Screenshots on the App Store: how to choose them?

Screenshots have always been an important part of the purchasing process on the App Store. It is the only way for the App shopper to get an idea of what the app look like.

If you are familiar with reading patterns, you know that the average shopper will surf very quickly through your screenshots (15 seconds is the average time spent). In that case, what's critical is to get the shopper to stop by. Therefore catching his/her attention must be your only obsession.

If the shopper doesn't stop by, it's not a good screenshot

Also if you have updated your iPad to ios 6 (meaning you have at least an iPad 2), you also noticed that on the App Store screenshots now come first, making it more important to put up the best you have, especially the two first screenshots which will make a difference.

On iPad 1:

Text first, screenshots second with an iPad 1

And now on iPad 2 or above

The first 2 screenshots come first on ios 6

I have also noticed some app developers have put concept pictures instead of their real app screenshots which is something I don't recommend. The shopper is visiting your App Store site to get an idea of what your app is about, if he/she was looking for concept pictures, there's all he/she needs on the net. If the picture you put up is not about your app, forget it.

Instead focus either on real app screenshots OR contextual picture of your app i.e the user using your app in a particular situation (remember the umbrella principle). 

In either case, I recommend one important thing: tell a story! Tell what is happening when you use your app, it's the best way to attract their attention.

Your screenshots should tell a story

A user case scenario is a good way to tell a story. Here's what we have picked up:

1) Screenshot 1: Welcome screen

2) Screenshot 2: Setting up a meeting

3) Screenshot 3: Meeting notes being taken

4) Screenshot 4: A finalized meeting Report

5) Screenshot 5: The email ready to be sent with the attached meeting report

You can also add a few comments on your screenshots to help the user better understand what the screenshot is about (features and such).

Finally don't forget to update your screenshots when you have a new version available.

Best marketing pitch for ipad app : Are quotes any useful?

"Best meeting report iPad app ever"

"Meeting notes on iPad have never been that easy with iTakeNotes" 

"Best Meeting Minutes iPad App Award Winner"

Sounds familiar? If you've been shopping around the App Store, you've probably noticed that quotes are just everywhere.  I looked over in productivity apps, 5 out of 20 app pitches were starting with quotes.

Well, most of the App Store marketing specialists tell you that you need to give quotes because shoppers are looking for social proof. And putting quotes first is a good way to give shopper a virtual "certificate".

Shoppers want quotes to avoid bad surprises

The web is full of junk and so is the App Store even if Apple is checking who's showing up. We are all looking for a recommendation from someone, either customer reviews or "media" quotes.

Following the same phenomenon you have for restaurants or hotels, iPad and iPhones magazines both online and at the newsstand have appeared almost everywhere.

Why?

Because we don't want to spend money on something that's not worth it. But the issue I am not comfortable with is the same issue we find all over the web, from TripAdvisor to Amazon:

Fake reviews and fake quotes

Yes fake reviews are everywhere now

Yes there is a business of paying for reviews and getting supposedly independent reviews. I don't say that all reviewer sites and magazines are not sincere but there is a fair share of that market which is corrupted.

And it's going to be more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.  This is the reason why I believe that quotes are likely to become less and less effective unless you are able to quote a review from an unquestionable brand, which will be difficult to find.

Rather than presenting your app like if it was a broadway show, I would rather not use quotes unless they are really worth showing.

Instead refine your first sentence, the one that makes the difference, make it sounds true about your app: what does it bring to the user? What is the pay off? In conclusion I would say:

Be true, it will eventually pay off

Best marketing pitch for the App Store: choosing the right words

Most of App Store Marketers tell you to put up quotes at the start of your app pitch. But since you are writing your first pitch, you have no reviews yet and it's going to be just plain text.

As we stated in a previous post, most shoppers won't read your text, so you better say what you have to say really quick. But how should you structure your pitch? And which words should you use and which ones should you avoid?

How to structure your pitch?

- A first sentence that summarizes exactly what you app does and the added value it brings to the user. Remember the umbrella principle, your app main feature should be crystal clear. If you want a good indicator that it works: even a 10 year old must understand it.

- Put your app in its context, be concrete: in which case, should you use it? At work? At home? In a boat? Be precise.

Don't write a too long pitch: Be concise

- Then explore the various features of your app. The best way to do it is to follow the most common user case. Otherwise describe what makes your app truly different.

- Saving time, money or Willy is always good so don't forget to put upfront positive effects included in your app.

- Since most readers won't spend too much time reading, do not write long sentences, use short ones. And use them with bullets as often as possible, they are easier to catch when scrolling down a text.

