Ask HN: How to be Profitable in the App Store?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6460182

by elijahmurray • 13 years ago

17 6 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

About to start launching some apps in the App Store. I've heard so many horror stories of trying to make a living off of app sales, that I thought I'd ask the experts. Should I try and market and get sponsored posts on blogs? Drum up support in forums?

Free with ads or paid? Which ad provider? Do I have to build games to be profitable, or can I do something else?

Thanks HN!!

kkowalczyk• 13 years ago

Without context to narrow down the answer space, you're asking questions that require book-length answers. Few disparate thoughts:

1. Yes, it is extremely tough to make money selling iOS apps. App Store creates power law dynamics where Top 10 apps make as much money as the rest of the apps combined. If you're in Top 10 then congrats, but most likely you won't be. Median App Store revenue is few hundred dollars per month. iOS programmers are in demand today. It's much easier (and in most cases more profitable) to sell your iOS expertise for $100/hr than make apps yourself.

2. People make money both in games and apps. So can you.

3. There is not such thing as too much marketing. Try every marketing technique that you can think of and can afford.

At the same time, no amount of marketing can rescue a bad app so you need to track conversion rates of your marketing efforts.

4. Free with ads vs. paid depends on your app. If you believe people will pay than go paid. If you don't, then free with ads but you have to be realistic: ad based business requires lots of volume so if your app is not in the "useful for lots of people" category, ads will not make you rich.

idoh2• 13 years ago

On the $ side, I've worked on a couple lifestyle apps - there is money there but they have to be really huge (lucky for me they did in fact become huge).

On the marketing side, the key for the stuff I work on is that the app is about 10% of the project, the rest is distribution. So I'd think about apps that can spread via twitter, facebook, email, etc, and then build a simple app around that. Make the app simple, and really focus on the "marketing" side of things. "Marketing" in quotes because it is really still development though.

sosagain• 13 years ago

You mind telling us what app they were?

idoh2• 13 years ago

I worked on Horoscopes for Facebook and Birthday Cards for Facebook. Both are apps that span iOS, Android, Facebook canvas and Facebook mobile web. Simple apps but lots of great virals and both are really big with small teams.

coryl• 13 years ago

Understand distribution. As you'll probably find out, building a great app doesn't translate into downloads.

andrewtbham• 13 years ago

getting good reviews definitely helps.

Here is my app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onsite-time-tracker/id470803...

Ask HN: How to be Profitable in the App Store?

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