6 ms·

Bootstrapping a $30k profit/month company from our internship earnings (Part 4)

163 points by n9com 15y ago

adamjernst 15y ago
Good for these guys for having hustle, working hard, and making a product people want. Still, I can't help but think these "Facetab for Facebook" apps are kind of scammy; it's basically squatting on Facebook's name on the App Store. Try taking "Facebook" out of the app's title (leaving it in the description) and see how sales do. Overall, I'm conflicted.
- n9com 15y ago
  Thanks for your comment. Actually, when the app was No.1 overall on the App Store, it was just called 'FaceTab' - as evident in the screenshots on the blog post itself. We only added 'for Facebook' to the name in version 2.0 in response to competition.
- danielh 15y ago
  The app is basically a Facebook client, so I would not consider it scammy to put "for Facebook" into the name. Other apps are doing that as well, e.g. "Twitterrific for Twitter" [1]. There might be a trademark issue, but I didn't check the Facebook ToS. [1] http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitterrific-for-twitter/id359914600?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitterrific-for-twitter/id35...
- chc 15y ago
  Since the only thing you see in search listings is the name, a descriptive title is extremely handy. The point is not to "squat" on Facebook's name (whatever that means), but to clarify for people searching "Facebook" that you are indeed relevant to that topic. It's similar to the reason why the built-in apps are named things like "Photos" and "Calculator" rather than "ZOMGVacationFun" and "CalculAWESOME" — the latter are significantly less meaningful at a glance.
leon_ 15y ago
Interesting what a huge difference the category makes. In the US-music category it's enough to sell ~15 copies/day to enter the top 5.
- phil 15y ago
  That's not true. The #5 paid app in US Music right now is I Am T-Pain, which is the 116th most popular paid app overall.
  - muhfuhkuh 15y ago
    And at this point in the app stores evolution, that ranking is worth at least 500 sales a day and that's going on older sales-to-rank data.
    - webwright 15y ago
      I Am T-Pain is 125 in top grossing on the app store. You're contending that that ranking means $15k in monthly revenue (given their .99 price point)? In May of 2010, this ranking on the grossing chart would get you $2300/day. Presumably 1.5 years later, that ranking would get you considerably MORE revenue, no? Ref: http://blog.iteleportmobile.com/quality-over-quantity-how-we-built-iteleport http://blog.iteleportmobile.com/quality-over-quantity-how-we...
    - n9com 15y ago
      pretty sure Leon_ is talking about the Mac App Store, not iOS.
      - leon_ 15y ago
        Yes. I forgot to mention that as the original submission is about the Mac App Store.
  - leon_ 15y ago
    Thanks for the info but that has nothing to do with what I said :) To clarify: To enter the _MAC_ _MUSIC_ top 5 you need ~15 sales. Not overall. Storming overall with a music app is pretty unlikely.
muhfuhkuh 15y ago
I listened to the App Teardown[1] podcast the Fiplab team started with Colin Plamondon (of "Free Books" app and HN fame), and it drills down on some of the basics of App store marketing. Good supplement to this series! [1]http://www.appteardown.com http://www.appteardown.com
fjordan 15y ago
I'd like to hear more about the development of these applications. Any chance you'll provide an interview with your developer?
pkamb 15y ago
Do you have any advice/insight into picking a category for your app? I've noticed that some of the rarer categories are pretty dead... is the easier path to the top-10 more advantageous than a 'properly' categorized app? How much leeway does Apple give you in picking a category?
- n9com 15y ago
  It's all about visibility so try to pick a related category that is popular. Apple are pretty flexible with what category you place your app.
scottchin 15y ago
Really enjoyed these posts/discussion. Here are the HN discussions to the first three parts of this series: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2955214 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2955214 (Part 1) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2965929 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2965929 (Part 2) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978598 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978598 (Part 3)
ahoyhere 15y ago
Great read. As somebody else said: yay for hustle. What I wonder is if these guys have a contingency plan for when this particular app fad dies out. With consumer-facing apps especially, this seems like a huge danger.
twakefield 15y ago
The new age street market merchants. If you don't hustle, you don't make it. My favorite quote of the post: "The App Store is a most vicious yet glorious technological battlefield, where your apps are your soldiers. One can either moan, shut shop and disappear when their soldiers are hit, or one can ruthlessly battle it out till the end with every last one of them."

