Apps are great marketing tools. Done right, they are a compelling, interactive method for engaging end-users with your content, functionality and brand. Getting your app noticed is the challenge.
The quote, “If you build it, they will come,” doesn’t really apply to most apps. You need to be sure when building your app, that it has a gripping user experience and meets the goals of your business.
Before you begin building, ask yourself some key questions:
What would you like to accomplish through this app? Brand awareness? Engagement? Customer acquisition?
What is the best content on your website? Breaking news? E-commerce? Social media?
For what topics can your organization claim industry expertise?
What kind of functionality could better communicate your content, for example, podcasts, games, chat, or feeds?
What is the best deployment option for your app? Is your functionality location-based? Or do you have functionality that interacts well with web content (like coupons on an e-tail site)? Your answer will determine if you must use software developers to build your app or if you can do it yourself on a cross-browser platform like Conduit or Widgetbox.
Next, you will need a marketing strategy for your app. Here are some key elements to keep in mind:
Customer acquisition: How are you making your app more visible to your target audience? Consider some of the ways to promote your app:
Put the app on the home page of your website. That should be a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many apps are buried within a website. Think like a first-time site visitor.
Spread the word via other marketing channels, such as email marketing campaigns and social media networks. Include bit.ly or other trackable links to your app download page in your dispatches.
Packaging: Imagine you’ve got the attention of a potential user; how can you best convey the advantages your app has to offer?
This is the time to make sure you have the app “elevator pitch” packaged in an easy to digest, visually-pleasing format.
In today’s world, browser-based apps are either deployed alongside or in place of more entrenched marketing and social media vehicles, so be sure to clearly communicate that the app complements the existing functions (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, site-specific offerings, etc.)
Consider including a convenient link to an App FAQ. Offering reassurances that the app is safe in regards to privacy and IT concerns is vital for many users.
Promotions: Have you considered promotions to drive app downloads?
Freebies resonate with many users, so think about what you have to offer and start there. For instance incentives in the form of virtual currency are a win-win for many gaming companies.
Some marketers have even created contests to promote their apps, inviting users to download an app for a chance to win a coveted prize.
Carry the promotion across all your marketing channels, so whether it’s a contest, free currency, or a membership of some sort, remember to integrate your app with your website, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, forums, etc.
Finally, make a habit of regularly assessing how your app is serving your business goals. After all, your app was designed to support specific aspects of your business, such as customer retention and/or brand recognition. Thus, keeping your strategic goals and app execution in alignment is an essential practice. Hopefully this sparked some thoughts on realizing the app advantage for your business.
I’ve written a new Firefox extension; it’s called True Colors, and it bleeds the colors from the web page you’re viewing into the tab bar and status bar. Think of it as Ambilight for your browser.
The technical details behind the extension are interesting, but I won’t go into detail on that here, sinceSplashnology’s blog post describing how Ambilight for video works explains 99% of the technique.
There’s another important aspect to this extension. I’ve used it as a testbed for Fat Plug’s add-on monetization system. A Fat Plug-enabled extension will add/change ads on various websites, and, in turn, funnel a portion of the revenue from those ads to the extension developer.
There’s some controversy around this technique. Mozilla has opted to deny any Fat Plug extensions that are submitted to the Mozilla Add-ons Gallery. Website owners, I imagine, wouldn’t appreciate their ads being replaced with ads that don’t earn them any money. (Although it would harm them no more than ad-blocking extensions, which Mozilla does allow.)
However, to an add-on developer, the idea is intriguing: “What if I collected half of all the website ad revenue from all of the users that use my extensions?” A developer of a popular add-on could retire after a couple of years to the sands of Grand Cayman and spend his days writing free software that needs no monetization.
So True Colors is my testbed for Fat Plug’s technology. I won’t be uploading it to Mozilla Add-ons, and I won’t be publishing it anywhere that doesn’t make the Fat Plug integration obvious. I’m not looking to stealthily trick users into becoming my little monetization machines, which is why I purposefully wrote a simple extension that doesn’t add functionality to the browser as my first foray into Fat Plug.
If you’re interested in seeing how Fat Plug modifies ads on websites, you can install True Colors, agree to the license agreement, and then set the preferences extensions.fatplug.enableoutlinediv andextensions.fatplug.enableoutlinelink to true in about:config. Any ads that Fat Plug adds or modifies will be outlined in red for your convenience.
If you’re interested in the coloring functionality but are wary of the Fat Plug integration, you can install the extension and just not agree to the license agreement. That will keep the tab and status bar coloring functionality but disable Fat Plug’s code.
You may have been following the lively debate revolving around fatplug (my company) and Mozilla. read it here
A little background:
Fatplug has created an add-on monetization platform. This allows add-on developers to monetize their current add-ons by integrating fatplug code. This code will initiate a pop up the first time the browser is loaded with the new add-on that allows the end user to select whether of not they see advertisements that support the add-on developer. These ad’s are served up through ad-swapping. We detect the sizes and positions of ad’s on websites and then block the original ad’s from loading and put ads from our ad network in that same position. Revenue from those advertisements is then split with add-on developers. This seems like a perfect solution for monetization. You can continue to give away your add-ons and make money on them too. If the end users decides to enable fatplug their browsing will financially support the add-ons they are using without interfering with the browsing experience.
