Mobile Music Marketing

Developer group on linkedin

2011-08-31T11:10:00.000+01:00

While we're on the subject of collaborative groups for developers, there is of course this one too, the palm sounds group on linkedin.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Open Music App Collaboration Group

2011-08-31T10:08:00.001+01:00

I've given this group lots of mentions on Palm Sounds, but just in case you don't know about it as yet it is really worth taking a look at this google group looking to bring app developers together to get apps working together.

In many ways this isn't about marketing at all, but about collaboration. However, from a marketing perspective, as apps adopt this way of working they'll be more attractive to users as interoperability increases.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Is it worth having a SoundCloud group

2011-08-16T11:12:00.000+01:00

SoundCloud's great, but having your own group is a decision that's worth taking a little time over. Whilst it can be great for users to be able to upload their work to a bespoke group for your app, it can also be isolated from other users who might be thinking about your app, and if no one uses the feature it could be a little demoralising.

If you start a SoundCloud group remember to feature any work that users put up on your blog and on your social media accounts too to show people what can be done, and wherever possible comment on users work with your app.

Remember, SoundCloud is a marketing resource for your app. When users make something and share it on SoundCloud you can make that into a promotional opportunity. This might sound a little bit over-commercial, but if it promotes your users work as well then I can't see anything wrong with it.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Subscribe by email

2011-08-16T10:03:00.001+01:00

Just a quick reminder that you can also subscribe to this blog by email to get music app marketing tips straight to your inbox. The sign up form is in the sidebar.

How to we redeem the IAP?

2011-08-15T10:28:00.002+01:00

Making money in the mobile music app ecosystem has flaws, there's no doubt about that, but it's a growing market and as such it has possibilities all of which have good examples of making them work.

I've seen developers create one app and make it work in the market by continually updating it and improving it. Of course, existing customers never pay for the upgrades and the only way of generating any new revenue is from new customers, but it's a growing market so that is workable in the main.

I've seen developers continually create new applications and put them in the market, but this is difficult as the code base to maintain continually grows and maintaining these apps is costly in itself.

The third model is to create an app with an in-app purchase store that allows existing users to buy new content and/or functionality for the app on a regular basis. However, this option is the one where I hear the most criticism of developers from users.

So my question today is what can we do to redeem the humble IAP, and more importantly, why does it seem so unpopular?

Establishing a platform within your app has always seemed to me to be a good idea. One of the first apps / developers to do this was RJDJ selling scenes in their app, and strangely I've never heard any complaints about this in app store. However, others have not been so well received. But why, and more importantly, what can we do to turn the situation around?

Of course, I could be wrong, and I could be hearing just the people who don't like the idea. Either way, I'd love to hear views from the developer community and the user community too. Tell me what you think.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Making 'how to' videos

2011-08-10T21:04:00.000+01:00

No matter how complex or simple you think your app is it's still worth making at least one 'how to' video. There are lots of reasons why you should consider this.

Firstly, if it's a complex application then users may need to see it before they commit to buying. Often users will want to gain a better understanding of how the app might work for them and also you can show innovative features.

A quick video can show how an app will fit into existing workflows especially if the app uses MIDI or audiocopy/paste, and help users to appreciate how they could use your app.

If you make a series of videos you can use this to showcase different features in your application and how they fit together.

You should also consider making sure that your video(s) are viewable on a mobile device, as many users will want to be able to have mobile access.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

6 uses for your promo codes

2011-08-08T15:05:00.002+01:00

With every release you get 50 promo codes for your app (I believe), but what's the best way to make use of them?

Here are a few suggestions:

Offer them to friendly bloggers to give your app a spin (if they don't have the app already). Hopefully they'll write about it, but also they'll see every update pop up in iTunes which will serve as a constant reminder of your app
Offer them via twitter through 're-tweet to win a code' type contests. This has the added benefit of getting your message out to a wider audience.
Offer them to bloggers to run promo code competitions. Many of you will have done this with Palm Sounds, but other blogs are running these types of competition too.
Offer codes to users who have complained about other apps you've made. If you have users who have complained, and especially if they are vocal about it then this might be a way to offer them something to help to repair the relationship.
Offer them to other developers as swaps for codes for their apps.
Give them to your beta testers as a way of saying thank you.

I'm sure that there are probably other ways too, but one thing I should add is that as you only have 50 codes per release you should make the most of all of them and not let them go to waste. They're an important and useful marketing tool.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Some interesting insights from Retronyms and Korg in the Touchsound podcast

2011-08-08T10:33:00.002+01:00

Whilst the podcast is really set up for a user audience there were some interesting issues that came out in the latest episode.

