Your Golden App-ortunity

How to Create Hit Apps

Every New Year's Eve, besides partying like it's the end of the world and drinking alcohol like it's the only beverage left on Earth, my buddy Greg puts together a list of goals he wants to achieve.

Without fail, the number one item on his list is to work out and create that beach body he's been thinking about since he lost it freshman year of college. He becomes consumed with thoughts of how he will start a new fitness regimen January 1, and what his new look will mean to his life, like this is the year it will all change for him.

Year after year, like a broken record, we watch as Greg runs to the local gym without a good thought-out plan and thinking that action alone will yield the results he wants. Although he makes some progress, getting toned up for one or two months, his efforts are unsustainable. He gets hurt or loses interest, and gives up with pure disgust in himself. His New Year's goal becomes shattered again, and he lives the rest of the year telling himself, This isn't for me, and I'm not that guy, missing out on the outcome he was an inch away from achieving.

Do you know anyone like this?

The same thing happens to most newbie appreneurs. They rush into this business, with lots of hope and dollar signs flashing in front of their eyes, but they don't realize there is a system for everything. Whether you are forging steel abs or creating a million-dollar app biz, you need to learn to funnel your enthusiasm into a system. Otherwise, you will likely give up at the first signs of difficulty. Many appreneurs quit after their first app fails, when they may have been on the verge of succeeding.

It doesn't have to be that way for you. This chapter will be your personal trainer to keep you on track and show you strategies to help you generate successful app ideas. You will learn how to create and implement money-making ideas consistently, analyzing and sifting through each idea you have.

Will all of your ideas be a hit or make money? No, most likely not. However, I can assure you that if you use this process, you won't have to wrestle a leprechaun for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR IDEA

I'm sure you've heard the expression: “If you build it, they will come.” Most developers believe this is true for apps, but that's not how it works in the app world.

They build an app and expect someone, or a whole lot of someones, to find it immediately and download it. That rarely happens. You have to figure out what people are interested in and the kinds of apps they're downloading, and you build your app based on that insight.

As I explained in Chapter 3, your market research will give you these insights. Make time for market analysis every day. This will help you generate the most lucrative ideas. You will see how consumers are behaving, and it's your job to recognize, understand, track, and take advantage of this insider information.

If you are passionate about a specific subject, that's a good starting point to explore app ideas. It's always advantageous to work on something that you enjoy because you will have more insight on the topic and will be more dedicated to making it work. This would be the ideal situation, but remember this should be a starting point. If the market is not showing demand for your idea, nix it. On the other hand, if the market seems to like the topic you are passionate about, focus on creating apps in that area.

How do you know if the market wants your app? Just look at the top app charts. Are apps like the ones you want to do listed there? If yes, you've got a potential winner. If not, keep looking. It's that simple.

When you follow in the footsteps of successful apps, you will have a better chance of succeeding because these apps have proven demand and an existing user base. This takes the guesswork out of creating app ideas.

I can't stress enough the importance of emulating existing apps. It's easy for people to fall in love with their own idea even if the market doesn't show an appetite for it. This is one of the most costly mistakes you can make.

Developers make this mistake all the time. They focus on generating original ideas and spend a lot of time and effort creating those apps. When it doesn't work, instead of learning from the market, they go to the next untested idea. Often times, they repeat this cycle until they run out of money and are frustrated with the app game. This doesn't have to be your experience.

One example of an app that seemed to be a great idea, but didn't do so well is the Pocket Dream Girl app. (See Figure 4.1.) It was created by a friend of mine, and the premise behind it was that the user can create the face of his dream girl by mixing and matching the hair, eyes, nose, and mouth of over 20 women. As a result, the user could create over 150,000 Weird Science-type women.

FIGURE 4.1 Pocket Dream Girl.

When I heard the idea, I thought it was a good app and that it could work. Before starting development, I would have researched the market, realized no demand for this type of app existed, and moved on. But my friend was in love with his idea and had the app developed without being discerning or doing any market research. It was nicely done, but as you can imagine, the app flopped.

