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Good article and its nice to see people acknowledging the hype around the app store. I have been doing iphone development almost exclusively since november. T

by pz 17y ago

Good article and its nice to see people acknowledging the hype around the app store. I have been doing iphone development almost exclusively since november. This includes writing 3 of my own apps and contracting on two others. I was encouraged by the success of my first app to write others. I spent a month or two working on my next app and it barely made a dent. I think I've finally made the money back i paid the graphic designer. Another app I made in two days pulled in a couple thousand bucks over the course of a couple weeks. Go figure. I think the take home point is that its really hit or miss and that success doesn't correlate with quality. I would be reluctant to recommend working on iphone apps full time to anyone unless you're prolific enough to overcome the poor odds of success. I think a lot of this has to do with the way the app store is set up. The author hit the nail on the head pointing out the importance of being on the top 100 lists. Really, if you aren't on there you are invisible to buyers. OTOH, selling iphone apps is a lot easier than selling desktop software. And its pretty fun. I definitely recommend it as a hobby and if/when i decide to get a 'real job' I'll probably keep making apps.

dejb 17y ago
> The author hit the nail on the head pointing out the importance of being on the top 100 lists. Really, if you aren't on there you are invisible to buyers. This makes me wonder if there are a lot of developers who would try to pay for XX of their network of friends to buy the software just to try to get it on the charts.
- xsmasher 17y ago
  It's not unheard of to make an ad purchase (banner ads or admob) in order to "bump" yourself onto the charts, in hopes that you'll make your money back once you're on the chart. It turns out that, just like any other business, it takes marketing and capital to succeed, not just ideas and good engineering.
- pz 17y ago
  i heard a talk by one of the guys from AdMob and based on their data he claimed you could buy your way to the top paid list with $10k in ads. this is based on their hypothesis about how the ranking works (greg yardley from pinch media hypothesized a 7 day rolling average) its an interesting gamble. next time i have $10k to spare i might see if i can test it
joecode 17y ago
Whoa! It's Phil! The store is setup in a kinda stupid way, so the best thing to do is make kinda stupid apps, just done well. What's S. doing, like $600/day? Anyway, if you figure out the dynamics, are a good programmer, and shoot for the right kind of programs, then your chances are much improved. Still a gamble, but a sane one. Cheers from Phily, Joe
- pz 17y ago
  its joe! i agree, understanding the market is pretty important in deciding which apps to pursue. i am surprised on some of the dumb sh!t people buy. i think one big issue for folks like us actually trying to make a living off the app store is how sustainable the income is. we've both made our respectable apps that have held their rankings for 6+ months. we've also both made gumball apps that get downloaded/bought a bunch initially and then just disappear.
  - joecode 17y ago
    agreed. ultimately it is a good opportunity, if you know how to take advantage of it. but there are no easy, sure-fire ways to success. hot weather is climbing in the charts, btw. especially in europe.

by pz 17y ago

dejb 17y ago

> The author hit the nail on the head pointing out the importance of being on the top 100 lists. Really, if you aren't on there you are invisible to buyers. This makes me wonder if there are a lot of developers who would try to pay for XX of their network of friends to buy the software just to try to get it on the charts.

xsmasher 17y ago
It's not unheard of to make an ad purchase (banner ads or admob) in order to "bump" yourself onto the charts, in hopes that you'll make your money back once you're on the chart. It turns out that, just like any other business, it takes marketing and capital to succeed, not just ideas and good engineering.
pz 17y ago
i heard a talk by one of the guys from AdMob and based on their data he claimed you could buy your way to the top paid list with $10k in ads. this is based on their hypothesis about how the ranking works (greg yardley from pinch media hypothesized a 7 day rolling average) its an interesting gamble. next time i have $10k to spare i might see if i can test it

joecode 17y ago

Whoa! It's Phil! The store is setup in a kinda stupid way, so the best thing to do is make kinda stupid apps, just done well. What's S. doing, like $600/day? Anyway, if you figure out the dynamics, are a good programmer, and shoot for the right kind of programs, then your chances are much improved. Still a gamble, but a sane one. Cheers from Phily, Joe

pz 17y ago
its joe! i agree, understanding the market is pretty important in deciding which apps to pursue. i am surprised on some of the dumb sh!t people buy. i think one big issue for folks like us actually trying to make a living off the app store is how sustainable the income is. we've both made our respectable apps that have held their rankings for 6+ months. we've also both made gumball apps that get downloaded/bought a bunch initially and then just disappear.
- joecode 17y ago
  agreed. ultimately it is a good opportunity, if you know how to take advantage of it. but there are no easy, sure-fire ways to success. hot weather is climbing in the charts, btw. especially in europe.