The App Shortcut

Copyright,
Legal Notice and Disclaimer:

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Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience and
anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable
attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content in this Guide, they assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Also, you should use this information as you
see fit, and at your own risk. Your particular situation may not be exactly suited to the
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should adjust your use of the information and recommendations accordingly.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to
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no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.
Nothing in this Guide is intended to replace common sense, legal, medical or other
professional advice, and is meant to inform and educate the reader.
Have fun and good luck!
Copyright 2015 The App Shortcut. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright 2015 TheAppShortcut.com
Contents
Copyright, Legal Notice and Disclaimer: ............................................................................................ 1
Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 1: Success Stories .............................................................................................................. 7
A Few of Our Applications ................................................................................................................. 7
Flash for Free ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Convert Units for Free: ...................................................................................................................... 9
Baby Maker - $2.99 .......................................................................................................................... 10
Lab Values Pro ................................................................................................................................. 11
Our Earnings .................................................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 2: Our Winning Formula .................................................................................................. 15
Chapter 3: Unlimited Possibilities .................................................................................................. 17
Success Stories of Other Applications .............................................................................................. 18
iFart .................................................................................................................................................. 18
iShoot: .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Sound Grenade (free): ..................................................................................................................... 19
iSteam .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Yo ..................................................................................................................................................... 20
Ethan ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Push For Pizza .................................................................................................................................. 20
Invisible Boyfriend ........................................................................................................................... 21
Tinder ............................................................................................................................................... 21
Snapchat .......................................................................................................................................... 21
Clash of Clans ................................................................................................................................... 22
Uber ................................................................................................................................................. 22
Chapter 4: Business First ............................................................................................................... 24
A Business Entity .............................................................................................................................. 24
Types of Businesses and Why They Matter ..................................................................................... 27
How to Setup Your Own Business Entity ......................................................................................... 29

Your Business Bank Account ............................................................................................................ 31
DBA ("Doing Business As") ............................................................................................................... 32
Entering the App Store Without a Business ..................................................................................... 33
Chapter 5: What You Need to Get Started ..................................................................................... 34
Hardware (iOS Apps): ....................................................................................................................... 34
Software (iOS Apps): ........................................................................................................................ 34
Hardware (Android Apps): ............................................................................................................... 35
Software (Android Apps): ................................................................................................................ 35
A Word about Tablets ...................................................................................................................... 35
How to Enter Apples iOS Developer Program ................................................................................. 36
Registration Completed ................................................................................................................... 39
Itunes Connect - itunesconnect.apple.com/ .................................................................................... 40
How to Enter Androids Developer Program ................................................................................... 41
How to Register a Publishers Account ............................................................................................ 41
Registration Completed ................................................................................................................... 42
Google Play - market.android.com .................................................................................................. 42
Chapter 6 Designing for Tablets .................................................................................................. 43
Some Things to Consider with Tablet Apps ..................................................................................... 43
Tablets are made for Content Consumption ................................................................................... 44
Same OS, Different Needs ............................................................................................................... 45
Universal vs. Device-Specific Apps ................................................................................................... 46
Recommendations for Designing Tablet Apps ................................................................................. 46
Chapter 7: Graphics For Your Mobile App ...................................................................................... 48
General Advice ................................................................................................................................. 48
Graphics for Apple iOS Apps ............................................................................................................ 49
Graphics for Android Apps ............................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 8: Your First Application ................................................................................................... 50
K.I.S.S. .............................................................................................................................................. 50
Identify Your Audience .................................................................................................................... 51
Choose Your Category Wisely .......................................................................................................... 51

Put Your Ideas to Paper ................................................................................................................... 52
Tools for Putting Your Ideas on Paper ............................................................................................. 53
A Quick Word on Collaboration ....................................................................................................... 53
Conceptualize Your Idea with a Mind Map ...................................................................................... 54
Spec Writing ..................................................................................................................................... 54
How to Write a Spec for Your App ................................................................................................... 55
Chapter 9: How to Outsource Your Application ............................................................................ 59
Where to Find Freelancers ............................................................................................................... 59
The Virtues of Elance and Odesk ..................................................................................................... 60
Start Your Freelancer Project ........................................................................................................... 61
The Detailed Job Description ........................................................................................................... 67
What to Look For Once You Get Bids for Your Project .................................................................... 69
Some Notes on Selecting a Graphic Artist ....................................................................................... 73
Communicating with Your Virtual Assistants ................................................................................... 75
Chapter 10: Test Your New Application ......................................................................................... 79
Ad Hoc File Installation (Apple): ....................................................................................................... 81
Source Code File Installation: .......................................................................................................... 83
Preparing your Device for install ...................................................................................................... 83
Installing your application to your device ........................................................................................ 85
1. Update the signing certificate. ..................................................................................................... 87
2. Update the unique code and version number ............................................................................. 88
Updating Display Name: .................................................................................................................. 89
Build and Run Application: ............................................................................................................... 89
Testing: Tips and Advice .................................................................................................................. 91
Chapter 11: Monetizing Your Mobile App ...................................................................................... 93
Free versus Paid Apps ...................................................................................................................... 93
Where Paid Apps Can Still Work ...................................................................................................... 93
Pricing Your App .............................................................................................................................. 94
The Advantages of Free Apps .......................................................................................................... 96
How to Make Money from Free Apps .......................................................................................... 96

