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My day one Mac Appstore sales

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My day one Mac Appstore sales

#1

Post by luke5dm »

There aren't too many data points about the mac Appstore, so I decided to let you all know just how lucrative it is to make a great app.

My app: http://www.typeli.com Appstore: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/typeli/id503079958?ls=1&mt=12

Day 1 sales: 11 (USA 7, Germany 2, Japan 1, Singapore 1)

which translates into 10.5 * 11 = $115.5

What's most interesting however is the relative performance as compared to other apps. I checked the top grossing list for Productivity apps multiple times yesterday, and was very surprised to outperform some apps that Apple features on its website. Typeli fluctuated in the region between 108th and 150th place.

What do you think? Is it really that bad out there or am I missing something?

Re: My day one Mac Appstore sales

#2

Post by pavlov »

My experience with an app in the Productivity category is similar to yours.

The Mac App Store is definitely not a miracle channel on its own, it needs to be complemented by other marketing. What that is depends greatly on the app and the team, I guess (which is another way of saying that I suck at marketing). Some apps like Sparrow seem to be doing consistently well on the MAS thanks to a successful launch hype on tech blogs and social networks, but not everyone can do that.

Btw, your app looks really great at least on the typeli.com site. I think the price is a bit steep, though. For me, 15 USD is too much for an impulse purchase when I have no idea whether I'm actually going to use the app.

If you don't want to lower the price, maybe you could do a half-price launch promo? That seems to be a popular thing (but I have no idea how well it actually works).

Re: My day one Mac Appstore sales

#3

Post by luke5dm »

pavlov wrote: post #2

My experience with an app in the Productivity category is similar to yours. The Mac App Store is definitely not a miracle channel on its own, it needs to be complemented by other marketing. What that is depends greatly on the app and the team, I guess (which is another way of saying that I suck at marketing). Some apps like Sparrow seem to be doing consistently well on the MAS thanks to a successful launch hype on te…

Thanks! From your experience what's the ceiling for impulse purchases? I'm thinking $8.99?

Re: My day one Mac Appstore sales

#8

Post by MaxGabriel »

Would you consider changing the font of the headers on your website? They look really weird on my iPad--like half the letters bold weird. I tried sending you an email of what I'm seeing, but the contact button didn't work on iPad either. Also, when I zoom in, the web page momentarily covers itself with the background wood.

Congratulations on your success so far!

Re: My day one Mac Appstore sales

#9

Post by Terretta »

luke5dm wrote: post #3
pavlov wrote: post #2

My experience with an app in the Productivity category is similar to yours. The Mac App Store is definitely not a miracle channel on its own, it needs to be complemented by other marketing. What that is depends greatly on the app and the team, I guess (which is another way of saying that I suck at marketing). Some apps like Sparrow seem to be doing consistently well on the MAS thanks to a successful launch hype on te…

Thanks! From your experience what's the ceiling for impulse purchases? I'm thinking $8.99?

As owner of > 500 purchased apps on Mac App Store and iOS App Store, and careful observation of buying trends at various price points, I'd say $4.99 is the impulse ceiling.

For iOS apps I am familiar with and use regularly, I have paid as much as $49.99; Mac apps, as much as $299.

This app, to me, in its current incarnation and marketing, looks like $4.99 "launch price" and $9.99 tops once it's finished (it doesn't look finished). There are notably (sorry) better editors for less money.

    Writeroom $9.99
    iA Writer $8.99 (iOS $0.99)
    Byword $9.99 (iOS $2.99)
    OmmWriter Dāna II $4.99
Perspective:

    Pages $19.99
Given the competition and its marketing, I'd recommend undercutting the other guys by as much as 1/2, and discounting your launch pricing further.

// Disclaimer: utterly speculative opinion, YM will V

EDIT: While researching these, I discovered "Marked", and saw it offers GitHub technical markdown preview. I purchased it for $3.99, because I hadn't spent money on coffee today.

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