Hi,
Good luck with you venture!
You basically have two options. Funded vs. bootstrapped mode. Assuming you are not going to look for investment for this particular project, your other option is to bootstrap.
Bootstrapping is becoming more and more popular nowadays, since it lets you gauge the reaction of the market very early. I recommend following Pieter Levels about this on Twitter and other media.
And I suggest watching this is a generally working - good model of how to launch a product: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6reLWfFNer0
Best
Ozzie.

Hi:
Awesome you've almost completed development of the app. Now you should take some time with your potential customers:
1. Define what your ideal customer looks like
2. Find out where you can easily access that ideal customer
3. Perhaps most importantly--Talk to a number of those ideal customers and learn their pain points, their patience with those pain points and their willingness to change the status quo to avoid those pain points
4. Run a beta with a number of those ideal customers and ask what users think about your app--the good, the bad and everything in between
5. Implement needed changes, tweak your product and strategy as needed and push forward with your launch
6. Revisit Nos. 1-5 to validate what works and modify what isn't
If you wish to discuss, send me a PM through Clarity for 15 free minutes.
Cheers,
Kerby

Congratulations on the development of your app.

As mentioned, figure out how to separate the rest of the world with your target audience. To be honest, you might not exactly know that yet but will become more evident as you spend time analyzing your marketing efforts.

You'll need to drive significant awareness to the solution that your app provides. Drive people to your website, speak about the pain of the problem, create content about the solution, create social channels and ultimately drive installs to your app.

The easiest way to market a mobile app is to use platforms that target mobile users for installs. Facebook, Apple Search, Google Ads, Etc are all channels you can use that have specific marketing functions for mobile app marketers.

Make sure you have some form of mobile analytics setup with your app to gauge activity levels and KPIs so that you can efficiently scale your app.

What you want to find is a repeatable funnel that will keep customers/users engaged continuously. Most apps have the hardest time with retention.

Also, SA is beautiful. I lived in Jeffreys Bay for a little while, and I consider South Africa my second home. :)

To launch a unique mobile and web messenger app to a global market follow the following stages.
The Awareness, Or Pre-Launch Stage: The awareness stage of a mobile app marketing strategy occurs before the product is launched. This stage is meant for building brand awareness and product visibility. Specifically, how will your target users discover your mobile app? Before beginning with the awareness stage, it is important to already have a thorough understanding of your brand messaging and positioning. A brand resonates with customers through its values and purpose, not through individual product features. Defining a brand position gives users the chance to connect with your product on a deeper level. Below is a list of steps and strategies to follow during the awareness stage of your marketing plan.
1. Determine A Release Date: Compared to Google, Apple has a strict review process that may delay your release, or you may encounter a setback you did not anticipate. Planning far in advance will give you adequate time to prepare for your product’s hard launch and allows you to foresee and contingencies that may occur.
2. Conduct Market Research to Understand Your Customers: One of the most common pre-launch mistakes is not doing market research properly. Before you begin any development work, you need to identify the key players in your specific app category. It doesn’t matter how thorough your marketing efforts are – if your app doesn’t address a user pain-point or addresses a pain-point that already has a thriving app solution in the market, then your product will simply not succeed. App Annie provides a substantial amount of useful app market data.
3. Create User Personas: A core objective throughout the awareness stage is discovering who your target user is, what they value, and the central pain point they experience that your product will address. There can be multiple user groups for a mobile app and each user persona will have its unique user journey.
A user persona is a partially fictitious depiction of your ideal user. User personas include everything about a user’s demographics, background, mobile preferences, interests, and unique identifiers. User personas also address the central goals of the user and the challenges they currently face. In-depth user personas create the foundation for user journey design and help you customize every aspect of your mobile product to each of your users’ preferences and needs. Everything from branding and in-app content to functionality, features, platform choice and monetization strategy need to resonate with your target user. By thoroughly outlining your target audience with user personas, you will answer essential questions that will guide your entire marketing strategy. For example:
a) What does the central pain point this audience collectively experiences?
b) What mobile operating system does this audience use? iOS or Android?
c) What types of content does this audience engage with online?
d) What tone, voice and content style resonates well with this audience?
e) Are there any visual branding patterns that surface amongst this audience’s online activity?
f) Do these users follow any reputable influencers in this product’s vertical on social media?
g) What platforms are best to leverage for paid advertising?
h) Are these users known to pay for apps or make in-app purchases?

