In today's final guest post from Mark Walsh from Nation of Apps, he answers questions on the important subject of what to do once you have your mobile application actually developed for you.
Do I need to promote my mobile app once it has been launched?
Well actually, the promotion should start before launch so that you have already generated interest in the app and your target audience are waiting in anticipation. Once the app has been launched you then have about a week to really push it and take advantage of being featured in the ‘new app’ sections of app stores. After this, you need to follow an ongoing programme of activities to maintain interest in your mobile app.
So how do I go about promoting my app?
There are a number of ways to promote your app and many depend on the type of app and target audience. Some ideas are:
- Consider a website to promote your mobile app
- Consider the use of social media to promote your app : Twitter, Facebook
- Present a YouTube video
- Post blog entries on your and other people’s blogs
- Consider getting app reviewers to review your app at launch to generate interest.
What if my app doesn’t work properly and I need to get it modified?
If bugs are found, resilience is poor, users are having navigation issues etc. then it is possible to get the application developers to make the necessary changes and re-deploy the app.
However, if this proves to be the case, you may well have missed the boat as it is likely users will have stopped using the app and maybe even deleted it. The app will also probably get bad reviews which will impact future uptake. It will be very difficult to recover from this and that critical week 1 impact will have been lost.
This is why thorough app testing is vital. Prior to launch, not only must the app be tested for technical issues but it should be tested by the target audience to ensure they ‘get it’. They need to know exactly what the app does without having to stop and think, be able to navigate easily, and achieve the desired result intuitively.
Mark's details:
company site: http://nationofapps.co.uk/
blog : http://www.nationofapps.co.uk/news-mobile-application-development.html
Twitter: @nationofapps
Showing posts with label applications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label applications. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The financial low down on mobile applications
Following on from yesterday's post about getting your app right first time, Mark Walsh from Nation of Apps anwers more questions. This time around the finances involved.
So how can I make money from my App?
There are two main options to consider regarding mobile application monetization.
1. Offering Consumers A Free App And Make Money From ....
- Advertising
- Charging for extra functionality
- Charging for upgrades
Free apps receive significantly more downloads than paid for apps therefore you are guaranteed more downloads and could then use this as an opportunity to make money from displaying adverts, offering extra paid for app functionality, offering paid for functional upgrades.
2. A Paid For Mobile Application
You can charge consumers to download your app. If you are planning to do this ...
- How much would you charge?
- What do you base your charge on?
- Have you researched what a consumer might pay for a similar app?
- Are you prepared for less downloads than if your app was free and possibly have a more aggressive marketing campaign?
3. How much does a mobile app cost?
Mobile application development cost can vary depending on the type of app required. The key factors that have impact on the cost of an app are:
- How many features will need to be incorporated
- Complexity of the features within the app
- Goals and expectations
- Has a similar app been developed before or is this completely be-spoke
- Time required to create a good design
- Estimated app development time / duration.
- Server development and infrastructure costs
- Amount of project management required
- Amount of testing required
So is it a good idea to try and get the cheapest app developer I can find, or should I use a mobile application development company who might charge me more?
There are ways of paying less than the going rate to get a mobile application developed, but the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ very often applies.
Inexperienced mobile app developers can leave you with a mess of poor quality code that is unreliable and impossible to maintain. In addition to this, using offshore app developers can lead to communication issues and difficulty in them understanding the culture of the target market. The risk exists that you will end up with an app that you can't use properly, can’t maintain, and gets bad reviews because it crashes or behaves erratically.
It’s a common occurrence in mobile application development that clients come to us to recover ‘botch jobs‘ whereby attempting to do things on the cheap has backfired and proved a false economy. For all the above reasons, it is therefore vital that you understand the risk of cutting corners and recognise the value of handing the development of your application to a reputable mobile application development company.
Mark's details:
company site: http://nationofapps.co.uk/
blog : http://www.nationofapps.co.uk/news-mobile-application-development.html
Twitter: @nationofapps
So how can I make money from my App?
