errn - cloudflare apps... · 2020-05-08 · facebook cross promotion through online communities...

1 888 99 FLARE | www.cloudflare.com/apps

App Developer Playbook

Step-by-Step Marketing Guide

1

02 Overview What’sCloudflare? What’saCloudflareApp? AppSubscriptionRevenue

04 Optimizing Your App for Discoverability TitleandShortDescription Screenshots AboutSection Categories

06 Promotional Activities BuildinganAppPreviewLink InstallBadgeandPlacement EmailAnnouncement BlogPosting InPersonEventsandMeetups SocialMediaAnnouncements CrossPromotionThroughOnlineCommunities ProductHunt Reddit HackerNews

12 Building Momentum Before Launch TestYourMessagingandBuildaList

Step-by-Step Marketing Guide for Cloudflare App Developers

TableofContents

2

OverviewWhat’s Cloudflare?CloudflareisonamissiontohelpbuildabetterInternet.Cloudflarerunsoneoftheworld’slargestnetworks thatpowersmorethan10trillionrequestspermonth—nearly10percentofallHTTPInternetrequestsfor morethan2.5billionpeopleworldwide.

Cloudflareprotectsandacceleratesanywebsite,application,orAPIonlinewithoutaddinghardware,installingsoftware,orchangingasinglelineofcode.Over6millionInternetpropertiesarepoweredbyCloudflare,andhavetheirtrafficroutedthroughitsintelligentglobalnetwork,whichgetssmarterwitheachnewsiteadded. Asaresult,theyseesignificantimprovementinperformanceandadecreaseinspamandotherattacks.

What’s a Cloudflare App?Cloudflareofferstheopportunityforappdeveloperstotapintoitsglobalnetworkof6millionwebsites,application, andAPIs,throughitsbrandnewCloudflareappstore.Cloudflare’sappstorehelpsyougetdiscovered,earnrevenue,andbuildaglobalbusiness.

Cloudflare Apps prioritize ease of use and discoverability. Themostsuccessfulappsareeasytopreview,andallowuserstocompleteallactionsintheappinstaller.ExampleappsonCloudflare’sappstorecanbefoundbelow;alloftheseprojectsareinstallableonover 6millionwebsites:

3

App Subscription RevenueAuto-renewablesubscriptionsgiveCloudflareappuserstheabilitytoinstallyourappontheirwebsiteandcontinuetoutilizeitonanongoingbasis.Attheendoftheappsubscriptionduration,itwillautomatically renewforappusersuntiltheychoosetocancelit.

Therevenuestructureforauto-renewableCloudflareappsubscriptionsarecomparabletootheronlineappstores:developers receive 70% of the subscription price at each monthly billing cycle, minus applicable taxes and fees.

Cloudflareappsalsosupportspaymenttiers,providingdeveloperstheabilitytoofferlevelsofaccessand functionalitiestotheircustomers,dependinguponwhichtierthey’vesubscribed.

4

Optimizing Your App for DiscoverabilityOneofthemostimportantactivitieswhichyou’llpartakeinduringtheCloudflareappdeploymentprocessisensuringthatbothCloudflareappstorevisitors,aswellasanyonedoingasearchontheweb,canquicklyandeasilyfindyourapp.ByoptimizingyourCloudflareappfordiscoverability,you’llreceiveagreaternumberofviews,installations,andrevenue.Let’sreviewthevariouscomponentsofproperlyoptimizingyourappfordiscovery:

Title and Short DescriptionYourapp’stitleandshortdescriptionarethefirstthingmillionsofwebsiteownersaregoingtoseewhencomingacrossyourCloudflareapp,whetherit’sthroughtheappstoreoronasearchengine.It’sgoodtothinkofyourtitle andshortdescriptionasahook,usedtolurewebsiteownersintoreviewing,previewing,andinstallingyourapp.

It’simportantthatanapp’stitleisunique,descriptive,andidentifiable.NoAdBlockisagreatexample;theapp’stitleisuniquelyidentifiable,whiledescribingexactlywhatitdoesonauser’swebsite:notifyingvisitorsusingadblockingsoftwaretoeitherturnofftheiradblocksoftwareorwhitelisttheirwebsite.

Yourapp’sshortdescriptionisshowndirectlybelowtheapp’stitleandicon,providingadditionalinformationaboutwhatyourappdoes.NoAdBlock’sshortdescriptionstates“Increase your revenue by disallowing ad-blocking software.”Goodshortdescriptionshelpusersunderstandwhatyourappwilldoforthemin themostsuccinctway.

