nobody loves my app with paul laberge
TRANSCRIPT
Nobody loves my app.
A tale of tragedy narrated by
Paul Laberge,
a Technical Evangelist for
Microsoft, whose Twitter handle is
@plaberge.
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• Tweet: “Hey @wootstudio #SCREENS13…Hook me up with a Windows Phone”
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Prologue
The truth
hurts.
Most apps go
unloved.
Some statistics
Photo Credit: ryoki (Flickr)
App Store App
Populatio
n*
Apple App
Store
~900K
Google Play ~1 Million
Windows
Phone Store
~175K
Windows
Store
~100K
*Source: Wikipedia
According to a 2012
Deloitte report on app
downloads, a mere 20%
of all apps in all app
stores get to the 1,000
download threshold.Source: TMT Predictions 2012, “So many apps – so
little to download” (deloitte.com)
Chapter 1Scoping out the
joint
Why build a mobile app?
Why do you get into mobile development?
1.Sense of achievement
2.Being recognized for your work
3.Starting a business
4.Being part of a new trend (mobile)
5.Revenue opportunity
6.Building something better than currently existsSource: Vision Mobile, Developer Economics Segmentation
Q3 2013
Considerations: Primary Objectives
Source: Vision Mobile, Developer Economics Segmentation
Q3 2013
Top 3 most important platform
criteria
Considerations: Marketshare
Source: Vision Mobile, Developer Economics Segmentation
Q3 2013
Smartphone sales by
platform, Q1 2013
Considerations: Revenue
Source: Vision Mobile, Developer Economics Segmentation
Q3 2013
Average monthly revenue per
developer by platform
Chapter 2Bright Ideas
In a total of 15 seconds, can
you tell me what your app is
awesome at?
Good Examples
My app is great at finding you the
perfect rescue pet for your
lifestyle from your local animal
shelter within 5 minutes.
My app will figure out what object
you are thinking of by asking a
maximum of 6 questions.
Not only does my game have
more zombies than WWZ for you
to kill, but you also get to fight
them in space. Oh, and you get
to compete against your friends.
Bad Examples
My app allows you to create
tasks and delete them when
they’re done.
My game uses augmented reality
to place ghosts on the screen for
you to shoot.
It’s Facebook, but for hamsters.
Figure out what your app is
awesome at. Write it down.
This is your new mission
statement. Now live it.
Chapter 3The Cruel Beauty of
Evolution
Darwin is alive and well in the app world.
Your competition
is out to get you,
even if they don’t
know you exist.
Photo Credit: Les_Stockton(Flickr)
Gut check time.
• Can you name the top five competitors to
your app?
• How does your app compare to these
competitors (be honest with yourself!)?
How do others assess your app to the
competition?
• Think into the future – can you foresee
new competitors for your app? Can you
anticipate how a new competitor’s app
Chapter 4The (Adoring)
Crowd
What do gladiators and apps have in common?
Apps live and
die at the whim
of the crowd. Photo Credit: Johnson Cameraface (Flickr)
Only 26% of all mobile apps
downloaded are ever opened more
than once.*
*Source: Localytics, “ First Impressions Matter”
A user might be willing to download
your app, but if it’s not awesome on
the first run, you’ve lost that user.
Make it as simples as possible for a
user to love your app. Remove points
of friction to that connection.
Case Study: Healthpack Games
Case Study: Bilingual Child
Source: https://medium.com/what-i-learned-building/a8e04b2d85fe
Chapter 5The Secret’s Out
If you’re building an app,
you’re building a business
Every business needs a marketing plan.
A typical App Marketing Plan includes the
following:
1.Goals - how are you defining success?
2.Profit / Loss Analysis – when will you break
even?
3.A Pricing Strategy – do you plan on price
changes down road? When? Why?
4.Audience: - Who is your target audience?
5.Competitive Research – who are your
competitors? How are you addressing them?
Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/04/40-awesome-iphone-application-websites/
Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/04/40-awesome-iphone-application-websites/
Chapter 6Allow myself to
introduce….myself.
What do you think is the very
first interaction your app will
have with the average user?
Hint: It’s not a trick question…
The app marketplace is usually
the first interaction users will
have with your app.
Things to think about with your app submission
• Your app’s
icon or tile
Think about:
• The image
associated with the
app
• Choice of colour
• The message your
Things to think about with your app submission
• Your app’s
description
Think about:
• Pitching your app
• The length of the
description
• Grammar and
spelling
Things to think about with your app submission
• Your app’s
screenshots
Think about:
• Highlighting the
strengths
• The number of
screenshots
• What users are
Chapter 7Jackpot!
The tyranny of price
The average
price of an
iPhone app in
Apple’s App
store in 2011
was $1.61.
The price of an
extra large
coffee at Tim
Horton’s is
$1.90.
Picture Source: http://euroross.blogspot.com/2006/08/workplace-evals.html
$1.99 for that? Are
they crazy??? I’ll
pass.
$0.99 for an app that
does <your scenario
here/>. Must not be
very good. I’ll pass.
If you price your
app too
high, users will
bolt.If you price your
app too low,
users will bolt.
A word on trials…
Yes.
Trial
Mode
70 times
more
downloa
ds
10%
trial-to-
paid
conversi
on
7 times
the
number
of paid
app
sales
The principles of a trial
Don’t give it away
Make the trial
compelling
Use Ads
Chapter 8Hard choices
Mobile Analytics should be built
into your app from day 0.
Analytics allow you to:
1. Determine what features of your
app are most popular
2. How many people open it more than
once
3. Be agile in finding common issues
and crashes
4. Identify mobile profiles that are
using your app
Chapter 9IT’S ALIVE!!!
Apps that get updated are
apps that get downloaded.
Epilogue
If you’re building an
app, you’re building a
business.
You need to love your app for
others to love it to.
Picture Source: nedrichards (Flickr)