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The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

marco.org

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Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#11

Post by ruswick »

Marco seems to make this unjustified and unelaborated assertion that price has no bearing on popularity, and the only differentiation between prices in free vs. paid. I'm not sure why this would be so for the App Store. Purchasing software, like purchasing any product, is necessarily a balance between utility and price. I, as a value-oriented consumer, have a finite amount of money that I wish to conserve, yet want to maximize my utility from the product. I could buy a BMW, which would make me happy and increase my utility, but would also put me massively in debt and be fiscally untenable. Because of this, I'm more likely to purchase a low-end sedan, which will function adequately but not break the bank. At the more minute level, I have to decide between superior name brands and cheaper generics. This also entails evaluating cost and utility. The same is true of apps. If I'm presented a choice between an app that does 100% of what I want but costs $3 and an app that does 70% of what I want and costs a single dolar, I will be forced to evaluate the utility of that added utility of that app versus the larger price. That is how decisions in commerce work.

People make purchasing decisions based partially on price... I'm not sure why (or how) Marco is trying to refute that fact.

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#12

Post by orangethirty »

rbritton wrote: post #7
orangethirty wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious. What kind of marketing have you done? Or do you only rely on the app store?

I'm highly ranked on organic search (#1 for most terms), have paid ads, pursue articles when the opportunity arises (these have historically helped a lot), limited giveaways, and watch google alerts for mentions of the app and respond as appropriate. The main app is generally in the top 30 grossing for its category, and I've found being high in that to be self-reinforcing. Being in the primary field the app is for ha…

And for the less performing apps?

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#13

Post by fpgeek »

Translation: Sure, the odds have gotten longer. Ticket prices might be higher. Consolation prizes might be smaller. But don't worry. If you pick your numbers just right you too can still win the lottery!

I understand things look different from his vantage point, but I just don't see a healthy market in what he wrote - I see a dying one. With the climb getting steeper and the asking prices getting higher, that just shrinks the potential market for paid apps more and more. That helps a culture of not buying apps (other than games) keep growing. To me, it seems clear where this will end.

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#15

Post by rbritton »

andrewtbham wrote: post #10
rbritton wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm highly ranked on organic search (#1 for most terms), have paid ads, pursue articles when the opportunity arises (these have historically helped a lot), limited giveaways, and watch google alerts for mentions of the app and respond as appropriate. The main app is generally in the top 30 grossing for its category, and I've found being high in that to be self-reinforcing. Being in the primary field the app is for ha…

Where do you put ads?

AdWords. They're the only ones I've ever personally had a positive return from. At least as near as I can track it.

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#16

Post by gregorious_c »

fbpcm wrote: post #4

I put my first app into the App Store last July and had it selling for free until 2 months ago when I set it to $1.99. People continued to buy it even though I don't advertise it. After that success (2 figure revenue!), I built another app and put it on the App Store for $9.99. People are downloading that as well. I admit that I am making more off of contract work, but based on my estimates the App Store converts rea…

Do many people sell their app for free first, and then increase the price? Interesting model. Can you provide some more specific data about the sales? That sounds like a good idea to get some traction and reviews. Were people upset at all with the price increase?

Congrats on the success!

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#17

Post by rbritton »

orangethirty wrote: post #12
rbritton wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm highly ranked on organic search (#1 for most terms), have paid ads, pursue articles when the opportunity arises (these have historically helped a lot), limited giveaways, and watch google alerts for mentions of the app and respond as appropriate. The main app is generally in the top 30 grossing for its category, and I've found being high in that to be self-reinforcing. Being in the primary field the app is for ha…

And for the less performing apps?

Similar but no articles since there seemed to be much less interest from writers and publishers.

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#18

Post by rbritton »

danielrakh wrote: post #9
rbritton wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm highly ranked on organic search (#1 for most terms), have paid ads, pursue articles when the opportunity arises (these have historically helped a lot), limited giveaways, and watch google alerts for mentions of the app and respond as appropriate. The main app is generally in the top 30 grossing for its category, and I've found being high in that to be self-reinforcing. Being in the primary field the app is for ha…

What App is this? If you don't mind me asking?

I'll have to think about it. I'm not sure if disclosing it puts me at any disadvantage, but I want to make sure I'm not overlooking something.

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#19

Post by danielrakh »

ruswick wrote: post #11

Marco seems to make this unjustified and unelaborated assertion that price has no bearing on popularity, and the only differentiation between prices in free vs. paid. I'm not sure why this would be so for the App Store. Purchasing software, like purchasing any product, is necessarily a balance between utility and price. I, as a value-oriented consumer, have a finite amount of money that I wish to conserve, yet want t…

I agree with you. I also think the "evaluation of utility" of Apps is poor. IMO, You can't really evaluate the utility by just the screenshots and reviews. It would be great if just like a car, you could "test drive" the App. Download a version that would work for x mins and would automatically present you an option to buy or delete after x mins.

Re: The market for paid iOS apps isn’t dead

#20

Post by cageface »

ruswick wrote: post #11

Marco seems to make this unjustified and unelaborated assertion that price has no bearing on popularity, and the only differentiation between prices in free vs. paid. I'm not sure why this would be so for the App Store. Purchasing software, like purchasing any product, is necessarily a balance between utility and price. I, as a value-oriented consumer, have a finite amount of money that I wish to conserve, yet want t…

I think you're right that most people evaluate app prices this way but the problem is that the net result of scrutinizing such inexpensive purchases so carefully is that all prices are pushed to rock bottom.

The biggest issue with the app store is that apps are undifferentiated. They're all lumped into a big uniform grid and psychologically this communicates that they're all units of some kind of uniform commodity, when nothing could be further from the truth on the production side. At least in the old shrink wrap world you had a lot more ability to physically differentiate your product.

It also doesn't help that any random moron can post an inaccurate or unfair one star review of your app and that's the very first thing any prospective buyer sees.

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