How (not) to sell your iOS app • Hacker News Board

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#21

Post by ddelphin » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:25 PM UTC

rkalla wrote: post #8

Here's what DID work for you -- summing up all those failures into a well written, entertaining and light-hearted article that is genuinely helpful to anyone else in the iOS game. Oh yea, and the front page of HN this time around. It sounded like you got your hands wet in a lot of different things. That doesn't necessarily mean you are going to retire on this game, but think how many people are aware of you now and w…

Addtionally, if/when you make your app free, you'll hopefully get more people to download it. These people may leave you reviews on the app store about what they did like and what the game was lacking... information that you could then use to make it better and maybe learn some ideas for features that you could add to the "premium" version for pay. Additionally, having this 2nd free version of the app could then serve as a marketing tool to promote the "premium" version.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#22

Post by unshift » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:26 PM UTC

a couple notes on the app store page:

the testimonial paragraph is awkwardly worded ("... a portal into a virtual shooting gallery overflowing with beach ball-shaped targets just waiting to be popped") and i can't tell how to play (or what makes it fun) from the screenshots. it's gyroscope controlled, but what the hell does that mean?

i'm going to give the lite version a try, but the app store page totally didn't grab me.

i thought "the heist" had a pretty good write-up and screenshot section, for what it's worth. i usually just read the first paragraph and scroll to the screenshots.

EDIT: i tried it, it's like an FPS where you shoot beach balls and twist the phone around to aim. looks pretty well done, but not my bag (i hate aiming anything by moving the phone)

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#23

Post by cageface » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:27 PM UTC

corin_ wrote: post #16

cageface wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My counter-advice would be this: if you want to make money writing apps, get consulting gigs and write them for somebody else.

It's not unlike the decision of doing a startup or working for someone else. You can either settle for a typical paycheque, or you can take a gamble, which might see you create a huge hit, or might flop and bring no returns.

I'd argue that you're playing longer odds in the app store. At most startups you'll be pulling down some kind of salary at least. Keep in mind that the median revenue for iOS apps is < $1000 and that at this point you're going to have to invest quite a bit of time to produce something good enough to attract users.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#24

Post by thestoicjester » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:29 PM UTC

stuartjmoore wrote: post #6

The biggest change I've ever seen is when I changed one name from "* Lite" to "Free *". Went from about 100 to 1,000. Regardless, I stopped promoting my best selling apps and they sell exactly as many copies.

Very interesting.

I did release a 'lite' version with fewer levels, but I do have plans to put together an ad-supported 'free' version. I'll follow up with results when that all goes down.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#25

Post by J3L2404 » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:33 PM UTC

'Most of the major iOS gaming message boards have a section where developers are “allowed” to announce the arrival of their games. This is convenient for gamers as they can just avoid this one section altogether.'

Stoic Jester indeed!

Nice overview of app marketing wasteland. I went thru much the same and the needle never moved, or not very much at least. My new approach is to give away a free version that is slightly hobbled but still useful and use that base of users to launch other ventures.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#26

Post by thestoicjester » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:33 PM UTC

aorshan wrote: post #7

Wow that was a very interesting article. Thank you so much for the advice. I am working on an app of my own now and my marketing plan was essentially the same as what you did. I would have never guessed it would be so hard to get people to look at an app.

Yeah, but don't let my results get you down. Just keep in mind that whatever you do, it seems like the App Store still involves a bit of luck.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#27

Post by corin_ » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:36 PM UTC

cageface wrote: post #23

corin_ wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not unlike the decision of doing a startup or working for someone else. You can either settle for a typical paycheque, or you can take a gamble, which might see you create a huge hit, or might flop and bring no returns.

I'd argue that you're playing longer odds in the app store. At most startups you'll be pulling down some kind of salary at least. Keep in mind that the median revenue for iOS apps is < $1000 and that at this point you're going to have to invest quite a bit of time to produce something good enough to attract users.

Depends what stage startup, not neccesarily earning a salary if you're just starting it yourself, and either living of savings or a day job.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#28

Post by ja27 » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:38 PM UTC

It doesn't look like you've ever offered the full app for free. Have you considered playing the "free for a day" game to drive some interest? http://appshopper.com/games/bullseye-factory

Have you considered updating the app icon? It looks quite dark and flat rather than fun and cartoony like many game icons.

I was a little surprised to see how non-spherical the balls look in your screenshots. If it can still perform well with a more detailed ball model, I would think that would help the look of the screenshots.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#29

Post by PartyDawg » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:40 PM UTC

This article/blog post is wrong. None of the reasons listed had anything to do with his app store success.

Word of mouth was there: and it was 'don't bother'. If it's an app or game that people have to have, most of these techniques would have yielded different results.

Except for a few: like submitting to websites for review... most of them are looking for cash for reviews, so you get what you pay for.

I haven't seen any games that topped the list that were not worthy of chart-toppers... If games or apps like this were chart-toppers, then the chart wouldn't be worth much.

Re: How (not) to sell your iOS app

#30

Post by greengarstudios » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 4:41 PM UTC

I'm an independent iOS developer. My paid apps have sold over 100,000 copies at 99¢ or higher. In total, my iOS apps (including free apps) have been downloaded over 7 million times.

I took a look at your app in the App Store.

Here's your problem: your icon.

The icon is the most prominent thing the user sees when first looking at your app in the App Store.

Change your icon, and you'll get more downloads. Trust me :-)

Feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss good icon design, or other under-appreciated aspects of selling an app.