The Deep End: What I Learned From My First App Submission

Day 24

I haven’t posted in a while but I have a good excuse! About a week ago I found out about a competition Sensis Australia were holding for developers to create an application that uses their new API.

Now, at this point I’d only been learning iOS development for about a month or so in my free time; I wasn’t ready for a full blown, public application. Not only that, but in order to get it in the App Store in time I would need to create the app – from start to finish – within a week.

That’s bonkers…but, you know, zombies! I can’t say no to zombies!

And so, after 6 days and about 100 hours of working non-stop – pausing only for Mothers Day on Sunday – I created my first application. I learned more in those 6 days than I had in the entire time I’d been learning iOS. I’m glad I did it, and think I’m ready for round 2 :) Keep reading →

Planet Money Reports on the App Economy

Not too long ago making money from software development required venture capital funding and a team of software engineers, but that has changed significantly in the last few years following the success of Apple’s App Store. In the 4 years since it was introduced, hundreds of thousands of Apps have been released, enabling anyone with an idea and a bit of technical nous to make money.

This week the team behind the Planet Money Podcast investigates this new economy, following the incredible story of Web entrepreneur Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper. In the interview he explains how his product  started out as a “side project” which gave him a bit of extra pocket money turned into a full time business and a 6-figure income.

Instapaper began its life as a free web service, making money solely from the advertising banners placed on the page. When the App Store came along he created an app equivalent of the website and started experimenting with prices. Before long Arment discovered that people are willing to pay if the price is right and the product is good.

You can listen to the episode by subscribing to the free podcast here. It’s well worth a listen for anyone interested in not only how people like Arment are making money, but why the App Store stuck a cord with users and became the phemonenon we know of today.

7 Ways iOS Developers Get The Most Money Out of Their Games

It’s no secret that iOS games are big business; in fact, games are easily the biggest category for mobile app purchases. Unfortunately for developers, however, the market has become so competitive it’s hard to stand out from the pack. Worse still, the expected price point for games has dropped so low it can be difficult to make money even if you do get attention.

At .99 cents, it takes a worldwide phenomenon like Angry Birds to turn this price tag into profit. Charging anything over $1 inflates expectations and will result in 1-star reviews if the app doesn’t fully justify its high cost. This has put game developers in a tough position: how do you offer a game for a super low price (or better yet, free) but still make enough money for it to be worthwhile? Keep reading →