Creating a Lite Version ..................................................................................................................... 99
Chapter 12: The Submission Overview Process ............................................................................ 100
Prepare Your App Profile ............................................................................................................... 100
Getting Your App Ready for Submission to Apple ......................................................................... 104
Application Submitted ................................................................................................................... 110
Chapter 13: Marketing Your App ................................................................................................. 111
Create a Website for Your Application .......................................................................................... 111
Your Social Media Presence ........................................................................................................... 114
Utilize Promo Codes ....................................................................................................................... 115
Get Reviews ................................................................................................................................... 115
Use One App to Boost Another ...................................................................................................... 116
A Word about Paid Advertising ...................................................................................................... 117
Chapter 14: The Importance of App Ranking ............................................................................... 118
App Store Optimization (ASO) ....................................................................................................... 119
Always Improve and Increase Your Ratings & Reviews ................................................................. 120
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 121
Introduction
Have you ever noticed that some of the greatest things in your life seem to begin
with an ordinary moment? Purchasing this guide might seem like one of those
ordinary moments. But we promise you there is the potential within these pages to
change your life entirely.
The beauty of technology today the Internet in particular is that it allows you
access to anything you could imagine at a moments notice. The biggest benefit of
this is the capability to network with others who possess the skills you lack.
Individuals who can turn your dreams into reality!
That's what you've done by purchasing this guidebook. You've connected with our
experience, knowledge, and skills. Were about to show you how to connect with the
people you need to succeed in the world of Mobile Apps.
Our 'ordinary moment' came in San Diego, CA - over a round of golf with friends. We
were talking about a new application that was making headlines at the time. It was
"iFart". "iFart" had (at the time) made $40,000 over Christmas Eve and Christmas
Day alone. In many households that's a fulltime salary for an entire year!
We had no idea Apple's App Store had this kind of reach, but we had plenty ideas of
our own. If some stupid novelty app could make it this big, then why not something
that we made ourselves?
Weve heard the line "there's an app for that" over and over again in countless TV
commercials, and everyone says "what if they had an app for this or what if they
had an app for that?"
Though there are millions of apps along with countless ideas for apps (and perhaps
even more questions about apps) the truth is there is still room for your idea!
Throughout our collective experience, we have learned invaluable lessons, and have
made plenty of mistakes. People of all skill levels are capable of translating their
ideas into working applications. Anyone can learn how to create mobile apps without
any experience in programming. We have proven this to be true.
At our peak we were earning up to $2800 per day and in two months, we
grossed over $100,000. As a result all of our hard work, we now enjoy the benefits
of continuous passive income and are now taking thing easy, and spending quality
time with our friends and families. Today were about helping people just like you get
the same rewards we achieved (but faster).
Welcome to the App Shortcut. Youre going to learn a lot today!
Chapter 1: Success Stories

Lets start with the story of Quoc, one of our main contributors at App Shortcut:
I took a huge risk and quit my full time job in 2009, and started my first app
company with longtime friend, Pat Flynn. Together we started LOLer Apps, being
inspired by the success of silly novelty apps like iFart and wanted to do the same.
A few weeks later my roommate Richard Lee (a medical student at time) approached
me with some ideas for apps geared towards students and professionals in the
medical field. This was a small niche market, but it was a great idea so we started
Hipposoft, LLC (a portmanteau of the Hippocratic Oath and software).
Then another friend of mine, Michael Moon came to me with another great idea for
apps. He suggested we make full featured and useful apps for free. The trend at the
time was to create stripped down versions of paid apps, and offer these for free in
the hopes people would upgrade. Instead we would make fully functional apps for
free, and then get revenue from mobile ads (today a much more popular approach).
On the back of this innovative idea (at the time) we started Free the Apps!
So within a few months I had started on an exciting but scary journey of starting up 3
separate software businesses with 3 different partners. While this might sound like a
lot of work and stress, I was thankfully able to keep my sanity in check, while making
all 3 companies profitable in a few short months.
Our success provided all of us with the luxury of passive income, and freed us to
pursue our passions and enjoy the things we love. Today Im semi-retired, and pretty
much spend time with my family while occasionally diving into the interesting project
or two. Publishing mobile apps gave the freedom to do this.
Isnt that kind of freedom a dream worth pursuing?
A Few of Our Applications

Altogether weve published over 70 apps to the Apple iTunes App store, and more
recently in the Google Play store. Today we have over 45 million cumulative
downloads, with 8 million in the first year alone.
We took the #1 spot in Photography and the #1 spot in Utilities a number of times.
The highest ranking app hit #3 overall in the entire Apple iTunes App Store! The
following are some of the numbers from some of our applications.
Flash for Free

Most downloads in a single day: 78,752
Total Downloads All time: 12,500,000+
Highest rank reached: #7 Overall, #1 Top Free Utilities

Flash for Free #13 Top Free
Overall (Aug 21, 2009)
Convert Units for Free:

Most downloads in a single day: 101,443
Total Downloads All time: 2,651,755
Highest rank reached: #3 Overall, #1 Top Free Utilities
Convert for Free #3 Top Free

Overall (Nov 23, 2009)
Convert for Free is the icon for

Utilities (Nov 23, 2009)
Baby Maker - $2.99

Most downloads in a single day: 95
Highest rank reached: #21 Paid Photography
10

Lab Values Pro
Most downloads in a single day: 140
Highest rank reached: #1 Paid Medical
11
Our Earnings
We know you are interested in the revenue involved in the mobile app market
otherwise you wouldn't be reading this book! Let's face it you want to know
whether you can make enough money from this venture to be 'worth it'. So let's look
at some of the numbers from just the iTunes App Store in one month.
November:
Free the Apps!
Google Adsense: $15,873.57

Admob: $5,600.72
LOLer Apps
Apple: $4,720.45
Admob: $1,151.21
Hipposoft
Apple: $3,435.41
Total Earnings: $30,781.36

December:
Free the Apps!

