Mobile App Development & Mobile App Marketing

About the Episode

5 Ninja App Monetization Tips

Howdy there MobileApp Battle followers! We have come a long way from where we started and the finish line is almost in sight. I am about to film the video for my app and had already come up with the coolest name ever, while Gab has no updates at all. Ha! I can already see Gab eating my dust. Go, Team Steve!

But before Gab proceeds with his trip to hike the mountains to de-stress after all that he’s been through, tune in as we discuss options each of us can take in monetizing are newly-created apps. Here are some monetization tips for you to learn today — from the classic to the unconventional.

In-App Advertising –Get an ad upon launch and then gradually increase the number as you go along. The more people will click on them, the more you gain monetarily.
Pay per Download – Go ahead, charge. Ensure you put some thought and research on the pricing strategy before selling.
Native Advertising – strategicallyplace links in your app to prompt your audience to visit the site. You earn commission by the number of downloads they get through your app. CPA, which stands for Cost per Action, applies in these types of monetization strategy.
Direct Advertising –sell a banner of a company inside your app and usually works if you have a niche app. Can take a lot of effort but can work if you have a decent sales force.
Affiliations – partner with companies such as Amazon and eBay and sign them up as affiliate links. Consider an affiliate that people trust and get commissions on anything that people purchase.

Bonus tips –

App Flipping – create an app and when you are ready, sell it to another party. Hand over the reins to people who can take your app farther after you have worked your magic on the app.
Cross Promotion – promoting another app using an app base which is already making money to grab attention and gain followers.

It can be easy talking about these options in a podcast but let’s see what strategy Gab and I will choose to cross our apps from getting noticed, to being brought. Don’t miss out on the fun and the learning, stay tuned for the next chapter of this app battle!

Mixergy: How to Overcome Your Inner Doubts with Andrew Warner

Posted by steve on Dec 11, 2013 in Podcast | 0 comments

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Mixergy – Andrew Warner

Sponsors

Go to Affordable Dev for your one-stop shop for all your app development needs and tell them Steve sent you. For a limited time, you can save 20% off your next app.

Subscribe to the Show

About the Episode

Are you like me and sometimes struggle with the negative chatter that goes on in your head? Well today’s guest shows us how to own that chatter and use it to empower ourselves. Also, listen to the story of when he decided to charge for his content and the valuable lessons learned along the way.

Andrew Warner is the founder of Mixergy.

Show Notes:

This episode is special to me as I have the honor of interviewing one of my heroes, Andrew Warner. Andrew is the founder of Mixergy, a site which gives people with ambition a jump start in reaching great heights through the arsenal of information that they can get by listening to experienced mentors.

I have always been flattered in being compared to Andrew as I have always looked up to him, but how does he feel about that on his end? Apart from this, here are the interesting topics our guest had shared today:

• How recognizing your inner fears and doubts can strip them of their powers and liberate you.

• What works better for him in his interviews: mimicking or being plain honest and open?

• How beads can translate negativity to positive thinking.

• True mind and counter mind thoughts – what’s the difference?

• Andrew’s candy-selling days which paved the way and trained him to become the businessman that he is today.

• His decision in monetizing his interviews, the feedback and reviews that ripped him, and how he maintained his focus to overcome his challenges.

Be sure to listen in as Andrew himself opens up to his own personal insecurities and rebukes them during this very show — a proof that this is a real and daily battle not just for us but even for the show master himself and a testament that it can be overcome.

Show Mentions

Site: Mixergy Premium

Site: True Mind

Fav App: Evernote: (iTunes | Google Play)

in:play: Going Beyond Mobile Apps with Mat Rhoades & Steve Sterling

Posted by steve on Dec 9, 2013 in Podcast | 0 comments

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Mat Rhoades

Steve Sterling

Sponsors

Go to Affordable Dev for your one-stop shop for all your app development needs and tell them Steve sent you. For a limited time, you can save 20% off your next app.

Subscribe to the Show

About the Episode

How do you build a business on top of your mobile app business? Well today’s guests talk about how the success of their apps have led to even bigger opportunities within the mobile app space. Also, listen to the advice that today’s guests give about the importance of personal relationships in landing press on major publications.

Mat Rhoades and Steven Sterling are co-founders of Big Blue Couch.

About in:play

Change your music perspective on the fly. To listen to an artist, tap and hold the artist name. Select an album or all songs the same way. Download now and find out why GuidingTech.com says, “once you start using it, you will be hooked”.

in:play makes exploring your music library fun again!

