This is the perfect example of a why many devs here on HN need to stop undervaluing the benefits of a non-technical co-founder that can seriously rock the marketing side of stuff.
What I see here is a pretty good looking app. Sure, it lacks things like scratch marks, but a solid version 1.0. However, you have really not done very much to promote the app. Emailing press and posting on forums won't get you far. The press get hundreds of review pitches a day - you can't expect to email them out of the blue on launch day and get them to cover your app - especially when it is not exactly noteworthy (it's not the first app of its kind).
Learn to hustle. The newspaper ad under the sudoku puzzle was a good idea.
I think there's a more fundamental problem here: entering a market where there are already literally 1000s of other competitors. It doesn't really matter how much he promotes his app - the people who like to play Sudoku probably already have a Sudoku app installed. And there're limited ways to be "better" than existing entrants.
Perhaps a non-technical cofounder could've helped here, but really what he needed is courage and the ability to take risks. People who strike it big - in any market - do so by providing what other people are not providing; you have to be willing to say "I'm going to do what other people are not doing, because they're doing it wrong" and then be right about that.
First, I have a non technical co-funder and he's doing a lot of stuffs to get us traction.
I am not playing it defensive here. I've explained in a previous blog post where the game come from. I admit it should have been out a few months ago already. Nevertheless, what I tried to express in the blog post is my surprise/disappointment the results we are getting from our strategy.
For example of getting featured on two facebook page of more that 200k fans each and not get at least 1k download is still interrogating me.
And to come to the point of "providing what others are not providing", this is the whole point of the app. Our premises were:
- Sudoku can be fun.
- Sudoku can have nice design too with nice ambient sounds.
- You can build a fully featured sudoku game with all the above extras.
The market is telling you that there's no need for another Sudoku game. It's possible that this is because of some missing element in the game design - or it's possible that other people already find the other 1000 alternatives fun, or think they have nice design. Either way, though, wouldn't it be easier to find a less crowded niche where people have real needs that are being poorly met by the existing apps?
I don't think so. I don't want to disclose here the concerned pages. But It is pages of android device manufacturing company. I don't think those kind of company need to buy fans.
I wouldn't expect the majority of those likes to be people who like your type of game, out of 200,000 how many like sudoku? Of of that smaller number how many would want to play it on their phone? Who don't already have an app they like with historical data/saves already?
From 200k your potential target audience drops rapidly I would imagine.
Instead of being featured on device pages you should try and get featured on actual sukoku or puzzle pages where a greater percentage of likes are from people who are more likey to be interested in your product.
"People who strike it big - in any market - do so by providing what other people are not providing; you have to be willing to say "I'm going to do what other people are not doing, because they're doing it wrong" and then be right about that."
That is a seriously good way to talk about indie/startup business.
I was going to say the same thing. Marketing and awareness are not easy, and they are especially not easy when the market you are in is full of people trying to be heard. Good marketing can get your message heard above all the noise.
Right now this app can't be found above the noise floor. So how much is it worth to you, as a developer, to actually have people buy your product. 10%? 20% ? 50% of your interest.
Now for the OP (not sure if they are reading here or not) but the advice to hit up folks who would use your app and where they hang out is a good one. If there is a shopping center or other area where a large number of people congregate near you, consider setting up a table and offering a free App for feedback. In the best case you can tie analytics for app use back to user 'type' (age/gender/socio-economic status/interests) which will let you find other people who might like your app more easily.
The Op here
We have many things we are doing locally to get traction and most of all feedback. And we are also keeping track of analytics.
We've printed ads that we'll be distributing in schools and mall to get some downloads and helpful feedback.
I'd love a non-technical co-founder, if I could only find one. Most business-oriented people I meet like being employed. The only people I meet that are interested in startups (interested in building one, rather than having built one, successfully) are engineers with less panache for sales than I have.
I'm in a similar situation as the OP, and to be honest I'd be willing to give a lot away to have someone handle the sales & marketing end.
What I see here is a pretty good looking app. Sure, it lacks things like scratch marks, but a solid version 1.0. However, you have really not done very much to promote the app. Emailing press and posting on forums won't get you far. The press get hundreds of review pitches a day - you can't expect to email them out of the blue on launch day and get them to cover your app - especially when it is not exactly noteworthy (it's not the first app of its kind).
Learn to hustle. The newspaper ad under the sudoku puzzle was a good idea.