Published on December 29th, 2016 | by Guest

Ways to Build an App that Sells for Millions!

There appears to be a massive number of apps cropping up every day, offering something for every need. And one day – JACKPOT! One of these simple app ideas generate millions of dollars, making the developers filthy rich.

Sometimes, you can’t even be sure if these “lucky” people put in any work, at all, to achieve such glory. And so you too want to take the fast lane, to build one of these cool app – for instantaneous economic salvation. WRONG & WRONG.

There is much more to making a dollar-churning, chart-topping app than meets the eye, especially in the current hyper-competitive market.

In reality, for every successful app, there are thousands of unsuccessful apps (with more or less similar idea). Of the 800,000(+) mobile apps available on the Apple App Store, research states that only 80 generated more than $1 million revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012!

But how did those 80-odd app developers make it big? Is it an elaborate play of Russian roulette or a calculated game of Texas Hold ‘em Poker?

Through this article we explore the tricks of the trade that makes these apps a huge success.

BINGO the perfect Idea!

Conjuring up a great idea, that can make you tons of money, needs more than some beginner’s luck.

Author & life-coach, Simon Sineck – in his lecture, “How great leaders inspire action” – suggests that to earn millions, you shouldn’t look at money as your first priority. Instead, the need is to focus on building something (sic: an app) that addresses and solves a pain point. To this end, you need to:

Conduct market research. Lots and lots of if. Until you know what the need of the hour is, a growing market & what others are doing; how you find that earth-shaking idea?
Identify that pain point: Your app idea needs to be useful to the end user or entertaining, or both. Then work on finding a clutter breaking angle to your idea, assuming that somebody else is out there trying to build exactly what you are.

Example for a great idea is Periscope, a live worldwide video broadcasting app. It may at first have seemed like a crazy idea, but with millions of videos being shared on YouTube, Instagram, Vine and numerous other platforms – this app is the logical next step.

Employ a Powerful Team

Someone very wise once said that the team make-eth the app. So here is a list of the people you need to put your bets on to make your app a grand success:

A Driven Entrepreneur: You need to be a seasoned risk taker (who can say: “Double or Nothing!”), who is motivated by much more than monthly wages to really tough it out as an app entrepreneur. Helps if he is also good with managing finances & marketing – jack-of-all trades is a must for those who wish to make it big without huge monetary backing!
Experienced Mentors: Helps to have a council of mentors to guide you through the app’s lifecycle.

Talented Developers/Programmers – There is a serious shortage of qualified the app engineers, ones who know Objective-C (for iOS), or Java (for Android apps). The best ones are therefore expensive and unavailable. Build on this strength and you will have a strong product to market.

Make sure you sign NDAs, and only then share your idea & hire mobile app developers who are experienced ad know the trick of the trade.

Work-out a Sound Business Model

Too many ads can be a huge pain-point when it comes to free apps. The answer to combating this issue is simple:

One word, freemium.

Apps can now make money from voluntary in-app purchases, which can be made creativity alluring, thus making it possible for developers to fiscally sustain the app. Angry Birds executes this model beautifully, and has now become a worldwide sensation.

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Whatever route you choose to take – advertising-led, freemium or paid – at the end of it all, you need to ask yourself: “What does the future-purchaser of your app stand to gain?”

Build a Kick-ass prototype

The prototype is the first-cut of your app. This will be what you showcase to potential investors and therefore it needs to be whole-some & near amazing:

A simple, well-designed & user-friendly welcome screen, APP flow & UI is half the battle won.
It’s a must for the app to be regularly tested, to eliminate security glitches and provide seamless functionality.
A recent study also reports that users expect apps really fast to launch, with an average 2-second load time.

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You app needs to be global in nature – one that can be used across mobile devices & supported by various mobile OS.

Raise Monies

Money. You don’t always have the luxury of a lot of seed capital when it comes to the app business. But it would help to have someone with deep pockets to give your app a boost in the right direction. Here is how you can achieve this:

Launch a Kickstarter campaign – Crowd-source funds from like-minded idea enthusiasts
Give the app developer a cut into the business returns – thus making him a working partner in your app venture.
Pitch your idea to gain funding from a Venture Capitalist

Go all or nothing to promote your App

Amidst all the hullabaloo around latest and greatest apps, it’s essential to grab the attention of the millennial generation (who have really short attention spans). The question is: once your apps is live, how do you spread word about it? And the answer is:

Build a good app website – for easy app installation & generating interest
Encourage reviews on android & iOS stores – improve App Store Optimization (ASO)
Bombard the press with updates on the app
Post regular & interesting in-phone app notifications
Write relevant blog posts
Use QR codes in physical promotion forums
Engage with threads on mobile Forums
Leverage social media platforms
Incentivize app sign up

Sustenance is Key

After launching your app with a big bang, one needs to keep mixing things up and offering dynamic user engagement, based on usage patterns. According to research, anywhere from 80 to 90 percent of all downloaded apps are used once and then eventually deleted by users.

Prisma, the explosive new photo effects app did great when it launched! But owing to lack of continuous innovations, the hype died down just as quickly.

The mantra therefore to follow is – innovate or die.

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Cover your legal base

With any business, you stand the chance of risk. Keep yourself insured against these risks in the following ways:

Trademark: Trademark laws protect your logos, taglines, name of services that your app provides and website – once it’s published. This way no one can create “me-too” apps.
Patent: If your app has some technology that is unique/ never been done before, then it would make sense to get it patented.
Copyright: Ensure that you fully understand the value of each & every part of your app, to then claim Copyright protection on:
Code of the app
Original text, music, sounds & visuals in the app
Sections of your app that maybe be wholly or partially copyrightable.

Ways being told, there is no easy way to make millions out of your app overnight. It will take a constant effort and a greater marketing force to make your app reach the mass audience, worldwide.

Best of Luck!

About the author:

Shishir Dubey, founder of ChromeInfotech.com – a dynamic app development company that gets your app featured in the App Store in record time and budget!

Tags: app, build, millions, sells