You want to avoid this mistake with your apps, and if you listen to the market, you will.

Another trap to watch for is being sidetracked by others. In my experience, the first rule of making cash as an appreneur is to stick to your game plan, and avoid advice from anyone who hasn't had any success in the app business. Generally, your friends, family, and peers will think they are experts in the industry. Most will even graciously help you with new ideas to guarantee you have a money-making concept.

However, I've always found this enthusiasm distracting. Other people's advice is usually based on fantasies of striking it rich, with minimal market research in the form of their girlfriends, their cousins, or their parole officer. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people tell me, “That will make you so much money!” or, “I have the best app idea. You have to do it; you're going to be rich!”

While support from others can be encouraging, don't let it cloud your judgment, or you will be sure to catch the empty pocket syndrome. Treat family and friends as who they are: consumers. Let them test your apps and give feedback as a user, especially if they are in your demographic. Don't, however, take business advice from them if they haven't proven themselves to be successful in this industry.

Taking their advice is an easy trap to fall into because whenever people ask you “What do you do?” you'll unintentionally invite lots of questions, advice, and suggestions since everyone is interested in this exciting industry. Everybody has their own million-dollar idea and will be sure to make you listen to it. Be discerning, stick to your game plan, and stay focused on your idea from concept to development. Allow yourself to be swayed in a new direction based on facts and objective data and not by one person's subjective opinion.

STOP HATIN', START EMULATIN'

Emulating competitors is one of the most fundamental concepts in business. When Apple launched the first iPod in 2001, MP3 players weren't anything new. The first mainstream MP3 music player entered the market three years before the iPod came along. The iPod became a massive success because it was sleek, intuitive, and fun.

The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, but Apple saw a need for more innovative features, and took smartphones to the next level as it did with MP3 players. With focus on the consumer and beautiful design, Apple made the iPod and iPhone the game-changing successes they are today.

Facebook is notorious for recognizing something that works, making it better, and adapting it into its platform. Facebook offers integrated e-mail, newsfeeds, instant messaging, video chat, and apps. You can get each of these somewhere else, but they're more fun or easier to use on Facebook.

FIGURE 4.2 No need to reinvent the wheel.

The find-something-that-works-and-make-it-better philosophy has been around since the beginning of time. Thank God, because if that wasn't the case, we might still be swinging from branches and picking our butts.

Some of the greatest app ideas are improvements on an existing app or a twist on an old idea, taking it in a fresh, new direction. The story of Smack Talk and the series of Talking Friends apps is a perfect example of the idea of emulation at work.

Smack Talk was an app that became successful in the early days of the App Store. (See Figure 4.3.) The app portrays cute, little animals repeating whatever you say but in a high-pitched voice. It was an intuitive, innovative, first of its kind, incredibly entertaining app. Seriously, who wouldn't love a little hamster sounding like someone who had inhaled helium repeating your own words?

Smack Talk stayed on the top charts for quite some time and was a sensation. This was a great accomplishment for a great app. Many developers followed this app in awe, wishing it was their idea. They didn't dare to compete because trying to surpass such a successful app seemed like fighting a losing battle. They accepted that this genre had been cornered by Smack Talk and continued with business as usual.

FIGURE 4.3 Smack Talk.

However, a company called Outfit7 had other plans. It didn't hesitate to compete and take the concept to a new level. It made a variant of the application called Talking Tom (Figure 4.4), which included the basic voice playback feature in addition to a 3D interactive cartoonish cat. The user was entertained through the voice playback and could enjoy a new set of features such as the ability to touch the cat and get a reaction. The app offered new ways of interacting, more animation, and brilliant marketing.

Talking Tom overtook Smack Talk in 2010, but Outfit7 pressed on to create an entire suite of Talking Friends apps with lots of different animals. This made Outfit7 a multimillion-dollar company and one of the most successful app companies to date. Its apps have been downloaded over 200 million times and have consistently appeared in the top 100 paid and free apps overall.

FIGURE 4.4 Talking Tom.

Who would've thought that a well-developed and successful app could be taken to such new heights? These opportunities are all over the App Store waiting to be discovered.