InstickingwithourNoAdBlockexample,you’llfindaGooglesearchresultbelow,whichcomesupwhensearching “blockingadblockerscloudflareapp”;thetitleoftheapp‘NoAdBlock’appearsasthesearchresulttitle,andthe shortdescriptionofyourappfollows.Thegoalofoptimizingforsearchenginevisibilityistouserelevantkeywords, whichpotentialappinstallerswillbesearching.

5

Screenshots Showcasinghowyourapplooksonauser’swebsitebringsadditionalconfidencetousersthinkingaboutpreviewingandinstalling.Foundbelowisagreatexampleofhowtheapp‘Chatra’hasshowcasedtheirscreenshots;you’llnoticethereareavarietyofscreenshots,showingmultiplewaysinwhichthesoftware canbeconfiguredonauser’swebsite.

Somescreenshotsalsoincludeamobilevisitorview.Thisisasmallbutimportantaspectofshowcasingyourapp;mostwebsitestodayaredesignedresponsively—meaningtheirdesignadaptstobothdesktopandmobileviewsandexpectanyappsinstalledonthemtofunctioninasimilarfashion.

About Section The‘About’sectionofyourCloudflareappstorelistingisamoredetaileddescriptionofthefeaturesandbenefitsyourappprovides.Foundbelowisastandardtemplatewhichcanbeusedforyourapp’s‘About’section:

About Usethisinitialtopsectiontoclearlydescribewhatyourappdoesforusersin3-5sentences;thisshouldexpandupontheshortdescriptionyou’vecreatedabove.

Benefit #1 Usethissectiontoestablishtop-levelbenefitsofyourappasheadings,andthendescribethefeaturesofwhichmakeupthelistedbenefit.Youcanusebulletpointstooutlinethesefeatures,describethesefeaturesinaparagraphformat,orusebothofthosetechniquesincombination.

Benefit #2 SectionwillmirrortheformatofBenefit#1.

Distinctive Features Bulletpointlistoffeaturesthatmakethisappstandoutfromsimilarchoices.

Final call to action Usethissectiontoleaveuserswithafinalstatementorcalltoaction,askingthemtopreviewandinstallyourappontheirwebsite.Agoodcalltoactionclearlytellsuserswhatyouwantthemtodonext.

6

Categories Bytaggingyourappwithspecificcategories,Cloudflareappstorebrowserswillbeablefindyourappeasier.Cloudflareappsallowsyouselectspecificcategoriesinwhichyourappisapplicabletowebsiteowners.Thesecategoriesinclude:Add-ons,marketing,eCommerce,designandpolish,socialmedia,analytics,communication,fordevelopers,security,humor.

Bytaggingyourappwithspecificcategories,Cloudflareappstorebrowserswillbeablefindyourappeasier.

Promotional ActivitiesOnceyourapphaslaunchedinCloudflare’sappstore,it’simportanttobuildmomentumandmakenoise arounditsrelease.Thisnoiseandmomentumwillhelpdriveviews,previews,andinstallations.Participating inthepromotionalactivitieslistedbelowareagreatwaytodojustthat.

Building an App Preview Link Previewlinksallowyoutogeneratealinktotheinstallpageforyourapp,whichincludescustomizedoptionsspecifiedforusers.Previewlinksalwaysstartasalinktoyourapp’sinstallpage,andcontainfurtherinstructionswithintheURL.

UsingtheYouTubeappasanexample,hereisalinktotheinstallpage: https://www.cloudflare.com/apps/youtube/install/

ForafullwalkthroughofhowtocustomizeyourapppreviewlinkusingJavascript, pleasevisittheCloudflareappsdeveloperdocumentation: https://www.cloudflare.com/apps/developer/docs/promoting-your-app/preview-links

Install Badge and Placement TheCloudflareInstallButtonisaninteractivebadgewhichcanbeaddedtoanyonlineassets,includingwebsitesandemails.

TousethefullCloudflareAppinstallbadge,pastethefollowingcodeontoyourwebsiteormarketingpage.Remembertoreplace[ appTitle ]and[ appId or appAlias ]withtheappropriatedetailsforyourapp.Thesedetailscanbefoundonthe“Configure”pageofyourapp.