Admob: $1,020.74
LOLer Apps
Apple: $3,627.36
Admob: $688
Hipposoft
Apple: $9,851.81

January:
Free the Apps!

Admob: $121.68
LOLer Apps
Apple: $4,769.93
Admob: $301
Hipposoft
Apple: $6,850.35
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Tip: Christmas is ALWAYS a great time for developers in the mobile app stores!
You can see above our earnings from November 2009 to January 2010. During this
time, we were personally invited by a representative from the Google Adsense team
to join their beta program for mobile applications. Google Adsense for mobile
applications was then not yet open to the public and was by invite only, so we were
VERY fortunate to have been presented with this opportunity.
By January, the only money we were still getting from Admob (the mobile ad platform
we started with) was from users who hadn't updated their applications to use Google
Adsense. 2010 was a really great year for us, with Splash of Color FREE getting the
#1 Photography app spot, and using the profits to develop dozens of new apps.
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Splash of Color FREE (Now known

as Dash of Color FREE) is the icon
for Photography (Dec 29, 2009)
Splash of Color FREE (Now known

as Dash of Color FREE) #1 Top
Free Photography (Dec 29, 2009)
14
Chapter 2:
Our Winning Formula
You've reached the most important section of this book--the secret to how we get so
much done without any programming experience and minimal time spent on our part.
Here we will talk to you about outsourcing, why we chose to take this route, and why
it was the best decision we ever made.
The truth is that we actually have some experience with computer programming, but
not with Objective-C which is the native language used to write iPhone applications
or the Java language used in Android apps. Were also not graphic designers or
sound engineers yet weve managed to publish 70 functional apps with
professional graphics and sound effects.
Now we could've just picked up a book, read some tutorials, paid for some classes
and tried to do everything ourselves. But we knew that it would take at least 2 to 3
times longer to finish an application as opposed to hiring an expert. Instead of
coming up with more great ideas, we would have wasted days and weeks trying to
figure out all the little quirks of the programming language, which would have taken
an expert just minutes!
By outsourcing tasks such as data entry, app programming, graphic design, voice
acting, etc. we were able to release several to a dozen apps per year. If we had
decided to do it all ourselves we would have been lucky to release more than 3 apps
in the same amount of time.
One of the coolest things about outsourcing your work is that it gets done basically
as you sleep. You write a couple feedback emails to your service providers to keep
them on track. They work their hours while you sleep, and you get results when you
wake up in the morning.
It is a fantastic feeling to know that you have people from different parts of the world,
working on your projects around the clock while youre eating, sleeping, or doing
whatever else to make the most of your day.
Freeing up your time by outsourcing also allows you to do the things that are more
important to you. Things like spending time with family, friends, working out, playing
a sport, learning a new language, or take an acting class.
Anything but working 8 hours a day for someone elses dream. The times that you
are working for yourself, make you feel so much more productive and accomplished
than the 40 hours a week you used to spend at your day job.
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How much is your time really worth? Some people prefer to do everything
themselves and consider themselves hands on, but sometimes it just isnt worth it.
Doing things yourself as opposed to hiring an expert may save money, but there are
many times when youll run into a problem, whether youre installing your own
kitchen cabinets or programming an iPhone app. Chances are youre going to run
into a situation that will take you hours or days to solve.
If you had hired an expert, they probably would have run into the same problem
many times and would have fixed it in 10 minutes. In the end, the time that you save
you could have been working on other projects to build income, spending time with
family, or taking a new class to learn something fun and new.
With outsourcing, the limits to what you can accomplish are now only limited to your
ideas. We have used outsourcing to complete every aspect of our app projects.
From $1.22/hour for someone in India to gather data off a website and input it into
excel spreadsheets, to voice actor recordings for medical pronunciations, to graphic
design and application development.
This book will walk you through the whole process, and give you tips to show you
exactly how easy it is to make your app idea come to life! The world is full of
specialists waiting to work on the next great idea!
What youll learn in this book wont be limited tojust apps though. Remember we
have a bunch of online resources to give you, so youll be able to outsource just
about any project or idea you may have.
Your time is valuable use it to make your dreams come true, and let someone else
handle the hard work for you!
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Chapter 3: Unlimited Possibilities

