One of the most common questions a new app owner has is "What do I do next?"


Depending on where you are in the onboarding process, the next step may vary. This article is meant to help BRANDED app owners who are in the process of onboarding but have not yet submitted their content submission form. Don't know what a content submission form is yet? That's OK. Read on.



QUICK ACCESS GUIDE:


Basic Onboarding Info

Once you purchase your app, the onboarding process begins. Please take a look at our Onboarding Process Roadmap article if you haven't already.


Basic Steps:

1: Getting Started
2: Design
3: Content Submission
4: Review
5: Developer Accounts
6: App Store Form
7: App Build & Submission
8: Launch!


If you have yet to complete steps #2 and #3, Keep reading!



Minimum Content Requirements

Once you become a BRANDED app owner, you will need to complete the Content Submission Form with the minimum content required to launch your app.


The Onboarding Process Roadmap and subsequent trainings on the form will have detailed descriptions about each type of content and how many pieces you need for launch. Once you get your content identified and organized, you will use the Content Submission Form to submit all that content to ACTIONERA so we can build your app.


If you would like to get a jump start, here are the content types you will need to have:

  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Journal Prompts
  • Questions & Answers
  • Gallery images
  • Tips or Posts


Identify Your Topics

You will need to organize your content into Topics. Think of topics as your areas of expertise and authority. These topics could be broad or specific - it's totally up to you. These could be tied to functions or services you provide to your clients, or things you like to blog, vlog or teach.


When you are thinking about your topics, keep in mind that you will want to have at least 2-4 pieces of content, per topic, for launch. It can be a mix of the above types (ex: 1 article, a Q&A, and a video), but also consider future content you plan on creating. 


Organize Your Content

The best way to prepare for content submission is to create a system to organize and gather your content pieces. Because these pieces may be scattered on your desktop, cloud storage or on social media channels, a great idea is to start a new folder structure for collecting and sorting your content.


You can do this wherever is convenient-- your desktop, GDrive, OneDrive-- it really doesn't matter. When you submit your Content Submission Form, you can upload your content pieces directly to the form, or you have the option to share an online storage location for some of the pieces. You may find using GDrive or OneDrive easier since you can "share" a folder very simply. 


Tips for organizing your content:

  • Organize by content type
  • Try to have at least 5 of each type
  • PLR works great!
  • Articles (published blog articles work great!)
    • capture links in a document
    • save or select images that go with them
  • Videos
    • capture YouTube or Vimeo links in a document
    • save or select images that go with them
  • Journal Prompts
    • Think about your topics. What would you have a client journal about?
    • Write them down. You can have multiple prompts!
  • Questions & Answers
    • What are some of the most common questions you get asked in your business?
    • Write them down and the answers you give in response
  • Gallery Images
    • Start gathering photos or images to put into a gallery
    • Inspirational quotes or Instagram posts work great!
  • Tips & Posts
    • Think of these as "quick hits of knowledge"
    • Social media posts work great!
    • save or select images to go with them


Branding & Design Elements

Many businesses and app owners already have a logo and colors picked or created. If you don't have this yet, it's OK. We have a guy for that. You will meet with Trevor Thomas, Creative director as part of the onboarding process. He can help you establish your colors and create a logo and app icon if you don't have one. You'll want to give Trevor any samples and color swatches you like.


If you DO have all this done, great! You'll want to locate your logo and color palette so you can send them our way. If you have specific hex values you'd like us to use, let us know. If you don't know the hex values, just send us a sample or screenshot of the color. We can figure it out or find something close.


Images

You are probably already familiar with a bunch of sites where you can get free images to use in articles etc. Here are some resources to help you find and prepare images for your app:

Graphic & Design Tools and Resources


Your Message

The most important part of your content is your message. During the launch process, you will be creating videos and probably writing new content for your app, including a welcome video. Here are some things to think about to get prepared:


  • What will people find in my app?
  • Who is my audience?
  • What are they struggling with?
  • What solutions do I provide?
  • How do I want my audience to engage with me?
  • What do I want my audience to do?
  • Why is my message so important?



Conclusion

We are really excited to have you in the ACTIONERA family! You are just at the beginning of your journey, so keep that in mind as you progress through the onboarding process. It is common to feel overwhelmed and lost, so be kind to yourself. Go at YOUR pace and do a little at a time. Content creation is an ongoing project, and this is the first step.


It may be helpful for you to talk to other app owners or download other people's apps to see how they have structured things. Check out the Apps of Experts and Websites of Experts for this. We also recommend you join the regular Thursday support calls so you can ask questions.