App marketing

I am running an online game app for 4 years now. Constant development and updates. It is a free app, but the downloads have been dwindling.

I'm not sure how to market it. CPA marketing with Facebook and Adwords won't work as one free download generates only about 1.5$ in profit.

I have done some paid app reviews on a few sites, but only got small spikes in downloads and the last times these reviews were not even effective.

Is there something I'm missing? Can anyone help with this?

What is the target audience for sutch a app ?
And can you please share the data and statistics you are currently working with and a small timeline of the advertising measures you put in place so I can observe its effect.

Target audience is people who like to play the specific online board game app.

The time frame is too long. We have used a few paid reviews which did little spikes for downloads and that is about it. There is a limited count of online review sites that are worth ordering at anyway.

Why not consider adding some freemium features? If you can't increase your number of users significantly, maybe you can increase you profit from existing users.

I've been running a freemium fantasy sports game for 4 years now, shit is cash.

I have done that. The app is free and online version will be free soon as well. Only thing people purchase mostly is in game currency. But I need more of those free downloads and am not sure how to get them at this point. I'm out of options so am looking for help.

We are already maximising profit from existing users, but getting more users will get even more profit and make the game more fun for everyone.

I am currently making a mob app to eradicate unemployment, starting from US. I will be released in 25 days, at wisdomrace.com

>4 years

Looking as an outsider it seems like a long time for a game's life cycle, user. Maybe people are interested in other types of games now. Or maybe you have reached some sort of saturation point with your target audience.

Are you reaching to the market? Some kind of satisfaction survey, with more direct questions. Might help you decide which promotion strategy to use and who to promote to.

Put cocks in it.

>Looking as an outsider it seems like a long time for a game's life cycle, user. Maybe people are interested in other types of games now.

Since the app is online backgammon it will be actual even after 100, 200, 500 or 1000 years.

Players are already putting cocks in the pictures of their profiles, but it is not helping. We only get complaints to our support mail.

>Are you reaching to the market? Some kind of satisfaction survey, with more direct questions. Might help you decide which promotion strategy to use and who to promote to.

A little bit. We do read recommendation emails and talk with players.

They mostly request more features, but even if we add them - I don't see how this increases downloads.

App is being constantly developed and updated with new features. But the downloads have reduced instead of increasing.

The app is good and ratings are good, but I just have to figure out how to bring it out more, bring it to the masses.

Have you conducted and A/B testing, it's very effective, at optimising the advertisement of your game. Have you tried implementing rewards to players for attracting new players to the game ?

If you have a shrinking player base, have you tried trying to appeal to the community, to help retain your shrinking player base, give them a set of rewards based on their time playing, to make them feel important.

Try "charity" events, tell them that for every dollar they raise by buying some in game currency or whatever, 70% goes to charity, it's makes the player base feel good, and if you do that create a set of rewards for each tier of funding they reach.

Have you tried expanding to diffrent platforms, being a app may be convient for most people but making it a game on pad and possibly Facebook will attracts new gamers,

I don't really see how A/B testing would work in this case, what do you mean?

>Have you tried implementing rewards to players for attracting new players to the game ?

This is in plans.

>If you have a shrinking player base, have you tried trying to appeal to the community, to help retain your shrinking player base, give them a set of rewards based on their time playing, to make them feel important.

Will consider veteran rewards.

>Have you tried expanding to diffrent platforms, being a app may be convient for most people but making it a game on pad and possibly Facebook will attracts new gamers,

No, because we don't have programmers capable of expanding to other platforms.

Do you have any localisation? Does it involve a lot of effort?

that says it right there. get into content marketing

check out some of the links in my thread. it's the burger picture in the catalog

set up tournaments with prizes in the form of freemium coins

I'm out now but i'm interested in hearing more

>Read as 'how to appropriate an app'

Been here too many fucking years.

Since you sell game currency, have you considdered making a referral system?
Word of mouth/Sharing on social media is one of the cheapest and quickest ways to get the word out.

Refer a friend, if he plays for x amout of levels/time you receive x game cash

Share on facebook/twitter/instagram/linkedin/whateverthefuck for x amout of game cash

Perhaps you could also think about lock ins for your costumers, perhaps giving them daily rewards like so many other apps,
Log in today for x, log in tomorrow for xx, log in for 7 days in a row for xxxxxx etc.

Push messages are also an idea to keep people playing it, you might want to steal the way clash royale does it, with timed unlocks on some crates et cetera.

Yes, I have localisation for Russia and that is where 60% of players come from.

We already have tournaments. And we plan on adding more.

>Since you sell game currency, have you considdered making a referral system?
Yes, that is in plans.

We also have push messages and give out bonuses.

I'm also having problems finding an affordable programmer. We don't earn enough to hire a programmer according to western salary rates, yet we are unable to earn more if we don't develop more apps and content, but for that we need another programmer.

Never-ending cycle. How to get out of it?

Introduce yourself to rewarded video ads, they make much better buck than simple ads thus users actually pay attention to them.

Sell the app to someone who wants it, cash out while you still can. I'm 100% serious. I may be interested in buying too as I don't have any games in my portfolio. LMK if you're interested.

>Sell the app to someone who wants it, cash out while you still can.

I wouldn't become a multi millionaire by doing so, so there is no point.

I'm not planning to sell out, but to expand and buy other peoples apps instead.

4 years is an eternity in app land with interesting new free stuff coming out every day...
Put this into maintenance mode and start a new project maybe?

Can't risk it. The current project brings in money every day. It would be killing the cash cow. Players demand updates.

Well you won't get rich with iOS games, it's been saturated and too competitive for about 4 or 5 years now, at least. Better to cash out while it's still an option.

>Well you won't get rich with iOS games, it's been saturated and too competitive for about 4 or 5 years now, at least. Better to cash out while it's still an option.


That is what they say about every profitable niche ever.

What will you get rich off then? Dog training videos?

Didn't candy crash and angry birds get rich? What about CoC?

Sunken cost fallacy.

Move the fuck on and make an ecosystem of apps. Having one fucking app is taking a stupid gamble.

Might I suggest reading "The lean startup" by eric reis. Lots of good advise on how to tackle your situation

The time for apps is over OP. Try releasing something on Steam.

>Sunken cost fallacy

Are you high? How is earning money sunken cost fallacy?

More like "Lost money fallacy".

If I'd drop the project now, I would not get money in the future. What is the point?

>Move the fuck on and make an ecosystem of apps. Having one fucking app is taking a stupid gamble.
Stupid gamble that has profited me more than anything else I have ever tried during the last 4 years? Yeah, no...

>The time for apps is over OP. Try releasing something on Steam.
Really? PCs became more popular all of the sudden? First time hearing.