App Savvy

The goal in adding these factors of competition is that you will be defining a new value curve—but this one will be for your app. For that to occur, you will leverage the Four Actions Framework, which includes four key questions (edited to be app-focused): Which features taken for granted in the app landscape should be eliminated? Which features sh

Email marketing With my focus on Twitter, email marketing may feel a little dated. But it still represents one of the best ways to broadcast information very quickly to a large and diverse audience. This last part is important, because although Twitter is becoming prevalent, it still is used more heavily by early adopters than it is by the general

In fact, for independent developers who are creating consumer-oriented apps, engaging with as few as 7 to 10 customers may be sufficient. Depending on the scope of and budget for your app, you may want to talk with up to 30 or 40. The general guideline for when to stop talking to customers is when you start hearing the same feedback over and over a

In Phase 1, you’ll further explore using Twitter. Twitter will serve to keep a real-time channel of communication open with the customers you’ve already interacted with, as well as help you discover new people who could be interested in your app.

The customer has a problem. The customer is aware of the problem. The customer has been actively looking for a solution. The customer has “cobbled” together a solution due to the painfulness of the problem. The customer has the funds or can acquire them to solve the problem.

The analysis that is available is fairly striking, and reveals that half of all paid applications receive fewer than 1,000 downloads and, after Apple’s cut, earn just less than $700

$100,000. That lower boundary typically involves working with offshore or independent developers, whereas the higher number is from hiring professional companies or agencies. Looking at the median cost from TheyMakeApps.com (see Figure 4-2), a resource for finding app developers, you can see that development cost lies within the $10,000 to $15,000

In App Purchases to turn on additional “premium” features or sell new levels in games. Using this approach versus a lite and pro model gives developers significantly more options to control how customers interact with and experience the app. Check

Look at the apps they pick and you’ll begin to notice patterns across them—they’re simple, they’re creative, they have a great design, and they’re well built.