7 Tips to Become a Successful Mobile App Entrepreneur
There was a time when one used to dream of becoming a doctor, scientist, lawyer, or engineer but the scenario has completely changed now. Today, owing to the dramatic growth of the app ecosystems, the newest and hottest trend in the market is to become a mobile app entrepreneur - an entrepreneur who runs a mobile app business with the clear understanding of how to make the most money out of mobile apps.
However, becoming a successful mobile app entrepreneur is not as easy as it sounds. It is indeed a long journey to success and requires a lot of hard work, knowledge, dedication, and perseverance. Hence, if you're planning to dive into the mobile app business, here are a few key points that you must consider to become a successful mobile app entrepreneur:
Innovation is the Key
Innovation is the cornerstone to successful mobile app entrepreneurship. To be a successful mobile app entrepreneur, you have to either come up with a completely new, unique app idea or you can consider improving an existing idea in an innovative manner.
Whatever route you take, make sure your app has its own USP and deals with a specific problem in a way that is beyond imagination. Remember, the most successful apps are those that simplify people's lives by providing them innovative solutions to their everyday problems.
Study the App Store Rigorously
In the journey of becoming a successful mobile app entrepreneur, both Google Play Store and Apple App Store can prove to be your best friends. Make it a habit to study these App Markets daily for at least half an hour as this will not only help you spot current trends, but will also give you a clear idea of how the App Store algorithm actually works.
To understand what makes an app usable and popular, look at the top charts of the free, paid and grossing Apps, analyze the parameters that differentiate the top apps from others, and try to incorporate the characteristics of the most successful apps into your app. After all, your ultimate objective is to see your app on the top of the App Stores.
Learn from Others' Mistakes
“While it is wise to learn from your own mistakes, it is wiser to learn from the mistakes of others” - the phrase fits perfectly to everyone who wants to become a successful mobile app entrepreneur. In the mobile app business, knowing what not to do is just as vital as what to do.
Along with studying the apps in the top charts, also take a look at the apps that failed to impress users. Analyze what’s wrong with them and make sure you never repeat those mistakes. Keep in mind, the more you learn from the worst, the higher your chances of becoming the best.
Keep Simplicity at the Core of App Design
No matter how innovative your app idea is, it will still fail if you don’t embrace simplicity in the app design. Simplicity has always been the key to success in mobile app development and an interactive app is all about making it easier for users to performing a single task perfectly.
Providing too many functionalities through a single app may leave the users confused and distracted, causing them to uninstall the app and switch to a similar app that is simpler and easier to use. To get a permanent place in users’ devices, focus on offering a single feature and keep improving it for a better user experience.
Have a Strong App Monetization Strategy
Actually, this is what you need to think over, even before the app development phase starts. If you don’t know how to generate revenue from your application, forget your dream of becoming a successful mobile app entrepreneur as you would soon be running out of money - a must for maintaining and improving the app.
Given that most of the users don’t like paying for downloading the apps, determining a perfect monetization strategy becomes even more challenging for an aspiring mobile app entrepreneur. There are several app monetization techniques - like Freemium, In-app advertisements, In-app purchases, etc - to make money from your apps. Choose the one that you think can generate the maximum revenue.
Master App Marketing and Distribution
If you think you upload it to the App Stores and users will install it, you are almost 100% wrong. Just like any other product, a mobile app also requires a smart marketing strategy to stand out from the crowd of million other apps. In other words, the better you are at marketing, the more users your app attracts.
A successful mobile app entrepreneur possesses the ability to market this app intelligently. So, why shouldn't you? App Store Optimization (ASO), PPI Burst Campaigns, Affiliate Marketing, and Social Media Marketing are a few tactics that you can try to market your app to your targeted audience.
Analyze Your App Data and Improve Accordingly
Just because you have launched your app successfully does not guarantee the success. To make your mobile app successful, you have to keep a keen eye on user reviews, store rankings, and changing market needs, and then improve your application accordingly. To track the performance of your mobile application and know the areas that need to be improved, use Google Analytics as your weapon to succeed.
Moreover, you can correlate your data with app’s performance through a platform like App Annie, which provides a ton of metrics related to your app, including your app’s downloads, rankings, reviews, and revenue. Analyzing your app data on a daily basis helps you easily spot trends and make necessary changes quickly if needed.