Get more app downloads
It is one of the most valid objections to having an app: a website requires no installation, while an app has to be downloaded first. And if no one downloads the app, everything else is essentially irrelevant.
It is one of the most valid objections to having an app: a website requires no installation, while an app has to be downloaded first. And if no one downloads the app, everything else is essentially irrelevant.
Fortunately, you are not starting from scratch. You already have visitors, customers, members or users on your website - which means you have an existing audience to introduce your app to.
The challenge is therefore not necessarily to find new users, but to give your existing users a good reason to download the app and make the process as easy as possible.
Here are some of the methods we see working for our customers - along with the features we have built into starti.app to help.
Your website is often the most obvious place to start. This is where the people who are already interested in what your app has to offer can be found.
With Smartbanner, you can display a banner at the top of your mobile website to let visitors know that you also have an app. With a single tap, users can go directly to the App Store or Google Play and download it.
If the user already has the app installed, the banner can instead act as a shortcut to open the app. This way, your mobile website becomes an ongoing gateway to your app - not just a channel for generating new downloads.
Smartbanner is set up directly in starti.app Manager and requires no development on your end.
When promoting your app, the journey from seeing your message to downloading the app should be as short as possible. Users should not have to open the App Store, search for your name and hope they find the right app.
With Flowlink, you get a single link or QR code that you can use across all your channels - for example on your website, in emails, on social media, in printed materials or at physical customer touchpoints.
Flowlink automatically detects which device the user is on. iPhone users are directed to the App Store, while Android users are sent to Google Play.
If the user already has the app installed, Flowlink takes them directly into the app instead.
This means you can use the same link and QR code everywhere and let the technology take care of the rest.
Your unique Flowlink is available directly in starti.app Manager, where you can easily access it as both a link and an SVG file.
Simply telling people that you have launched an app is rarely a compelling reason for them to download it. Users need to understand what is in it for them.
And it does not have to be complicated.
For example, Gulvlageret displays a pop-up with a QR code at checkout on their webshop: complete your order in the app and save 1%.
This small incentive gives customers a specific reason to download the app at exactly the point where they are already ready to make a purchase. And once the app is installed, Gulvlageret has a much stronger channel for driving the next purchase.
The results include twice the average basket size and a conversion rate in the app that is four times higher than on the mobile webshop.
A discount is far from the only option, however. You could also offer:
The real question is therefore not necessarily how large a discount you should offer. It is how much a user who returns again and again is worth to your business - and how much you are willing to invest in moving that user from web to app.
The easiest way to create a steady flow of new app users is to make the app a natural part of the journey your new customers or members already go through.
For example, Vild med Poter introduces the app in the welcome email sent to new members and again when members log in to the website.
This means that promoting the app is not a one-off campaign that has to be repeated manually. Every time Vild med Poter gains a new member, that person is automatically introduced to the app as part of the onboarding process.
As a result, new app users are added naturally as the number of members grows.
To encourage existing members to move to the app, Vild med Poter also used the channels they already had: a banner on the website, posts in their Facebook groups and word of mouth among members.
The point is not that you need to use exactly the same channels. The point is to make the app visible wherever you are already communicating with your users.
A download is only the first step. The next is making sure users understand the app, have a good first experience and have a reason to come back.
With Introflow, you can decide what new users see the first time they open the app.
You can welcome them, explain the benefits of the app, introduce its most important features and guide them through relevant permissions - such as push notifications.
This is particularly important because the first time a user opens the app is one of the best opportunities to explain why enabling push notifications is worthwhile.
Once users have given permission, you can reach them directly through the app with relevant content, news, offers or reminders. This turns a download into a channel you can actively use to bring users back.
Introflow is easily configured through starti.app Manager.
The first few days after a download matter. This is when the app either starts becoming part of the user's habits - or ends up as another icon on their phone that they never tap.
That is why you can set up an automated welcome series of push notifications for new app users.
For example, you could introduce an important feature, remind users of something they can do in the app or highlight content worth coming back for.
You decide how many messages to send, the intervals between them and what each message should contain. Once the series has been set up, new users are automatically guided through it - without any manual work on your part.
The goal is not to send as many notifications as possible. It is to give users good reasons to open the app again while it is still new and relevant to them.
The welcome series is easily configured through starti.app Manager.
Launching your app, mentioning it once in a newsletter and then hoping users will find it on their own.
Downloading an app requires an active decision from the user. That means your app needs to be visible more than once.
Across the apps where we see the strongest adoption, two things in particular stand out:
They give users a specific reason to choose the app. That might be a financial benefit, better functionality, easier access or exclusive content.
And they promote the app repeatedly. On their website, in emails, on social media, during onboarding and wherever else they are already in contact with their users.
This does not necessarily require a large marketing budget. More often, it is about consistently using the customer touchpoints you already have.
Getting an app into the App Store and Google Play is one thing. Getting your customers, members or users to actually download and use it is another.
That is why a starti.app project is about more than just the technology leading up to launch.
We have seen what works - and what does not - across webshops, membership organisations, SaaS platforms and communities. We use that experience to work with you on a plan for how to introduce your app, generate the first downloads and keep users coming back afterwards.
Let's talk about how to introduce your app to your users - and keep them coming back.
