So I’ve finally decided to take Show Time off the App Store. I in all honesty haven’t been paying much attention to it. I checked the sales of it recently to see how it was going and it’s been bringing me about $50 give or take each month. So no…
How To Build an iPhone App, Market Apps & Insider Musings
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So I’ve finally decided to take Show Time off the App Store. I in all honesty haven’t been paying much attention to it. I checked the sales of it recently to see how it was going and it’s been bringing me about $50 give or take each month. So no big deal to kill it but sad to see it go.
So why am I killing it? Because it’s broken. iOS5 caused it to not load clock colors and choosing your ambient noise crashes the App and boots you out. I read a couple reviews about it, tested it, and I’m reluctantly pulling it because it is both making me look really bad and also that’s just bad karma to be selling a poor product. So while it’s my baby, it’s gotta die. Keeping the lite version though cause it’s free so… whatever! I’ll actually pull the lite version too when I finally release my upcoming game.
My upcoming game is coming along! This blog has taken a long back seat to my working on the game’s assets. I can’t wait to show it to the world but it’s still early in development. I’m very happy with the progress so far and the overall look. It’s going to be a big one. Hopefully have a first look coming here at the end of this month.
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Do you need a PR company to get blogs to read your stuff? No, absolutely, unequivocally not at all. In fact, all PR companies really do is the same thing as you are going to do but then pitch it to you that they do it better.
So what are they doing better really? To tell you the truth, not a whole hell of a lot. Before I launched my App Show Time, I contacted a whole lot of iPhone App specific PR companies that claim to spin your pitch into App Store gold. In the end, hearing what they were pitching and the price for their services, I decided I’m going to do this myself and I’m glad I did.
I’m not going to name names here but a lot of these companies claim that they have TUAW.com editors on their speed dial and have lunch with them bi-weekly. I’m going to call a lot of this hype BS. Do some minor research and you’ll see that most of these companies are pulling your leg and making themselves sound bigger than their small 3 man team often are. Many of them don’t really have a lot of Apps that did that well in the App store. Simply see who they claim to represent, then check out what those Apps actually did in the charts on App Shopper. In most cases, they may have one good client and then a bunch of Apps that did poorly and not worth the thousands of dollars you’re paying them to help you out. In a few cases, I actually pulled up their clients’ App page in iTunes and found their contact info and asked if they believed the service was worth it. No one that did reply replied with a yes.
So to get back to my point, do PR yourself. Maybe use prMac.com but that’s super cheap. I used it, not sure it helped but worth a shot for the low entry price. But the key here to getting blogs to really respond to you is a 2 part process. 1: You email blogs and review sites with a “Coming Soon” email announcing the upcoming release of your App. 2: You blast all the same people with a new more polished email announcing the official release of your App on the day of the release at 8-9 AM so it’s right there staring them in the face when they get in the office as they’re waking up. You make this 2nd blast a beautifully well designed Ad that’s both informative and also eye candy and you’ve sold yourself on why your App is worth their time. So let’s talk about the details of this 2 part process.
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This Developer Diary I got a chance to interview both Robert and Heiko from Djinnworks. Djinnworks has over 5 Apps in the 200 US Paid category and have consistently broken into the top 10 with such famous Apps as Rope’n'Fly, Stick Stunt Biker, & Line Surfer. I got a chance to ask them about their new hit, Line Birds and ask some in depth questions about their business. Really nice guys and one of the most revealing, inspiring, and fun interviews I’ve done to date (Sorry other interviewees, ya’ll rock too).
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Late last week I got a chance to interview Merlyn from Silverline Arts about their hit game Space Inversion 2 for iPhone & iPad. Even though they are a small 3 man operation, Silverline Arts is no stranger to breaking the top 100 US charts. As a company that makes a living off Apps, I got a chance to talk more with Merlyn about their success.
How long from concept to completion did it take you get Space Inversion 2 live on the App Store?
The production of the title was three months, but having said that it was a mutation of older tech from previous titles since we began the space inversion series a year ago.
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Oh god, I didn’t want to write this post. Actually, there is no god or I wouldn’t have to write this post at all. After many a months of trying to wrangle together developers to help me program my next iPhone application, I am temporarily throwing in the towel. You win cruel world, for now.
