Application entrepreneurs may no doubt wonder how to find their spot in a crowded market, particularly on a budget.

App development is at its peak among creators, and it can be difficult to know where exactly to begin when it comes to receiving the most amount of promotion for your app for the least amount of money.

Luckily, there are numerous free ways to boost your app’s recognition without breaking your budget.

Use Your Website or Microsite to Your Advantage

Whether you’ve chosen to use one of the many free website opportunities available, or you’ve already begun a paid website or microsite, this crucial first step in promoting your app provides many opportunities to introduce consumers to your product.

These sites allow app developers to offer giveaways, newsletters, and email exclusives, as well as a place to post testimonials. Seek out technology bloggers for write-ups, and keep a blog of your own. Make sure to post regular updates and insider peeks, and don’t forget to network with other developers online.

They may choose to write about your product on their own blogs (and you may choose to write about theirs), providing yet another marketing opportunity — all for free.

Give Bloggers and Influencers an Incentive to Review your App

There are plenty of bloggers out there who are looking for great content to write about, and many of them frequently do app reviews or roundups.

By offering a free premium account (assuming you have a premium version) in exchange for a review, you can put your app in the hands of people with a following in your audience.

To do this, make a list of every influencer in your niche who does product reviews (a few Google searches can help with this), grab their contact info, and send them an email or a series of emails using an email tool like Mailshake.com.

When offering something for free, you’d be surprised how many bloggers would be happy to review your app for their audience. This is great free publicity.

Appropriately Use Social Media Platforms

It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle of Facebook and Twitter discourse, but if you maintain an engaging, exciting presence on relevant social media platforms, it can be a prime place to boost your app’s audience, as well as offer another place to network.

Be aware of the trends in social media, react accordingly, and keep your target demographic in mind for the greatest success.

Tease Your Audience

Teaser videos can be shared across all of your online tools, and have become incredibly popular in the app world.

Depending on your app, and your videography resources, your teaser may take the form of anything from an animated short story to a simple preview showing audiences the workings of your app.

Rather than paying a lot of money, you can use many of the same resources for your teaser video that you used to create your app. Get creative, and even involve friends or family, if necessary.

Focus on App Store Optimization

Don’t underestimate the importance of an attention-grabbing title and description in the app store, or in any place where you’ve presented your app.

Think about the words you use and how they might relate to your audience’s searches. You also want to say exactly how your app differs from the other options available to searchers, and include release notes. This is the place to post screenshots and teasers, as well as customer feedback.

After already devoting time and money to your app’s development, it’s important to consider every mention of your app as a marketing opportunity. Before spending money on marketing, take stock of the resources that you already have at your disposal.

You may be surprised to learn that you can have a successful app launch without spending a dime.

About Josh
Josh Elkin is the founder of Best Coast Marketing – a marketing agency which helps increase their clients’ traffic through organic link-building. Josh enjoys writing about entrepreneurship, marketing, productivity and self-improvement.

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