If you're just starting out, stick to creating apps in areas that have high demand. Find something that a large group of people, from teenagers to adults, can find useful or fun instead of catering to a niche group. Stick to low-risk, high-probability apps.

Does this mean you should never be innovative and try something that hasn't been done before?

Actually, yes. Well, sort of …

LEARN FROM EXISTING APPS

Most inexperienced apprenuers spend far too much of their time trying to be original, when what they are looking for is right in front of them.

I'm not suggesting you copy another developer's app, but your first step should be to get curious and see what other successful developers are doing. You should spend time figuring out why their apps work, read user reviews, and collect data.

Whenever you decide to look into emulating an app, ask yourself these six questions:

1. Why are people purchasing this?
2. Can I do something to emulate this idea and take it to another level?
3. What other apps would this app's demographic like?
4. How many other similar apps are in the market? (Go to appempire.com/topappcharts to find out.)
5. How successful and consistent have they been?
6. How does their marketing and pricing model work?

When you look at all the top lists, think about which applications you would genuinely consider downloading. Why do you like them, and what stands out about them?

Think about how to take the same concept to the next level while continuing to attract the same demographic. Write what improvements you would make. Would you add a new feature? Change the look? Add better graphics and marketing? How would you give users more value?

Look at more than one competitor. Download all of the successful competitors of this app. Learn what these apps do right and where they fall short. Decide whether you can do this better, while incorporating what your audience is asking for.

I see this happening on the App Store on a consistent basis, and here is a recent example of how I put the power of emulating other apps into action.

After the Apple ranking algorithm change, I started noticing a shift in app rankings. During my daily research, I saw that some apps that had rarely appeared in the top charts, like emoticon apps, were starting to rise in the rankings. I love using those emoticons and wanted to do an Emoji app, but until that time, I had not seen the market get too excited about them. Also, most Emoji apps are simple and are used only once: to unlock the Emoji keyboard.

With the markets interest increasing, I decided to take a closer look and downloaded all the major emoticon apps. I liked what I saw, but I noticed the apps had limited functionality. How could my app be better than a competitor's if the Emoji keyboard had a limited number of emoticons that could not be increased? How lucrative could an app be if it is used once? I think most other developers would have allowed these limitations to stop them from pursuing this idea, but I've always been stubborn and this time it paid off.

So, I kept brainstorming until it hit me. If I could not add more smileys to the Emoji keyboard, then why not include a bunch of smileys within the app that people could send as images via text messages, emails, or any other medium that could handle images? With that in mind, I created an app that unlocked the Emoji keyboard and added value with more than 450 additional smileys, which could be shared via SMS, e-mail, Facebook, and so on. This became more fun for users because they had more smileys to send to their friends. The app was used constantly since users had to return to the app to send an emoticon. (See Figure 4.5.)

This Emoji app was developed in two weeks. It followed the freemium model, meaning free, with an in-app purchase option. The app hit the number one spot in the App Store's productivity category and the number 12 spot in the top free overall category within six days, raking in nearly $500 a day. BINGO.

The process I went through is simple and you can repeat it easily. Why make things harder than they have to be? The market is putting up its hand saying, “Hey! Look at me,” telling you what it likes. Be sure to listen up and cash in.

Once you've made a bunch of money, you can try apps that are outside the norm because you can market them with your app network even if they don't do too well on their own. Until then, focus on iteration, not innovation.

NARROWING DOWN YOUR IDEAS

As you do your research, make sure to capture the top app ideas you would like to emulate. You might have a bunch of ideas and not know which one to focus on, but don't worry because this is normal. One way of simplifying things is to remember from Chapter 3 that only two types of apps exist: entertainment and utility. You can always focus on one of these first if it makes your task simpler.

FIGURE 4.5 Emoji screenshots.

Let's go through the process of assessing your app ideas. First, write down up to five of your most promising ideas based on your research. If you don't have any yet, why not check out the App Store to see if you can find some inspiration.

