help! cheap installs for my own app? (9)
So I have a question for you guys - I did an app reskin as part of a competition that is judged on your position in the app store. So I need to get a good number of installs cheaply. The ad revenue sucks and I don't expect to profit, I just want to win 
I set up a campaign at chartboost, but they want a minimum bid of .90 per install, which is more that I want to pay. I don't want to/can't drop a bunch of cash on this. I'm reaching out to some niche sites to see if I can get a mention. I set up a test campaign at admob to see if I can get some cheap installs there, but no traffic so far. Perhaps the .01 bid isn't high enough...
Anyway, this is the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lime...897177167?mt=8
Curious if you guys have any suggestions on how to get my numbers up quickly for cheap. They don't need to be active users, just good enough to move up the app store. The contest ends on the 31st and I know I'm behind at the moment!
Thanks!!
Have you tried getting incentive installs ? Try Tapjoy. (but even they have become very expensive)
To be honest, the App landscape has changed a lot lately. There are a LOT of big studios now dropping large budgets to try and get traction.
You could Try facebook when you own the app and can give fb direct link to the itunes/google play store they give you a nice looking ad without like buttons to waste budget on.
Also i sent you a pm
Theres a lot of free directories for apps, you might want to try submitting yours to them
I don't think you can really do much at 1 cent an install. You usually can't even get clicks at that price, not to mention conversions or installs.
Hey Redux,
I develop iOS apps as well and do decently off the app store (one app did 100k in downloads already). Here are some pointers I can share with you..
A lot of mods on here have been so helpful to me so this is my chance to give back
First off, your focused on promoting the app and getting downloads, but by visiting your app store link I noticed that your app presentation is not good. If you spend money now for installs its likely not going to work very well because once users hit the app store they won't convert into downloads. Remember your app store page is your sales page and you have to optimize every element of it.
1) Your App Icon - Your icon doesn't illustrate what the game is about, it kind of looks like a wallpaper for hawaii. Try an icon that visually illustrates what the app is about. I wouldn't be able to deduce that the app is a game about catching lemons with a coconut from that icon. Try something like this, quickly mocked this up. In order to get them to install they app they have to first want to click on the icon, so remember the icon is the entry point to your conversion funnel / install funnel.
2) App Store Screen Shots - You have 2 screen shots, and they don't quite illustrate what the app is about (just like with your icon). Remember you have to sell the user on the idea that your app is going to be amazing and fun. Think about your first screen having some ad copy like "Look Out! Incoming Limes! How many will you catch?" (This ad copy is super shitty but i'm coming up with this as I type lol). 2nd Screen - Show Levels, Tons of Action, 3 screen - Testimonials, etc. You need to utilize all 5 Screen Shots in the app store.
3) App Title & Description - Your app title needs more punch. I would revise it to something like "Lime Drop - Catch Flying Limes with Your Coconut!". Also consider that having keywords in your title can help you rank in the app store so try and incorporate them into your app name. Your description needs a lot more copy and pizazz. Check out the descriptions for apps that are in the top of the app store for some ideas, you will get how they sell the user on downloading the app. Remember your app description is basically your sales letter convincing the user to download.
4) Focus on Making a Good Product - In order to rank and stay up in the app store you need to have a decent product. You can't really game the rankings in the app store by getting a ton of downloads because that will only work temporarily. As soon as apple sees that your app is being uninstalled a lot, or users are never coming back to it, they will start pushing you back down the charts.
5) Steal Good Marketing Techniques - For example: I will spend hours downloading and playing with the top apps in the app store just to see how they are monetizing inside the app, how they present their up sells, in- app purchases, placements of ads, types of ads, etc because I know if its working for them it can work for me.
If you want to make good money from an app I would suggest focusing on creating a fun app that keeps users coming back. After Apple acquired Chomp to improve their app store ranking algorithm things have become difficult. You can no longer just flood downloads and stay ranked. You need a decent app, good engagement, and that combined with burst campaigns will help you rank. Also never underestimate what good reviews and ratings can do for you.
Final Protips: Get reviews from different phones, Apple tracks IPs. Keywords in your reviews can influence app store rank, Reviews and Ratings are given a probationary period before they influence your app store ranking - its no longer immediate.
Sort out the above mentioned stuff, then focus on getting cheap clicks cause they are more likely to convert into long term users. Right now you are going to spend money to send traffic to an app that a lot of people may not download.
Hope that helps bro!
Originally Posted by krisicash
Also i sent you a pm
BUT
Facebook is not charging additional clicks for likes on these ads when bidding CPC.
This is the only ad type of FB with this nuance.
I believe FB wanted to unify their ad offerings and social context/action buttons but didn't want to upset the mobile app install balance (all CPIs would have probably gone up!)
You are going to struggle for super cheap app installs if you want to rank high in the US charts.
What's the prize?
damn, thanks for the replies guys! much appreciated, awesome info!
@deondup - haven't looked into incent - I'll check them out
@krisicash/@zeno- FB looks like it might be worth throwing a few bucks at to see what happens. thanks for the tip on the ad likes, that could be a good way to increase the reach
@sanjeevan - dude awesome post, thank you! all good ideas. I did rush through the app icon and screenshots, I'll definitely update those. I know the name sucks too, and at first I did have a longer name but Apple rejected it. I just needed approval so I shortenend it up. The biggest issue with making any app changes in the short term is apple is averaging a week to approve, so I will make them and I'm sure they will help long term, they won't be live in time to effect installs for the deadline. Good tips though and I'll work on them!
@vidivo - ah yeah good call, that might give me a few installs too!
@humbleaid - yeah, i wish I could find 1c installs, haha. nah my bid on admob was 1c cpc. my ads suck though - gonna fix that today.
@mr. green - yeah that's kind of what I'm gathering. you mean i can't spend $100 on a cheap reskinned app and make $50k a day? damn. haha. the prize is a few grand worth of source codes - not huge which is why I don't want to spend a ton on it. but since I entered the contest, I really don't like losing, so there's that misplaced sense of pride
that gives me a few things to do for sure though! thanks!
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