Marketing an Indie App With Zero Budget

One of the best things an indie app developer can do is document and share the behind-the-scenes process of working on a new app.

Over time, you’ll tell a story that generates interest.

People in your niche will be interested in following your process and how your app develops over time. 

Build like an artist who starts with a blank canvas, which turns into a rough sketch, before ultimately becoming a masterpiece. 

Share screenshots of your app, wireframes you played around with, and any new features you’re thinking of adding. 

Which takes me to the next important point. 

Being open-minded, flexible, and not giving up makes your app’s success almost inevitable. 

I’ll explain with an example. 

Before becoming a $27.7 billion company, Slack was a side tool built by a gaming company’s internal team. 

The gaming company, Tiny Speck, was burning through $17 million and quickly failing. By every measure, it looked like they’d all be out of a job and the company would collapse.

But the internal communication tool they'd built for their remote team was more exciting than their actual games. Tiny Speck’s developers started spending more time improving their chat system than the product they were selling.

This one decision to pivot generated more value than they could have possibly imagined. 

Now, I can hear you saying: “But I’m not a professional game or software developer.”

And that’s fine! Because the principle still applies to you.

Being open to feedback and user input will tell you what you need to build. 

Make it as easy as possible for people to get in contact with you. 

In your app, include an email link.

Have a presence on different social platforms. 

Treat customer service like its own marketing channel. 

Customer service and marketing seem different, but they’re closely linked. Every interaction with a potential or current customer is key to marketing. 

When people reach out with feature requests or even complaints, it shows they’re invested in your idea and care.

Even when people voice problems, it’s an opportunity to show that you listen. If you then fix their problem in a timely way, you build a strong relationship with your user. 

The same is true with sharing updates.

When you have something new and worth talking about for your app, you should reach out to different people in your niche. 

Don’t expect people to cover your app.

Proactively reach out to journalists and bloggers with your story. 

Think about things from the perspective of content creators.

If someone is running a blog, podcast, or website, they’re always looking for things to talk about.

This could be new topics, technology, apps, etc. 

By reaching out, you’re doing them a favor. It’s never a burden as long as you do it politely. 

It also never hurts to fire off an email or DM to someone in your niche.