Download - Android apps for Fun and Profit
Creating Android appsfor Fun & Profit
Mathijs Vogelzang, AppTornado GmbHDroidCon Amsterdam 2011
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Overview● Short intro● Get attention!
○ Optimize your Android market listing○ Generate buzz around your app○ Measure your success & iterate
● Generate revenue○ Paid vs. in-app payment vs. ad-supported○ How to make a choice between revenue models○ Best strategies within each revenue model
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Swiss Codemonkeys & AppBrain ● Android apps & AppBrain, app discovery and promotion
system● >40 apps, >25M downloads● Started in January 2009, part time● Founded company in November 2009● Team: 3 software engineers, 1 UI/UX designer
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Swiss Codemonkeys apps● First app "DeskBell" in January 2009● Steamy Window● Funny Jokes, Love Poems, Android Forum ● Live Chat ● Camera Pro, Color Touch, Photo Effects● Camera Effects, Best Wallpapers● ●
Get attention for your app
App discovery and promotion on Android is difficult
● Users are using apps 80-90 mins/day, download 9 new apps/month (source: Admob mobile metrics)
● Android market has grown to ~315,000 apps, 20,000 new apps / month, around 1/3 is of very low quality
● Discovery options are relatively limited (but improving recently)
● For users: difficult to discover good apps
● Developers: difficult to make apps stand out
Source: appbrain.com/stats
Rule #1: Listen to your users
● Try to have rating > 4.0, investigate when the average < 3.5● Android market comments unfortunately not always helpful
anymore...
● Always investigate the crashreports on the Google dashboard
Source: appbrain.com/stats
What kind of user do you want to reach?
● How is he most likely to hear about your app?○ Discovery in the Android market○ Hear it from other user○ Read it on a blog / app magazine
● What kind of keywords will the user use to search?● In which categories of the market will he browse?
Optimizing the market listing
● First, make icon and title as descriptive and attractive as possible
● Follow the official Android iconguidelines whenever possiblehttp://developer.android.com/guide/practices/ui_guidelines/icon_design.html
● Do: "featured graphic", for low chance of being featured
Market app page
Build buzz around your app
● Try to get reviews on important Android blogs● Leverage social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)● Even better: let users be your app's advocates,
very easy to implement using SEND Intent.
Measure your success!
● Track installs, keep track of phones & android versions
Official market stats are useful, but are based on overall install base.
It's really about new installs
Even better: track sources
And you get:
Plus: countries, languages, phones & SDK versions by usage
Build a quick stats check into your daily routine
Generate revenue
Three main models
● Paid app○ Pro: no implementation required!○ Con: few users, high expectations by users
● In-app billing○ More difficult implementation, MUCH higher revenue
potential● Free (ad-supported)
○ When not done right,can be very annoying
○ Fluctuating revenues
Top grossing apps: free + in-app billing!
Considerations
● Focus on the average revenue / user● Does your app provide a value many users will want to pay
for directly?● If not, ads are probably a better model
○ How many times does a user come back? How many minutes does he spend per session?
Paid app model
● Users usually don't just buy an app out of nothing○ -> good to have a free app from which to upsell users○ free app should be a useful app by itself
● Be prepared to release occasional updates with new functionality
● A higher price point is usually a better choice
In-app billing
● Two modes: Managed and Unmanaged● Managed:
○ Android market keeps track whether user purchased the item
○ User can only buy once● Unmanaged:
○ More complicated: you have to keep track○ User can buy many times (e.g., virtual currency)
● Banner ads○ +: Low effort○ -: Low revenue, annoying to have on every screen
● Consider the engagement of the user
Free ad-supported apps
Summary● A great app is most important● Track your different channels of user acquisition● If possible, use in-app billing or ad-supported model● Ad units: think about the context
○ good for banners: apps for reading & browsing, user looking for entertainment & new content
○ good for other types: users focused on completing a task, all screen space needed
● AppBrain SDK is in private beta, sign up here:http://bit.ly/applift
