Here’s a crazy idea: why not build an app for your blog?
Before you show us the door, you should know we haven’t come here empty handed. We have some points to make that back up what many will see as a pretty wild concept.
Mobile phones and the apps that come with them are a fundamental part of the modern person’s daily existence. We check our phones roughly 76 times a day, tapping at the screen over 2600 times.
We are obsessed with our mobiles, which means it should come as no surprise that there are benefits to rolling out an app to complement your blog. So what are these supposed benefits?
Provide a Better User Experience
People like apps. They like them a lot.
The average person will spend three hours a day on their phone, with over 2.5 of those hours spent within an app. This isn’t because they are forced to do so by a lack of options. Far from it. 85% of people say they just prefer using applications over standard mobile websites, simply because they are better to use, more convenient and easier to access.
In short, the majority of your users would rather be swiping through an app than scrolling down a mobile homepage.
We’ve still got more points to make but, realistically, we could leave it right there. What better reason is there for developing an app for your blog other than giving your readers what they want?
Providing an enhanced user experience encourages repeat visits and increases the possibility of others sharing your content and app, resulting in higher traffic numbers and a bigger presence on the web.
Offer Additional Features
Apps are very much an evolution of modern consumer platforms.
Instead of texts, you now have messenger services. Instead of clunky handheld games consoles, you have dozens of games that don’t even need cartridges. Instead of online stores, you now have personalised shopping experiences.
The same can be said for the world of information sharing and, more specifically, blogging. Apps allow creators to take their content to the next level, just as they allowed other industries to do the same. Essentially advanced websites, apps produced for media sharing introduce new ways of providing content and engaging with audiences.
Integrating your blog with a dedicated app allows you to take advantage of features like:
- Push notifications — Send readers a “nudge” when new content is available.
- Offline reading — Allow users to consume content offline while travelling for example.
- Comprehensive content coverage — Integrate a blog, videos, social media and other content, all onto one platform.
- GPS tracking — Show content specific to a user’s location; great for lifestyle and travel blogs.
- Loyalty program — Earn rewards and bonus content for accessing the app.
These are a just a few examples, but you get the idea. Developing an app for your blog allows you to introduce features that are unavailable on a website.
Gain a Competitive Edge
The world of blogging is a strange one.
For the most part, it is a warm and open community. A place where bloggers often share each other’s content and ideas, support their goals and help each other grow.
At the same time, this is a very competitive environment. Everyone is vying for a better readership and, since nobody has time to read every blog, you are directly competing with other members of your community for a share of your niche’s readership.
The key to gaining more users is standing out. This might be through innovative content, a unique voice, or strong search engine optimisation. However, if everyone is also doing this, how do you get ahead?
Simple: you find something they aren’t doing.
Currently, very few bloggers actually have an app to accompany their website. Even many of the biggest names are absent from the app store. However, after considering the other benefits of having an app for your blog, you can start to see why getting ahead of the competition and building a mobile app would give you an edge when it comes to audience acquisition.
Taking advantage of the benefits provided by apps could be the thing that sets you apart from the crowd.
The Downside
There is a reason most people don’t develop a personal app. Mobile app development comes at a price — and the price is… the price.
Apps can be expensive. Grotesquely so, in fact. A simple app is likely to cost upwards of £30,000 from a premium-rate developer, which is why it is likely something you’ve never even considered. This is a cost that would be excessive for a business, let alone a blogger who writes in their spare time.
Yet, as apps evolve, so to do the platforms that create them. Affordable app development is now a thing, believe it or not. Finding the right creation platform can see prices slashed from thousands to just a few hundred.
Obviously, this is still fairly expensive. However, for those dedicated bloggers who want to build a readership and grow their personal branding, an app provides an unparalleled opportunity.
Great article makes me consider making one.
Really you have given amazing points on why a blogger should consider developing their own mobile app. These apps give a great experience to our users and vice versa increment in user growth.