How to promote an app for free: ten channels, in order.
Free means paying in time. These are the channels we would use again, starting with the ones that keep working after you stop.
How to promote an app for free is really a question of where your time compounds. A store listing keeps working while you sleep; a social post is gone by Friday. So we rank channels by how long they last.
How to promote your app for free: owned channels first
- Your store listing. Everything else sends people here, so make it convert. Start with ASO basics and the ASO score tool.
- Your website. Publish pages that answer the problem your app solves, and link to the stores. On iOS, a Smart App Banner shows a native prompt to install or open your app.
- Your existing users. Invite sharing after a success, and ask for reviews at the right moment. See how to get more app reviews.
- Your other apps. In the Gyan Studios portfolio, prompts on level completion drove an estimated 18–22% of each new title's installs. See cross-promotion.
Free promotion inside the stores
- Apple featuring. Use Featuring Nominations in App Store Connect for launches, significant updates and in-app events. Apple asks for at least two weeks' notice and recommends up to three months for wider consideration.
- In-app events and promotional content. See in-app events and Play promotional content.
- Pre-registration. Collect users before launch with Google Play pre-registration.
How to market an app for free outside the stores
- Communities. Answer real questions where your users already gather, and disclose that you built the app. Read each community's rules first.
- Short video. A 20-second clip of the app solving one problem needs no budget. YouTube also helps with AI visibility.
- AI assistants. People now ask for app suggestions directly. See getting recommended by ChatGPT.
What to do first
| Your stage | Focus on |
|---|---|
| Pre-launch | Pre-registration, a simple website, a waitlist community |
| First 1,000 installs | Listing, personal outreach, communities |
| Growing | Reviews, website content, cross-promotion, featuring |
| Several apps | Portfolio cross-promotion |
For what this looks like in practice, see our first 1,000 installs and the zero ad budget playbook.
How to promote an Android app for free
Google Play has no keyword field, so your title, short description and full description carry your search terms. Fix Android vitals, write a sharp short description, and test creative with store listing experiments, which cost nothing.
Skip "free install exchange" schemes. Google prohibits inflating install counts by illegitimate means, and Apple doesn't permit manipulating charts, search or reviews.
Questions people ask
How can I promote my app for free?
Start with your store listing, website and existing users, then use store features such as Apple Featuring Nominations, in-app events and Google Play pre-registration. Add communities and short video once those work.
How do I get my app featured on the App Store?
Submit a Featuring Nomination in App Store Connect. Apple asks for at least two weeks' notice and recommends up to three months for wider consideration. A nomination doesn't guarantee a feature.
How do I promote an Android app for free?
Optimize your title, short description and full description, keep Android vitals healthy, run store listing experiments and use promotional content.
What is the best free way to market an app?
For most apps, the store listing, because every other channel sends people there.
Want this mapped onto your product?
See how our growth consulting work runs, or send your store link and a founder will reply personally.
