How to Launch Your New App on a Budget
Planning the new release of an app can be stressful. There are a lot of variables to consider and a lot of things to plan. In this article, we discuss how successful entrepreneurs and companies plan for their app release and how to can do an effective app launch.
You don't need a gigantic budget to turn an app into success. Apps turn out to be a failure even if their developers and owners invest everything they have in it. The success of applications depends on their quality, as well as your effort in making them operate smoothly and most importantly, how you launch your new app.
Let's say that you created what you believe is an amazing app and decided to put it on the market. You followed the latest app development trends, put tons of effort into it, and now it's time to launch it.
This part is essential for the success of your application, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune. That being said, this article will tell you all about launching your app on a budget. 1. Create reports and track your expenses
You can't really save money unless you know where they're going, right?
At every stage of the app creation, its launch, and when it's actually out there, you will want to make reports and take notes. This is the time to learn how to make quick and easy reports to track your app's success, see if it meets your expectations, and figure out your next steps.
Customizable tools like Piktochart can make your job much easier, even after the launch. You can use them to create fast and accurate reports. With the important data in front of you, it is easy to distinguish the unnecessary expenses and minimize your costs. 
2. Hire the right people to help you save money
You must be thinking: "How will hiring people help me save money if I have to pay them to work"?
Yes, this is an additional expense but it can actually be a very fruitful investment for you. You'd be investing money to save money and, with the right person, this is more than possible.
The best person to determine where you can cut costs and save money is a product manager or owner. When creating an app, it can be very useful having someone like this to keep track and optimize the process. To get the right person, use Test Gorilla's hiring assessment for product owners to decide which candidate is the best choice for you.
3. Research the market
We often get tired of hearing this. Whatever you create and try to sell, you need to know the target audience. This is done by researching the market.
It is the most important step of creating anything, and your success depends greatly on it.
Since you're already at a stage where you have a ready app that needs to be launched, we'll assume that you've researched the market before creating your app. That's how you knew what to create and who to aim it toward.
When we say 'research the market', we have a more specific idea for this stage of your journey. At this point, your task is to research how the competition launched similar apps.
There are 1,8 million apps available on the Apple App Store right now, and iOS is second in terms of most used operating systems. Android counts 3.48 million apps at this point. Add Google's apps to this, and you get enormous competition for your application.
This is why your launch decisions need to be based on how apps are being launched on the market. You must get to know the popular apps in the niche, see what people like and dislike about them, and find a way to be better than your competition.
Take your time to check how people responded when similar apps were launched. You shouldn't copy the strategies of your competition, but these can be a great source of inspiration when you plan for your launch. 4. Save money on email marketing with templates
Email marketing was, and remains to this day, one of the best methods to promote and market products. That being said, it's not enough just to send an email saying: "here is our new app" to your audience. This is something you must plan and tread carefully. After all, you only get one shot at a first launch email for your app.
Hiring someone to do this for you can be costly, but there's an easy way to save some money on your email marketing strategy. Since you'll be sending tons of emails to promote your app and inform the audience, you need customizable templates that can be done in minutes.
Your task is to create engaging, informative content that will prompt people to try your app. It will also need to look attractive to grab their attention. To simplify the latter, you could customize a product launch email template at Flodesk, the platform that makes this a thousand times simpler. 
Source5. Use social channels to spread the word
Posting on social channels is free. Even if you opt for paid advertising, which is definitely a smart move these days, this is not too costly.
No matter what kind of app you are looking to launch, chances are most of your target audience is on social media.
Investing some money in this is a very smart move. Still, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to save some money here, too.
The main idea is to identify which social media platforms are most used by your target audience. If you aren't sure about a platform or don't think many of your target buyers use it, just eliminate it from your launch strategy.
What do you do when you find the platforms to use?
For starters, focus your efforts on creating quality, unique content that attracts the audience. Repurpose it specifically for the social media platform in question. You should never, ever use the same content across different social channels.
Once you have the content, it's time to look at sponsored opportunities and their costs. Social media ads can do wonders for the promotion of your app, and this is an investment you don't want to skip at this point. Right now, it's important to reach as many people in your target audience as possible since you don't have the power of social proof just yet.6. Run a contest
Did you know that you can drum up some excitement before you even launch your app? Contests are great when you want to spread the word around and tell people that there's something new on the market for them.
It's also the perfect way to fuel word of mouth these days. Approximately 89% of all industries these days use contests to promote their services and products.
What can you do at this point?
The idea is to incentivize people to download your application, so make this the task for the contest. People who want to participate in it will need to download your app and use it, and the reward doesn't have to be anything extreme - just an incentive to prompt them to do this.
7. Form partnerships with influencers
Influencer marketing is trending these days. People are more trusting of new products or services if they come recommended by influencers in the niche. Even though some influencers cost a fortune to work with, some will have affordable requirements to promote your new app.
The goal is to learn how to find affordable influencers in your niche. We emphasize your niche because partnering with influencers from other branches just for the sake of saving money is a very bad investment. Before anything else, you should make sure that the influencers you work with have the same target audience for your app.
When you find the people who will promote your brand, promote them with the information they need to spread the word around. Give them pre-launch access and some time to evaluate your app, and teach them how to use it if necessary. This way, they'll be ready to promote it as soon as it is launched.8. Give it a test run
The goal isn't only to save money on the launch, but also in the long run. What better way to save money than to fix the flaws of your app before you get it out there?
Did you know that you can analyze the quality and popularity of an app before it is officially launched? Many developers these days create a free trial run for their upcoming apps, available to only a few people. Based on your plans and goals for the apps, you can use these people's experiences to measure the potential success of the app before the official launch. The benefit you get is that these are real users with real devices testing your app.
At this point, you can figure out if your app meets the needs of its target audience, and find the flaws that need to be fixed. Fixing the errors before your app is out in the world is very cost-effective. If people are satisfied with it from the launch, you'll get the chance to attract and retain more users. Wrapping up
You had a great idea for an app that you turned into reality. Congratulations! This is not an easy thing to do. However, you're just halfway there. Now that your app is ready to be launched, you need to be very careful to make this as good as it can be. With some effort and a bit of luck, your app can go viral in no time!
