Marketing an Indie App When You’re Starting with Zero Budget

Summary

In this video, indie iOS developer Sean shares his journey with the Sofa app, from its challenging beginnings in 2017 to its current status as his full-time job. He discusses his early marketing efforts, including reaching out to blogs, creating YouTube content, and providing excellent customer support. As Sofa grew, Sean expanded his marketing strategies to include paid campaigns, sales, and giveaways. He reflects on the importance of building long-term awareness and consistency in content creation, especially on YouTube, while emphasizing the value of customer feedback and engagement.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus on reaching out to blogs, online communities, and people in your industry for initial exposure, even if responses are scarce.
• 😀 📹 YouTube can be a great tool for documenting your journey and building a deeper connection with your audience, even if it takes more effort than writing blog posts or social media updates.
• 😀 📧 Make it easy for users to contact you directly, as customer support is a key form of marketing and relationship-building.
• 😀 🧑‍💻 Responding to user requests and following up months later when you implement changes can generate positive reactions and build loyalty.
• 😀 💰 Paid marketing (e.g., podcasts, websites, YouTube channels) can be an effective way to reach new audiences, but it requires ongoing investment to maintain visibility.
• 😀 🎁 Running sales and giveaways (like Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts) can help attract attention and boost engagement, especially when combined with new app versions.
• 😀 🔄 Consistency in your marketing efforts is crucial; don't be afraid to make small adjustments over time based on what works for your app and audience.
• 😀 💡 A holistic view of marketing, focusing on building long-term brand awareness rather than just short-term conversions, can help achieve better results.
• 😀 ⏳ Tracking immediate conversions from paid ads can be difficult, so shift your focus to long-term brand building and consistent presence.
• 😀 📅 Being consistent on platforms like YouTube is challenging but valuable, as it allows for a more personal and nuanced connection with your audience compared to other media.

Q & A

How did Sean approach marketing when he first started working on Sofa?

At the beginning, Sean reached out to blogs and people within the tech world, primarily via email and Twitter, to get attention for his app, Sofa. Despite many people not responding, a few did, which helped gain some exposure.

What was Sean's perspective on customer support and its role in marketing?

Sean believes that customer support is an underrated form of marketing. Any interaction with a customer, whether it's answering their questions or addressing their concerns, is a marketing opportunity. He emphasizes being available for users and addressing their feedback, which helps build stronger relationships.

How did Sean use YouTube to promote Sofa?

Sean created YouTube videos to document his work on Sofa and share behind-the-scenes content. Despite the videos being rough at first, he saw YouTube as a more personal and engaging way to connect with people compared to blogs or social media posts.

What challenges did Sean face in the early stages of marketing Sofa?

In the early days, gaining attention was challenging because no one knew about Sean or his app, Sofa. He had to deal with a lot of non-responses from outreach attempts but kept going by making consistent efforts to engage with relevant people.

What role did paid marketing play in the growth of Sofa?

As Sofa grew, Sean started using paid marketing to reach wider audiences. He found it to be effective, especially for targeting specific groups and gaining access to people who might not have heard of Sofa otherwise.

How did Sean handle feature requests from users?

Sean took feature requests seriously, making it easy for users to get in touch with him. He made follow-up emails to users who had requested a feature, sometimes even a year later, to inform them when that feature had been added.

What marketing strategies did Sean find effective over time?

Over time, Sean found that reaching out to people in the tech and Apple space, running sales events like Black Friday sales, and giving discounts were effective marketing strategies. These helped attract attention and build relationships with users.

What is Sean's opinion on tracking conversions from paid marketing?

Sean advises against focusing too much on tracking immediate conversions from paid marketing campaigns. He believes that building awareness and creating a long-term relationship with potential customers is more important than worrying about immediate ROI from a single campaign.

What does Sean regret about his early marketing efforts?

Sean regrets not being more consistent with YouTube early on. Although he made some videos, he often fell off creating content, and he acknowledges that more consistent content would have been beneficial for building Sofa's brand.

What advice does Sean give about marketing efforts when starting from zero?

Sean suggests focusing on building awareness for the product rather than expecting immediate conversions. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, understanding the nuances of customer engagement, and not getting discouraged by initial lack of response or results.