On Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 2:40 PM, Frank Weiss <[email protected]> wrote:
> I tend to favor "less is more". It's like resumes - you need to grab your > audience in the first 200 words. There's really nothing you can say after > that that will change their mind. > Of course. And if grab your audience, wouldn't it be nice if they had the option to keep reading, if they wanted to? I looked at the TreKing (Chicago) market blurb. It's probably just me, but a > list of features is not good marketing prose. > My app is a tool for people to get around on public transit. IMO, it's value comes from all the things it does for people that other similar apps don't. With such limitations, if I have to choose between listing features and coming up with some clever slogan or gimmick that somehow illicit an emotional response, I'll go for the feature list. Of course, as I've shown already, I'm no marketing guru =P I'm certainly open to suggestions on how I could improve it =) Also, and this is not to toot my own horn but to add to the point, my paid app is currently #1 in it's category (Travel) on the N1 and Droid and #2 on the G1 (as of last night). This is despite the fact that I've done no marketing for the app besides the market description and it's only usable in one city (Chicago). Infer from that what you will. On Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 2:55 PM, Brad Gies <[email protected]> wrote: > Treking.... what YOU are not getting is that for the VAST majority of > consumers too much information is BAD for sales. > Believe me, I get that. What I guess I'm not getting across is the simple point that there is NO REASON WHY WE SHOULD BE FORCED TO THIS SMALL OF A DESCRIPTION. THAT'S IT. Why is this so complicated? Why can't the developers be the ones to decide how much or how little they say? If you ruin your own app with bad marketing, well that's your problem. But shouldn't we have that option? I really don't know how else to explain that. I don't think it's that complicated of a concept. > It's not just that most consumers will ignore the extra data... it's that > they will walk away and look for something simpler if you give them too much > information. > OK, which is my own fault if I drive my customers away. Why can't I make that decision for myself? > You are thinking like a tech/developer and that IS BAD MARKETING... > I AM a tech/developer! I'm also a user of the Android Market and I HATE seeing blit.ly links in the description, etc, etc. > Why do you think most top consumer brands have a simple 3 to 6 word > slogan.... It's because MOST consumers react better to that. They buy it... > and then a very small percentage actually read the manual that is included > AFTER the sale. > No, slogans, like logos, are about association and brand recognition. And you're generalizing all consumer products. For example "Tide" and an "XBox" are vastly different and require different strategies. And don't consumer brands are not solely marketed with 3 to 6 word slogans. Don't they have commercials that say "gets your sheets super white", or whatever, to tell the user what it does and why it's better than others? Marketing is not simply buzz words and pretty pictures. Unfortunately, for us, that is the case in the Android Market (unless you can afford to pay for advertising elsewhere). > If you app is for techies or developers feel free to give them all the > information you want (actually feel free to do it for anyone). > You're assuming that a longer description implies technical information. And it DOES NOT. > BUT.. if you app is for the general public and someone else offers an app > that does something similar to your (even if it's not as good) and offers > just a very good good short marketing message as the description, it will > outsell yours EVERY TIME. > Please provide statistical analysis to back that broad claim up. > I do think your "Read More" would help with both types however.... But, if > I have to choose, I'll go with the short description every time, because I'd > rather have good marketing for the 90% of people who don't want much > information, than good specs for the 10% or less that want it. > You're again confusing "longer" with "techy". I do apologize to everyone if I'm not making myself clear, though I don't know where I'm going wrong. All I'm saying is that developers should really have the OPTION to describe their apps in as much or a little depth as they see fit. If you shoot yourself in the foot with bad marketing that is your problem. But there is ZERO reason why we should be FORCED to work within this 325 character limit. It simply makes no sense. If you think it does, please explain why Apple, which I think everyone can agree knows a thing or two about marketing, apparently allows their developers 4,000 characters. Is Apple wrong to do this then? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TreKing <http://sites.google.com/site/rezmobileapps/treking> - Chicago transit tracking app for Android-powered devices -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
