

Why won't anyone buy my apps? - davidstallard

So I'm pretty new to the world of software development but I believe I've put together at least a couple of good apps for Android, but getting found in the Android Market is a joke. I've tried getting apps reviewed by review websites but this has its own set of challenges, so now what do I do to get word out about my apps and get people downloading them?<p>Here's an example of one of my apps - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.platinumapps.platinumtasks&#38;feature=search_result<p>All suggestions &#38; feedback welcome.
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revorad
No one's said the magic word yet, so I'll bite: Freemium?

Replace the gray checkbox app icon with a smart looking man/woman winning at
life all thanks to Platinum Tasks.

Give us a promo code to try it for free, so that we can post reviews.

Note in the search results for "Google tasks", a lot of the apps on the first
page also have "to do list" in their names. Maybe yours should too.

See this discussion for more ideas -
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2768376>

And don't give up. The thing with selling is, _you've got to sell_.

~~~
davidstallard
Great advice, thanks for the insight. Would love to look at Freemium but flat
out working on other improvements and functionality at the moment to include
it, but here's an idea - do you think (in your opinion, and anyone else who is
reading) that doing a short-term promotion here and reducing the app to $0.99
(the lowest price I can make it, because it's not possible to swap between
paid and free in Android Market) would be enough to entice people who read
about the app here to try it and provide reviews to help get the word out?

I'll certainly spend time working on the wording in the Market listing to see
if we can get moved up closer to the top, or at least start appearing on the
first page and I'll also check out that link. Thanks again for your feedback,
I really do appreciate it.

~~~
revorad
Can you make a free version with reduced functionality, called, say, Gold
Tasks? Cross promote from there or do in-app purchases/upgrades if Android has
that.

~~~
davidstallard
Yeah that's sounding like a pretty good idea so people can get a feel for the
app and then hopefully upgrade to get some of the more advanced functionality.
Thanks for the feedback.

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becomevocal
I tend to only download apps that are recommended to me, since random
downloads have never worked out so great. For instance, the one I use now for
task management is called Wunderlist. Google them and see how much effort they
put into their marketing and brand. It works!

I'd suggest using them as a template for how to arrange your marketing / user
adoption and go from there.

Best of luck!

~~~
davidstallard
Thanks for the advice - I'll definitely take a look at Wunderlist and see what
we can learn from them. Much appreciated.

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latch
This isn't really my forte, but, if it helps..

Since you're tablet-focused, and we have an upcoming Amazon Tablet, any chance
you can leverage some of Amazon's promotional techniques with their store
(keeping <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2837185> in mind, of course)

~~~
davidstallard
Yeah I've heard plenty of horror stories about the Amazon Store and that link
you provided is a good example, plus there are plenty of others out there too.
Once the Amazon tablet arrives it may be worth looking at it again because
everyone is obviously tipping it to be a huge seller thanks to the popularity
of Amazon, so we'll definitely have a look. Thanks for the advice.

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yllus
When I search for "Google tasks" in the Android Market, you're not on the
first page of results. If you can't break in that way, and you don't have some
spit-take inspiring new feature that would generate special press, you're
simply going to get lost in the crowd.

~~~
davidstallard
Yep, I agree, being on the first page would certainly be helpful with people
finding the app, but trying to game the keywords system CAN result in the app
being suspended so I'd rather not risk it.

While the app doesn't have a revolutionary feature, the design & functionality
are exceptional (from customer e-mails, not just my thoughts) and it does what
it's meant to do, well, and the feedback I get from customers is
overwhelmingly positive.

Another issue: Google still haven't made it possible to submit app reviews on
Android tablets (you have to go to the Android Market website) and given this
app is for tablets, it means users aren't writing reviews which would
certainly be helpful.

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chc
You appear to be targeting the Android tablet market exclusively. That's a
pretty small segment (Android beats iOS in phone sales, but appears not to be
doing well in tablets), so don't be surprised if phone-friendly apps get a lot
more users.

~~~
davidstallard
Yeah, we deliberately targeted Android tablets because of the functionality &
user-experience we could deliver on the larger screen, but you're right to say
Android tablets haven't caught on as fast and Android phones have. Hopefully
they'll take off as better devices become available (as was the case with
Android phones - remember the G1?) but until then we just need to try and
reach all the current Android tablet users. Thanks for the feedback.

~~~
gcheong
I co-developed a paid app on the iOS app store and we have and iPhone and iPad
version. The iPhone version sells on the order of 10 times the iPad version.
We also have an android phone version which probably sells about the same as
our iPad version. So I would agree with the analysis that an app that targets
Android tablets exclusively at this point is probably aiming at a very small
market.

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Guzba
One thing--the curved edges feel very iOS'ey, Android is usually characterized
by less to no rounding. Probably less for your case. Other than that it looks
great.

~~~
davidstallard
Thanks for the feedback. We focused on the design with the goal of designing
an app that is not only functional & easy-to-use but also looks slick, which
isn't as common in the Android Market as it is in the iTunes App Store.
Hopefully users will notice the difference between this app and other apps
that are built by without the same consideration, and so the challenge
continues.

~~~
Guzba
The only reason I said anything was because I noticed how much you had put
into making the app look as good as it does (very good). Everyone's a critic,
right? :)

~~~
davidstallard
Yep, everyone is a critic :-) Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.

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mkr-hn
Have you done any promotion outside review sites? Try emailing Lifehacker and
some of the major Android-centric blogs.

~~~
davidstallard
Not much so far, but will certainly drop Lifehacker a line and focus on
reaching out to Android-centric blogs. Thanks for the advice.

------
atomicdog
>I've tried getting apps reviewed by review websites

Which review websites? And did you write to them asking nicely to be featured
or did you give them a "back-hander?"

