I am software developer, with years of experience. Over the years I have started multiple projects but I have always been afraid to release the apps for fear of failure and also considering the fact that I don’t know anything outside development.
Last year I made myself a promise to release one app, so I got to work and so far so good.
I have lost hope along the way and regained it , I have push through all negative thoughts and pushed this app further than any. I have progressed as far as running beta testing with external users ( all with positive comments )and fixed all bugs.
Now I am back to the same fear again and at the top of my fear list are:
- What if people don’t like it ?
- If is fails and I lose all the money I have invested in it
- How do I market it
- I don’t know much about running a business where do I begin with the launch and running this
- I am so introvert I don’t even have friends to test the app , I had to pay external testers.
Any direction, suggestion or helpful answers on how to go about this would be most appreciated.
Regarding points 1 and 2, I’d try not to see this as a binary. When you launch, there will probably be some people who like it, and some who don’t, and that’s completely fine! See this as an opportunity to get feedback on how to make the app even better, rather than a measure of success or failure.
There is so much you can do after launch to keep iterating and improving from user feedback. The best thing you can do is continue talking to users & give them opportunities to provide honest feedback regularly.
For point 3, this really depends on who your target user is. Try to target where those people “hang out” online, and use messaging that focuses on the problem that your app solves or the specific value it would add to their lives. Again, talking to your users is key for developing effective marketing.
If you’re looking for more advice on talking to users and collecting feedback (or even want to think about outsourcing some of that), I do this full-time so I’m happy to chat more.