How to promote simple non-commercial applications?

Question

Marketing

I have dozens of small apps on Google Play. They solve simple problems, but very effectively. Of course, this is a subjective opinion. I make apps just as a hobby, instead of watching 10 episodes of a series or going to a bar.
However, rarely anyone downloads applications, but when downloading, they do not delete them, which indicates that they are useful to someone and they are found. But one has 10 downloads, another has 50, and the third has 450, but in half a year.
Question: are there relatively inexpensive or better free ways to promote this kind of applications? I believe that investing in advertising is unlikely to be recouped, so I want to try without money for the time being.
PS I see tens of thousands of downloads for simple applications, ranging from some poetry to all sorts of simple calculators. They must be doing something to get that many downloads.

Answer 1

Free - only partisans
1. Forums / blogs of your target audience
2. Social networks - groups, etc.
3. Barter with other developers
...
Another tip - make a more catchy picture and name

Answer 2

Google now pushes free somewhere down. Wants to earn.
If you put at least a symbolic price on applications, the likelihood that Google will show your applications to potential users becomes higher.

Answer 3

Whatever your product (app, online store, info site) is convenient, informative, optimized, almost no one will see it without advertising anyway. Moreover, in the conditions of current competition in all areas. You have to invest in promotion.
From experience, the most effective channels for attracting installs are:
- Ads / Direct (you can really get installs at a very reasonable price, like you have 2 rubles, for example)
- Placing APKs on application catalog sites (there are paid options that attract a lot of traffic )
- ASO (in most cases, requires a budget injection of 100k or more)
- Integrations/collaboration with bloggers/opinion leaders in the application niche

Answer 4

Tie a donation in the application. Google will stop moving.
I will add: I
have now looked at the top new free ones.
Almost everywhere there are ads and/or in-app purchases.
The 19th place is knocked out of the system - a dating site.
22-24 in my opinion an oversight of the moderators.
22. Casino and even in the comments success story about the withdrawal of funds.
23. Audio player for VKontakte with 10,000 installations - IMHO for hijacking accounts / spam in groups.
24. A clear fake Alice from Yandex.

Answer 5

Find a partner, some community on VK, Facebook and start bartering traffic.

Answer 6

Product Hunt, Reddit, forums