The mobile app market has grown astronomically over the past several years with
Apples App Store and Googles Play Store the overwhelmingly dominant forces of
today. Though Microsoft and Amazon have made huge investments to get their own
app marketplaces off the ground, they are still minority players in the grand scheme
of things.
For the purposes of this book we will focus on developing Apple and Google-based
apps, since these marketplaces offer you the best possible change for success due
to the sheer number of users. Microsoft does offer some potential if youre willing to
work with a much smaller market but for right now your best shot is starting with
either Googles or Apples marketplaces.
Though if you insist on developing apps for any of the smaller marketplaces (and
sometimes there is a good reason for doing so) you can easily adapt the advice
given in this book to do so. Microsoft Windows Phone for example is desperate for
quality apps, and they are quite strong in the developing markets.
Now lets break down some of the numbers to show you how much potential still
exists for the next great app idea:
170 BILLION mobile apps were downloaded in 2014, and this is expected to
grow to 268 billion downloads by 2017.
Apple has paid out over $10 BILLION to their app developers in 2014, while
Google has paid over $5 billion in the same year.
Sales from mobile apps topped $35 BILLION in 2014, up from the $26 billion
in sales from 2013.
Over a BILLION smartphones and tablets were shipped in 2014 alone, and
this is expected to grow to almost 2 billion units per year by 2018.
Those are some pretty big numbers, and they are still growing massively even
though smartphones are practically an essential for everyone nowadays. A large part
of this growth is due to emerging markets, but the so called saturated markets are
still showing impressive numbers.
Though you may have heard that the software market is dominated by a few big time
players, there are still plenty of individuals striking it rich every year. The best and
most innovative ideas always seem to come from the individuals who dared to dream
and did something about it (like you by reading this book).
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Mobile apps are still the places where the little guy can make something of
themselves. This is because the marketplaces offered by Apple, Google, and the
like offer a truly democratic platform for creating, marketing, selling, and
distributing software for anyone who wants to try their hand at making apps.
Anyone can do it, and the proof is in the next section.
The only thing a publisher needs is a great idea, some working code, good graphics,
and a solid marketing plan.
So are you still wondering whether you have a shot at success? Of course you do!
Success Stories of Other Applications

There have been many success stories with someone making a mobile app that
captured peoples attention. Whether for dubious reasons or sheer awesomeness,
you cannot argue with the dollar signs.
Here is a list of some notable success stories over the past several years.
iFart
The app that inspired our journey and our
default answer whenever someone asks
us if its possible for them to make it as an
app developer.
iFart, to be plain and simple, is a $.99
novelty iPhone app that plays fart
sounds. It has reached a high of being
the #1 paid app in the app store
(December 22, 2008).
Within two weeks of being released, iFart was downloaded 113,865 times,
generating $78,908 in revenue. On December 22, 2008, it made $90,000 78. This is
more than the highest average yearly income per capita in the world!
Really puts things into perspective doesn't it? Joel Comm (the man behind the
idea) ended up trying to sell the app on eBay for $1,000,000 but ended up
settling for a mere $55,513,13.
18
iShoot:
iShoot is a tank artillery game for
$2.99 that also hit the #1 spot on
Apple's
App
Store.
The
developer, Ethan Nicholas, told
Wired.com that he quit his job
the day iShoot hit #1, earning
him $37,000 in a single day. In
one month, iShoot raked in
$1,000,000 in less than 7
months for Ethan.
Sound Grenade (free):

Sound Grenade is an application created by a dynamic duo from
New Zealand. The developers claimed that it took about 30
minutes to finish from start to end and had about 10 lines of
code.
The application is very simple. When activated, Sound Grenade
produces an ear piercing high pitched noise that would drive
anyone crazy.
In less than two weeks, their app spread like wildfire, passing
1.25 million downloads. They generated over $10,000 from
Admob in less than one week, hitting $200/hour from ad revenue
at their peak.
iSteam
Kostas Eleftheriou along with partners Vassilis Samolis and Bill
Rappos created the $0.99 iSteam application to take advantage
of some of the lesser exploited features of the iPhone.
Combining tilt control, email, your photo library, and blowing on
the mic this simple app managed to rake in over $100,000
within the first three months.
All this app really does is steam up your pictures by blowing
into the mic, and then you can use the multitouch surface to
wipe away the steam to leave and send out secret messages
to all your friends.
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Yo
Yo is an app that lets people send push notifications to friends, by pressing their
friend's name. The only message they can send to each other is the word "Yo"
users can't customize the push notifications. You hear that right.
Since its launch in April 2014, the Israel-founded startup has grown to more than 2
million downloads. Co-founder Moshe Hogeg says that users are sending more than
2 million "Yos" per day.
Even though the app has been a running joke for tech blogs, and even comedian
Stephen Colbert said "When I first learned about an app that boils down all your
communication into two letters, I expressed myself in one: Y?"
Why did we include this app here? Yo has so far raised a $1.5 million seed round,
and as of this writing has a $5 to10 million valuation. Silicon Valley venture
capitalism at its finest.
Ethan
The app idea might sound ridiculous, but the product is real and its popularity
exploded in 2014 (check it out on Product Hunt). "Ethan" was created by the founder
of Rubcam, Ethan Gliechtenstein. All the app does is simply lets anyone who
downloads it send Ethan a message.
To quote the (now famous) Ethan "I wanted a fast way for my friends to message me
simply by opening the app which is the only feature of the app. I've been off
Facebook for a while so this is one way for people to reach me. Plus I own all the
data. Also I can cut off annoying people easily if I wanted to."
OK so Ethan probably didnt make much, if any, money from this idea but it was a
simple idea that got big press attention!
Push For Pizza

Push For Pizza is about as simple as suggested by the name. You press the pizzashaped button, select a pizza from your local pizza place and boom pizza
delivered straight to your door. Add your credit card once, and youll never be more
than a few seconds from ordering pizza ever again.
The app was created by four teenagers including Max Hellerstein and Cyrus
Summerlin, and three other teenagers came up with the concept for a pizza app
while hanging out one night. They have already partnered with over 1,200 pizza
shops across the U.S, and it got over 7,000 orders in its first day.
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Invisible Boyfriend
Dont have a special someone in your life, but want to make it look like you do?
Theres an app for that called Invisible Boyfriend (and also Invisible Girlfriend).
Yes people, for a mere $24.99 a month, youll be able to create an online profile for a
fantasy boyfriend or girlfriend along with penning the story of how you met, and
the service will send you text messages, voicemails, even handwritten notes.
The idea was pitched by Matthew Homann at a St.Louis hackathon in 2013, and was
the winning idea at this event. In the first two days after the site went live, 11,000
people created accounts and there were 300,000 visitors to the site. The idea is a
little out of box since there is a real world element required by the service (real
people write the notes for example), but the idea is taking off and it took a mobile
app to make it happen.
Tinder
Some may think superficial apps like Tinder and Snapchat are contributing to a
downfall in society, but the results speak for themselves. The app itself couldnt be
simpler you set up a profile, and then use it to browse the photos of other people in
your area. If you like the photo you see, swipe right and if they like you too youll
have a chance to chat with them. If you dont like what you see, swipe left and move
on to the next persons photo.
Tinder as of 2015, has an estimated 50 million monthly active users, with over 1bn
profile swipes per day and an average cumulative session length of 90 minutes per
day, compared to the average app with just over 2 minutes.
Investors have so far have given $2.1 million in seed money to the fledgling San
Francisco-based company. They will also be rolling out a paid-for Tinder Plus
service, which is expected to launch in the US by the end of March 2015.
The smart money is saying that Tinder could be earning as much as $180 million in
2015, and is looking at a valuation of around $750 million, and could even reach up
to $1 billion. A copycat app in China called Tantan, has also recently raised 5 million
in the Chinese market.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a photo messaging application developed by Evan Spiegel, Bobby
Murphy, and Reggie Brown. Using the application, users can take photos, record
videos, add text and drawings, and send them as a message to a controlled list of
recipients. Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their messages (as
21
of this writing, the range is from 1 to 10 seconds). After the time is up, the message
is hidden from the recipient's device and deleted from Snapchat's servers.
According to Snapchat, the app's users were sending 700 million photos and videos
per day, while Snapchat Stories content was being viewed 500 million times per day.
The service is extremely popular with teenagers today, and has many companies
salivating over the prospects of engaging with this crowd.
Don't dismiss Snapchat as a teen fad though. The company now has a valuation of
$10-$20 billion (depending on who you ask), and they are working with the worlds
biggest brands to push out a premium content delivery channel in 2015.
Clash of Clans
Clash of Clans is a freemium mobile MMO strategy video
game developed and published by Supercell in 2002, a video
game company based in Helsinki, Finland.
Clash of Clans is an online multiplayer game in which players
build a community, train troops, and attack other players to
earn gold and elixirs, which are then used to build defenses
that protect the player from other players' attacks.
Supercell's games (including clash of Clans, Hay Day, and Boom Beach) combined
to bring in $5.15 million in revenue on February 7 2015, and as of this writing have
over 29.4 million daily active users.
Since 2012, and indeed in 2014, Clash of Clans was the highest grossing app for the
iPhone, iPad, and Google Play store generating multiple millions of dollars every
single day. Simply astounding.
Uber
Uber makes a lot of noise in taxi driving and hired limousine circles nowadays, but in
reality Uber has always been a mobile app company first. They really didnt do
anything new, they just took something old (mobile phones and internet) and used it
in a new way.
Originally started as a side project in 2009, they started their first pilot project in
January 2010, using only 3 cars cruising the SOHO / Chelsea / Union Square areas
of New York City.
Today the company has the most venture capital ever raised, at $4.3 billion as of
January 2015! This has Ubers valuation running around $40 Billion as a result, and
it appears at first glance to be a ringing endorsement of the Uber idea.
22
Time will tell the true fate of Uber and similar services such as Lyft.. For now sit back
in awe of the eye-watering numbers. Remember that Uber is simply a mobile app
booking platform, and the cars are not operated by the company.
If you can look at any proof that mobile apps can truly change the world, this is it.
23
Chapter 4: Business First

