Chad Mureta, App Expert and Author of App Empire. Courtesy of Chad Mureta
How To Create An App Business
Chad Mureta is the author of App Empire, the founder of Empire Apps and co-founder of T3 Apps and Best Apps. His apps have been downloaded more than 35 million times.
To get started, let's cover a few of the basics. Then we'll move on to the How To Create An App Business.
Bryan: What is an app?
Chad Mureta: An app is any application that is on your mobile device. This is anything from a game like “Angry Birds” to a built-in program like “Weather” or “Notes”.
Bryan: How old is the industry?
Chad Mureta: This industry started with the first app stores (iOS and Android) in 2008. People always ask me about the potential to succeed in a crowded marketplace, but the market is extremely young and still in its early stages. There’s plenty of development still left to uncover.
Learn How To Create An App Business
Bryan: How does an app transaction take place? Please walk us through the steps.
Chad Mureta: It begins with an app! The mobile user taps on the app that brings them to their “app marketplace.” From there the user can search top charts, categories, or enter keywords in the search bar to find an app that interests them.
They see a title or icon that catches their eye, then taps on that app to bring up more info. They read the app description, see its star rating, and then scroll to the bottom to see the screen captures. They usually have made their decision to purchase already or choose to “read reviews” to make sure they want the app. Then it takes two taps and sometimes a password confirmation to purchase and install the app to their device. Developers are then paid once a month when Apple distributes the funds into their account from all downloads.
Bryan: How far away from app saturation are we?
Chad Mureta: This is one of the top concerns people have. Like I said, the app marketplace is extremely young. No one knows this answer, but everything is moving from computer to mobile so there is a lot of life and opportunities left to this business.
Bryan: What type of apps are most popular? Most profitable?
Chad Mureta: Obviously games are extremely popular and profitable. Angry Birds is a franchise now. It’s much more than just an app. However, people often assume gaming is the way to go. But there’s a need for all types of apps. It’s not only the apps in the headlines that are making lots of money. Simple ideas such as to-do lists, guidebooks, and flashlight apps are getting hundreds of downloads a day.
Bryan: What processing fees/ charges do you incur from the iTunes Store?
Chad Mureta: You pay a fee of $99/year to be an Apple developer and Apple takes 30% of your app’s price per download (so for a $100 app, the developer gets $30 for every download) unless it’s a free app from which Apple doesn’t take a cut.
Bryan: What apps do you use to run your business?
Chad Mureta: I use the Apple Developer app to look up my rankings and account, Uber comes in handy as a car service when I’m running around, I use Yelp for finding food, I use Task Rabbit for last minute errands, Basecamp for business organization, Skype for calls, and a Google Docs app to access documents on-the-go.
Bryan: What do you recommend people do to get started?
Chad Mureta: Research! Download tons of apps, look at the charts every day, and write down your observations. So many people have a great idea and then don’t understand why they can’t get downloads. A while ago, I wanted to develop a yoga app, but I decided against it after doing research and seeing there weren’t any yoga apps with high rankings. A year later, yoga apps were popping up and then it was time to strike. Every now and then revolutionary ideas happen, but generally, you want to start with apps that already have a need so you can build up revenue before delving into your game-changing ideas.
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How To Create An App Business
Chad Mureta Explains the Business of AppsChad Mureta, App Expert and Author of App Empire. Courtesy of Chad MuretaChad Mureta is the author of App Empire, the founder of Empire Apps and cofounder of T3 Apps and Best Apps. His apps have been downloaded more than 35 million times.Editor's Note: Additional comments from Online Business Expert Brian T. Edmondson in italics.Bryan: How long does a typical app take to go from idea to launch?Chad Mureta: It depends on a variety of things, especially the speed of your team. I’ve done some that take as little as two weeks and as long as a couple months, but the latter is usually due to delays. Ideally, I like to get apps out as soon as possible.Some apps can be as simple as loading your existing content from your website or blog and repurposing it into a mobile application for Android or iOS devices; while more complicated apps would involve something unique and built from the ground up. It would be hard to determine how long it would take to go from idea to launch without knowing exactly what's involved - but it's safe to say that you would go with one of those two extremes; something extremely simple or something more complex.Bryan: Is a successful app launch possible without a supporting marketing campaign?Chad Mureta: A standard marketing campaign, yes, but developers need to implement basic marketing strategies, such as icon design and advanced screenshots, as well as advanced marketing techniques, such as nag screens and language options, in order to gain the best visibility.Other basic strategies would include assigning proper categories to your app, including appropriate keywords when describing your app, and having a team of beta users to help you launch the app.Bryan: What role does social media play in your app marketing plan? Which networks work best?Chad Mureta: The only “social media marketing” I use is including “share” options within an app. I don’t use social media for app promoting or ads. Social media is best used when there is already a large network developed that you can promote your current app through. For instance, a popular website’s Facebook page promoting their new app. It’s definitely an option, I just haven’t used it for my apps.You can also use paid advertising on networks like Facebook to directly promote your app to mobile users and get them to install your app.Bryan: In your