There are two main options to consider regarding mobile application monetization.
1. Offering Consumers A Free App And Make Money From ....
- Advertising
- Charging for extra functionality
- Charging for upgrades
Free apps receive significantly more downloads than paid for apps therefore you are guaranteed more downloads and could then use this as an opportunity to make money from displaying adverts, offering extra paid for app functionality, offering paid for functional upgrades.
2. A Paid For Mobile Application
You can charge consumers to download your app. If you are planning to do this ...
- How much would you charge?
- What do you base your charge on?
- Have you researched what a consumer might pay for a similar app?
- Are you prepared for less downloads than if your app was free and possibly have a more aggressive marketing campaign?
3. How much does a mobile app cost?
Mobile application development cost can vary depending on the type of app required. The key factors that have impact on the cost of an app are:
- How many features will need to be incorporated
- Complexity of the features within the app
- Goals and expectations
- Has a similar app been developed before or is this completely be-spoke
- Time required to create a good design
- Estimated app development time / duration.
- Server development and infrastructure costs
- Amount of project management required
- Amount of testing required
So is it a good idea to try and get the cheapest app developer I can find, or should I use a mobile application development company who might charge me more?
There are ways of paying less than the going rate to get a mobile application developed, but the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ very often applies.
Inexperienced mobile app developers can leave you with a mess of poor quality code that is unreliable and impossible to maintain. In addition to this, using offshore app developers can lead to communication issues and difficulty in them understanding the culture of the target market. The risk exists that you will end up with an app that you can't use properly, can’t maintain, and gets bad reviews because it crashes or behaves erratically.
It’s a common occurrence in mobile application development that clients come to us to recover ‘botch jobs‘ whereby attempting to do things on the cheap has backfired and proved a false economy. For all the above reasons, it is therefore vital that you understand the risk of cutting corners and recognise the value of handing the development of your application to a reputable mobile application development company.
Mark's details:
company site: http://nationofapps.co.uk/
blog : http://www.nationofapps.co.uk/news-mobile-application-development.html
Twitter: @nationofapps
Monday, August 22, 2011
How to get your mobile application right first time
I get asked quite a bit these days for advice on mobile platforms & applications. So I have asked Mark Walsh from Nation of Apps to answer a few questions on developing and delivering the right mobile app for businesses.
Once I have an idea for a mobile app, what’s the best process to follow to get it right first time?
There are a number of things that need to be thought through in detail. This starts with defining your mobile application requirements.
- What do you want your mobile app to do?
- What do you want to achieve with your app?
- Who is the target audience? Personas, Demographics.
- Do you have branding requirements?
How should I decide what platform to build for?
One of the key drivers to answer this question is regarding who will be using the app. It is important to understand your target audience and what mobile devices they use. Analytics from websites and apps that your target audience currently use can help with this. If you find the trend to be specifically more Android orientated, or iPhone orientated then there’s your answer.
If the app is targeted for specific business users, then it may well be that Blackberry should be the choice. It has been a common strategy for companies to develop mobile business applications first for iPhone, however this approach has often been flawed and the target audience found to be predominantly Blackberry users.
Mark's details:
company site: http://nationofapps.co.uk/
blog : http://www.nationofapps.co.uk/news-mobile-application-development.html
Twitter: @nationofapps
Once I have an idea for a mobile app, what’s the best process to follow to get it right first time?
There are a number of things that need to be thought through in detail. This starts with defining your mobile application requirements.
- What do you want your mobile app to do?
- What do you want to achieve with your app?
- Who is the target audience? Personas, Demographics.
- Do you have branding requirements?
How should I decide what platform to build for?
One of the key drivers to answer this question is regarding who will be using the app. It is important to understand your target audience and what mobile devices they use. Analytics from websites and apps that your target audience currently use can help with this. If you find the trend to be specifically more Android orientated, or iPhone orientated then there’s your answer.
