It's been almost an overwhelming past couple of days here at CollegeKidApp as we've seen not only the release of our first app, Battery Go!, but also it's unbelievably successful in it's short tenure so far as the app has climbed to the #89 spot in the list of top 100 paid applications. We're super excited about all of this and can't wait to see what the future has in store for us and Battery Go!.
With this success, I've been receiving a bunch of e-mail and comments from people asking how we were able to get the app so many downloads in a short period of time. To help answer a growing list of e-mails all at once, here is a list of some keys I think really helped us see such rapid success on the iTunes App Store with Battery Go!.
With this success, I've been receiving a bunch of e-mail and comments from people asking how we were able to get the app so many downloads in a short period of time. To help answer a growing list of e-mails all at once, here is a list of some keys I think really helped us see such rapid success on the iTunes App Store with Battery Go!.
- First and foremost, you need to be confident with your product. It sounds rather wishy-washy, but you need to know deep down that you're application is something that people are going to enjoy and are willing to pay for. To get to the top, you're going to need tons of downloads which will come from people who love your app and people who hate you app. You absolutely need to be able to stand up and defend your app if you want a top seller, and to do this you need confidence.
- Buy some energy drinks and be prepared to not sleep for a couple of days. Think about all the press you see about some of the top apps on the store on different websites. When you're app jumps up the chart real quick like Battery Go! did, you're going to see a bunch of press really, really quick. Be prepared to answer e-mails as if your life depends on it, because it kinda does. You never know what's going to put it over the top and when an answered e-mail will lead to a bunch of new sales.
- Have great friends. This is something you should probably work on throughout your whole life, but it matters even more when you've just pushed out an iPhone app. Close friends and family are your biggest cheerleaders and will be the first person to go tell their friends when you release your application. The more of these super promoters you have, the better.
- Have a game plan before you release and stay the course. A lot of apps see a slight dip in sales numbers and then create an instant fire sale, dropping price from $1.99 to $0.99. Come up with a sales game plan and stick with it through the early tough times. A lot of the research I've done has shown that short "sale periods" and price fluxuations really hurt your opportunity for success by confusing potential customers, so they may not be a great idea if you think they may boost sales because your app is struggling. Know what your strategy is for the long term before you ever release your app and then stay with it!
- When your app does release, develop a schedule and plan your day in order to be productive. This may be the hardest step of all, mostly because you're really going to have the desire to sit around and click refresh on your browser all day while waiting to learn more about the fate of your app. Remember that seconds wasted clicking refresh are seconds wasted from being productive in developing updates, sequels, additional content, etc for your application.
- Develop a brand and promote yourself before you release the app. We've developed this blog and have established some solid relationships and knowledge on the iPhone app development universe, well before our first app ever hit the store. This way, people knew who we were when they saw our first app and were more likely to filter us out of the app release noise.
- Have friends, family, and practically everyone else you know check out and ridicule your application before you release it. Get a lot of opinion, either good or bad, and prepare for what you think people will be asking once your app is in the store.
- Never give up. You may not see the success that you want to right now, but keep your head up and keep fighting. You're app is in the store forever and you never know when success will knock on your doorsteps.
Hopefully these little tips will help give you an edge when you release your first iPhone application. If you have any questions at all, don't hestitate to send me an e-mail to Cameron@CollegeKidApp.com and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.