Using personas to answer questions like these will help you coordinate design, business, and marketing decisions to attract the right audience to your product. If you have not thoroughly researched your audience, you will not be able to deliver a product that is relevant to their needs?
4. Conduct A Competitive Analysis: Your app will have competition. Make a list of your top 5 competitors, their current price, monetization model, app store ranking, user experience (UX) pros and cons, and notable reviews. You could even go so far as to make a competitive matrix to determine how your app compares. Make sure your app does not repeat any poorly made features or UX elements that users have negatively reviewed. Think about what would make your app stand out in contrast to your competitors. These are important considerations that should influence your entire app marketing approach.
5. Create A Website, Or Landing Page: Mobile websites are the number one source of app installs. Creating a pre-launch landing page or at the very least a teaser video for your product has become standard practice. Once you have a video for your website, you can recycle the content by putting it in the app stores, on social platforms, or even use it in paid ads. In addition to building a hype around your app, having a pre-launch website is also a great way to do some early search engine optimization (SEO) by starting to build your domain authority. When you set up your website, collect emails so you can keep your followers updated and let them know when your mobile app launches, and when you have new updates and features. It is also beneficial to showcase 5-star reviews on the site; make sure reviews are authentic, or else your brand will seem insincere.
6. Outreach Initiatives: One of the most overlooked aspects of marketing a new mobile product is outreach initiatives by contacting influencers, publications, and bloggers to secure backlinks and provide honest reviews. Make a list of contacts that are relevant to your industry or niche that might be interested in writing about, and reviewing your app. Keep your pitch concise with a link to your press kit or landing page. That way, if they are interested in writing about your app, they will have all the information they need.
7. Promote on Social: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other social platforms let you expand your web presence and allow you to directly communicate with your target audience. If your app targets specific age groups, identify the social platforms that are most popular with people in this demographic and focus on them. Make sure you consider the following:
a) Is it clear that you have an app from the first glance of your social profile?
b) Is the purpose of the app obvious?
c) Is there a link to download it?
Post company updates, and features that will get followers excited about the launch. Create a hashtag and use it in posts when appropriate. Post and share not only promotional but entertaining and engaging content related to your app to build a community behind it.
8. Create A Content Marketing Strategy: Start writing a blog month in advance of launching. When it is time to launch, you’ll already be an authority in your niche with followers. Start simple and write a launch post, boast about the app’s features, showcase screenshots, and videos. Here are several benefits of content marketing for your app:
a. Drive traffic, conversions, and brand awareness with content
b. Create a brand around your app by being an expert in your niche
c. Build trust with users through content
d. Blog content can be used for email marketing to re-engage contacts or for social media

The Acquisition Stage: With a user acquisition strategy, the possibilities are endless. It is important to utilize different methods, be creative, and continually refining your strategy. Aim to get as many downloads as possible in the first week after launch. The more rapidly your app gets downloads, the higher it will rank in the App Store search results. It is important as users begin to download your app you track where the downloads are originating from. This way you can focus on the most profitable channels and improve the others. Below is a list of strategies that can be used to acquire users.
1. Paid Strategy: After the app is launched, start rolling out advertising such as ads on social platforms like LinkedIn, which are extremely effective for user acquisition. Depending on your target demographic, you should also consider other platforms like Instagram and Twitter, although the reach is not as large it is still effective, especially for millennials. LinkedIn’s ad platform is great at letting businesses target desired audiences based on their interests, location, and much more. If you are targeting your audience via social ads, you need to remember that people have shorter attention spans, so your ads should convey the purpose of the product in a few seconds. If you are providing a solution that your users are searching for, Google Search ads may also be a good option.

2. App Store Optimization (ASO): App Store Optimization involves optimizing your App Store page to rank higher in search results and convert at a higher rate. Over 65% of apps are discovered from a search in the App Store directly. Once your app is ranked highly in search for a certain keyword, it will continue to rank for months after. The higher your app ranks, the more visible it is to potential users. Ultimately, the increased visibility should lead to more downloads, which will help get your app noticed by editors. Good app store optimization is dependent on an array of factors which include title and choice of keywords. A great title is a chance to hook users in and get them to click on your app to discover more. Include a keyword in the title for best results. Those keywords should be strategically placed throughout your listing, so you show up when users search for those words. Always include features and benefits the user will get out of the app. For added value, include screenshots and videos. Lastly, there are tons of people who would love to use your app but will never find it because it is not in their language. Change this by localizing your app.

3. Pitch to Apple’s Editorial Team to Be Featured in The App Store: Getting featured in the App Store is another tool for marketers to utilize within their marketing strategy. Being featured offers a greater potential for apps to increase visibility and downloads which can result in lower acquisition costs, more engaged users, and increased revenue. Every day, a free or paid app and game is reviewed by professional App Store curators. Apple receives thousands of pitches to feature mobile apps. This tactic can be useful if done persuasively. Craft a convincing pitch that outlines what your app does and how it is unique.

The Retention Stage: Most people will put considerable thought into acquisition marketing, but once you have acquired users, if no one is using the app, the product is not yielding business. Your next move should be to develop a plan of action for retention marketing to convert your new customers into lifelong users. Below is a list of strategies that can be used to increase retention:
1. Establish Two-Way Communication: The more aligned your app experience is with a user’s needs and preferences, the more likely a user is to continue using the product. Brands using in-app messages to communicate with users will see user retention within 28 days of receiving a message range from 61 percent to 74 percent. In-app messages are notifications that do not require immediate action but are nonetheless, important notifications to receive. These can include warnings about app issues, payment failures, or version upgrades. Keep in mind that not every message you send will be relevant to every single user. Segmenting your audience gives you the ability to ensure the information they receive is valuable to them.

2. Push Notifications: Push notifications have been shown to increase user retention, with statistics showing anywhere from a 56% to a 180% improvement. Users who have opted into receiving push notifications exhibit 88% higher app engagement than those who haven’t. The higher retention rate, the better the ranking in the app store. Giving users an incentive to use your app can also go a long way. Mobile-specific rewards, specialized content access, coupons, special promotions, and other offers will help drive conversions and encourage engagement.

Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath