This presentation covers the basics of making great iPhone, iPad, and Android apps. I presented it at the MobileSlopes conference in Ogden, Utah on March 16.

1. Mobile Mud Pie
Mobile Slopes, March 16 2012
Dave Stevenson
@dnstevenson

2. Who Am I?

3. Stevenson Software
• iOS Developer for 2+ years
• 40+ iPhone, iPad, and Mac Apps
• No Android Programming - I have partners for that
• Have a couple Top-100 and Top-10 Apps and been
featured by Apple a few times
• My main app: Landscaper’s Companion
• Buy it, rate it 5-stars, and make me happy today!

4. Mobile Quick Stats
•Hundreds of millions of devices
• Over 15 million iPads Sold last Quarter
• Over 700,000 new Android devices each day
• Over 500,000 iOS Apps
• Over 25,000,000,000 iOS Apps Downloaded
• Apple has paid developers over $4 billion

5. So you’ve got the next
Angry Birds idea?

6. How Much will it Cost me?
•Twitterific v1.0 - $250,000 est
• Obama App - $50k - $150k est
• Angry Birds v1.0 - $500k+ est
• Most Apps: $10k +

7. Contractors
•US iOS Developers: $85+ / hour
• Offshore iOS Developers: $20+ / hour

8. Partners
• Qualified iOS developers rarely partner with a “biz
guy”
• Ideas are Cheap
• Rev-Share Arrangements Can Work if you Have
Content and Brand
• Expect to Pay Developers a Significant Amount/
Percentage

9. How Do I Make Money?
•Lots of ways, but a few basic ones:
• Free with in-app advertising
• Free with in-app purchases (virtual goods, etc)
• Paid Downloads - $0.99+ per install
See my other presentation: Monetizing Mobile Apps

10. Do Some Algebra
• ($0.70 * x) - your costs = $your special number
• Solve for x
• Short Answer: it’s a lot of apps
• I have apps that sell < 1 copy per day
• I also have apps that pay my mortgage

11. Still Interested?

13. Mobile Mud Pie Recipe
• 3 cups programming
• 1 cup idea
• 2 cups design
• 1 tbsp pricing
• 3 tsp marketing/advertising
• 1 tsp socialness
• 1 cup secret sauce

14. 3 Cups Programming
•iPhone/iPad programmed in Objective-C using Xcode.
• Must have Mac.
• $99 yearly developer license fee to sell apps
• Android programmed in Java, using Windows, Mac, Linux
• $25 registration fee
• Cross-Platform kits exist but I don’t recommend

15. Xcode

16. Objective-C API
- (id)initWithNibName:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil
bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil {
self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil
bundle:nibBundleOrNil];
if (self) {
return self;
}

17. Just Kidding...
• You’re Smart Enough,You Don’t Need Me
• Everything you need is free!

18. http://developer.apple.com

19. https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/
#referencelibrary/GettingStarted/RoadMapiOS/

20. Stanford iTunes U Course - http://itunes.apple.com/us/
course/ipad-iphone-app-development/id495052415

21. Android
•http://developer.android.com/index.html
• http://www.raywenderlich.com/5527/getting-started-
with-android-development
• Games: http://www.anscamobile.com/corona/ (for iOS
too)

22. Cross Platform SDKs
• Write Once, Run on All Devices (iOS, Android, BB,
WinMobile)
• A nice dream
• Frameworks: Titanium, PhoneGap, Others
• Often use “Easier” languages (html, javascript)
• They have their place
• Rhetorical Question: How many top apps use them?

23. 1 Cup Good Idea
• App is just like any other software product
• Market research, talk to potential customers, follow lean
principles, pivot*, etc
• Know the device limitations and platform restrictions
• On iOS, the Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) and App
Store Review Guidlines are gospel
• Don’t worry about being entirely unique - be better or
better designed
* your first release is your best chance to get noticed - so make it good

24. iOS App Store Review Tips
• Apps must conform to interface guidelines (HIG)
• “I’ll know it when I see it” - no violence,
pornography, flame-bait, etc
• No more fart apps
• No Private API Access

25. 2 Cups Design

26. 2 Cups Design
Lacking Design

27. Better Design

28. Better Design

29. Good Design
• Simplicity is Key - resist temptation to throw in the
kitchen sink
• Think about when the user will use the app and make
it accessible in those conditions
• Does this really need to be a mobile app, or would a
website be better?
• Don’t Let Your Programmer do the Design
• Build half a product, not a half-baked product

30. Design Tips
• Follow Conventions of the Platform
• Rule of 44
• A nice icon is key
• Instead of spending $1000 on advertising, hire a designer
• Look at iStockPhoto.com for artwork to use for icons, etc
• Non-Pro Tip: Use Vectored Artwork (Illustrator) so
Resizing is Easier

31. 1 tbsp Pricing
• Apple takes 30% cut of app sales
• It takes a lot of app sales at $0.99 to make a living
• One app sale = customer for life to support
• Price according to category competition
• Lower price = more sales, more sales = higher ranking,
higher ranking = more sales
• That is very generalized

32. 3 tsp Marketing/Advertising
• To a developer, advertising seems easy: pay for clicks, get sales
• Paying to Advertise a $0.99 app is hard to make it worthwhile
• 0.25 / click, 25% conversion = $1 to make 0.70
• Adwords, LinkedIn, Facebook, Stumbleupon, Banners ads ==
Too Expensive
• Press Releases can do OK for $20, but don’t get your hopes
up

33. What to do?
• Rule 1: Build a great app
• Rule 2: Great Apps get self-discovered
• Your time is “free”
• Contact blogs in your niche
• Write Guest Posts
• Be active in forums
• Reddit, LinkedIn, Niche Social Media Sites
• Email people

34. Marketing Cont’d
• Keyword Optimize Your App Title, Description, and
Keywords (ASO)
• Memorize these tips: http://blog.appcod.es/
• Answer Support Emails Quickly (avoid 1-stars)
• Have a website, just don’t spent TOO much time on it
• Make Your Screenshots Compelling

35. Which Would You Buy?

36. 1 tsp Socialness
•How did you find out about the apps you’ve bought?
• User’s love sharing their apps
• Provide High Score leaderboards, Email, Facebook,
and Twitter sharing
• Run Contests and Giveaways - people love iTunes gift
cards

37. 1 Cup Secret Sauce

38. 1 Cup Secret Sauce
• Get Featured by Apple
• How do you do it? Make a good
app, period.

39. Parting Thoughts
• It’s not a gold-mine anymore - it takes work, like any
other business
• Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd game and was barely
ranked before Apple featured it
• Average app makes under $700
• Be ready to throw your app out and try again

40. Good Luck
•@dnstevenson
• http://www.stevensonsoftware.com
• dave@stevensonsoftware.com
• I always appreciate 5-star reviews