If the app is targeted for specific business users, then it may well be that Blackberry should be the choice. It has been a common strategy for companies to develop mobile business applications first for iPhone, however this approach has often been flawed and the target audience found to be predominantly Blackberry users.
Mark's details:
company site: http://nationofapps.co.uk/
blog : http://www.nationofapps.co.uk/news-mobile-application-development.html
Twitter: @nationofapps
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday Times iPad app
Is an tablet wielding future of news worth hedging your bets on? Well... the Sunday Times released its iPad app today and I'm sure it will be an instant success (as its free to those who have a weekly Times subscription).
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/iPad/?CMP=KNGvccp1-sunday%20times%20iPad%20app
It is perhaps a shame that you now have a second app, with the orginal still able to access The Times news on the move....
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/iPad/?CMP=KNGvccp1-sunday%20times%20iPad%20app
It is perhaps a shame that you now have a second app, with the orginal still able to access The Times news on the move....
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Workforce Collaboration
Is your company using tools for allowing the staff to work more efficiently? If not, why not? Surely getting more out of the same team make good sense.
But is it that easy do?
There are now a number of software and web-based products & services that allow sets of individuals to connect & collaborate together to become more productive or useful.
1. Google Applications:
Do you find that Microsoft Office is too expensive, especially when you have more than one PC in different locations?
Do you find yourself using only 20% of the functionality in Word & Excel most of the time?
Do you find upgrading your Office suite a paid every time a new version comes along?
Do you want several members of the same team to view and edit the sme document, regardless of location?
Well.... not only does Google make its own word processor, spreadsheet, calendar and other applications available online, it provides them for free for individual use. It also charges just £25 per user license for large organisations to utilise the Premium version. Combining the useful functionality of most popular office applications, plus the ability for multiple users to share and work on documents, companies such as L'Oreal and General Electric are currently evaluating its usefulness as an MS Office replacement.
Take a look at http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/06/24/231178/google-apps-makes-its-way-into-big-business.htm for more information about it.
2. Basecamp:
This is a web-based service that allows multiple-user collaboration on a project. Its a growing suite of applications that provides: plans, task break-downs and areas for sharing ideas, Basecamp is very useful way to run projects, especially if you have a distributed or virtual team.
Note:
This tool has been developed by 37 signals, who have also produced http://www.highrisehq.com, an Online contact manager and simple CRM application (more on this when I get my hands on it)
But is it that easy do?
There are now a number of software and web-based products & services that allow sets of individuals to connect & collaborate together to become more productive or useful.
1. Google Applications:
Do you find that Microsoft Office is too expensive, especially when you have more than one PC in different locations?
Do you find yourself using only 20% of the functionality in Word & Excel most of the time?
Do you find upgrading your Office suite a paid every time a new version comes along?
Do you want several members of the same team to view and edit the sme document, regardless of location?
Well.... not only does Google make its own word processor, spreadsheet, calendar and other applications available online, it provides them for free for individual use. It also charges just £25 per user license for large organisations to utilise the Premium version. Combining the useful functionality of most popular office applications, plus the ability for multiple users to share and work on documents, companies such as L'Oreal and General Electric are currently evaluating its usefulness as an MS Office replacement.
Take a look at http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/06/24/231178/google-apps-makes-its-way-into-big-business.htm for more information about it.
2. Basecamp:
This is a web-based service that allows multiple-user collaboration on a project. Its a growing suite of applications that provides: plans, task break-downs and areas for sharing ideas, Basecamp is very useful way to run projects, especially if you have a distributed or virtual team.
Projects don't fail from a lack of charts, graphs, stats, or reports, they fail from a lack of clear communicationhttp://www.basecamphq.com/
Note:
This tool has been developed by 37 signals, who have also produced http://www.highrisehq.com, an Online contact manager and simple CRM application (more on this when I get my hands on it)
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