Here’stheiFramebuttonforthe“GoogleAnalytics”appandtheHTMLembedcodetoproduceyourapp’suniqueiFramebutton:

<iframe src=”//install.cloudflareapps.com/cta/?appTitle=[appTitle]&appId=[appIdorappAlias]” allowTransparency=”true” scroll=”no” frameBorder=”0” style=”width:292px;height:194px”>

</iframe>

7

Wealsohavemadeavailableasmallerbuttonforsituationswherethefullcalltoactionmaynotbeappropriate:

FoundbelowisagreatexampleofhowNoAdBlockhasusedtheInstallbuttonontheirwebsite:

<iframe src=”//install.cloudflareapps.com?appId=[appId]” allowTransparency=”true” scroll=”no” frameBorder=”0” style=”height:48px;width:180px”>

</iframe>

8

Email Announcement Aquickandeasywaytoannounceyourappsavailabilityistonotifyyouruserbase(seebelowforhowtogrowyouruserbasebeforethelaunch)thatyourappisnowavailableforthemtopreviewandinstallthroughCloudflare’sappstore.You’llwanttoprepareyour“apppreview”linkusingtheinstructionalsectionabove,attachittoanemail,andsendittoyourusers.

Whentheuseropensyouremailontheirlaptop,desktop,ormobiledevice,andclicksonthecustomizedlink,theCloudflareappstoreautomaticallyrecognizesthisuniquelinkandtakesthemtoyourapp.Fromthere, userscanpreviewyourappbyclickingortappingonthe“Preview”buttonandinstallbyclickingortapping the“Install”button.

Here’sanexampleemailannouncementwhichcanbeusedasatemplate:

Hi[First Name],

We’reexcitedtoannouncethat[AppName]isnowavailableforinstallationonyourwebsite,fromtheCloudflareappstore!

With[App Name],youcan:

Benefit #1 XXXX

Benefit #2 XXXX

Distinctive Features XXXX

Toseehow[app name]appearsononyourwebsite,headovertothe[Cloudflare apps store | https://www.cloudflare.com/apps/[insert app]/install/]andclick“Preview”;onceyou’vepreviewed[app name],youcaninstallitinoneclick.

[INSERT INSTALL BUTTON | Hyperlink to Custom Preview Link]

Forquestionsorsupport,feelfreetoreachouttousdirectlyat[email@provider.com].

9

Blog PostingAnotherwaytopromotethereleaseofyourappisbywritingablogpostingonyourapp’swebsite,delvingintothefeaturesandbenefitsthatyourappbringstocustomers.YoucansubmitthepostingtoCloudflareforanopportunitytobesyndicatedontheCloudflareblogforevenmoreexposure.

AnexampleblogpostingcreatedbytheappdeveloperAdmiralcanbefoundhere: https://blog.getadmiral.com/admiral-launches-adblock-solution-for-cloudflare-publishers/

In Person Events and MeetupsPresentingyourappataconferenceormeetupeventcanhelpraiseawarenessofyourappsavailability, whilealsoreceivingreal-timefeedbackfrompotentialusers.Agreatwaytofindmeetupsisbybrowsing https://www.meetup.comforappand/ordeveloperrelatedmeetupsinyourcity.

Social Media AnnouncementsTargetingusersacrossmultiplechannelsisagreatwaytoensurethatwebsiteownersknowyourappisnowavailableforinstallationthroughCloudflare’sappstore.Besuretotag@CloudflaresothatteamsatCloudflarewillhaveanopportunitytoretweetorreshareyourpost.

Foundbelowaresomeexamplesocialmediaannouncementsthatcanbeusedtopromoteyourapp:

Twitter

10

Facebook

Cross Promotion Through Online CommunitiesYourapp’spotentialaudiencelikelyreadscommunity-aggregatednewssitessuchas:HackerNews,ProductHunt,orReddit.Sharingyourappacrossthesewebsitesisanothergreatwaytogainexposureandhelpthosewhoneedasolutiontotheproblemyourappsolves.

ProductHuntsurfacesthebestnewproducts,everyday.It’saplaceforproduct-lovingenthusiaststoshare andgeekoutaboutthelatestmobileapps,websites,hardwareprojects,andtechcreations.