book, you primarily discuss Apple's App Store (apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod). What other platforms exist and are they worth developing apps for them?Chad Mureta: There are app markets for Android and Windows, which are Apple’s main competitors. Android has 15 different phones with 15 different sizes and as a programmer you have to develop the app per phone, so that takes more time and isn’t as seamless as developing for Apple, which has one interface. I would like to develop for Android in the future, but right now I’m focusing on perfecting my iOS apps.As mentioned above, if you're developing a more simple app; then building it for multiple devices and platforms should be easy; but if you are doing something more custom and unique you may only have the resources to focus on one platform. As Chad mentioned, if that's the case you may be best off focusing on the iOS marketplace.See Also: 3 Email Marketing Mobile Best PracticesBryan: How much customer service / backend support do you need to provide?Chad Mureta: Most customers don’t send in service requests, especially when apps are free. They don’t see the point in saying anything. As for apps with a more expensive price sticker, think $9.99 apps and up, this would be more of an issue. I keep my apps in the average price range (free to $.99) so customer service is mainly expressed through the app’s reviews if at all.The ability to provide customer service and tech support is something you will want to consider when determining the complexity of your app; the more complex will likely require more support.Bryan: What app are you most proud of? What app has been most successful? What blogs are you reading?Chad Mureta: My first app, Fingerprint Security Pro, did really well and hit the top 25 charts. This is definitely the app I’m most proud of because this is how my app empire all began. As for blogs, I read a lot of Tim Ferriss articles for business advice, but also browse the major tech blogs. I don’t read blogs as much as I’d like to though.Article updated by Online Business/Hosting Expert Brian T. EdmondsonMore from the Web
Powered By ZergNetHow to Run Your Business With Google Apps
3 Ways Google Apps Can Help Your BusinessGoogle? The search engine? How could I run my business with Google? Have you got your head in the clouds? Well ... yes.Google Apps is an online office suite based on the relatively new concept of cloud computing. Using Gmail as the foundation, they have created a full suite of online software. If you are considering this, then you're in good company. According to Google, more 2 million businesses are currently using Google Apps, with more than 3000 new customers signing up every day.What you need to know:What it is: Google Apps is Google's brand of cloud computing. Your data and software are hosted online (or, "in the clouds") instead of the traditional style of desktop computing and location based servers.3 Ways Google Apps Can Help Your Business:- Maintenance, Upgrade and Investment Free: Let Google and the secondary service providers worry about power surges, failed hard drives, upgrades and compatibility while you run your business.
- Total Mobility: With Google Apps cloud computing, you're free to travel the world (or at least leave the office once in a while) all the while having your whole business at your fingertips, regardless of whether you have your laptop with you or not. An internet connection will give you access to your data and your software.
- Simple Collaboration: Share files, videos and ideas easily and without the confusing duplication of email. Multiple people can work simultaneously on the same file.
How It Works: Google offers a suite of office tools, such as email, word processing, calendar, spreadsheets, etc. which are hosted online. What separates Apps from traditional software are the Marketplace apps that integrate with Google's primary services. While Google offers the core services, every other imaginable tool is available in the Google Marketplace, allowing users to pick and choose as required. They have partnered with more than 50 online service providers, from eFax to MailChimp. While a number of these applications are free, others offer free trials for a period of time, or a minimum number of users. After the trial period expires, these often operate on a monthly fee format.By its nature cloud computing allows complex collaboration with colleagues, clients and outsourcers. For example, when a colleague is added to your group, they can then view and edit documents on your account which is hosted online. This prevents multiple copies of the same document, and it prevents a cluttered in-box from the back and forth of a project or proposal.Why It's Popular: Because Google and their service providers are responsible for everything, including all maintenance and upgrades both to hardware and software, users have nothing to do except use the software, and make money. There's no need for an office tech guy, or a huge room dedicated to housing your servers.Because of the ease of collaboration, users can work more effectively and with less confusion.And it costs much less than other options - ranging from free to $50 per user per year.Who's Using It? Over two million organizations are running Google Apps, ranging from the City of Los Angeles to billion-dollar-giant Avago Technologies with over 4100 users on their system. And of course, Google with more than 20,000 employees is using Apps as well.Interesting Features: The service is domain based, allowing users to have unique Web addresses for each of their services. The mail program, for example, would be found atmail.yourdomain.com. The same is true for the numerous other components. Its easy to remember and its branded with your domain.There is an app that links your Microsoft Office programs to Google Docs online. So continue to work as normal, but your documents get backed up online and are available to anyone in your group.Getting Started: The initial setup of Apps should take less than an hour. Another couple of hours of spent playing with the tools should help you to decide which ones to use and how they work. The tutorials online are clear and simple. Remember, there is no installation. Simply setup your account and go.
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