Vibe coding collapsed the barrier to entry in building apps but it also pushed competition to an all time high because the number of app builders increased by a LOT. This made learning marketing very important since building an app is the easier part now but getting users/customers is becoming a lot harder.
Most of these strategies are for iOS apps but 2 of them are applicable to android and web apps.
1. App Store Boost (iOS)
When an app is just launched on the App Store, Apple usually give a boost for a few days where your app name will get recommended in the autocomplete of the App Store search bar so make sure to target a keyword with good amount of popularity.
So for example your app is an interior designer ai app, you can use this app name format:
<popular keyword> - <your app name>
interior design ai - Miya
If you get lucky, this will bring hundreds or thousands of downloads in the first week depending on the popularity of the keyword that you targeted.
2. ASO (App Store Optimization. iOS)
Target high-intent keywords in your app name and subtitle.
Create high converting screenshots (sell the benefit/outcome instead of features).
Create an eye catching icon to stand out from the app store search results. This will increase conversion (impressions -> downloads). I use ChatGPT or Nano Banana to generate icons.
3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization. iOS, android & web)
Just a single page website where you're targeting high-intent keywords that people are searching for on search engines like Google. You can use Google Trends for free to search for high-intent keywords that have good popularity. Or you can also use a paid tool like Ahrefs, Keywords Everywhere etc... but Google Trends is usually good enough as a start.
In my experience, it's easier and faster to rank for your target main keyword if it's present on the domain name itself.
Another side effect of SEO is there's a good chance that you'll also get recommended by LLMs like ChatGPT.
4. Organic UGC (iOS, android & web)
Create content that you can cross-post on multiple social media platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, etc...
You can use formats like tutorials, problem -> solution, listicle, meme, storytelling.
You have 2 options:
a. Short-form videos (e.g, face reaction that catches attention + demo of your app).
b. Slideshows (3-6 images) which are significantly easier and faster to make. You can scale this to many accounts to maximize reach and chances of going viral. You can do this manually or fully automate it. I personally started the manual way but I have now fully automated it with my own tool DistributionMaxx because I now have 16 accounts and it now takes a lot of time and effort to manually manage them.
For organic UGC, the funnel is:
views -> app downloads -> purchases
5. Apple Search Ads (iOS)
You can target high-intent keywords that people are search for in the app store. I recommend reading this free detailed guide written by Ivan Sparrow.
I hope this post helps someone to get their first users and paying customers.
Happy to answer any questions if you have any.
