If you’re an event app developer, how should you market event apps to someone like me?
Like my friend Traci, I receive a constant stream of messages from developers about their new event apps. Naturally, as a frequent commentator on the event industry, I am anxious to throw myself into the tiniest details of these innovative products that are sure to revolutionize every event professional’s life. Clearly, they are tools that will:
- Drive sponsors to frantically push bundles of thousand dollar bills under planners’ door-stoops before dawn.
- Guarantee events where gleaming unicorns gambol playfully and attendees glide above the hotel carpet transfixed with delight and wonder.
- Effortlessly create timeless experiences where the A/V works flawlessly, participants’ only complaint is that the Wi-Fi is too fast, and no one ever requests a gluten-free meal.
How can you be certain to bring your app jewels effectively to my rapt attention? Here are 5 simple tips that will ensure your app’s beauty, uniqueness, and—let’s just say it—sheer virility will make my heart go pit-a-pat.
5 tips on how to market event apps to me
- Please make sure to couch your request in anonymous terms. I do not want to believe for a moment that you are interested in my opinions because you know something about me. Mail merge my name from a list of people who write about the event industry. This shows a unique understanding of the personal touch that is so important when doing business these days.
- Demand I set aside 30 – 60 minutes of my worthless time so you can demo your app’s staggering genius. You’ll make my empty day so much brighter!
- Forcefully suggest that I review your app in loving detail on my blog. Yes, you noticed that I’m starved of ideas for posts; help me out here and I’ll be so grateful!
- Point out how splendid it will be for me to spend hours testing every nook and cranny of your masterpiece. I can then enjoy the privilege of reporting back on how to improve it. (Though surely I’m unlikely to find anything to suggest.) I will be so happy knowing there’s a small chance I might make your app slightly better!
- Do not think for a moment of suggesting any recompense for my minor labors on your behalf, like a free trial of a non-free service or <shudder> payment. It is an honor that you even asked me to contribute; recognition is all I need!
How to market event apps to me? That’s it! Piece of cake!
I’m so committed to your apps that, to assist you to the best of my ability, I’ve discovered how to increase the hours in every day to 48 and entirely forego sleep. So keep those phone calls, emails, and social directives rolling in so I can joyously and promptly respond to your oh-so-reasonable requests! All I’m asking is for you to enrich my life a smidgen.
Is that too much to ask?
Ooh, a bonus tip—your reward for reading so far down the page! Don’t forget to send me your promotional piece all ready to run on my blog. I simply adore spreading the word about your amazing app and only you can share definitively why it is so incredibly fabulous!
When I do respond to these press releases, because that’s my job, the script goes something like this…
Me: Can you give me contact information from clients who have used your technology so I can speak to them?
Them: Well, we are still in beta, so no one is actually using it yet
Me: Let me refer you to our advertising department…
Traci,
This is very unfair that you’ve run into this type of problem and I’m sorry you’ve had this experience. Please don’t take this as a standard for app companies. Some of us only run press releases on products our clients have used, and we make sure to feature those clients in the press releases. On behalf of conference industry app developers everywhere, I apologize and will try my best to make positive changes!
–Mike Doane, CadmiumCD Marketing Manager
Sorry, sorry! Guilty as charged. But this is a bit harsh and kind of hits us (the app developers) where it hurts. We are VERY passionate about our products and simply want to share our achievements, like little kids who’ve painted their glowing first picture.
And we truly want to help event planners and attendees get the most out of their experiences. We listen to requests and respond with updates. Maybe we’re a bit pushy about sharing news about those updates, but like I said, we’re ecstatic about our progress.
There are software companies that want to help event planners in other ways too. We love helping them market their conferences for example! We love doing customer profiles and including them in case studies so that we can help get the word out about their organization as well.
We’re not just some faceless sales machine that spits out factory created press releases about our own products! 🙁
I’ll leave it with this: can’t we all just get along? What’s a better way forward? Help us out so we can try our best to communicate with you but not get on your nerves. Let’s build a manifesto, a set of guidelines, so we don’t run into this disconnect that spawns cynicism and frustration.
–Mike Doane, CadmiumCD Marketing Manager
Mike, I hear you, it’s your baby and your are proud. If you weren’t you wouldn’t be in business. Never lose that enthusiasm for your products or service…well don’t until it’s time.
I write about event technology so I am always looking for a story. That said I don’t care at all about you (not you personally…any tech provider) I care about my readers. I don’t want to hear about how awesome you are, I want to hear about how awesome you make my readers. If you do that in a press release, you will have my attention.
I will also say I don’t need the announcement to be personalized. What I do need is the announcement to be geared towards who I write for. Craft your release to writers who write about technology in the b2b events industry and tell us why our readers might be interested in your story. For me that’s good enough. But don’t try to create a release that speaks to Wedding planners, incentive planners and expo organizers…those are very different businesses.
That should get you started on that manifesto 😉
AWESOME advice Traci. Thank you for that! And it makes complete sense. Developers get so caught up in our products sometimes that we can look very narcissistic! Funny thing is we THINK we’re sending info your way because we care about your readers too. How’s this for a start:
First Rule of the Manifesto: Start being more considerate to bloggers’ readers and SHOWING it through our words and actions, not just our intent.
Second Rule: Write each press release with a proper audience in mind and communicate the release only with bloggers that cater to that audience. A press release isn’t one size fits all and neither are bloggers.
Are we on the right track now? Thanks again Traci! 🙂
Great advice Traci!
Mike, your reply shows that you are one of the good guys; i.e. thinking about the activities I caricatured above. Traci has shared some great advice in the comments, and I like the manifesto idea—there’s a blog post that I’ll promote once you’ve written it.
I wrote this post after seeing Traci’s Facebook post, having experienced all six (yes, six; see my comment at the bottom of this list) irritating behaviors countless times. Heavy-handed? Yes. Sometimes beating over the head gets someone’s attention. Sadly, the people who most need to see this will probably never bother to read it or will dismiss my concerns.
Thanks, Adrian! 🙂
We certainly don’t want to step on any toes over here at Cadmium, and I think communication between planners, bloggers, vendors, attendees, exhibitors, etc. is crucial to keep the meeting’s industry healthy, educational, and fun.
I completely understand why you wrote the post and I definitely commend you for it! I simply wanted to clear some of the air so that we don’t create a sudden divide. I appreciate the heavy-handedness because it certainly got my attention and I will definitely keep these frustrations in mind as part of CadmiumCD’s marketing strategies!
Now, on to that manifesto blog post! I’ll make sure both you and Traci approve before posting it!