7 Great Methods That Revive Your Dying App

Abhishek Shah
ThugStart
Published in
3 min readMay 10, 2016

Creating an app is crucial, but keeping it alive is a much bigger challenge. No matter how huge the launch was, people tend to get bored of apps sooner and uninstall them. If you also have an app lingering in the store, and if its excitement has waned with time, then you must be wondering what to do in order to revive it. If you are receiving more uninstalls than installs and the app is just on the brink of dying, time has come for changing strategies.

Here are 7 great methods that can actually revive your dying app.

Overhaul your app design

The way you design your app plays a great role in convincing users to install it. Work on your app icon, screenshots, user interface and other features. Believe it or not, your users will largely judge your app’s quality with these exterior parameters. If the surface is not interesting and attractive, the users will hardly feel convinced to waste their MBs on your app.

Optimization for the app store

The name and description of your application should be optimized for the app store, just as you optimize your website for search engines. Whenever a user searches a keyword, your application should come within the first few results. Make sure that the keywords that you use have minimal competition, so that you are the only few apps that come up in the results. The more options available to the users, the lesser chances you have for receiving downloads.

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Launch a free campaign

In this method, you make your app available to be installed for free for a few days. If your app is already free to download, you can make an in-app purchase free. But remember that running the campaign is not enough, you need to make it popular with your target audience too. So, be ready to spend a little on ad campaigns as well.

Give a multilingual platform to your app

Most people search for applications in English language only, but once you have launched it in English, consider localizing it in more languages as well. By doing this, your app will gain exposure in other countries as well, and attract more downloads. Start by translating your application’s name and keywords, and then proceed towards the descriptions, screenshots and in-app content.

Run ad campaigns on social networking sites

You can revive an app by purchasing app installs with social networking sites, but a strategy is required to make those ads effective. Buying installs is helpful in moving the app up in the store rankings, and also in collecting feedback from the users. With this, you get a chance to know where your app is lacking, thus help improve your app.

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Look for a publisher

There are several publishers who have sufficient marketing knowledge. Get their help to receive immediate downloads at the app store. They are blessed with cross-promotional features and app store connections that can be helpful in ensuring that your app becomes a big hit.

Sell out the application

If all these methods fail and there is no chance to revive its existence, then its better time to move on. You can sell it out so that you can focus on creating a new better app. Websites like Fliptopia and Flippa allow you to sell and buy apps easily and quickly.

All these methods are helpful in reviving a dying app and increasing the number of downloads. If you need to sell it out in the end, you can at least focus more on better and bigger things, rather than sticking to an unfortunate application.

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Abhishek Shah
ThugStart

Nomad | Early Stage Investor | Wannabe Anthropologist | Technology Evangelist | Curious, Inquisitive & Experimental Entrepreneur