Launching anything is scary. Launching something you have poured your heart into can be downright guy wrenching. The highs and lows, the ascents and the free falls, this is the life of launching.
You want people to love this thing you’ve worked so hard for. You want them to find joy in it the same way you do.
Scared?
In all of this uncertainty, here are a few tips from my experience in launching Apps that may help you clarify and enjoy the experience.
Define Success, Be Realistic
No one sets out in building an App thinking it won’t be the next big thing. Everyone wants to create the next Instagram.
But let’s be realistic here…
The odds of you or I creating the next Instagram are about as likely as you or I winning the lottery.
A healthy view of success for your App will make the launch process a lot easier.
Defining the win, creating realistic goals is key.
With Gitty I set a goal of 500 sales in the first week. This seemed realistic, it seemed attainable. Anything more than that number would have been terrific and anything short of it would be okay as well.
Partner Strategically
My next tip when launching an App is make sure you partner strategically.
You should know who the thought leaders, the influencers and leaders are in the arena where your app is being launched. After you have identified these people, you should try to reach out in a kind way and offer them a brief explanation and a free promo code for your app with no strings attached.
If they decide to take you up on your offer that’s a win. If the decided to share your App with their audience then that’s a success.
With enough of these types of irons in the fire, you are bound to get the word out about your App.
When I launched Gitty, I strategically targeted a few key influencers in the developer world and did just what I wrote above. Some people responded and loved the app and shared it with their friends and audience. Others, to my knowledge, did nothing which is perfectly fine.
My friend Tom McFarlin went as far as running a contest to give away a free copy of Gitty. This was great exposure which coupled with above added into more and more people hearing about my new App.
Stay The Course
My final tip for Launching an App is to Stay The Course. Releasing an App is a long arduous process. There will be highs and there will be lows. If your launch does not go quite the way you hoped it would, do not be afraid to keep moving forward.
By working on updates and making the App even better, this shows potential users that you are in this for the long haul and you will be rewarded over time.
When I first launched Gitty, the initial success was great but I did not hit all of my goals. Instead of focusing on what did not happen, I decided to take great joy in what did happen.
Users who purchased the App were loving it and there was still room for improvement. This by my definition of success was a success. I decided to stay the course and continue to make improvements and sales continued to come in.
Next Steps
When launching your next App, I hope you will consider my experiments and these tips to encourage you in the journey. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your launch experience or some tips for fellow readers.