What makes a good mobile application
Measure success of a mobile application
9 misperceptions of mobile application development
Ascendum
slides from MobileX Cincinnati
Human Factors of XR: Using Human Factors to Design XR Systems
You Guys Are Millionaires (Mobile Application)
1. YOU GUYS ARE ALL Keeping your
head above
water as an
MILLIONAIRES, RIGHT? “indy” developer
JOSH PRESSNELL
ASCENDUM SOLUTIONS
2. THE MOBILE ENTREPRENEUR
What my mom thinks I do What my friends think I do What society thinks I do
What my investors think I do What I think I do What I really do
3. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO DEVELOP APPS?
An organization? (Company, Corporation, LLC)
No
Employees?
Only if
An accountant?
Not Necessarily
An office?
No
Equipment?
A Development Machine and an Mobile Device
Startup funding?
~$2k for hardware, $99 for Developers License
4. Why choose “indy” development?
Mobile Users Have Different Expectations
The best apps follow KISS
Focus on one niche need and be the best at it.
Users want to minimize time in most apps, not the other way around.
The most successful apps target no more than a $1.99 price point
Paid apps make money on volume, not margin
The most successful model to-date is the “freemium” model
Minimal Cost Of Entry
Small focused apps have:
Rapid Time-To-Market - Simple apps can be made in 2 days to 2 weeks
Low Complexity – Codebase management by 1-2 man team
“App Stores” Don’t Care Who You Are
Every new app gets the same potential visibility
Not even Zynga can petition Apple for publicity
The customer-base offered by today’s app stores reaches nearly every country in
the world
Simple Tools
Apple and Android SDKs – Mature and well-known environments
App Generation Tools – Appcelerator and AppMakr
5. Why choose “Indy” Development?
We MAKE What The Whole World Talks About
6. WHAT MAKES A GOOD APP?
Most Commonly Used Words In App Store Reviews
5 Star Reviews 1 Star Reviews
Awesome Perfect Waste Nothing
Worth Price Money Paid
Thanks Recommend Crashes Deleted
Amazing Found Tried Stupid
Simple Always Useless Actually
Users value and recommend apps that:
Get them excited
Provide more value than they cost
Are simple
Deliver what they promise
Don’t crash!
7. MEASURE SUCCESS
Apple App Store – Top App List As Of 02/29/12
16: Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock
18: The Night Sky
24: Tiny Wings
26: Circadia
30: Ski On Neon
35: PicFrame
44: Cartoon Wars
45: Battery Boost
48: Clear
eveloper!
By An Independent D
Every One Developed
9. MISPERCEPTION #1
You’re an “Entrepreneur”? Where’s your VC? Where’s your company
headquartered?
Entrepreneur – “An owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes
money through risk and initiative”
Your company is what you want it to be:
Full time employment
Full time self-employment
Venture startup
Second job
Whatever the road taken, be an Entrepreneur!
Stay versatile
A second job can become a first job if forces require
And vice versa!
10. MISPERCEPTION #2
Pinterest, Tiny Wings… all it takes is a good app idea and you can retire,
right?
Visibility – 500,000 + apps in the app store alone
Without massive PR, many good apps never get noticed
It could be a year or more before a good idea starts to catch momentum
Churn – Life at the top is short-lived
Even if you do break the charts, it won’t be long until something else replaces you
Solution – Can’t assume one app is all you need. What’s next?
11. MISPERCEPTION #3
Bit it takes months and money to develop a successful app!
Choose a project that you can complete
If you plan to spend more than a month, you’re going to get sidetracked
Choose a project that can be done quickly
Both Pocket God and Flight Control were initially developed and released in a single
week
12. MISPERCEPTION #4
After I’ve slaved away (for a week) to make my perfect app, I can just sit
back and rake in the money, right?
In mobile, the hare beats the tortoise, every time.
Develop fast, release often
Spend 2 months, max, on an app and release
If it “sticks”, iterate version updates fast and often.
If it doesn’t catch on, leave it and look for the next one
13. MISPERCEPTION #5
I have to have a unique app idea! All my ideas already have an app for
that!
You don’t always need to innovate
Several existing competitors means there’s a market
Use existing competition to gauge the niche
How many rankings (good or bad) do those competitors have?
Do they do some things well? Copy them.
Do they do some things differently than you would? Improve them.
The Best App Ideas Start With, “I Can Do That
Better!”
14. MISPERCEPTION #6
My app is so awesome it should be priced to show its value!
Current Average App Price - $2.06
Current Average Game Price - $0.99
Current Average Overall Price - $1.91
In the App Store Top Paid 200
143 are $0.99
No matter how “perfect” your app is, if you want in the top ranks, it
shouldn’t be priced higher than $1.99 (and free is better)
15. MISPERCEPTION #7
I can stay successful by focusing solely on my product’s development.
Your user community is EVERYTHING!
Direct and personal interaction with users drives:
Secondary and Tertiary sales figures
Development Focus
Positive Reviews
Don’t delegate community/social interaction
A direct and honest connection with users, especially the frustrated ones, WILL drive
sales figures over time
Don’t be scared to admit your failings, too. But don’t talk about a problem without
providing a solution
Implementing user requests goes a LONG way
Turns 1 star reviews into 5 star reviews
Gives users a stake in the product
Users with passionate negative feedback can be the biggest evangelists!
16. MISPERCEPTION #8
Any decent name and icon will do, as long as I’m in the app store.
90% of users don’t ever read your app description
The app name and icon (and maybe screenshots) are all most of your
potential customers will ever see
Apps must be able to communicate their value using only the the name and
icon
If you spend any money for graphic design, invest it in the app icon
You can get an early look at user opinions (and a jump start on
marketing buzz) by running “fake” ads.
Facebook and Ad Words campaigns are cheap
Setup ads with various names and icons that all lead to a basic signup page to
be notified when the app is available.
Watch click-through rates and conversion rates to see which combinations
generate the most “buzz”
17. MISPERCEPTION #9
I need to spend a lot of money on PR and website advertising to get
noticed
In reality, even being featured on major blogs only provides a limited (and
short term) bump in sales
Price is, by far, the biggest driving force
18. SUMMARY
It is VERY possible to make a good living in
independent mobile development
Don’t procrastinate
Find a small project
Build what you love
Listen to feedback
Be prepared to give up on ideas, but not on the
market