See that guy above? That’s B-Bot, the star of my coming-never iPhone game that I’ve been designing for the last 4-5 months. Over the last few months I’ve been trying to get a few developers to do a profit share where I provide concept, designs, animation, sound effects, & music and they provide all the programming. Well, developers… You guys are busy, busy people. While I have gotten a lot of good feedback for the idea, coming home to work on a project without the allure of up front money seems to come a distant second to most developers with families. After going the over-seas route the last time with Show Time and failing miserably at it, I decided, this time I need a developer that has a vested interest in the project that I can easily communicate with. Well, it was a good idea in theory but I don’t know enough people with the right skill-set to actually be able to help if they even wanted to.
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I’ve been taking a small break from writing lately because I’ve been focused on my new App I’ve been developing. General industry posts may slow down but expect some more interviews coming soon. What I want to do next is reveal what I’ve been working on.
Because this site is sort of a how-to on making, marketing, and selling your App I figure what better way to prove myself than to just do it. In the coming week I’ll have some details on my new project and I’ll be documenting everything I’m doing to create the finished product and take down The Vault as the #1 App in the App Store.
You heard it here first readers, this marks the day that my blind optimism because a public jest. Or until I actually do produce what I claim I will and then who will be laughing? Me!
But seriously, you’ll soon see what I’ve been concepting the last few months and what I plan to do with it. Big things and I look forward to both your praise and sharp criticism.
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One check-box on your App marketing to-do list should be “create a promotional video.” Check. But is your video the perfect marketing pitch, readying wallets for purchase? Let’s talk about how it can be.
This video above is what I came up with when I wanted to sell my Show Time App. The idea was, this is a viral video that blogs will see and think “HAHA! This is crazy. A werewolf and a jacked up ballerina? I HAVE to show this to everyone.” Judging from the 987 views as of writing this, um yeah… No one saw this. And anyone that did see this stopped at “this is crazy” and continued with “what the f**k is wrong with this person?”
The perfect App marketing or promotional video is not viral. In fact, making a viral video is just one of those spontaneously crazy things that I’m not even sure you manufacture. So what does sell an iPhone App? A good video that describes your App in detail, trimming the fat of nonsense and delivering a simple clean message as to why your App deserves their dollar. Let’s take a look at some App promo videos done right.
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Your App sucks. Seriously, it sucks and you know it.
So why are you releasing it? You think it’s going to…? Make you a lot of money? Allow you to quit your day job? Start your new App making career? Score yourself rap video chicks?
Making an iPhone App (or Droid App) is an art form. Even creating a scientific calculator App is art. So let’s approach making an App as such and critique what you’re doing.
The secret to making an App that sells is simple: make a quality App that people want to share. But how do you do that?
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As of late, Apple seems to be making some strict changes in how 3rd party marketers do business. For one, they no longer accept users rating and reviewing Apps off a promo code. This means no more gaming of the ratings of an App based on friend’s reviews (or fake accounts?) who received a promo code. Another ban hammer comes in the form of banning Apps from using PPI (pay per install) marketing. An App that participates in PPI programs such as the program offered by Tapjoy are now being rejected on the sole claim that they are manipulating chart rankings.
So, should we as smaller indie developers be upset about these changes and dismantle our Steve Jobs shrine in our living room? Or is this a blessing that Apple has taken an active interest in leveling the playing field? Read on and see.
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This week I got a chance to interview Alex from Macphun about their giant hit FX Photo Studio & the popular Silent Film Director Apps. Both Apps have been sitting in the top 100 overall US for quite some time now so I wanted to know a little more about this relatively small indie company who’s fairing quite well among the big name publishers. Read on to get some interesting insight into how a small company is employing 15 people full-time strictly on making and selling iPhone Apps.
I’m Andrew Jasper, an App designer & your guide through the shady marketing/promotion business of making an iPhone App.
This site is for people who want to make an App who have never done so before and also for those wanting to just learn how to do it right. I show people how to go about creating an App, marketing an App, and everything in-between. Learn more about me here, follow me on Twitter, or contact me if you just want to chat.
Twitter: Appvised
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