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Ask HN: Should I continue development of my iOS app

10 points by kenver ↗ HN
I currently have an app on the iOS App Store, that makes me about $30 a month. It took me quite a long time to make, but I did it half for fun and half for the chance that it might make me some money!

Most of my users feedback has been positive, with requests for additional features, which I try to get in with updates.

The problem is that time is short, and the app doesn't make very much money at all.

I don't want to stop supporting the people who have already bought the app, but at the same time I want to try and do some other more successful apps.

So my question is how should I drop support without annoying current users who have been really positive to me?

The other solution of course is to keep adding features and improve it and hope that one day it kicks off, but it just feels like a waste of time now.

14 comments

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kaolinite
Make it open-source, make the app free (or at least cheaper) and then every so often package it up and deploy to the app-store?
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tjr
Unless you promised otherwise, the users bought the application as-is (or as-it-was), without any guarantee of future updates. You are not bound to provide updates. It's a good idea to do so if you can, but perhaps favoring working on new applications for a while would be preferable.

I had several applications on the iOS store, which, after the $100 annual fee, were costing me money! I hate to do it, but I haven't renewed my developer subscription for this year. Maybe someday I will build a new iOS application and try again, but for now, continuing support just makes insufficient sense. I've made lots more money developing applications for other people than selling my own...

kenver
Thanks for the advice, I think you've just confirmed what I was thinking anyway. I'll probably make one last update and then leave it there.
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[dead] sebg
Have you tried to sell it? I recall a few weeks ago a post here on hn where someone was trying to buy an app that was already making money.

As a side note, I went onto your personal website from the hn profile and on this page => http://www.kemalenver.com/iphone ...none of the images showed up.

pkamb
Can you post the app?
kenver
Sure. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/charty-stats-for-youtube/id51...
dave1619
Seems like this would be better as a subscription web app, ie., $20/month. Reach out to YT directors directly, giving them a 1 month free subscription.

Mobile app should be free for people with a web app subscription.

But I would validate the need for this product by doing some customer development.

alex_g
First, fix your app, because the only review I see on the app page is a bad one saying it doesn't work properly. After you fix it, focus on marketing. This is a niche product for people interested in their YouTube channels. Make a YouTube account if you don't have one already and find people that are YouTube partners. I'm a YouTube partner. It used to be a program difficult to get accepted into, but now I believe it's open to everybody. You'll know if someone is a YouTube partner if they have a banner next to the subscribe button above their videos. Subscribe to these people and message them letting them know about your app. Don't give everyone the same cookie cutter message. Try and spark up a discussion and also let them know about the app. YouTube partners make money off their videos, so they will be very interested in your app. I know I am! You can also target people with up and coming videos, meaning videos that you think are about to get popular and possibly viral. Tell them why you think that their video has potential, and then let them know your app can help them track their video statistics.

Once you've done that, spend extra time messaging everyone else on YouTube that has a video uploaded on their account. Choose people that are more active on YouTube, not people that haven't logged on in 3 months. I'd try targeting the demographic of young teens that make Apple related videos (I was once one of them). They usually have iOS devices and will be very interested in not only buying your app, but maybe even reviewing it as well.

As long as you fix your bugs and have a perfectly working product, with a little bit of hard work (in terms of marketing), you could make much more than $30 a month.

You can catch me at alexgreene7@me.com if you want to talk further.

kenver
Hey thanks for taking the time to give me feedback I really appreciate it. That review you're talking about is on the US store I think (which is unfortunate since it's the biggest!) Generally though I've been getting 4-5* reviews and the app is mostly working as expected from what I can see with very few crashes etc.

I'm definitely going to contact YouTube partners directly now. I was thinking of doing it anyway, but felt it was a bit spammy.

Jacquass12321
Assuming it's not ad supported and is just a one time purchase I don't see where your motivation would be in free updates unless it was bringing in enough money for you to be living off of.

I'd keep track of user requests and things you've learned from the application, if you ever have enough to justify a new game put out a sequel or a new version. Until then I'd feel free to work on a new project.

kenver
My reasoning for the free updates was to improve it and make it what people want, which would hopefully increase the paid sales. It hasn't worked!