App Empire: Make Money, Have a Life, and Let Technology Work for You

The Happiest People on Earth xiii

The Appreneur Lifestyle xiv

Starting from a Hospital Bed xv

Game Plan xvii

The Real Question xvii

Chapter 1 The Treasure in Your Hand: Why Mobile Apps Can Make You Rich 1

A Bigger Opportunity than the Internet! 4

Ludicrous Speed 6

Take Advantage of This Phenomenon Now 8

The Players 8

Apple—iPhone/iPad/iPod 9

Google Android 11

BlackBerry 11

Setting Up Shop 11

Future Trends 12

Build a Gold Mine 13

Chapter 2 Install This First: The App Millionaire Mindset 15

Winning Beliefs in the App Business 18

Create a Golden Mindset 22

Qualities of a Winning Mindset 23

Chapter 3 Discover the New World: The App Store 33

Gathering Intelligence 37

Read Between the Apps 39

Two Types of Apps 41

App Discovery 42

How Developers Make Money 44

The Impulse Buy 47

Hooking the Customer 50

Traits of Successful Apps 51

Serious Fun 54

Chapter 4 Your Golden App-ortunity: How to Create Hit Apps 57

Don’t Fall in Love with Your Idea 60

Stop Hatin’, Start Emulatin’ 62

Learn from Existing Apps 66

Narrowing Down Your Ideas 67

Timing Is Everything 69

Taking Small Steps 70

Chapter 5 You’re the Brains and They’re the Brawn: How to Hire Great Programmers 73

The Importance of Programmers 76

What to Look for in Programmers 77

Finding and Selecting Programmers 82

How to Convey Your Idea 88

Testing Hired Programmers 90

How to Manage Programmers 93

How to Test Your Apps 95

Chapter 6 Sex App-eal: Marketing Basics to Attract More Buyers 99

Dressed to Kill 103

Icons 104

App Title 104

Descriptions 106

Screenshots 107

Keywords 109

Categories 111

The Power of Free Apps 112

Course Correcting 112

Chapter 7 Keeping Score: What to Measure to Win the App Game 115

The Stats that Matter 118

Tools for Tracking Stats 121

Using Stats to Your Advantage 123

Paying Attention to Reviews 127

Cutting Your Losses 128

Chapter 8 Ninja Techniques that Will Grow Your Business: Advanced Marketing Tips and Tricks 131

Hitting a Plateau 134

Your App Network 134

Nag Screens 135

Promo Pages 139

Push Notifi cations 143

Your Developer Network 144

Updates 145

Paid Traffic 147

Chapter 9 Show Me the Money! Monetizing Your Apps 149

The Three Revenue Models 152

Banner Advertising 154

Affi liate Marketing 158

In-App Purchases 162

Translating Your Apps 165

Reinvesting in Your Business 168

Your BackEnd 169

Selling Your App Business 170

Chapter 10 Cruise Control: How to Automate and Monitor Your Business 173

Be Dispensable 176

Setting Up Your Team 177

Remote Management 180

Outsourcing Your Life 180

The Seven Pillars of an App Business 181

Your Daily Routine 185

Afterword: JUMP! 187

Resources 191

Website 191

Market News and Research 191

Help Guides and Tutorials 192

Top Mobile App Development Outsourcing Sites 193

Developer Platforms 193

Acknowledgments 195

About the Author 197

Index 199