Retronym's John-Paul Walton talked about the launch of their new app Tabletop for iPad, and how they are approaching this as a new 'platform' for use with Partner developers for providing additional modules for the app.

Ian Bradshaw also gave some good insights into how Korg works and what has been driving their innovation.

Take a listen to the podcast here.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Pricing: When to drop

2011-08-06T10:37:00.000+01:00

Pricing is always a difficult subject for developers. What's too much, what's not going to give you enough to make what you need.

Some developers run regular price drops and promotional pricing, but when is the best time? Often it's worth having a reason to drop your price. Making your price drop part of an event of some kind gives it a reason. So perhaps you could think about price drops when your app hits an anniversary, or tie a price drop to an event, like a hack day, or something similar.

There are lots of possibilities, but make your price drop count by publicising it properly and making sure people know how long the price is dropping by and for how long.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Make audio samples, it's important

2011-08-05T14:02:00.002+01:00

SoundCloud is a fantastic tool for sharing audio, and can have a wide series of uses for music app developers. Here are a few to consider:

Making audio samples available for new apps or for new features that are coming
Demo songs / tracks to show users how your app can be used
Featuring users work
Making an upload to SoundCloud to an easy export option

Of these, possibly the most important is the first as users will very often want to hear what an app can do before they make a purchase, so ensure that your preview samples are as good as they can be.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Feature your users work

2011-08-04T12:47:00.000+01:00

If your users make music with your app(s), then it is really important to feature their work. If they put up tracks using your app(s) or songs made with a number of apps including yours then you should share these with other users as much as possible.

Not only is it great to celebrate a users work, but also this can serve to help other users to see what is possible with your app and encourage them.

There's never been an easier time to share via social media, so sharing users work can be very easy indeed.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Twitter is not a numbers game

2011-08-03T11:02:00.002+01:00

Social media is fun, that's for sure, but if you're using it as a marketing tool for your application it can be a little demoralising if your follower numbers are low, or more importantly, what you consider to be low.

But twitter isn't about numbers, it is about the conversation, it is about how you interact with the people who are following you and how you listen to them and their feedback about your app. If you can make the conversation work on twitter then it's worth being there, but remember that twitter isn't about the numbers.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Blogs to be in touch with for marketing your app

2011-08-02T10:35:00.000+01:00

If you're marketing a mobile music making app then there are some specific blogs that you should be in touch with. Here they are:

Apart from reading them for news and opinion it's really worth getting in touch with these bloggers on a regular basis.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

What will G+ do for app marketing

2011-08-01T12:38:00.002+01:00

As I write this I have no idea what Google's '+' will do for marketing music making apps. There are lots of possibilities in the same way as posting to twitter and facebook have made their way into lots of music applications. But if that's the extent of the impact to mobile music creation it will be a missed opportunity.

I hope that Google do something more creative like integrating G+ into Android and in so doing make it more accessible to music making applications and also extend it into the ADK as well making it into a social network that can really touch the real world. Now that would be a significant development.

How do you think that G+ will impact your marketing efforts?

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Mobile Music App Marketing is making a return

2011-08-01T10:44:00.001+01:00

You may have been wondering if this blog would ever get off the ground again, and that would be fair. You may not of course.

Either way, the plan is to start again and to post regular, daily tips and useful ideas for promoting your app(s).

Hopefully you'll find them useful.

And also in mobile

2011-01-01T16:53:00.000Z

As well as Palm Sounds being available as a mobile blog on your device so is Mobile Music App Marketing.

I'm planning on getting things going again in this blog and bringing lots more useful information for your app business.

Watch this space.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Which review sites do you use?

2010-10-29T10:19:00.001+01:00

As you can imagine, I don't really use review sites very much so I thought it would be worthwhile asking which sites developers found the most useful and why.

Ideally I'd like to build up a useful list that everyone who visits the blog can use and benefit from.

Comment in which sites are most useful to you.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Don't forget the conventional press

2010-10-28T13:21:00.000+01:00

When you're launching your new app or huge update consider contacting magazines like Computer Music as they seem to be featuring more and more mobile apps on a regular basis.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

How do you use your promo codes

2010-10-27T09:49:00.000+01:00

What do you use them for and how do you make best promotional use of them? I've heard from developers who have sent promo codes to multiple review sites and never heard from the reviewers at all. I'm sure there a lots of stories of promo codes not being used and being wasted sadly.

So here are some ideas for what to do with your codes that could help you get some promotion out of your codes.