Which words should you use? 

- Personalize as much as you can: avoid words such as "user", "individual" and so on. Prefer the "you".

- Avoid technical words, remember the ipad (or iphone) user is not an app developer.

- Some studies have shown that buyers respond more to some words than others. Words such as "new", "discover", "now", "instantly" etc. should be preferred wherever possible.

Some words can be confusing for the shopper

If you want to know more about persuasive words, I suggest you read this article from Jonathan Farrington's blog, a famous sales coach.

Best marketing pitch for the App Store : understanding reading patterns

The App Store requires you to write a presentation of your App, which is something you have probably seen a hundred times if you have surfed on the App Store with your iPad. This post will focus on some reading pattern issues that I found important to capture before getting into the "pitch" subject which I will review in a second post.

As of today, there are no real public studies about readers behavior on the App Store. The only way we can figure  how readers behave on the App Store is through how they read in real life and more specifically how they read on the web, something that has received a lot of attention in the past 15 years.

Let's start with facts from real life: People read on average 200 words per minute. Since there are between 15 and 20 words per line, the average person reads one line in 5 seconds. So if they get to your app description and knowing they can only read 3 lines without having to scroll down, they are likely to spend 15 seconds on your App description, yes, 15 seconds and that's it.

You have 15 seconds to get your audience interested

Not only they spend a very limited time on your description but eye tracking studies suggest that reading is not a smooth process: we read over the text, stop from times to times in a process called fixation. Then we move forward or backward (if we didn't understand for example).

Fixation is good in marketing because it increases the chances that the reader will remember.

But fixation depends on how long the word is (short words don't get much fixation) and its nature: if the word is a content word, there's 85% chances we will fix it, it it's a function word, there's 35% chances we will fix it.

Fixation is a reading process you'll be looking for

And it gets worse:

• Web studies have shown that people will scan the main sections of a page and make decisions in 3 seconds about staying or leaving.
• If they stay, meaning that they do scroll down your app, if their behavior is similar to web user behavior, they will read only 20% of your text, often focusing on a triangular area in the upper left corner. Eye tracking studies have shown that this reading behavior looks like an F shape, specifically on e-commerce sites.

F shape reading pattern

Now let's apply this behavior to the app store where you don't have as much choice as on an html page. Here are the most important part of your text before the user scrolls down:

This is what most customers read before they scroll 

and if he took the decision to scroll down and "read" the rest of the text:

This is what most customers read if they scroll down

I don't have an eye tracking device and I haven't try to check that this web reading pattern apply to all users (but I swear I will). Using an iPad to browse the App Store is something very new that is likely to evolve over time. Also the impact of screen captures is not taken into account.

Nonetheless until someone smarter than me with an eye tracking device challenge this theory (for which I will welcome any input), I suggest the following for App developers:

• Put the most important content first, in the opening sentences and paragraphs and get straight to the point: what is you App about?
• Make short sentences with content words
• Use bullets lists wherever you can

If you want more information about reading patterns, I encourage you to visit the following sites:
- Nielsen's research on web readers : Nielsen is one the eye tracking most recognized searchers and is the first one to have identified the F shape pattern
- The National Center for Children with Disabilities (yes) has a very good article on the subject that you can find here
- Apple studies that you will find if you work for one of these organizations  (and you can send me whatever you have)

What is the real impact of keywords on the app store?

You have a great app but how the millions of iPad users will now that it does exist? If they don't know, how can they find you on the app store? We developed a meeting report app, but how will user know that there is a meeting report app?

Two ways: either you are very visible on the app store, a probability that comes very close to winning the national lottery, either you have found the magic keywords.

If this happens to you with keywords, wake up, you're dreaming 

Magic keywords combine both a very high search by the users AND a very high ranking of your app in the search results. Needless to say that even Hogwarts best students won't find out the magic keywords for your app.

So here's my advise: find the right keywords for your app, don't spend too much time on it and most importantly try not to mess up that process.

Finding the best keywords for your app: take your app main feature with the umbrella principle in mind. It's raining outside, you need to go out, what are the first words that come to your mind? "rain", "wet", "umbrella" and so on.

For iTakeNotes, we came with meeting, meeting report, minutes, notes, conference,... Those words are close concepts to our app main features. And we did it in english, french, spanish...

Don't play keyword strategy too long

And that's enough. Seriously.

There are so many things to do to market your app, no need to spend more time on it. Think of it: you're not alone, thousand of smart developers are out there and came with the same ideas. If you are familiar with game theory, you will realize that keywords are just too basic marketing to help you differentiate your app.

