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How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

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Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#11

Post by ajg1977 »

meric wrote: post #8
wallflower wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and trust me, I have some pretty obscure apps This is a very good point. Everyone gets fixated on being the top-whatever in the category but the key is to be in the top 5 for your niche category. For example, search Salsa. I have on good authority that one of those top 5 paid apps was selling in excess of several thousand copies a month. Do your market research. Dominate your niche. Compete in that niche. The App S…

> This is mostly passive income. As a non-iOS developer I don't really know if an app that's 1 years old and has not been updated will continue to generate sales. I make lots of comments on HN. Each of those is theoretically `passive income` for karma, but that doesn't mean I will keep getting karma for those comments...

Yes they do, but how much depends on your rating and amount of competition. A few months ago I killed a $1.99 app that hadn't been updated in over a year, yet 3-4 people were still buying it a day. I just felt bad charging for something I had no plans to go back to, and that had become a lot less useful after changes Apple made in iOS4.

Clearly you're not going to live on $5 a day, but I think a good strategy is to build a decent number of smaller "library" apps while working to fry bigger fish.

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#12

Post by yoda_sl »

clare wrote: post #3

Great article. One maybe naive question since I have no mobile app development experience: it seems that many apps experienced a spike in downloads when they were first launched; but the downloads tapered off in the long run. It is quite the opposite of websites where the traffic start to build up only after a period of time. Could this have something to do with the lack of app search engines/recommendation engines t…

You are getting initially some good exposure when the app is first released and the app appear on the first page of the AppStore. If you are super lucky your app can feature in the noteworthy section or fully featured. But getting fully featured is not easy and it is up to Apple only to decide on that. One thing that I will definitely recommend is to add some localization for a few other languages. Yes the US AppStore generate potentially the largest source of revenue but other non English speaking countries can be another way to climb in the chart and get some coverage to get your app noticed. One of my app was featured one time on an italian web site and there was definitely a nice side effect on sales + ranking in the Italian store.

(edit: typo/re-wording)

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#14

Post by T-hawk »

absconditus wrote: post #13

This article is from the fall. Is there an update?

Do we need an update? I'm not sure if the iOS app market has changed in just a few months. The Verizon iPhone seems to be making a small splash at best and selling mostly to existing iPhone owners.

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#15

Post by bignoggins »

I've made 100K in the app store during my first 8 months. I agree that diversification is key. Don't go for a homerun, go for multiple singles. This is my strategy and has worked well so far:

1. Always release a free ad-supported version of the app. Advertising revenue has a much better "long tail" than paid apps. There is ~ 5% conversion rate, so your paid apps do better also.

2. Target a specific niche. There is far less competition and you can charge more money. My main apps go for $5 on iPhone and $8 on iPad. If you try to release a "Angry Birds" killer for 0.99c, you are seriously rolling the dice.

3. Re-use the same code base to make multiple apps. This should be done with caution, as there is a fine line between making the most from your work and spamming the app store (which can get you banned). Almost all of my apps share a common code base. This is a sure way to increase discoverability.

Anyway, that's been my experience. As full disclosure I HAVE been featured by Apple and reached the Top 60 top grossing on the app store, so my earnings are a bit distorted by that spike. But even in my lowest month, I have never dipped below $7500.

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#16

Post by minalecs »

bignoggins wrote: post #15

I've made 100K in the app store during my first 8 months. I agree that diversification is key. Don't go for a homerun, go for multiple singles. This is my strategy and has worked well so far: 1. Always release a free ad-supported version of the app. Advertising revenue has a much better "long tail" than paid apps. There is ~ 5% conversion rate, so your paid apps do better also. 2. Target a specific niche. There is fa…

What have you done to get your apps noticed on the app store ?

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#17

Post by Tycho »

T-hawk wrote: post #14
absconditus wrote: post #13

This article is from the fall. Is there an update?

Do we need an update? I'm not sure if the iOS app market has changed in just a few months. The Verizon iPhone seems to be making a small splash at best and selling mostly to existing iPhone owners.

Well, hasn't the iPad userbase almost doubled in that time?

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#18

Post by darren_ »

bignoggins wrote: post #15

I've made 100K in the app store during my first 8 months. I agree that diversification is key. Don't go for a homerun, go for multiple singles. This is my strategy and has worked well so far: 1. Always release a free ad-supported version of the app. Advertising revenue has a much better "long tail" than paid apps. There is ~ 5% conversion rate, so your paid apps do better also. 2. Target a specific niche. There is fa…

If you don't mind me asking, how many applications is that spread over?

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#19

Post by bignoggins »

darren_ wrote: post #18
bignoggins wrote: post #15

I've made 100K in the app store during my first 8 months. I agree that diversification is key. Don't go for a homerun, go for multiple singles. This is my strategy and has worked well so far: 1. Always release a free ad-supported version of the app. Advertising revenue has a much better "long tail" than paid apps. There is ~ 5% conversion rate, so your paid apps do better also. 2. Target a specific niche. There is fa…

If you don't mind me asking, how many applications is that spread over?

16

Re: How much money can you make in the iOS App Store?

#20

Post by alooPotato »

10char wrote: post #2

It's certainly possible to make a living on the App Store, but you can't depend on a megahit like Angry Birds or Tiny Wings. My theory is that you'll need probably a dozen or so apps in the $1.99 - $4.99 range. The $0.99 point has too many psychological problems in terms of perceived value and competition to be worth it IMO. Ads also aren't a viable source of steady revenue for any non-Top 100 apps. Each of my (paid)…

> - Build apps fast and be agile; don't focus on one app for months on end without launching. MVP and get real-world feedback.

In general I believe the whole lean/MVP thing, but I wonder about its applicability in the app store.

Launching without a fully baked product may hamstring you for a while if you get bad reviews/ratings upfront. Also, by having a great product from the start, you may be able to get ranked higher because you get free exposure in the "new" lists. If you have a barebones product, aren't you essentially wasting the free exposure you get for being a new app (that you won't get when you update)?

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