ProductHunthasreleasedablogpostingwhichoutlineshowtoproperlysubmityourapporproducttotheircommunity:https://blog.producthunt.com/how-to-launch-on-product-hunt-7c1843e06399;werecommendreviewingthispostinginentiretypriortosubmittingyourCloudflareapp.

11

Redditbridgescommunitiesandindividualswithideas,thelatestdigitaltrends,andbreakingnews.Theirmission istohelppeoplediscoverplaceswheretheycanbetheirtrueselves,andempowerthecommunitytoflourish.

TosubmityourapptoReddit,you’llfirstneedtocreateanaccountontheirwebsiteathttps://www.reddit.com/.Onceyou’vecreatedanaccount,clickonthe“Submitanewlink”buttonontherightsideofthepage.

Onthenextscreen,you’llsubmitalinktoyourapp,screenshots/videos,adescriptivetitleforyourposting,andthenyou’llneedtoselecta“subreddit”topostinto.Forthetitleofyourposting,you’llwanttousesomethingdescriptiveaboutyourapp;forexampleyoucouldsay“IjustbuiltanappthatdoesX”;XbeingtheshortdescriptionthatyoucreatedfortheCloudflareappstore.

Forthesubredditinwhichyou’llbeposting,ithastoberelevanttotheappyou’vecreated,orit’slikelyyourpostingwillberemovedbymoderators.Herearetwosubredditstogetyourstarted,whichshouldworkwell:https://www.reddit.com/r/apps/https://www.reddit.com/r/Cloudflare/

ThebestwaytounderstandtheHackerNewscommunityistoreadtheirwelcomepageandreviewtheir officialguidelines.

TosubmityourapptoHackerNews,you’llfirstneedtocreateanaccountontheirwebsiteat https://news.ycombinator.com/byclickingthe“Login”buttononthetopright;you’llbetakentoapage whichyoucancreateanaccount.

Onceyou’vecreatedanaccountandloggedin,clickthe“Submit”buttontotherightofthemaintopnavigation.You’llseethreefields:title,url,text.You’llneedtostartyourtitlewiththewords‘ShowHN:’(thisindicatesthatyou’llbesharingsomethinginterestingthatyou’vebuiltwiththecommunity)andthensubsequentlyexplainyourappwithinthesamefield.Next,you’llhavetheoptionofeithersubmittingtheURLofyourapp,orexplainingalittlebitaboutyourself,theapp,andpastealinktotheappitself.Werecommendthelatter,asithelpsbuildgoodrapportwiththecommunity.

12

Building Momentum Before LaunchThemostsuccessfulappsandcrowd-fundedcampaignshaveanaudienceinmind,testtheirmessagingonthataudience,andbuildalistofcontacts,allpriortothelaunch.

Test Your Messaging and Build a ListBeforeyou’velaunchedyourCloudflareapp,thereisanadvancedpre-launchmarketingtechniquewhichcan beusedto:

1.Testoutyourappsmessagingtofigureoutwhatresonatesmostwithyourprospectiveinstallbase.

2.Collectcontactinformationpriortotheofficialreleaseofyourapp.

Testingoutmessagingpriortoanappgoingliveisanimportantaspectoflearninghowtopositionyourapptoyieldthegreatestnumberofinstallationsandgartnerinterest.OnewaytotestyourmessagingisbyusingTwitterorFacebookadvertisingcampaignstotestoutdifferentmessages(wording/phrasing,screenshots,etc.),whilecomparingengagementratestodeterminewhatmessagesresonatebest.

Becauseyourappisn’tyetavailablefordownload,it’ssuggestedthatyourmain“calltoaction”fortheseadvertisementsistotakeuserstoasimplelandingpageonyourwebsite,whichdescribesyourappand collectstheirinformation—typicallyjustanemailaddress.Indescribingyourapp,youcanincludeyourappstitle,mockupscreenshots,andhigh-levelbenefits.Inreturnforusersprovidingtheircontactinformation, youcanguaranteeyou’llfollowupwiththemonceyourappisliveorprovideperiodicalupdates.

Asyoucontinuetocollectemailaddressesfromusersthroughyoursocialmediamessagingtestsandyourlandingpage,you’llbegintobuildanextensivelistofuserswhoarelikelytopreview,install,andpayforyour apponceitbecomesavailableinCloudflare’sappstore.

1 888 99 FLARE | www.cloudflare.com/apps

© 2017 Cloudflare Inc. All rights reserved. The Cloudflare logo is a trademark of Cloudflare. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.