When signing up for your Developer's Account (which we'll talk more about later),
you have the option of signing up either as a business entity, or under your personal
name. There are pros and cons to each approach, which we'll cover in this section.
Disclaimer: All of these options have pros and cons. You will need to decide what
the right choice is for you. Please consider your options carefully, and seek
professional advice before committing yourself to any legally binding
agreements. We are NOT lawyers or tax experts, and this section is NOT intended
as legal advice but merely a series of observations that have worked in our
experience (yours may of course vary). We strongly suggest you get advice from a
lawyer to help make your own business decisions.
A Business Entity
The Good
People start businesses for many reasons whether it's for personal fulfillment, or to
take advantage of certain tax write-offs that can save you some cash. Creating a
business entity is something you might consider before entering the app store with
your first app, though it is not mandatory.
Below is an outline that tells you exactly why we decided to invest some time into
creating our own business entity.
1. Liability
A properly formed and managed business entity creates a legally enforceable layer
of protection between you as an individual and your business. Put simply, if
something goes wrong, you have some additional protection.
For example - if you setup a limited liability company, your personal assets (like
your house, personal bank accounts, or pensions) cannot be seized for any reason if
someone (for some reason) wants to go after your company.
2. Tax Advantages
If you start any form of your own business, you have the ability to take advantage of
certain tax benefits. The basic rule is that if you need to buy something in order to
run your business, you should be able to write this off your taxable income (check
your local tax laws for the specifics).
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For example, you may be able to write-off certain pieces of equipment (like the
smartphones or tablet you need for testing) or your office rent. If you work from
home, you may even be able to write off some of your mortgage or rent but youll
have to check the specifics and limitations in your area.
Ultimately the reason for doing this is to save you and your business a lot of money.
There are a lot of rules and regulations regarding what can and cannot be written off,
so we definitely advise seeking the advice of a certified personal accountant to help
you figure those things out.
3. Professionalism
If you have a company name attached to your application, the better chances that
your app may be perceived as having more value.
It's the difference between buying a car from a dealership, versus some random Joe
Shmoe down the street. A dealership will usually (and hopefully) sell you a car that is
in good working condition and they'll be there to go to, for support, later on if needed.
Joe Shmoe is just a dude selling you a car - who knows exactly how it will turn out?
Having a company tied to your application can be especially useful when it comes to
how you are perceived by other companies and websites who may be accepting
reviews for new applications.
4. Easier to Sell / Get Bought Out

To further our last point, if you're ever thinking about selling your applications, not
individually on iTunes, but rather your entire app as a property to someone else, it's
much easier legally for this to happen if you're a company.
For some, this isn't an issue, but there are plenty of people looking for an "exit plan"
and hoping to get bought out. If that sounds like you, you'll have a better chance of
selling if you're a company. Microsoft for example paid the creator of Minecraft $2
billion for the rights to the game (including the mobile app).
The Bad
Although creating a business identity has its advantages, there are a few things you
should think about first before legally committing yourself.
1. Money
In order to setup your business legally, you will have to pay some money up front,
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and depending on which state you file in, you may have additional costs and tax
obligations as well.
For instance, in the state of California, there is an annual $800 tax fee (in addition to
the normal taxes owed based on earnings) that all LLCs (limited liability companies)
must pay. Check your state laws to be sure.
The exact cost for setting up your own business depends on what kind of business
entity you create, as well as how you get it done. We'll later in this section give you a
summary of exactly how we got our business established and how very little we
actually ended up paying.
2. Time to Get Approved

When submitting your application to the big app stores as a business, it will take
longer than if you were to do it just as yourself as an individual. The reason is
because Apple and Google want to make sure your business name and everything
related to it is legitimate, and right so!
If you have the time, this isn't that big of a deal, but for those of you who want to get
an app in the app store by yesterday, it can be very frustrating to wait for the extra
approval time.
Additionally, all of the banking information and where to deposit your earnings all
have to be approved as well. We'll talk more about business banking at the end of
this section.
3. Managing Finances
Managing finances as a business is a lot more complicated than if you were simply
earning money on your own behalf. Everything from what you spend to what you
earn has to be tracked and kept in the books correctly for tax filing every single year.
Luckily, Apple does provide us with some kind of documentation and overall
earnings reports, but you may wish to invest in a bookkeeping program such as
Quickbooks, or in an actual bookkeeper or CPA (certified professional accountant) to
help you with your finances.
Lastly, you must keep your business expenses and your personal expenses
separate, especially if you're setting up a single-member LLC. If you don't, the
protection that you have as an LLC can be compromised, and if you get audited you
can get into a bit of trouble. For many people, it can be difficult to keep track of all of
the financial aspects of running an actual business and keeping things separate as
they should.
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Types of Businesses and Why They Matter

Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Corporation, S Corporation - these
are just a few of the types of businesses that you can choose from. You'll have to
decide which the best is for you and your situation, but we'll give you a quick
rundown of most of your choices.
Of course, as we said before, we are not lawyers and we advise that you seek
professional advice before making any important business decisions such as this.
1. Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is the simplest form of business, and is owned by a single
individual. This is the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to create a business entity.
There is no paperwork that needs to be filed with the state, and the only real
expenses you have are from filing a DBA (Doing Business As) with a local or state
office, and any other state fees that may apply.
Additionally, there is no separate income tax filing needed for the company. All
income and losses are reported on the business owner's personal tax return.
The downside to having a sole proprietorship is that the owner is personally
responsible for all of the debts of the company. Basically, the asset protection
benefit that we talked about in the last section is totally non-existent.
2. Partnership
A partnership is another business form that is fairly easy to establish. The main
difference from a sole proprietorship is that there are 2 or more owners of the
business.
Again, no paperwork has to be filed with the state, but there is a bit more work that
needs to be done in regards to the agreements between the multiple owners of the
business. For example, partner agreements have to be clearly written to define the
rights and responsibilities of each partner, including the amount that each partner will
contribute, what will happen if more money is needed, the distribution of profits and
losses, who is in charge of what, and what happens if a business partner leaves the
company or dies.
There's obviously a lot to think about, so if you're planning on doing a partnership, be
sure both you and your partner(s) take the proper time to talk things all the way
through. A little extra time now will save you a LOT of hassle later.
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It's relatively easy to start a partnership, compared other business entities which we'll
talk about later, and taxes are dealt with in the same manner as a sole proprietorship
- the profits and losses get passed through to the individual business owners.
The downside of a partnership is that all partners are personally liable for the
debts of the business, and all partners are responsible for the business-related
actions of all other partners. Hence why agreements are so important beforehand.
3. Corporation
This business structure offers the most protection, however it is generally overkill for
someone just starting out.
The good thing about a corporation is that the business is treated like a separate
legal entity (almost like a whole new person), that is owned by shareholders. The
shareholders are protected from debts and liabilities of the company, so that means
if the company gets sued, only the company as a separate entity has to pay for the
debts.
There are various types of corporations, such as a "C" corp., an "S" corp., a
professional corporation, and a non-profit. Although we won't cover the details of
each and every type here, we will tell you some of what turned us off from becoming
a corporation.
First of all, there is a lot more paper work involved. A lot. More.
Secondly, depending on which type of corporation you choose, you could be taxed
by what's called "double taxation", meaning the profits of the company get taxed at
the corporate level (i.e. corporate tax), and then again at the individual tax return
level (i.e. personal income tax).
Many people, however, are ok with these things and find that starting a corporation is
the best way to go, not only because of the protection that it grants its owner, but
also because it's much easier to get funding and strike deals with other companies.
4. Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC is like the best of all of the above business structures (at least we feel so).
Although it's not a corporation, it still provides that corporate-like protection that most
professional business owners are looking for (asset protection).
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Additionally, an LLC can choose how they want to be taxed: as a sole proprietor, a
partnership (if applicable), a "C" corp, or an "S" corp, and profits and losses are
simply reported on the owners' individual tax returns.
There is also far less paperwork involved, and setting up an LLC is relatively easy. In
the next section, we'll go over exactly how easy it was to created our Limited Liability
Company, and how you can do it too.
Before that, we should mention that depending on which state you file in, you may be
required to pay a franchise tax, which is basically an annual fee just for having the
LLC. Also, it can be fairly difficult to manage to keep your business and personal
finances separate, which MUST be done in order to properly run your LLC.
Again, we chose to go with an LLC, but your particular business structure is up to
you. As always, you should first consult with your professional Lawyer or CPA for
advice on how you should proceed in your particular situation.
How to Setup Your Own Business Entity

You could hire a lawyer to help setup your business entity, however thanks to
services like LegalZoom.com, starting your business is really simple. Here is the
basic outline of what you have to do:
1. Before anything, you need to determine what the address of your company
will be. You COULD use your home address, however it is not recommended,
because again you should do all you can to separate your business from your
personal activities.
What you need to do is purchase a mailbox, however it cannot be at the post
office. The state will not accept applications that have a P.O. box as the
address.
So what can you do?
What we did was simply use a mailbox address from a local UPS store. It cost
us about $150 for 6 months for the smallest size (you don't need anything
larger), although you can get an even better deal by signing on for a longer
period of time. The trick is, you can use your mailbox number as a suite
number, so it looks like a real business address.
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For example, if you picked up mailbox #123 at the UPS store located at 456
Main Street, your business address might look like this:
456 Main Street, Suite #123
We used our UPS store mailbox address for signing up for our LLC and in the
app store as well.
2. Go to LegalZoom.com, and choose the business structure that you want to
create. For the purposes of this section, we'll specifically discuss starting an
LLC, since that is the most common type of business structure formed and the
one we're most familiar with. LegalZoom does a great job of walking you step
by step through exactly what you need to do, no matter what type of business
you choose.
3. Click on "Get Started", and begin to answer the questionnaire.
4. You'll first be prompted to register for an account, which you can do by
following the instructions on the screen. You'll be asked to confirm the email
before proceeding, so be sure to use a real email address, and double check
your entry.
5. Finish the questionnaire. If you're having trouble with some of the questions,
Legalzoom provides you with some nice examples of what other people are
answering for those particular questions.
Furthermore, you'll be asked about whether or not you'd like LegalZoom to
take care of an EIN (employer identification number) for you. Definitely say
yes, because you will be required to have an EIN in order to setup a business
banking account and get paid by Apple or Google. There will be a small fee,
but since you'll have to do this anyways, so you might as well let Legalzoom
handle it for you (your time is money remember).
Also, you'll be asked if you want Legalzoom to act as a "registered agent". A
registered agent is a business or individual that is designated to receive
certain paperwork, especially those regarding any legal actions taken against
your company, such as a summons. You are required to have a registered
agent, so it's really easy just to have Legalzoom become the agent for your
business. Again, there's a small fee involved, but time and hassle saved!
6. Lastly, you'll be asked what kind of package you want: Economy, Standard, or
Express Gold.
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They each have different price ranges (Economy being the cheapest, of
course), and come with different features. All you really need is the Economy
package, which gives you all the essentials needed in order to properly form
your business.
Do note that if you choose the economy package, processing your business
with the state can take up to 35 days, which is definitely a long time, so be
sure to plan ahead if you're interested in setting up a launch date of any kind
for your app. This is a perfect time to work on your idea!
Quick Tip: The Standard package has a shorter waiting period, but is more
expensive, as it does come with some extras to go along with the expedited
service. If you simply want the Economy package, but want it to be processed
sooner, you can call LegalZoom, give them your confirmation number that is
given after you setup your business, and tell them you want to get your
business application expedited. There is an extra fee, but it's cheaper than
going with the Standard package.
After you submit your application to LegalZoom, it's basically just a waiting
game. Until you have your Employer Identification Number (EIN) which is kind
of like a social security number for your business, Operations Agreement and
Articles of Organization you can't get a business banking account or a DBA,
which we'll talk about in the next section.
In the meantime, however, it might as well begin developing your application if
you have not yet done so already.
Your Business Bank Account

