feedback
• Apply what you learn to future iterations of your app

46. 3 key tips for improving an existing app
Assess your visibility inside the App Store/s
• Are your keywords on target?
• Have you created engaging and keyword-rich App Store content?
Assess your visibility outside the App Store/s
• Is your app listed in the popular directories?
• Has it been reviewed by top app sites and niche blogs in your vertical?
• Have you created branded web content to promote it?
• Do you know where your app is being mentioned?
• Are you using your social spaces to maximize awareness?
Connect with your customers
• Conduct usability testing to validate your content
• Engage your customers in social spaces
• Listen to what they have to say
• Enable them to evangelize your product throughout their social graph
• …and connect with influencers who can spread the word

47. Mobile app marketing program snapshot
Content marketing strategy in the pre-launch phase and tactical execution of
marketing initiatives post launch. Pre and post launch initiatives work in harmony to
drive download and1engagements.
MONTH 2 3 4 5 6 …
Usability testing Market Research Ongoing content strategy
Content Strategy
Promotional campaign and content Promotional campaign execution and content
planning & development seeding
LAUNCH
Bought media planning Ongoing campaign execution, management
Bought
Ad asset concepting & creative and reporting
Keywords and SEO App store Post-launch SEO
Planning metadata and copy (link building & optimization)
Owned
Owned Media Recommendations Engagement in Social Spaces
(Web site, social spaces)
Outreach planning
Earned Influencer & Directory Outreach
Optimization of PR, Email etc.
Active Listening Dashboards

48. The future is already here - it’s
just not evenly distributed yet.
- William Gibson