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Once a Branded App is live in the App Store, a strong launch strategy helps drive downloads, engagement, and long-term retention. The practices below cover everything from soft launches to ongoing marketing.

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Build excitement with early adopters

Soft launch with a select group of 15-20 customers and give them exclusive early access to the app to try it out and provide any feedback. You may consider giving them a special discount or access to exclusive content to encourage them to use the app, share a testimonial, and write an App Store review.

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Create anticipation before the launch

Build excitement around the launch by teasing the app’s features and benefits through social media, email newsletters, and website banners.

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Shout it from the rooftops on launch day

Make a big splash across all channels by launching the app to customers and prospective customers. Consider launching it in parallel to a course or a community to drive people to start engaging in the app.

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Gamify the launch

Offer a reward or incentive to the first customers that download the app (e.g., The first 25 customers who download the app get a $25 credit for the next course). You can ask them to share a screenshot of their app on social channels or in a community to show proof of download and generate buzz.

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Drive engagement with push notifications

Push notifications are a powerful marketing channel that typically sees an average click rate of 28%, compared to email marketing at 1-2% (Business of Apps). Be sure to leverage this channel to encourage members to engage with the app. These can be targeted, scheduled, and sent to specific audiences.

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Make the app easy to find with always-on marketing

Add links to download the app in the footer of emails, website and social channels so members can easily find the app from anywhere. We also suggest adding a call to action to download the app in customer onboarding, course content, and in a community.

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Monitor usage to help inform future growth

You can check how the App is performing in the App Analytics section of your Apple Developer Account or the App Statistics section of your Google Play account. This can help you understand traffic sources, downloads, and engagement, as well as how the app benchmarks against other similar apps.