Tapping In: 21 Strategies for Building Viral Mobile Apps People Will Love
5/5
()
About this ebook
Get your mobile app found, installed, loved and shared.
You're convinced your app will be a hit, yet you know the odds—only 20 percent of users return to use an app the first day after they download it, and you're competing with nearly one hundred thousand new apps pouring into the market each month.
Apps don't fail due to competition or bad ideas—they fail because of poor user experience, lack of customer support, inability to keep the app top of mind and not enough promotion.
Whether you simply have a great idea, want to improve an existing app, or know how to code but lack the skills to create a killer user experience, this book will show you how to:
• Apply successful traits from the top-grossing apps to your own apps
• Take advantage of tactics to get more exposure and stand out among the competition
• Design an amazing user experience to immediately hook new users
• Leverage proven techniques to drive engagement and usage
• Make your app habit-forming
• Spread your app virally via word of mouth
In addition, Tapping In includes a comprehensive questionnaire and road map when planning and building your app.
With 21 easily digestible, actionable strategies, Tapping In is a must-read before embarking on your next mobile app conquest!
David Paul Albert
David Paul Albert began developing for the Mobile Web before the days of smartphones and tablets, building .mobi sites running on feature phones. Shortly after the release of the initial iOS SDK, he had the pleasure of working with clients such as Cirque du Soleil, Consumer Reports, Visa and others to develop successful apps and strategies for the burgeoning mobile app landscape. He’s currently a co-founder of Greygoo, a boutique digital product development agency located in Naperville, Illinois where he continues to work with startups and leading brands to bring app ideas from concept to market. During momentary spurts of free time, David enjoys hanging out with loved ones, cooking, taking care of his cadre of amphibians (yeah, you read that right) and riding his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.
Related to Tapping In
Related ebooks
Microcopy: Discover How Tiny Bits of Text Make Tasty Apps and Websites Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Appsters: A Beginner's Guide to App Entrepreneurship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5App Development For Beginners: Secrets to Success Selling Apps on the Google Play Store Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5App Success Stories: 8 Success Stories from Developers Who Beat the Odds! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Experiments Handbook: An overview of how and when to validate hypotheses. And whith whom. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMobile App Growth Hacks: Developer Interviews iOS 8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Joosr Guide to... How to Build a Billion Dollar App by George Berkowski Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the Game with UX Design & CRO: Supercharging Your Website Design with Conversion Rate Optimization and UX Research Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMobile User Experience: Patterns to Make Sense of it All Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Methodological UX Design A Complete Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBecoming a UX Designer: A Comprehensive Guide to Launch Your UX Career Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUX Tools Complete Self-Assessment Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPractical UX Design Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Basics of User Experience Design by Interaction Design Foundation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ridiculously Simple Guide to Sketch App: The Absolute Beginners Guide to Designing Websites and Apps with Sketch App Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAndroid Design Patterns: Interaction Design Solutions for Developers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5UX Decoded: Think and Implement User-Centered Research Methodologies, and Expert-Led UX Best Practices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser Experience UX Design The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUX and UI Design, A Case Study On Approaches To User Experience And Interface Architecture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThere's Not an App for That: Mobile User Experience Design for Life Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5User Experience Design Complete Self-Assessment Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUX UI design A Complete Guide - 2019 Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser Interface Design A Complete Guide - 2020 Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDesigning Search: UX Strategies for eCommerce Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Get Into UX: A foolproof guide to getting your first user experience job Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Pocket Guide to Hci and Ux Design Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUX Simplified: Models & Methodologies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Everyday UX: 10 Successful UX Designers Share Their Tales, Tools, and Tips for Success Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Internet & Web For You
More Porn - Faster!: 50 Tips & Tools for Faster and More Efficient Porn Browsing Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Introduction to Internet Scams and Fraud: Credit Card Theft, Work-At-Home Scams and Lottery Scams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Logo Brainstorm Book: A Comprehensive Guide for Exploring Design Directions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mega Box: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Free Resources on the Internet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cybersecurity For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coding For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Remote/WebCam Notarization : Basic Understanding Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Beginner's Guide To Starting An Etsy Print-On-Demand Shop Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCoding All-in-One For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The $1,000,000 Web Designer Guide: A Practical Guide for Wealth and Freedom as an Online Freelancer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Digital Marketing Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Websites That Sell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Podcasting For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hacking : The Ultimate Comprehensive Step-By-Step Guide to the Basics of Ethical Hacking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wireless Hacking 101 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Figure Blogging Blueprint Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How To Start A Podcast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Make Money Blogging: How I Replaced My Day-Job With My Blog and How You Can Start A Blog Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5200+ Ways to Protect Your Privacy: Simple Ways to Prevent Hacks and Protect Your Privacy--On and Offline Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Disappear and Live Off the Grid: A CIA Insider's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Tapping In
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Tapping In - David Paul Albert
One
Don’t Get Uninstalled
So your app got installed. Your days/weeks/months of hard work are finally in the hands of a real live user! Congrats…oh wait…WTF? They opened it, looked at it for exactly 41 seconds, then exited out and deleted it?
