Tuesday May 17, 2011

Advertising Your Product To The Right Audience

Cocoanetics has an interesting post on getting the word out about your product through advertising. If you’re an indy dev who’s been trying to figure out the advertising game, this is a good case study.

But I’m coming to the conclusion that their hyped content targeting algorithms are not what they are cracked up to be. Any non-automatic method of placement gets better click through rates than what Google achieves.

This reflects similar experiences with my own apps. Personally, I’ve had much better luck finding specific audiences by sponsoring podcasts or blogs directly than going through automated means. I suspect it’s because apps aren’t try-before-you-buy. You’re more likely to purchase on a a friend or colleague’s recommendation.

Bottom line: Don’t just throw money at the nearest advertising wall.