But still don't mess up your keywords. On the app store there is no coming back i.e. once your keywords are set, you will not be able to change them unless you make a new app release.

There is no second chance for keywords on the App Store

Now a few useful links:
- How to deal with keywords on App Store: check out Noel Chenier article on its blog, very useful
- The most used keywords: very interesting article by Bryson Meunier on Searchengineland
- A very interesting slideshare on the subject can also be found here

What is the best design for an app icon?

If you picked your icon color right, what your app icon design should be?

Remember that your icon must tell something about your app main features. It must be in line with your target audience. That's the easy part.

Your app icon must give the user an idea of what's in there

Now designing an icon means drawing something. If you are good with Photoshop, google up some tutorial, otherwise get ready to spend around $40 to purchase an icon design software from the following list.
You can also buy directly ready to use icons or customize them through dedicated websites such as webiconset , seanau , symbolicons or the very cheap iconshelf (how can they be so cheap?)

Whether you are designing the icon yourself or you bought it out (believe me, there's no shame in that), there are 4 principles you should respect:

- The simpler the better: don't put too many things in your icon, it will ultimately be confusing: 3 objects is a maximum
- Use universal imagery that people will understand wherever they come from
- Avoid putting text in your icon: it's a waste of space and it's hard to read anyway
- Avoid gloss, when you load your icon, Apple automatically adds gloss

Keep it simple and universal

Also bear in mind general design principles also apply to the app world because the eye moves throughout a design from one element to the other just like the ear with music:

- The eye associates line positions and directions with concepts: horizontal lines are calm and quiet, vertical ones suggest potential for movement and diagonal lines suggest movement and vitality.

- Straight lines are associated with human creation and work, curbs with nature and emotions

- Use familiar schemes: the eye is naturally attracted by something that is both complex and familiar, in the App Store chaos, it's a good way to make a difference. Check out this excellent article on visual hierarchy from Joshua Johnson on the subject, a real eye opener

- A good design must always be "balanced": to avoid mistakes, I found useful to use the "rule of the thirds" to build good proportions in an icon

Thou shall not ignore design principles even on the App Store

There so much to say about design that we could discuss it forever. But our app check list is far from over, we now need to focus on keywords and marketing pitch.

What's the best color for an app icon?

An icon represents your app on the App Store. Just like walking in the street, some people will notice your store and stop by, some won't.
What does it take to catch the attention? Color? Suggestive draw? Link with the name? Preview of the graphical interface? All of that?

How to attract attention in the App Store?

Being an amateur, I don't have a definitive answer BUT I do have a few clues. Let's start with colors.

Studies have shown that people tend to associate colors with emotions: white is pure, cold or high tech since Steve Jobs decided so but it is a mourning color in Asia; red is associated with heat, passion and is the color the eye recognizes most quickly; black is associated with sophistication, power or underground (Anonymous for example); green is nature, environment, more generally associated with wisdom; yellow is the most attractive color for the eye, the most tiresome also, supposed to go with fun and used with black it's a strong teaser; purple is power but difficult to use; brown is both nature and strength; blue which is the most popular color especially for men often associated with trust. No wonder  why most brands use blue. And finally pink which is associated with romance and the favorite color for women (which I challenge since I won't bet on any guy dressed up in pink for a date).

Colors help you get noticed from the App crowd

Now what's the best color for an app icon on the App Store? Remember that the App Store is a grey world, so avoid grey of course but also black, at least for the background. 

Depending on the target you have, I suggest you choose the following:

For business, productivity or any category which is serious, I would pick blue, brown or white as favorites and handle with care the others. 

For health I would pick white and blue.

For everything around games, I'd go for more vivid colors like red, yellow, everything which catches the eye of young folks. 

If you've been clever, your graphical interface was already in line with your target and all you need is to duplicate.

You are still not sure? Well, make a test. Like for name get random people in line with you target audience and make them choose between several png colors for the same name and see how it goes. 

Make sure your color attracts the right target audience

To tell the truth, we didn't act this way since we were more or less in a rush. Our app icon has been designed after our graphical interface which was brown so we didn't get it completely wrong. But not having it right the first time is not that critical, you can change your icon with a new version, so there is always time to do things right.

If you want to explore some more about colors: 

Generic about colors:

- Kissmetrics blog

- Marketo Blog 

More specific about icons

- Mobile testing blog which has some very useful information

- Adrien Friggeri experience on the iphone

And if you need inspiration, check out AppStorm review of most gorgeous icons. They didn't pick iTakeNotes but we are forgiving.