# App Marketing: How to Get Users Who Open It Twice

> GTM on autopilot. Revnu runs your pipeline, ads and GEO. Revnu grows. You build.

Canonical: https://revnu.com/grow/mobile-app

**How to market a mobile app and get users who stay.** Start with the store page, because every channel ends there. Pick the keywords people type into App Store and Google Play search, then rewrite your title, subtitle and first three screenshots around them. Next, run Apple Ads on those same terms so you see which ones bring users who open the app again. Then post honestly in the subreddits and Discords where your users talk about the problem. Last, publish web pages that answer "best app for [task]", so Google and AI answers send people to you.

## Step by step

1. **Rebuild the store page around real search terms.** List 30 phrases you think people type, then check them in App Store search autocomplete and Apple Ads keyword suggestions. Put the strongest in your title and subtitle, the rest in the keyword field without repeating words. Make screenshot one state the main task in large text, because many people never swipe past it. Use custom product pages so ad traffic for different keywords lands on matching screenshots.
2. **Fix ratings and onboarding before buying traffic.** Prompt for a rating with Apple's native review prompt right after a success moment, like finishing a workout or saving a first budget. Never offer rewards for reviews, since both stores ban it. Cut onboarding to the fewest screens that show value, and delay the ATT and notification permission prompts until users know why they need them. Reply to every one-star review in the store with a fix or an update date.
3. **Run Apple Ads on your best keywords.** Start with exact match on your brand, your category terms and competitor names, plus one discovery campaign to find new phrases. Judge keywords by trial starts or day-two opens, not installs alone. Move winning terms into your metadata at the next release. On Android, test Google App campaigns with your highest-intent creative.
4. **Show up where your users ask for recommendations.** Find 10 subreddits, Discords or forums where people discuss your problem, and spend time answering questions before you mention the app. When someone asks for an app like yours, say you built it and say who it is not for. Post a build log or a changelog in communities that welcome makers. Set alerts for your competitors' names so you catch switcher threads early.
5. **Publish pages for the web searches before the install.** Write a page for each "best app for [task]", "[competitor] alternative" and "how to [task] on iPhone" query you can honestly answer. Include real screenshots, a fair comparison table and a store badge. These pages rank on Google and give ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity something specific to cite. Update them when competitors change pricing.
6. **Plan around seasons and store events.** Mark the moments your category spikes, such as New Year for health and money apps, back to school for study apps, and the days after the holidays when people set up new phones. Schedule an In-App Event or a feature release just before each one and nominate it for featuring. Refresh screenshots and ad copy for the season. Send creators the update a few days ahead so their videos go live on time.

## Who buys from a mobile app

Individual people on iPhone or Android download the app and decide alone, often within the few seconds they spend on your store page. If you charge, the same person pays through an App Store or Google Play subscription, sometimes after a free trial.

- **Searchers with a job to do.** They type a plain task into App Store search, like "split bills with roommates" or "plant identifier", and pick from the first few results. Screenshots, rating and the subtitle decide it.
- **Switchers leaving another app.** They are annoyed at a competitor's price hike, new paywall, ads or removed feature, and they go looking for alternatives on Reddit and Google. A clear comparison and an easy import win them.
- **Seasonal resolvers.** Fitness, budgeting, language and habit apps get a wave of people around New Year and back to school, plus new phone owners setting up after the holidays. They want to start today and drop off fast if onboarding drags.
- **Hobby and community members.** Climbers, birders, home brewers and tabletop players trust what their own forums and group chats recommend. One genuine post from a regular can bring a group in.
- **Parents choosing for kids.** They read the privacy label, age rating and reviews before they install anything. Kids apps also fall under COPPA and Apple's Kids category rules, which limit tracking and ad targeting.

## Where to find them

- **App Store and Google Play search results.** This is where intent is highest and where people actually tap install. Your keyword field, subtitle, short description and screenshots are your ad copy here.
- **Niche subreddits.** People ask "is there an app that does X" in subs like r/productivity, r/personalfinance or a hobby sub, and those threads rank on Google for years. Read each sub's self-promotion rules before you post.
- **TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts creators in your niche.** A screen recording of the app solving a real problem works well for visual apps like photo editors, trackers and games. Small creators who already use similar apps convert better than big general accounts.
- **Google search and AI answers for "best app for [task]".** People research before installing paid or subscription apps, and listicles and AI answers shape the shortlist. Your own comparison and how-to pages can get you onto it.
- **Product Hunt and indie app newsletters.** Good for early adopters, press pickup and first reviews on productivity, AI and developer-adjacent apps. Weak for games and mass consumer apps whose users never visit Product Hunt.
- **Apple and Google editorial teams.** Featuring is pitched through the App Store Connect featuring nomination form and Google Play's equivalent. Pair the pitch with an In-App Event or a real update so editors have a reason to feature you.

## What to say

- **Do the one task faster.** "[Task] in [number of taps] taps. No account needed to try it."
- **Escape the competitor.** "Left [competitor] after the [price change or feature removal]? Import your [data] in one step and keep going."
- **Start the season today.** "Your [goal] for [season] starts with a [short daily action]. [App name] reminds you so you don't have to."
- **Made for this crowd.** "Built by a [hobbyist or profession] for [community], with [specific feature only they would care about]."