Crap.
All too often this is the reality. We’ve all done it—the app didn’t match the description, it crashed, it didn’t make sense, the registration process was too long, the search returned no results…the list goes on. There are countless reasons why an app might only live on a user’s device for as long as it takes to eat a cracker.
Before you can make a truly great app—one that stays top of mind, becomes a habit and goes viral—you have one simple but elusive goal:
Get the user to use your app more than once.
This chapter provides seven fundamental Strategies to help you achieve that goal…
Strategy 1: Make UX Your Unfair Advantage
Focus on the user and all else will follow.
(From the section, What we believe
http://www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/
)
User experience, or UX for short, is a broad term that encompasses any interaction a user will have with your app. Consider every aspect as part of the user experience. If a user creates an account and then receives updates via email, those emails are part of the user experience. If the app sends a notification, user experience. Seeing a friend’s Facebook status update that includes a link back to the app—user experience.
Every touchpoint you have with a user, or potential user, is part of the experience you’ve created. A great user experience is one in which every aspect of these touchpoints are executed flawlessly, are frictionless, provide an opportunity to engage with users and reach beyond your installed user base.
Within the app itself, every tap, swipe, input and movement is an opportunity to surprise and delight your users with effective feedback mechanisms.
Exceptional user experiences include:
An elegant and aesthetically pleasing User Interface (UI)
Instant gratification—within seconds users are getting value from the app, not learning how to use it
Consistency—common elements like navigation, color schemes, icon styles, etc., don’t change from view to view. A consistent design language is used throughout the entire experience.
Intuitive—the design is there to serve the user, not get in their way. Navigation, searching, sharing, accessing content—every aspect of the app is intuitive, easy to understand and easy to use.
UX is Your Unfair Advantage
Unless you’ve invented the next Instagram, in any given category there are several—if not dozens—of apps providing similar functionality, content or utility. By creating an exceptional user experience, users will engage with your app on a more frequent and deeper level. As a result, you can expect to:
Strengthen brand loyalty and affinity
Generate more in-app purchases (if that’s your revenue model)
Increase impressions and revenue (if your app is ad-supported)
Create word-of-mouth to increase app installs without spending money on marketing
Design makes the difference between customer satisfaction and customer delight.
– Giles Peyton-Nicoll
Aesthetics Matter
A beautiful, elegant design can be the distinction between users choosing your app over a competitor’s. Your app may have superior content, functionality and ease of use, but if it looks amateurish or even slightly less polished than the next listing in a search result, it’s easily overlooked. Conversely, a beautifully designed app will instantly boost its credibility and perceived trust.
Hipmunk and HotelsByMeIf you never heard of either of these travel-booking apps, which would you choose?
You may have the greatest content or functionality, but if it isn’t packaged well, your app will be swimming upstream. Focus on great design to stand out among the competition. Great design doesn’t come cheap or easy, but it can mean the difference between a big hit or just another Zombie App.
If you’re not a designer (or a great one), then it’s worth partnering or investing in someone who is.
Keep it Simple and Focused
The most successful apps are focused on doing one thing exceptionally well. Google Maps is exceptional at providing turn-by-turn directions to a destination. Instagram is exceptional at taking pics, making them interesting and sharing them with your friends. WhatsApp is exceptional at providing real-time messaging, connecting people with one another throughout the world.
While it’s very feature-rich, Google Maps doesn’t try to do too much. Google is keenly aware of what its users want and doesn’t crowd the app with features or content they don’t.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too much with an app. With few exceptions, Swiss Army knife apps rarely do well. Those that have succeeded strive to provide a seamless, continuous experience through every facet of the app.
Strategy1-Waze-optWaze (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waze-social-gps-maps-traffic/id323229106?mt=8
) excels at aggregating crowd-sourced content to provide real-time traffic conditions and doesn’t try to add a bunch of unnecessary features.
Most often the best ideas are the simplest. Resist the temptation to be all things to all people. If you have a plethora of good ideas for functionality, explore breaking them up into multiple apps, or focus on your best idea.
UX Guidelines
User Experience is a broad topic with professionals who have dedicated their entire careers to its craft. However, there are some guidelines to consider as you plan and design your app:
Visual data is processed 60,000 times faster by the brain than text¹.Where it makes sense and you have the choice, always choose visuals over text to convey a concept, present content or provide elements users can interact with.
Once you have your app idea, create simple user flow diagrams before diving into visuals. Ryan Singer wrote a great article (https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1926-a-shorthand-for-designing-ui-flows) on designing simple UI flows drafted with just a pen and paper.
Always provide positive feedback and affirmation for the user. For example, if a user uploads a photo then returns to a gallery, the photo should be immediately present. Don’t make users refresh a view to see updated content. Your app should respond accordingly to all their