Forget New Year's Resolutions, This Is Really What You Need To Do

Now that the holidays are almost over, it is time to look forward to next year and focus on what you want to accomplish with your apps in 2014. But most people start every New Year off on the wrong foot...by making New Year's resolutions. In this post, we will explain why New Year's resolutions are a waste of time and how you can replace them with a more practical plan to help your apps succeed.

The Problem With New Year's Resolutions

Many people see a new year as a chance to start fresh and forget about what happened in the previous year. They resolve to do things differently and begin the year with gusto.

This is why gyms see an increase in sign ups and attendance in the first couple of months of the year. Then like clockwork, activity generally goes back to normal in February.

To put this in app development terms, you may tell yourself that this is the year that your app finally gets a certain number of downloads or hits a certain revenue target. You set your goals, then you may start doing App Store Optimization, Facebook Mobile Install Ads, create a promo video and start a website. But by February, you may burn out, get discouraged that you are not seeing the results you anticipated and go back to what you were doing before...which wasn't really working.

There is nothing wrong with setting goals, but making it a New Year's resolution can frame it in a way that is actually counter productive. Why should the beginning of the year be the only time that we strive to improve?

If you think about January 1st from a strictly objective perspective, it no different than June 3rd. It is just another day and both dates can signify the passing of 365 days.

Since that is the case, why should there be more emphasis on January 1st than any other day of the year? It is much more sustainable to set milestones on a shorter time frame, than to set yourself up for failure once a year. So here is what you can do right now to give your apps the best possible chance at success.

Identify What You Really Want

Sometimes we tell ourselves that we want to achieve one thing, when we really want something else. For example, you might say that you want to have your app downloaded 1 million times in the next 12 months.

That is great, but downloads don't necessarily equal income. If your real goal is to hit a consistent revenue target, then you should focus on a monetary goal instead of download goal. This may completely change how you market your app.

Every time you write down a goal, ask yourself if that is what you really want. If it isn't, then write down another goal and ask yourself again if that is what you really want. Repeat this process until you are sure that what you have written down is what you are really after.

Identify The Fundamentals

Instead of burning yourself out on several different projects at once, focus on the one or two that will have the biggest impact on achieving your current goals. Put everything else on the back burner and get super focused on completing these projects.

If you are not on top of your App Store Optimization (ASO), that is a great place to start if you do not have a large advertising budget. Even if you do have a lot of money to spend on ads, ASO can help you get more organic search traffic and spend less on ads.

If you are raking in the top 10 for all of your keywords, have localized your app and have optimized your app icon and screenshots, then how can you expand your app marketing? Maybe you can explore new advertising avenues or work on content for your website so you can get more organic web traffic.

Whatever the case is for you, figure out what is the most basic step that you have to master to get to the next level.

Set Your Primary Timeframe

Do you want to set your goals on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis? Pick one and write down what you want completed within the next time period.

Having a shorter goal timeframe will give you checkpoints where you can assess your progress and adjust your strategy, if necessary. If you set yearly goals, you could be way off target by the time you get around to reviewing your status.

Conclusion

So regardless of what time of year it is, be sure to ask yourself what you can do right now to get your app to where you want it to be. Set shorter time frames to review your progress and don't burn yourself out on other projects that will only hold you back.

Finally, when you achieve one of your goals, remember to celebrate your win. This will give you a positive feeling about reaching your goals and make you that much more excited about reaching the next one.

What are some of the goals for your app(s) in 2014?

Photo Credit: Fireworks, Gym