## Which channels fit

| Channel | Fit | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| App Store optimization | Strong fit | Store search is where people with a task go first, and better keywords and screenshots lift every other channel that sends traffic to the page. |
| Apple Ads (App Store search ads) | Strong fit | You bid on the exact words people type in the store, which also tells you which keywords to put in your metadata. |
| Reddit and community posting | Strong fit | Honest answers in threads asking for an app recommendation reach people at the moment of choosing, and those threads keep ranking on Google. |
| Web pages that rank and get cited | Sometimes | Worth it for subscription and utility apps people research first, like budgeting, note-taking or language apps, and less useful for impulse games. |
| Short-form video and creators | Sometimes | Strong when the app looks good on screen in a few seconds, weak for apps whose value only shows after a week of use. |
| Google search ads and Reddit ads | Sometimes | Search ads catch people comparing apps on the web, and Reddit ads reach a hobby sub cheaply, but both need a landing page that pushes straight to the store. |
| Cold email | Weak fit | Consumers never asked to hear from you, the app stores don't give you their addresses, and spam rules make it a liability. Save email for partners and press. |

## Mobile app advertising: where to spend first

_Advertising._ Spend first where people are already searching. Apple Ads on App Store search reach people mid-decision, and the keyword data feeds your store optimization. On Android, Google App campaigns run across Search, Play and YouTube from your creative assets. Meta and TikTok ads can scale a visual app, but since Apple's ATT prompt their tracking on iOS leans on modeled data and SKAdNetwork, so test small and watch day-two retention, not install cost. Skip broad banner networks early, because they fill your funnel with accidental taps. Reddit ads work for niche apps when you target a single hobby sub with a native-looking post. Example: a sourdough timer app bids on "bread timer" and "sourdough app" in Apple Ads, runs a Reddit ad in r/Sourdough showing the starter-feeding reminder, and pauses any keyword whose users don't open the app a second time.

## How users decide

The person decides alone, usually from the store page, and often compares only the top few results. Paid apps add a second decision at the paywall or trial end, where reviews, a friend's recommendation or a working free tier tip it. A clear first screenshot, a strong rating and onboarding that shows value before asking for sign-up speed both decisions.

## One prompt, worked through

> Get more users for Swellwatch, my iPhone app that sends surf and tide alerts for breaks around San Diego. Free with a yearly subscription for custom alerts. Users are local surfers who check conditions before work.

1. After you sign up, Revnu reads the Swellwatch site and store page and works out that buyers are local surfers searching for forecasts and alerts.
2. It runs Google search ads on terms like "San Diego surf report app" and Reddit ads in surf communities, with every message waiting for your approval by default.
3. It writes and publishes pages such as "best surf forecast app for San Diego" that can rank on Google and get cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
4. Each morning it reports on Slack or iMessage what moved.

Hand it to Revnu: https://revnu.com/sign-up?prompt=Get+more+users+for+%5Bapp+name%5D%2C+a+%5Bplatform%5D+app+that+helps+%5Bwho%5D+%5Bdo+what%5D%2C+and+point+them+to+the+store+page.&source=grow%2Fmobile-app

## FAQ

### Should I launch on Product Hunt?

Yes if your users are early adopters, like people who try productivity, AI or maker apps. No if you build a casual game or an app for a broad audience, because those users don't browse Product Hunt. Either way, treat it as a source of first reviews and feedback, not a growth plan.

### How do I get more App Store ratings without breaking the rules?

Use Apple's native review prompt, or Google's In-App Review API, right after a user succeeds at something. Both stores ban paying or rewarding people for reviews, and Apple's guidelines don't allow your own review prompts that screen for happy users first. Replying to bad reviews with fixes often gets users to update their rating.

### Did Apple's tracking prompt make paid ads useless?

No, but it made social ads on iOS harder to measure. Search ads, including Apple Ads, rely on the keyword people typed rather than tracking, so they still give you clean signals. For other networks, read SKAdNetwork or AdAttributionKit results and compare against your own trial and retention numbers.

### Should my app be free, freemium or paid up front?

Paid up front makes every channel harder, because people won't install an app they can't try. A free download with a trial or a useful free tier lets ads, creators and store search all do their job. Show the paywall after the user has felt the value, not on the first screen.

### What rules limit how I market a kids or health app?

Kids apps fall under COPPA in the US and Apple's Kids category rules, which restrict third-party tracking and behavioral ads. Health and fitness apps must fill in accurate privacy labels and avoid medical claims you can't support. Ad platforms also review health claims, so keep copy to what the app actually does.

### What does it cost?

Plans start at $99 a month, and Revnu starts on what you typed as soon as you sign up. Cancel any time in Settings.

### Does anything run before I sign up?

No. Nothing is checked or generated on this page. Revnu does the work inside your account, where it can read your website, keep what it finds and carry on from there.

Last updated: 2026-10-14

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