How to market a web application (part 2)
Date: 02 Oct 2009 Author: Ivana Bozinovska
PR and email marketing
Once you have set with a product website and a blog, you need to promote them so the targeted audience can see them. Yes, you have already done SEO on your website, so people should start visiting the website, however that is not enough.
Firstly, creating an email marketing newsletter maybe sounds like so last season but it is still quite effective. A proper call to action newsletter sent to your past and current customers and/or registered users is a useful promotional tool.
Secondly, preparing an appealing press release for the online media as well as the offline is also very effective for promoting the application. You can publish PRs occasionally, when there is a new product release, or some major enhancement.
Beta testing programs
The beta testing programs are useful for bug testing but lately they have been very useful for feedback and word-of-mouth advertising. It is the kind of advertising when the people that are testing your application are feeling privileged to participate in the beta testing and give feedback about bugs and issues.
For an extra effort, it is a good idea to be rewarded somehow – by some free subscription of some free licenses or free promotional goods.
Affiliate marketing and online resellers
For entering new and unknown markets it is a good idea to have affiliate programs. Someone else who has the connections and knows the market, will find you the right customers.
The affiliate marketing programs can be referral in sense of presenting your application on their website and getting a percent of the sales or the contacts made.
The online resellers sell the application on their websites and get a certain percent of each sale. Whichever of these options suits you, it doesn’t matter as long as you are making profits.