My Top Five App Ideas

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Assess your ideas based on the traits checklist I showed you in Chapter 3. Here it is again. For each one of your app ideas, check each one of the eight traits it has.

• Fun/Entertaining
• Intuitive
• Engaging
• Addictive
• Valuable
• Cross-Cultural
• Great Graphics/Sounds
• Viral

The more of these you can check off, the better your chance will be to create a successful app. I usually check each one of these but might go for an idea that is missing one or two. Cross out any apps that have fewer than six traits, and go back to the drawing board. Keep going through this exercise until you have three ideas that meet six or more of these traits.

Something else to keep in mind, when picking your top three, is the App Store review guidelines. These rules are used by Apple during the review process, and if you don't follow them, your app will be rejected. For example, you may have seen the plethora of fart or flashlight apps on the App Store. As a result, Apple has decided to no longer accept those types of apps. Knowing these rules can save you a lot of time and effort. If you see any of your ideas conflicting with the guidelines, reject them and move on to the next one.

Make sure to go through this exercise now or at the end of this chapter. We're going to get quotes for your top three ideas once you find developers using the methods in the next chapter.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Another crucial component when it comes to deciding what app idea to go with is timing. Because the market doesn't seem to be ready for your idea at the moment doesn't mean that this won't change in the future.

For example, during rehab, I found yoga to be incredible for regaining my range of motion. I became passionate about it and thought about creating an app for other yogis. I went onto appempire.com/topappcharts and searched for “yoga.” That was around November 2009.

I found that none of the yoga apps ranked high in the top charts, even in the health and fitness category. Even though I was passionate about yoga, I had to listen to the data. The market wasn't big enough for the app.

More than two years later, in August 2011, I saw that a yoga app ranked second in the health and fitness category. At that point, the market had grown enough for me to consider spending time on a yoga app.

If I had created a yoga app two years earlier, could I have made money with it? Sure, but the probability of the app being successful would have been low due to low visibility. Yes, timing is everything.

Similarly, as you can be too early for the market, you can also be too late. Make sure that you don't get analysis paralysis. At some point, it will be time to execute. If you see something that you think will work, strike immediately. App ideas can have a limited window of opportunity and you don't want to miss that. You want to launch your app while the market you're watching is still hot.

TAKING SMALL STEPS

Here is a million-dollar question: You have $25,000. You have the option to create one app that takes five months to develop and costs $25,000 or 10 apps that each take two weeks to develop and cost $2,500 each. Which strategy should you follow? Sadly, most developers choose the first route. They think they have an amazing idea, and spend a lot of-time and money on it. This is too risky because no matter how you select your app ideas, you won't know if they will be accepted until you test them in the marketplace.

My app strategy has been to create straightforward, low-cost apps that are in the same ballpark as those with proven success in the market. The only way to know if your idea is successful is to test it in the market. You need to find out if customers have an appetite for your idea, and if you can get the marketing right before you spend too much money and add everything but the kitchen sink to it. You can upgrade and add features after the market embraces your product and you have a better understanding of the app's demographic and longevity.

The best way to test the market is to launch a free app first. A free app usually costs less because typically it has fewer features. It's cost-effective and has the lowest barrier to entry for consumers because it's free. After all if you can't give away your app for free, how are you going to make people pay for it? Don't worry, there's plenty of money to be made from a free app even when you're testing the market. In Chapter 9, I'll explain how.

Make sure you can create your app as cost effectively as possible, without skimping on graphics or core functionality. If you can't develop your current idea at a reasonable price, shelve it, and go with your other ideas first.

As you've seen in this chapter, a method behind the madness exists for picking hit app ideas. It's a repeatable process, and the more you use it the better you will become. Now that you have all these ideas, it's time to look for developers who can turn them into reality.

What I Learned

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Actions to Take

1. Look at the market and make a list of apps you would like to emulate.
2. Look at apps similar to the ones you want to develop to see how consistently successful they have been. Is the market hungry for this?
3. See if there's a way you can improve the functionality and marketing of an existing successful app to give more value for the customer.
4. Pick your best three ideas based on your research, Apple guidelines, and timing considerations.