This model has created quite a stir and a lively debate. We have found as we reach out to you this follows the 80/20 rule 80% of you are ready to get paid for your hard work and are all for it. The 20% who are opposed to it tend to fall into three camps.
1. I think it’s wrong to monetize a browser add-on!
This camp is very small but there are some purist here. To them we respectively hang a “do not disturb” sign. When you can’t stand to fix another computer for your great aunt that is running windows 95 this is the guy you tell her to call. They do it for love of the game and they only accept payment in sunshine and smiles. As a capitalist pig I personally can’t understand this position but I do respect it.
2. This isn’t ethical!
This is a decision I can’t and won’t make for an add-on developer, or an end user, which is why we give them a choice. To me it is no different than changing channels during a commercial break. In the strictest sense when you use your Tivo to skip commercials or change the channel you are stealing. Of course this too has been taken to court and once again the courts ruled on the side of the end user choosing how they will consume content. But this is a personal decision not one that should be forced on a whole community.
3. This is illegal!
Mozilla kept pulling this subversive tactic on us to make people tap the brakes “were not even sure if this is legal…” a very simple passive statement that does a great job of instilling doubt. The fact is it is legal and there are plenty of add-on models currently allowed on AMO that are very similar. Including Adaptive Blue’s GLUE, AdBlock Plus, AdChange, Cooliris, and Kynetx.Google Sidewiki is another very mainstream and hotly debated piece of software based on the same model.
All of this software is based on the same idea that the end user can choose how or when to view or consume the content.
I understand why people who have cut their teeth and made their living creating Web sites would object when people start to mess with Web content inside the browser. The reasoning goes something like: “I worked hard to create this and want it to be just so and now you’re changing it!” But it’s ironic when people who’ve fought against that logic when the RIAA and MPAA used it in support of an outdated business model, apply that same reasoning to the Web.
With that, let me state something unequivocally:
“I claim the right to mash-up, remix, annotate, augment, and otherwise modify Web content for my purposes in my browser using any tool I choose and I extend to everyone else that same privilege.”You may not like what people do with your Web content. We can debate the business model or ethics of specific applications of client-side technologies. But don’t threaten my right to purpose-centric Web.
Does it bother you that by blocking all Fatplug enabled add-ons from AMO Mozilla made a global decision for you and your users?
The success of the iPhone App store in terms of creating developer interest in supporting that platform (due to stories of top app developers making $100K or more per month) is clearly an existence proof for both consumers’ willingness to pay small amounts to enhance their user experience and developers going to where the money is (i.e., 100,000+ high quality apps developed in less than one year). However, Firefox users (who unlike phone users aren’t conditioned to pay for anything) will probably need to be eased into such a Paid Marketplace system if it is going to be successful enough to really reward Add-on developers beyond the current $1K per month peak revenue levels being seen by a handful of top Add-on developers who are asking for Contributions via Paypal.
The Idea
In the Q&A after the keynote, it was suggested that such a Paid Marketplace might be jump-started by having Mozilla return to its users a portion of the SearchBox revenue that these users have enabled Mozilla to earn in the form of UserPoints (or KarmaPoints or Zillas or FireChips whatever). Assuming 100 UserPoints were given to every Firefox user every month, the existing Add-on Contribution system could be easily modified to allow users to make donations with either Paypal Cash or Mozilla UserPoints. All un-donated UserPoints each month would be automatically contributed to the mix of Add-ons actually in use (based on anonymous system-wide Add-on usage stats). To give them value to developers, it was suggested that these UserPoints could be backed by an actual cash-out pool that was funded by a portion of Mozilla’s SearchBox revenue.
More Information
The key to the idea is that it would support, but not rely on, user-directed contributions of a pre-funded amount of virtual currency (e.g., possibly called “UserPoints”) that users would donate on a monthly basis to their favorite Add-ons.
To ensure that all “un-donated” UserPoints are fully deployed at the end of each month a pre-defined formula (based on system-wide, Add-on usage stats) would be used to ensure 100% of the users who have benefited from installing and using at least one add-on for at least one month participate.
To make the ecosystem more than just a sophisticated Add-on rating system, Mozilla would agree to cash out any developer’s Add-on’s accumulated UserPoints on a monthly basis from a pool of funds that would be replenished each month with a portion of the revenue that Firefox end users generate for Mozilla by using the default browser SearchBox.
The big difference between producing Add-on-Con 08 vs. 09 was the amount of knowledge I gained from the 08 event. I was able to use this knowledge to help our small team focus on things that would produce the greatest amount of awareness.
