4 ms·

It's not dead, but discoverability is a huge problem. I still make decent money ($5-6k per month) on an app I first released in 2010, but the two additional one

It's not dead, but discoverability is a huge problem. I still make decent money ($5-6k per month) on an app I first released in 2010, but the two additional ones since then are probably not even collectively over $1000 for their lifetime. Unless you're featured, have significant word of mouth, or are on Top Free/Top Paid/Top Grossing, the number of people that actually find your app is small. It takes significant publicity to get enough momentum in sales to where word of mouth even works. Edit: This isn't to say I won't make anything else. I have other apps in progress, but I'm going to apply the lessons I've learned to make them work. They are somewhat niche apps, but I've found those work for markets that are accustomed to paying for tools/software. None will be under the $14.99 price point. It's unlikely I'll ever make another one that is -- it's just not worth the effort.

orangethirty 14y ago
I'm curious. What kind of marketing have you done? Or do you only rely on the app store?
- rbritton 14y ago
  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 has definitely helped since I have friends and contacts there. One notably potential source I have not really pursued much is social media, Twitter in particular. I'm one of those people that pretty much never uses it and doesn't understand the allure.
  - danielrakh 14y ago
    What App is this? If you don't mind me asking?
    - rbritton 14y ago
      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.
      - yoster 14y ago
        It wouldn't hurt considering it would be free advertising. If I generated steady income off a popular app, I would be letting everybody and their momma know about that app. I would even throw a sales pitch right now!
        ludwigvan 14y ago
        It might cause more competitor apps to be made, which might put that constant stream of money to danger.
      - suhastech 14y ago
        I think you've already disclosed it a few years ago. It's already a mature app for all I can see.
        rbritton 14y ago
        Looks like I did -- I'd totally forgotten about that. The app is Portfolio: http://ipadportfolioapp.com/ http://ipadportfolioapp.com/ It's a tool for presenting visual or audiovisual work to others (e.g., prospective clients) and is used by photographers, designers, sales reps, florists, and pretty much any other field where that presentation is a key part of the job. The customer-facing appearance can be completely customized to match a business's branding while leaving the management bits out of sight. It started out life as a tool for our photography studio to present more recent work to prospective clients since it's incredibly expensive to keep the print equivalents up-to-date. The original price was $9.99, which was bumped up to $14.99 after a couple months if I remember right. The current $12.99 price is only a few months old and is a result of the market leveling out a bit. In its first year or so the revenue was $10-15k per month, but the saturation of the App Store and the introduction of new app possibilities that dilute the ratings (e.g., magazines) has lowered it to its current revenue. It definitely won't last forever, but I believe it will continue to be worth my time for a while yet.
  - andrewtbham 14y ago
    Where do you put ads?
    - rbritton 14y ago
      AdWords. They're the only ones I've ever personally had a positive return from. At least as near as I can track it.
      - mcobrien 14y ago
        I've considered that, but the last time I tried you couldn't use the words iPhone or iPad in a Google Ad. Has that restriction gone away, or how do you work around it?
        Oxxide 14y ago
        wouldn't iOS be a better term anyway?
        Macha 14y ago
        Highly depends on the market. If you're aimed at tech geeks, maybe, but I'd guess that your average iPhone/iPad user doesn't really know what iOS is unless they've jailbroken.
        rbritton 14y ago
        You can use those terms if you get permission from Apple. I can't remember the email address offhand, but there is one you can contact for approval.
  - orangethirty 14y ago
    And for the less performing apps?
    - rbritton 14y ago
      Similar but no articles since there seemed to be much less interest from writers and publishers.
  - ja27 14y ago
    I don't see Twitter being a good place to market your app. Google+ would be fantastic because it's been adopted by your target market. Your app is a little different than most because your price isn't in the basement. That means you can afford to spend a little bit to acquire a customers. The 99 cent app can't afford to spend much at all to acquire a customer.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
jakerocheleau 14y ago
$5-6k each month is certainly decent for the original time you spent programming. Now you can just collect on earnings and maybe release updates as needed, but it's definitely more lucrative than other markets. Thank you for sharing your own personal anecdote. It's one of the main reasons I value HN's community over others.
snorkel 14y ago
Pay-before-play is a dead revenue model. The money flow in apps these days is in in-app purchase (pay for power ups), pay-after-trial, and in-app advertising.
- signalsignal 14y ago
  The parent post just stated that he made 5-6k per month off of a single iPad app. Can you back up your claims with facts?
  - yareally 14y ago
    The parent also said that particular app is well established and that his newer apps do not fair as well. While paid apps might not be dead, they are significantly harder to get noticed these days as he also mentioned.
    - signalsignal 14y ago
      > The parent also said that particular app is well established and that his newer apps do not fair as well. Wrong. The parent post claimed that the higher cost app $12.99 led to much higher revenue than the lower priced apps at FREE with ads and $.99 to $1.99 cost. In fact so much so that the parent post wrote that no more low cost premium or premium apps would be developed. Please, do your research so as to not waste people's time correcting you on this website.

