App Creation #4 – A Nice Little Earner, Recognition or Profit?

One of the many questions you will need to ask yourself is whether you are creating an app for profit or for recognition. Both can be attained at the right pricing point, however there are actually advantages to giving away your software for free if you use it as a catalyst for highlighting your related projects, to sell additional content and features or as a means to earn a steady stream of revenue from advertisement.

There is certainly no shame in wishing to earn a generous amount of cash, after all we need to pay our bills – so be bold and concentrate hard on this particular section as it will shape your entire thought process of the app.

So let’s break it down a little…

Pricing

Being spotted among a mass of apps is incredibly difficult, especially if you overprice your app among stiff competition. Of course, a ‘fair’ price for the work entailed, yet still attractive enough to encourage a user’s interest. Remember, one of the beauties of apps is that they can be a ‘spur of the moment’ purchase, even if they haven’t taken in all the details of the listing. This can only occur if the price is enticing and even inconsequential to the user’s thought process.

Free

Your app may be available to install for absolutely no cost whatsoever, yet there are still ways to earn an income from your creation…

Advertisement

One of the most basic ways of earning income from an app is with advertisement. As with any advertisement – placement, duration and intensity is key to a healthy income. The careful considerations between these three advertisement virtues must be carefully balanced, otherwise you might upset the user and lose them forever if it interferes with the layout of the app or distracts the user to the point of frustration.

One of the best benefits of utilising advertisement is that it is a continual revenue stream. For example, if you charge for your app that tends to be a one off purchase by the user that isn’t repeated and therefore only a single cash injection is received by the creator. Even when giving away the app for free, advertisements have the potential of earning income on multiple occasions from a single user as they select the promoted offerings over a potentially long period of time.

In-App Purchasing

In-app purchasing options offer expandability for users of your app and another means of earning income. For example, additional functionality or content can be made available for an additional cost – without the initial price of the app itself discouraging potential interest. Not everyone needs all the bells and whistles and there may be advanced features that just aren’t required by the typical user.

Linking to related projects

If you have gained respect and admiration from a user, chances are they will also be curious about other offerings available in your catalogue. Including a section listing your creations is a superb method of cross-linking your own apps as an easy way to advertise your products.

Discounts, Sales and Offers

Surprise reductions in price are a clever way of gaining new interest from the app community. There are websites and indeed apps that track discounted software in the app marketplace, so a little pricing tweak now and then will help your visibility. As ever there is another side to this equation as no individual wants to learn that the app they purchased recently has greatly reduced in price, so don’t lose your head and be subtle with your adjustments.

App Creation Series

There are literally hundreds of thousands of applications and games available to download using the digital marketplace. These range from basic clocks to fully fledged 3D gaming experiences rivalling even the leading portable devices that usually only specialise in this field.

Your challenge is competing with this vast library of already impressive offerings which, although a daunting prospect to the fledgling traveller, can be navigated successfully with the right ideas and implementation. Whether you want to create an income generator or simply desire recognition for your efforts, this book will aim to show you the path and inspire your imagination to overflow with possibilities.

Allow James Woodcock to guide you through the wilderness and raise your chances of realising your development dreams by detailing different routes with this light hearted tour of the Apps terrain. Featuring a myriad of exciting and surprising examples, you can glean important suggestions for your own creation.

App Creation Series Index:
App Creation – Beginners Guide to App Design, Development and Marketing

Illustrations by Steve Ince

Starting out as an artist at Revolution Software, he moved over to production before settling as a writer-designer. With various titles like the Broken Sword series behind him, Steve turned to Freelance in 2004 and in 2008 earned a Writers’ Guild Award nomination for So Blonde.

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