163 points by n9com 15y ago

Good for these guys for having hustle, working hard, and making a product people want. Still, I can't help but think these "Facetab for Facebook" apps are kind of scammy; it's basically squatting on Facebook's name on the App Store. Try taking "Facebook" out of the app's title (leaving it in the description) and see how sales do. Overall, I'm conflicted.

n9com 15y ago
Thanks for your comment. Actually, when the app was No.1 overall on the App Store, it was just called 'FaceTab' - as evident in the screenshots on the blog post itself. We only added 'for Facebook' to the name in version 2.0 in response to competition.
danielh 15y ago
The app is basically a Facebook client, so I would not consider it scammy to put "for Facebook" into the name. Other apps are doing that as well, e.g. "Twitterrific for Twitter" [1]. There might be a trademark issue, but I didn't check the Facebook ToS. [1] http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitterrific-for-twitter/id359914600?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitterrific-for-twitter/id35...
chc 15y ago
Since the only thing you see in search listings is the name, a descriptive title is extremely handy. The point is not to "squat" on Facebook's name (whatever that means), but to clarify for people searching "Facebook" that you are indeed relevant to that topic. It's similar to the reason why the built-in apps are named things like "Photos" and "Calculator" rather than "ZOMGVacationFun" and "CalculAWESOME" — the latter are significantly less meaningful at a glance.

leon_ 15y ago

Interesting what a huge difference the category makes. In the US-music category it's enough to sell ~15 copies/day to enter the top 5.

phil 15y ago
That's not true. The #5 paid app in US Music right now is I Am T-Pain, which is the 116th most popular paid app overall.
- muhfuhkuh 15y ago
  And at this point in the app stores evolution, that ranking is worth at least 500 sales a day and that's going on older sales-to-rank data.
  - webwright 15y ago
    I Am T-Pain is 125 in top grossing on the app store. You're contending that that ranking means $15k in monthly revenue (given their .99 price point)? In May of 2010, this ranking on the grossing chart would get you $2300/day. Presumably 1.5 years later, that ranking would get you considerably MORE revenue, no? Ref: http://blog.iteleportmobile.com/quality-over-quantity-how-we-built-iteleport http://blog.iteleportmobile.com/quality-over-quantity-how-we...
  - n9com 15y ago
    pretty sure Leon_ is talking about the Mac App Store, not iOS.
    - leon_ 15y ago
      Yes. I forgot to mention that as the original submission is about the Mac App Store.
- leon_ 15y ago
  Thanks for the info but that has nothing to do with what I said :) To clarify: To enter the _MAC_ _MUSIC_ top 5 you need ~15 sales. Not overall. Storming overall with a music app is pretty unlikely.

muhfuhkuh 15y ago

I listened to the App Teardown[1] podcast the Fiplab team started with Colin Plamondon (of "Free Books" app and HN fame), and it drills down on some of the basics of App store marketing. Good supplement to this series! [1]http://www.appteardown.com http://www.appteardown.com

fjordan 15y ago

I'd like to hear more about the development of these applications. Any chance you'll provide an interview with your developer?

pkamb 15y ago

Do you have any advice/insight into picking a category for your app? I've noticed that some of the rarer categories are pretty dead... is the easier path to the top-10 more advantageous than a 'properly' categorized app? How much leeway does Apple give you in picking a category?

n9com 15y ago
It's all about visibility so try to pick a related category that is popular. Apple are pretty flexible with what category you place your app.

scottchin 15y ago

Really enjoyed these posts/discussion. Here are the HN discussions to the first three parts of this series: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2955214 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2955214 (Part 1) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2965929 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2965929 (Part 2) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978598 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978598 (Part 3)

ahoyhere 15y ago

Great read. As somebody else said: yay for hustle. What I wonder is if these guys have a contingency plan for when this particular app fad dies out. With consumer-facing apps especially, this seems like a huge danger.

twakefield 15y ago

The new age street market merchants. If you don't hustle, you don't make it. My favorite quote of the post: "The App Store is a most vicious yet glorious technological battlefield, where your apps are your soldiers. One can either moan, shut shop and disappear when their soldiers are hit, or one can ruthlessly battle it out till the end with every last one of them."