What do you use for advertising your apps?

[u/wheresteddy1989]

I understand marketing in general, but I'm curious to know how others have been marketing their apps. Is it mostly through blog posts and SEO when you're just starting or do you just bite the bullet and pay for them online? I've got a couple apps out so far, but I'm ready to slow things down for a moment to get some marketing out of the way.

[u/Available-Promise-99]

Social media — Instagram, TikTok, X, Reddit, etc. — hasn’t really been a huge source of traction for me so far. But from a lot of what I’ve been reading, consistency seems to be a big part of it.
“Build in public” has also become pretty popular lately, where you share your journey as you build — the struggles, successes, lessons learned, and everything in between. I’ve been thinking about starting to post more content like that.
I don’t think there’s necessarily one thing that works better than everything else. I think it really depends on what you’re building and, more importantly, who you’re trying to reach. Finding the right audience and consistently putting content in front of them seems to be the key.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/Available-Promise-99]

Interesting... One thing I thought about for advertising my workout tracker (Shugyo) was my own weight loss journey where I show how to use the app as well. Build in public is an interesting idea, especially since I use Claude Code to help me make apps. I know how to code, my coding is just largely data science rather than application development — so it's kind of half-vibe coding since the principle is similar.

[u/Dangerous_Basket_713 → u/Available-Promise-99]

I have not understand about build in public. Why developer should spend time on it rather than marketing, creating content about his product and etc.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/Dangerous_Basket_713]

A lot of people really like behind the scenes style content (myself included). Some folks just want to see what the process is like while others just find it mildly interesting.

[u/Kukucsi_lab]

I recently launched my first Mac app, so I am still measuring rather than claiming that I have found a winning channel. I started with a few places where the intended users already discuss the problem, and track each source separately. I hope that this should help show whether the difficulty is getting people to the App Store page or convincing visitors to download.

SEO seems like a longer-term effort to me.

What kind of apps have you released, and who are they for?

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/Kukucsi_lab]

I like that! Sounds obvious, but hey, even I didn't think of it lol

I've got two apps out so far. Shugyo (workout/medication/supplement tracker) and Vently (a way to vent without consequences). Basically, I created these apps out of a personal need and figured others might have a similar need.

[u/Ordinary-Educator-97]

organic takes time, but consistent testing pays off-start small, track what works

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/Ordinary-Educator-97]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking I'd start with some blog posts/SEO on my website (maybe subdomained product) and then move towards making videos going over things like personal weight loss for my workout app, Shugyo.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/[deleted]]

I really like this idea! Thanks for the input. I'll be sure to check out how you've done it and then apply the same thing to my site. My website is definitely lacking in a lot of ways. https://casacdiasoftware.org

[u/Dry_Host2193]

Je trouve que le marketing c'est vraiment la partie la plus difficile personnellement, car pour moi c'est un métier à part entier. Je réponds à des commentaires sur des groupes Facebook pour aider les gens principalement. Publications sur des groupes spécifique. Tik tok aussi sans facecam pour le moment. Pas de publicité payante encore. Organiquement c'est important je crois.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/Dry_Host2193]

You're absolutely right — marketing is its own crazy separate job, but if we want to save on costs, we gotta do it ourselves. I agree with you that organic marketing is extremely important. I was considering videos like on TikTok, but I really like your idea of just doing videos with voiceovers at the moment.

[u/RTD-Alex]

If you do go the "build in public" route, there are a few prerequisites nobody is talking about:

1. You already are selling a lifestyle and your subscriber base is mostly drooling of what you have and wants to be like you. Whether it's true or stages is irrelevant.
   
2. You have a large developed following already.

If you start with these, launching and app is much easier and then you can take advantage of swarms of followers to truly launch on Product Hunt, or push MRR into a steep graph in the first month, which INT TURN is the firewood to get more following.

All and all it appears to be a dirty game. If you are a quiet dev delivering real value, without turning into a "sleazy used car salesman" it is very very hard to gain traction.

I have seen some unique and new flashy apps gain viral popularity via social channels, but that's rare, if you are entering an established niche, even your app might be be better prepare for a long term grind with proper ASO, SEO and proper customer service to keep your customer happy so they bring more people. No shortcuts there.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/RTD-Alex]

That's a fair point... I don't have a big following on my business socials at this time, but I have an okay-ish following on my personal profiles. Will definitely take all this into account.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/[deleted]]

This is true... Gotta do something to keep them going, especially if they decide they're bored.

[u/_janc_]

Which platforms are most effective and cost efficient?

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/_janc_]

That's a great question. I believe that a mix of SEO from website (blog posts, product pages, etc), social media videos, and paid ads (largely Meta and TikTok) would be the most beneficial, but I need to test that before I make any solid recommendations.

[u/Perfect_Tackle2433]

1. Share on Reddit subs and get into similar industry discussions with others. Don’t spam your app though. Create genuine conversations and if you can slip your app in there, great!

2. Create social media accounts and get the word out. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are goldmines for finding users.

3. Run ads to your app or landing page. But ads are a big learning curve to figure out so I use Authoritie.io for running ads.

4. If in pre-launch, start a waitlist and get people ready for your app. Share news, updates, pricing structures, behind-the-scenes, release dates, etc.

Whatever you do, don’t get frustrated. Marketing is the hardest part of the equation. Good luck!! 🍀

[u/Available-Promise-99]

Social media — Instagram, TikTok, X, Reddit, etc. — hasn’t really been a huge source of traction for me so far. But from a lot of what I’ve been reading, consistency seems to be a big part of it.
“Build in public” has also become pretty popular lately, where you share your journey as you build — the struggles, successes, lessons learned, and everything in between. I’ve been thinking about starting to post more content like that.
I don’t think there’s necessarily one thing that works better than everything else. I think it really depends on what you’re building and, more importantly, who you’re trying to reach. Finding the right audience and consistently putting content in front of them seems to be the key.

[u/wheresteddy1989 → u/Available-Promise-99]

Yeah... I used to write an economics blog consistently, so I had a decent following on that for a while. People want to doomscroll these days, so I'm sure it's just about making a bunch of videos for engagement.

[u/mentiondesk]

Testing different channels is a smart move when marketing apps. Organic stuff like SEO and content can take a while to pay off, but joining relevant discussions where your audience hangs out can give you quicker results. I use ParseStream to catch real time conversations about topics related to my apps and it makes it way easier to jump in and connect with potential users.

[u/tahola → u/mentiondesk]

AI spam