Davide Di Cillo

iPhone applications: where to start?

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Last time (a couple of posts ago) I talked about the possible revenue models for an iPhone application, but what it’s the real first step? Very simple answer: the Idea.

The answer is actually simple, but having the right idea is the hardest part of the all process. You can pay somebody to program your application, you can pay somebody for the design and maybe somebody even to market it, but to be successful it’s need to be a good idea.

I know, tons of fart applications making thousands of dollars might induce you you think that the function of an application isn’t important, but even the most stupid application to be successful need to answer to a demand. Fart applications, even if stupid, like iBeer applications fill the need of showcasing the iPhone with friends.

Also it’s important to research the competition. Once a friend asked my opinion about an idea he had for an iPhone application: a weather app. These are some of the questions I immediately asked him: do you really think you can make a better weather application than the other 100 already existing? Are you going to tap a specific niche (big enough to guarantee you some profit)? Are you sure you’ll be able to collect all the informations you need to “feed” your application? Can you compete with the big players in your niche?
If you can’t answer yes to all this maybe you need to re-think you application.

Third, and very important thing you need to consider is your budget. Are you going to code the application yourself or are you going to hire a team? My suggestion is always to start small. It’s a new market, it’s really eclectic and hard to predict. On top of that you are at Apple’s mercy, so don’t invest thousands of dollars in an application Apple might not even approve. Not all the applications will make $40,000 in 2 days. Actually probably you’ll never be able to do that.
Go small and safe, even if sounds too little $5-10 per day isn’t a failure if you only spent $400 to build your application. Build few small application to create a constant revenue stream, and then, once you build a small capital, you can try something bigger and more risky.
Do you want to know what I think is the best way to create a revenue stream? Cloning.
Build an app, something that could be easily cloned and reused with a different theme or topic. In this way you can pay once for the developing process and multiply your income.

Easy, isn’t it?

Tags: iPhone application, Making money, Micro-developing
Posted in Apple, Developing | No Comments »