Give codes to reviewers / sites where they'll be actually used (PalmSounds of course, but others too, such as CDM, Matrixsynth, Synthtopia).
Give codes away for reviews. You can do this via twitter or your blog etc, but make sure when you offer the code
Run promo code competitions, through a blog (like PalmSounds), or anyone else for that matter.
Offer codes to loyal customers who have bought a different product already

Codes can be a really effective tool for marketing your app and should be used carefully. Every code given away should get you some kind of publicity. A review on the app store, on a site somewhere and extend your marketing reach.

If you've come across an innovative use of promo codes please share it.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Inside the box

2010-10-25T10:17:00.000+01:00

Having worked in marketing for years I was almost always annoyed when people talked about 'thinking outside the box'. A great deal of the time I didn't know what the box was or where it was, or why it was we needed to be outside of it.

It demonstrated to me that often there is a misconception that doing something different is the key to success for a project or product and that's not always true. Thinking outside the box is almost always synonymous with innovation, and yet in my experience things seldom work that simply.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that being innovative is wrong in any way, but being innovative isn't the same as thinking outside the box.

A lot of the time what we really mean by thinking outside the box is to attempt to solve a problem creatively, and what better people to be creative than creative coders making creative applications, for creative musicians (I apologise for the overuse of the word 'creative').

In many cases using standard marketing tools and methods is the most appropriate and the most effective way to promote and market any service or product. After all, taking this approach is often what consumers understand and can relate to. Being too innovative can have the result of alienating potential customers or leaving them feeling that they whatever the product or service is, it isn't aimed at them.

So don't overlook traditional channels, price promotions, advertising, etc when thinking about how to market your app. Not everyone is on twitter and facebook although at times it can feel that way.

How audiences differ

2010-10-22T10:56:00.000+01:00

An interesting article at emarketer on how different audiences have different tastes.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Twittering to a schedule

2010-10-21T10:45:00.000+01:00

We are all busy and have lots to do, so it can be difficult at times to maintain a steady stream into social media sites like twitter. However, you could consider scheduling your messages in twitter using something like hootsuite.

You might think that it isn't a particularly good use of twitter, and takes out the human touch. Well, in some ways I might agree. Scheduling tweets has to be used alongside being an active user, if nothing else, so that you can reply when people act on or reply to your tweets. However, it can be a simple way of maintaining a consistent flow of messages even when you can't be there all the time to do it yourself.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Making your blog an email newsletter

2010-10-20T10:41:00.001+01:00

I talked yesterday about using an email newsletter for marketing. One simple way of doing that is using feedburner to offer email subscriptions to your blog. Of course, it isn't a full newsletter, more of a first step toward that, but often people like to get an email rather than visiting your blog or reading it in a feed reader.

Also, often readers will want to keep an article or post, and having it in their inbox or a folder is simple way to retrieve it.

Feedburner can do all of that for you and is really simple to set up. Worth considering.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

Why have a newsletter?

2010-10-19T10:30:00.012+01:00

That's a good question. You might have a website, a blog, be on twitter and facebook, so why go that extra mile?

Good question. Simply put there are still lots of stats which point to consumers still liking to get information via email.

An email newsletter doesn't have to be a huge amount of work either. It can be quite a simple affair. Here are some tips.

You don't need to write a novel, be concise and format your newsletter so it is easy to read.
Think about email newsletters you've received and which ones you read and which you instantly bin, make your newsletter like the former.
A quick news round up can be useful, but again, keep it concise. Often readers might have seen a news item on twitter or elsewhere, so make it brief and offer links out to your blog or site for more information.
Highlight user stories if you have them, especially where a user has used your app to solve a problem or used the app in an innovative way
If possible offer something for signing up to the newsletter, exclusive content, first looks at new features etc.

A newsletter doesn't have to be a huge amount of work, but it can be more personal that a blog post or twitter / facebook feed. It is worth thinking about.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.

At the end of the product lifecycle

2010-10-18T10:10:00.001+01:00

There's plenty of apps out there which haven't been updated for a long time. Users often call them abandonware, which may be true in some cases. But if you've got an app in the store that you don't plan to do much with anymore because you're working on something else, or for whatever reason, it doesn't mean that it can't generate interest for you. Here are a few ideas you could consider.

Make the app free for a period of time to generate some interest and get picked up by the sites who post on apps that change to free like freeappalert.
Reduce the price for a while or for good
If you make your app free consider adding some advertising to it so you get something back for it.

Whatever you do make sure you let people know what you're doing. Tell people that the apps is free on twitter, in your blog, on facebook etc and use that to promote your new app, or whatever else you're doing to get some publicity from it.

I hope that you find this useful. If you have suggestions for future articles or if there's anything in the article you want to discuss further then please email me at ashley@mobilemusicappmarketing.com. If you like this article then please consider sharing it using the buttons below.