5 Strategies To Revive A Dying App

After launching a fantastic app, you wait for the dreamed success to happen. But, after months, your app might still be a drop in an entire ocean of mobile apps. You must be asking yourself if this is just about you or your mobile app business is dying. Well, as a thriving field, the mobile ecosystem seems to have a long way to go. The good news is there are some tricks that you can use to revive your app even if the situation is not very good. If you are asking yourself what to do to have a successful mobile app, we have some ideas for you to follow to help you boost your downloads and reach the fame you always wanted.

How to Increase App Downloads

You might have embarked on the journey of developing a mobile app with some solid insight. Your app might cover several user needs seamlessly. However, it means nothing unless people notice the app on mobile app stores. Being invisible might be the end of mobile apps. So, let’s start with the ways of getting more app downloads.

1) Create a Boost Campaign to See Its Potential

Creating a boost campaign is an excellent method to make a difference in the app market. That way, your app will rank higher in its category in a short time since you waited so long for this moment. The best part is that after the campaign, the increasing visibility of the app will determine an organic uplift. Of course, your app should be good enough to impress organic users. 


An example in this area is a leading travel company in Turkey, for which a boost campaign has tripled its organic downloads. During the burst campaign, their daily installs reached from 203 to 1197! The campaign had a positive effect on organic installs as well as the sponsored ones. They increased to 600 from 203, which means a 295% increase.grafik

It will help you see your app’s potential because you will see what your actual users think about your app. If they continue to use it, this means there is a chance to make it a popular app among competitors.

Here is a detailed article if you want to learn more about burst campaigns.

2) Optimize App Store Page & Find the Best Keywords

Nowadays, an app doesn’t have a chance on the market without a perfect ASO. Every single detail counts. Think about investing in amazing screenshots, breathtaking videos, and mind-blowing icons. An example of the importance of the icon is Richard Wagstaff, a developer who doubled his app’s downloads after changing only the app store icon.

Let’s look at what you should consider in terms of ASO in order to revive your dying app.

a. Category, Competitive, and Review Analysis

You need to know everything your competitors do and everything your users think. This is why you should start with analysis. Even if you did it before, this time, take it seriously and do it again. Analyze reviews to see what your users think. Do this for your competitors, too, in order to find some great points to add to your app. Analyze the app category and your competitors to create a blue ocean for your app.

b. Keyword Analysis

First, remember that keyword analysis is not a one-time job. This is the most important part of your ASO operations. Do it regularly and analyze the result of your efforts to get benefit from it. You can use tools like Sensor Tower or Search Man for this. Track the performance of each keyword and find the easy-to-rank keywords for your app.

c. Icon, Screenshots, and Video Optimizations

Visuals have a perfect impact on people. Keep them simple and effective. Learn the best practices of each in order to increase your visibility and downloads.

d. Optimize Title & Description

Use your most important and most relevant keywords wisely to increase the chance of ranking higher. Don’t do keyword stuffing. Be straightforward and explain what you do. Don’t forget that App Store and Google Play have different requirements for each. By the way, remember that App Store updated its algorithm, and app names will now be limited to no longer than 50 characters.

3) Create Word of Mouth via Social Media

In today’s world, social media is everywhere. There might be some social media apps that died, but there is always more to come in this vertical. It is like you don’t exist if you are not active on social networks. The best part is that it can help an unpopular app a lot with the whole process of reviving, whether you have a big or a small budget.

a. Rewarding Campaigns

If other marketing strategies didn’t work to attract users, a rewarding campaign will sure do. According to Vibes, 77% of smartphone users said that mobile offers -like rewards or surprise points, exclusive content, and even special birthday messaging- have a positive or very positive impact on their brand loyalty. Create rewarding campaigns to increase both word of mouth and your downloads.

b. Facebook and LinkedIn Groups

If you don’t have a budget to promote your app, you can take advantage of Facebook and LinkedIn Groups. Of course, you have to be active there before you realize you have an app to revive. But, if you already developed a great community, it’s very easy to convince them to share insights about your app.

There are thousands of Facebook and LinkedIn groups that you can join and share your content and app. Find the relevant groups and get engage in these groups. Don’t only share your app but upload your blog posts or video contents if there are any.

c. Social Media Ads (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)

If you have a small budget, an effective way to generate noise about your forgotten app is using Social Media Ads.

Twitter has a limit of 280 characters and recommends using a maximum of two hashtags per tweet, so you have to be concise. Make sure to include a link to your app. Use a compelling visual and add relevant and mostly-used hashtags. Take your time to do the segmentation right before creating your ad.

Facebook owns one of the most significant communities in the world. It is losing its initial popularity, but it is not among native apps that are dying. If you post your ad there, you will have success in no time because of the great target audience. You can easily find your target here and create your ad. The budgets are lower than Twitter. Use the numbers and stats in your ad. Use image(s) that include a mobile device. Make the placement right and test your ad with different versions to increase the chance of downloads.

Instagram is a great channel to promote your app since 2014. It’s easier to attract potential users because you can showcase your app in pictures rather than words. As in Facebook, you can create your segments thanks to the amazing targeting options.

4) Improve UX & UI and Update When Needed

It goes without saying that your app should excel in all areas, especially in presentation. After you get your users’ attention, it is intolerable to disappoint them with a weak application. Investing in the user interface and user experience is one of the most critical stages of development. This is your chance to increase user retention.

The user interface is the way your app looks like. Usually, users judge an app by its interface. If it looks good, it will convince users to give it a try after the first installation because, let’s face it, we all judge a book by its cover. The keyword here is simplicity. You have to eliminate useless texts, decorations, colors, and icons. Make it intuitive to decrease its complexity.

Onboarding is vital for an app to increase retention and engagement. Don’t forget that engagement is significant for user acquisition too. Make your onboarding process smart, personalized, informative, fun, and simple. It’ll affect how your users see your app.

Include social sharing inside your app. This will both increase engagement and user acquisition. When people share their experience inside your app, new people will discover it.

Deep linking is another important thing to save your app. The most frustrating situation is when an app announces a giveaway and, for that, you just have to install that app or, if you already have the app, you just have to click a button to open the app. Instead of promised gift’s layout, the user is sent to the app’s homepage with no clue for the prize. The answer to this issue is deep linking. If you use those helpful deep links, they should open a page with instructions for the user’s benefit after the click. This is an essential feature for a long-term relationship between apps and users. Consider it while adding new features to your app in order to revive your dying app.

5) Use Freemium Model

The Freemium model, like its name states, is a combination of free and premium. The user downloads the app for free, and after he gets used to free and basic features, he has to pay for more advanced ones, like extra lives or characters in a game or more facilities in a time management app. If you want to revive your app you can consider investing some money into this process since a good way to increase the budget is to use the freemium model. It is based on the affinity developed by the user in the free part of the app and his desire for more even with a cost. According to App Annie, the freemium model is the most successful one when it comes to a number of apps and monetization.

To Wrap Up

It is hard to make an app stand out of the crowd but don’t give up! As you can see above, there are some ways to make it shine through millions of apps. Do what you need to do and give another chance to your app to reach your dreams!