The first thing we did differently was integrate more tools for data collection:
Eventbrite for ticket sales
EventVue’s javascript widget
Woopra real time analytics
(Woopra was used to see how SEO and SEM activities were doing in real time, I became addicted.)
Page views
Referrer
Geography
Google Analytics
Page views
Bounce rates
Search terms
Referrer
The second thing we did differently was introduce a viral game on the home page that allowed people interested in the conference to promote the event in a fun interactive manner. The game had over 500 unique plays and more than 2500 total plays, which generated 325 unique posts to Twitter.
The things that did not work:
EventVues Javascript widget
I worked with Josh and Rob from EventVue on a new widget they were testing. The widget allowed visitors of Add-on-Con.com to see who else was attending and then offer anyone, in there social network, a discount.
The service was getting some clicks, but no ticket sales and I started to get nervous so I turned it off, once off I started getting ticket sales. I turned it on again, sales stopped. Turned it off, reported my findings and Rob and Josh decided to not to turn it back on.
Event listings:
Mashable 28 visits no sales
ReadWrite web 32 visits 1 sale
Ads on LinkedIn generated 0 visits
VC blogs ’08 vs ’09
Our favorite VC bloggers were kind enough to write a post in 08 and 09, thank you:
Brad Feld’s blog generated 9 sales in ’08 and 4 sales on 11 referrals in ’09
Fred Wilson’s blog generated 15 sales in 08 and 0 sales on 39 referrals in ’09
Bijan Sabet’s Blog generated 9 sales in 08 and 1 sale on 5 referrals in ’09
Thank you for sponsoring and or talking about Add-on-Con ’09, it made a big a difference in the success of the ’09 event. The blogs that drove the most traffic in ’09:
Techcrunch.com did a great job driving traffic and sales in 08 and 09.
Blog.chromium.org / referrals 317
Developer.yahoo.com / referrals 237
stevesouders.com referrals 84
tech-wd.com referrals 74
thereister.o.uk referrals 55
thenextweb.com referals 30
The biggest surprises on traffic came from these sites or add-ons:
This talk covers the best practices for writing add-ons in Internet Explorer. We’ll describe the intricacies of the browser’s architecture and its evolution through recent features like Protected Mode and Loosely Coupled IE. We’ll also discuss a set of improvements and guidelines for add-ons that will optimize its performance, reliability and compatibility in Internet Explorer.
With thousands of add-ons used by hundreds of millions worldwide, the Firefox Add-ons ecosystem is changing the way people use the web. Over the past year, initiatives like the Contributions Pilot, Developer Hub, Collections, and the site-wide AMO redesign have grown interest and participation by users and developers alike.
Join this panel to learn more about the last year in Firefox add-ons and what the next year holds for the Firefox add-ons community!
Each browser vendor has created an add-on gallery that provides rich distribution opportunities for add-on developers. But these channels have their limits. Join representatives from W3i, Conduit, and OpenCandy to discuss opportunities and techniques for growing your distribution channel and gaining broader adoption of your add-on.
Presenters
Moderator Alec Jeung (cooliris)
Ryan Weber (W3i), Adam Boyden (Conduit), Chester Ng (OpenCandy)
Most modern browsers provide methods of extension: allowing us to add visual elements, contextual menus, access the content area, and more. While this idea of an enriched browser is exciting, the reality of creating that same experience across all of the popular browsers platforms can be a daunting task.
This panel of web extension geeks will explore the question how can we “extend the browser’s” without loosing our mind.
Moderated by Lloyd Hilaiel (Yahoo)
Panel members: Miguel Cepero (W3i), Karen Teng (AdapdiveBlue), Mike Wertheim (Surfcanyon) , Aaron Boodman (Google)
Complimenting an add-on with a website provides benefits that an add-on strategy alone can not provide.
Whether it’s creating additional customer acquisition pathways – from organic search to passed links – or lowering the conversion friction, learn how leading developers are using websites to compliment an add-on strategy. (49:02)
Moderated by Fraser Kelton (adaptiveblue)
Presenters Alec Jeung (cooliris), Alex Iskold (adaptiveblue), Todd Agulnick (xmarks),
Jayson Ayers (OneRiot)
The Add-on-Con Blog is focused on the companies and individuals that build, market and support browser add-ons. The blog is edited by Robert Reich, community member and founder of Add-on-Con. If you would like to contribute please send me a note robert@oneriot.com.
Fatplug has created an add-on monetization platform. This allows add-on developers to monetize their current add-ons by integrating fatplug code. This code will initiate a pop up the first time the browser is loaded with the new add-on that allows the end user to select whether of not they see advertisements that support the add-on developer. These ad’s are served up through ad-swapping. We detect the sizes and positions of ad’s on websites and then block the original ad’s from loading and put ads from our ad network in that same position. Revenue from those advertisements is then split with add-on developers. This seems like a perfect solution for monetization. You can continue to give away your add-ons and make money on them too. If the end users decides to enable fatplug their browsing will financially support the add-ons they are using without interfering with the browsing experience.