∙EQ visualizer
∙Facebook sharing
∙Elegant, minimalist presentation
∙Album art
∙Swipe forwards and backwards through your song queue
∙Select a song on your selection screen and simply swipe right to play
∙Tap to play/pause
∙Tap and hold artist, album or song to switch between modes: all songs by the artist, all songs on the album, or all songs in your library
∙Day and night modes
∙Add anything to your custom re:playlist on the fly
∙Access to your local iTunes™ Music Library. (Use the default Music app to manage your cloud downloads.)

Show Mentions

- App: in:play (iTunes)
- App: Max Journal (iTunes)
- Fav app: Hype Machine
- Fav app: Shazam (iTunes | Google Play)
- Shazam Episode
- Internet Media Labs

TalkTo: The Balance Between MVP & Scale with Stuart Levinson

Posted by Mergery Somes on Dec 6, 2013 in Podcast | 2 comments

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TalkTo – Stuart Levinson

Sponsors

Go to Affordable Dev for your one-stop shop for all your app development needs and tell them Steve sent you. For a limited time, you can save 20% off your next app.

Subscribe to the Show

About the Episode

How do you find the balance between a minimum viable product and the need to build for scale? Well today’s guest talks about the early days of his app and how they may have built for scale a little too soon. Also, listen to the answer the guest gives when I asked him why he decided to start another company after selling his previous one to IBM.

Stuart Levinson is the CEO and Co-Founder of TalkTo.

Show Notes

“Do you have this size in red?” “What about a size 6?” “Who’s playing at this bar tonight?”

My guest for today is a member of the team that made it possible to get answers for these types of questions as easily as sending text messages and without the hassle of making those time-consuming phone calls. In this episode, Stuart Levinson, CEO and co-founder of TalkTo, will talk to us all about their app which brings you closer to local businesses in US and Canada minus the long hold.

Here are the items that we tackled with Stuart today:

How Talkto came about, and the idea and personal experiences which fueled the creation of the app,
If TalkTo is looking at placing ‘turn-around time’ guarantees in their application,
Stuart’s career background and what made him rejoin the entrepreneurial field,
Discussion surrounding TalkTo’s text messaging interface and it’s Q&A format,
Great entrepreneurial and leadership advices – from the better success of building your company rather than your products to the the dangers of scaling too fast,
And most importantly, how perseverance and having self-motivated employees can turn your business around.

TalkTo gets you answers by hanging your phones up, so end those hold music and download away.

Show Mentions

Website: Talkto

App: TalkTo (iTunes | Google Play)

Fav app: Uber (iTunes | Google Play) and HotelTonight (iTunes | Google Play)

Tweetbot: Build an App That You Would Use with Paul Haddad

Posted by steve on Dec 4, 2013 in Podcast | 4 comments

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Tapbots – Paul Haddad

Sponsors

Go to Affordable Dev for your one-stop shop for all your app development needs and tell them Steve sent you. For a limited time, you can save 20% off your next app.

Want to see the email scripts I used to land guests, get press and validate business ideas? Well for just $27, you’ll get access to 33 of my best email scripts.

Subscribe to the Show

About the Episode

How do you build an app that builds a loyal following? Well today’s guest built one of the most popular and loved Twitter apps and he tells us how he builds apps that he would use every day. Also, listen to what he says is the optimal time to release an app.

Paul Haddad is the programmer behind Tapbots.

About Tapbots

Tapbots are utility robots designed and engineered for your iPhone and iPod touch. Our applications are easy to use, focused, and lots of fun. These amazing little robots are dreamed up and brought to life by Paul Haddad and Mark Jardine. We slave the night away creating—not to make a quick buck, but because we love software. We hope our robots will create the same love for software that we have.

Show Mentions

- Fav app: Tweetbot: (iTunes)

Clear App: How to Build Hype & Get Press for Your App with Dan Counsell

Posted by steve on Dec 2, 2013 in Podcast | 0 comments

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Realmac Software – Dan Counsell

Sponsors

Go to Affordable Dev for your one-stop shop for all your app development needs and tell them Steve sent you. For a limited time, you can save 20% off your next app.

Want to see the email scripts I used to land guests, get press and validate business ideas? Well for just $27, you’ll get access to 33 of my best email scripts.

Subscribe to the Show