orangethirty 14y ago

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

rbritton 14y ago
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 has definitely helped since I have friends and contacts there. One notably potential source I have not really pursued much is social media, Twitter in particular. I'm one of those people that pretty much never uses it and doesn't understand the allure.
- danielrakh 14y ago
  What App is this? If you don't mind me asking?
  - rbritton 14y ago
    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.
    - yoster 14y ago
      It wouldn't hurt considering it would be free advertising. If I generated steady income off a popular app, I would be letting everybody and their momma know about that app. I would even throw a sales pitch right now!
      - ludwigvan 14y ago
        It might cause more competitor apps to be made, which might put that constant stream of money to danger.
    - suhastech 14y ago
      I think you've already disclosed it a few years ago. It's already a mature app for all I can see.
      - rbritton 14y ago
        Looks like I did -- I'd totally forgotten about that. The app is Portfolio: http://ipadportfolioapp.com/ http://ipadportfolioapp.com/ It's a tool for presenting visual or audiovisual work to others (e.g., prospective clients) and is used by photographers, designers, sales reps, florists, and pretty much any other field where that presentation is a key part of the job. The customer-facing appearance can be completely customized to match a business's branding while leaving the management bits out of sight. It started out life as a tool for our photography studio to present more recent work to prospective clients since it's incredibly expensive to keep the print equivalents up-to-date. The original price was $9.99, which was bumped up to $14.99 after a couple months if I remember right. The current $12.99 price is only a few months old and is a result of the market leveling out a bit. In its first year or so the revenue was $10-15k per month, but the saturation of the App Store and the introduction of new app possibilities that dilute the ratings (e.g., magazines) has lowered it to its current revenue. It definitely won't last forever, but I believe it will continue to be worth my time for a while yet.
- andrewtbham 14y ago
  Where do you put ads?
  - rbritton 14y ago
    AdWords. They're the only ones I've ever personally had a positive return from. At least as near as I can track it.
    - mcobrien 14y ago
      I've considered that, but the last time I tried you couldn't use the words iPhone or iPad in a Google Ad. Has that restriction gone away, or how do you work around it?
      - Oxxide 14y ago
        wouldn't iOS be a better term anyway?
        Macha 14y ago
        Highly depends on the market. If you're aimed at tech geeks, maybe, but I'd guess that your average iPhone/iPad user doesn't really know what iOS is unless they've jailbroken.
      - rbritton 14y ago
        You can use those terms if you get permission from Apple. I can't remember the email address offhand, but there is one you can contact for approval.
- orangethirty 14y ago
  And for the less performing apps?
  - rbritton 14y ago
    Similar but no articles since there seemed to be much less interest from writers and publishers.
- ja27 14y ago
  I don't see Twitter being a good place to market your app. Google+ would be fantastic because it's been adopted by your target market. Your app is a little different than most because your price isn't in the basement. That means you can afford to spend a little bit to acquire a customers. The 99 cent app can't afford to spend much at all to acquire a customer.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

jakerocheleau 14y ago

$5-6k each month is certainly decent for the original time you spent programming. Now you can just collect on earnings and maybe release updates as needed, but it's definitely more lucrative than other markets. Thank you for sharing your own personal anecdote. It's one of the main reasons I value HN's community over others.

snorkel 14y ago

Pay-before-play is a dead revenue model. The money flow in apps these days is in in-app purchase (pay for power ups), pay-after-trial, and in-app advertising.

signalsignal 14y ago
The parent post just stated that he made 5-6k per month off of a single iPad app. Can you back up your claims with facts?
- yareally 14y ago
  The parent also said that particular app is well established and that his newer apps do not fair as well. While paid apps might not be dead, they are significantly harder to get noticed these days as he also mentioned.
  - signalsignal 14y ago
    > The parent also said that particular app is well established and that his newer apps do not fair as well. Wrong. The parent post claimed that the higher cost app $12.99 led to much higher revenue than the lower priced apps at FREE with ads and $.99 to $1.99 cost. In fact so much so that the parent post wrote that no more low cost premium or premium apps would be developed. Please, do your research so as to not waste people's time correcting you on this website.