SCALING

Prior to release, you will likely have an idea of at least some of the features and content that you weren't able to include in your app on launch. And, if you don't yet, then post-launch customer feedback can help you add new potential features, as well as help you gauge which of your currently planned updates are a suitably high priority.

Releasing New Content

When you are scaling your app for more content (whether paid or free), you should take advantage of both the metrics that you have gathered (how are people using your app, what are they buying within your app, how long are they using it, and so on — Flurry is one popular company that can help, at www.flurry.com) and the user feedback. Once you have a shortlist of new features or content (see the earlier section, “Prioritizing for Updates”), keep in mind some of the following considerations:

• Have the users asked for this feature? If not, you may want to consider temporarily shelving it, and creating content that has shown to be in demand.
• How well is your app doing? Initial launch metrics will help you decide if it could be worth the expense.
• How long will the update take to implement? Keep in mind that your first update should be roughly a week after you launch.
• Will the update require users to update in order to sync with another version? For example, in multiplayer games or multi-user apps, can users of the older version still use the app in conjunction with newer versions? Keep in mind that the more casual the app, the less likely it will be that users see or bother with updating frequently. Apps with a large amount of features that are used often (such as tech or gadget apps, and even games) may have users who update on a more regular basis.

One consideration you may not have thought about if you're planning on new content is whether it might be worthwhile to instead expend some of your resources on developing for other platforms.

Building for Other Platforms

At some point during development, almost every developer wonders whether the app could also be suited to another platform. If you are reading this book, you are obviously intending to develop on iOS, but may have also considered the current second-largest app marketplace, which is the one built for Android apps.

Whether you have an existing Android app and want to port it to iOS (or vice versa), note that tools are available that can help you achieve this. Corona SDK (www.anscamobile.com/corona/) is one of the most popular and should be on your list to research, especially if you have not yet begun coding. Another up-and-coming company that may be able to assist you with this is ScoreLoop (www.scoreloop.com/).

Similarly, if you have a Flash app and you'd like it ported to iOS, then Adobe Flash Professional CS5 (www.adobe.com) can export your projects to iOS via a packager for iPhone.

Finally, as HTML 5 picks up steam, you may want to consider development of your apps in web format for use with iOS devices and the App Store. One such technology to help is PhoneGap (www.phonegap.com/).

The Future of Your App

The thrill of releasing your first app can be both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. Whether or not you are successful in the App Store on your first try, you can use your initial app(s) as a launching point to build your greater overall brand, and continue to learn and evolve your process so that your future apps are even more successful.

With the right support, consistent updates, community building, metric tracking, and brand presence through promotion within apps and via social networking, you can significantly increase your odds of success. It will always take some amount of money, time, talent, and smart planning, but can certainly be done with almost any app.

Post-launch, the smartest approach to designing a bright future for your apps is to foster their strengths and minimize their weaknesses through aggressive metric tracking in order to help prioritize future updates, cross-promotion, and through your fan base via social media and branding.

Following are some tips for continued promotion of your app post-release:

• Use press releases for major content updates and milestones (your app has X amount of downloads, and so on). Some good outlets include www.pr-inside.com, www.prweb.com, and www.prleap.com.
• Submit news to iPhone and iPad blog sites for significant updates and milestones.
• Get continued YouTube user reviews of your app.
• Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for both your keywords and brand.
• Utilize social media as outlined in Chapter 10.
• Provide top-quality support.
• Upload videos of your app in motion, and use YouTube and your other social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and so on) for promotion.
• Promote your videos using a service such as TubeMogul (www.tubemogul.com).
• Have a branded website and Facebook Fan Page.
• Run contests and promotions, and cycle them through your social media networks, as well as iOS app blogs.
• Continue to create buzz about your app via posts on various forums.
• Use paid search marketing via Google, Yahoo!, and so on.
• Offer free downloads to reviewers, especially video reviewers or top bloggers.
• Create Twitter and Facebook functionality within your app so that users can promote it.
• Participate in forums, LinkedIn groups as experts, Yahoo Answers (answers.yahoo.com), and Wiki Answers (wiki.answers.com).
• Blog on your brand's website, especially cross-linking with Twitter and Facebook about the industry and your updates.
• Post positive user reviews on your brand's home page and testimonials page.
• Offer limited-time promotions and heavy discounts of your paid apps to encourage downloads.
• Appear as a speaker at industry trade shows, and promote your appearances.

These are just a few of the more popular ways to promote your app and brand as a whole (although countless other ways exist). By utilizing some of the techniques described here, especially taking advantage of social media marketing, your app has a great chance to last significantly longer than it otherwise would have, and, therefore, result in large net gains for your company and future apps as a whole.