It's important for your business to have it's own bank account. At a minimum,
you need a checking account that is separate from your personal accounts, uses a
separate card, and is registered under your business's name.
You need a checking account in order to get paid. You can (i.e. should) also use it to
pay for all business related items, so you can write them off as tax deductions when
the time comes.
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In order to get a business banking account, as we mentioned above, you're going to

need to wait to get your business application approved by the state, and all of the
forms to come in from LegalZoom.
When all of that is ready, take your Employer Identification Number, The Operations
Agreement, and The Articles of Organization. To be safe, just bring everything that
LegalZoom sends you to the bank of your choice.
When you get to the bank, don't stand in line at the teller. Go to the side and speak
to someone who is usually sitting at one of those desks. You may need to sign up
on a list first or call ahead in order to speak to someone. When asked what you need
help with, say that you'd like to open a business checking account, and then you
should be good to go.
Make sure you also have a form of photo identification on you, preferably a driver's
license, as well as $100 to deposit into your account, which is required by some
banks in order to open an account. We definitely recommend checking with your
bank of choice before you go in, so you'll know exactly what else you need.
The process usually takes about an hour, sometimes less, and the most important
thing to take away from the bank are a checking account number, as well as a
routing number for that specific bank. You should also receive a debit card either
right away, or more often later through the mail.
DBA ("Doing Business As")

After you create your legal business entity, you can also get a DBA so you can also
legally do business under a different name.
So for example, you may have created your company as John Smith Enterprises, but
you can setup a DBA specifically for the app store called John Smith Mobile
Applications. This is fairly common, and can easily be done via LegalZoom for an
extremely reasonable price.
The entire process should take an additional 2 weeks maximum.
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Entering the App Store Without a Business

Besides entering the app store as a business, you have the option of entering under
your own name without a business structure. Doing so requires much less
paperwork, takes much less time to get approved, and is obviously a bit cheaper.
That being said, there are a few drawbacks to entering the app store under your own
name that we'd like to mention:
As we mentioned before, your name will show up attached to your
applications in the app store. Some people may not want their real names to
be associated with their applications, and others want the professionalism of
having a company name behind their app.
Because you don't have a corporation or LLC to protect you, you are
personally liable for any damages that your app may cause you. Personally,
we haven't heard of any apps causing any real issues for people, but people
are suing people for anything these days, so you put yourself at risk when you
go in the app store as yourself.
Lastly, you don't have the ability to write tax deductions and write-offs that
normally a business entity could take advantage of, which could potentially
save you a lot of money (and its always cool to buy new gadgets as a tax
write-off).
The decision is ultimately yours, and if you can, seek advice from professionals to
find out what's best for you.
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Chapter 5: What You Need to Get Started

There are a couple things that you definitely must have before you get started
developing mobile applications. These are listed below:
Hardware (iOS Apps):

1. Some kind of Apple Computer You will need this to install the iPhone
Software Development Kit (SDK) in order for you to run your applications that
your developers will be sending to you. We started with a pair of used13 inch
Macbooks which worked great for everything we need to do. It is possible to
run the Mac operating system on a PC using virtual machine software, but
that is needlessly complicated. If you dont already have a Mac, just think of it
as an investment into your new venture, and remember that you will also be
able to write it off as a business expense at the end of the year.
2. Any recent iOS device youll be creating apps for It is essential to have an
iPhone, iPod touch, and/or iPad in order to test your applications. The iPhone
SDK does come with an iPhone simulator that you can run on your Mac, but
that is not good enough. You will also need to test your application on a
device because the simulator does not always work the same as a real
device.
*Tip* Dont forget this device and a portion of your phone bill may also be a
tax write off to any income youll make off of your iPhone applications.
Software (iOS Apps):

Youll need the iPhone Developer Program / SDK You will need to be signed up
under the Apple iPhone Developer Program and have downloaded the iPhone SDK.
This will allow you to develop, run and install applications to your Apple devices.
Start the enrollment process here:
http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/start/enroll/
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Hardware (Android Apps):

1. Any reasonably modern computer or laptop Since the Android platform is
open-source, you can pretty much use any computer you want to develop
apps for it. This includes Windows PCs, Apple Macs, and even Linux.
2. Any reasonably modern Android device It is essential to have an Android
device in order to test your applications. Even though there is a simulator
available, it just wont give you the same feedback as actually being able to
play around with your app. The safe bet is to go for one of the popular devices
such as the latest Samsung Galaxy or the Google Nexus phone (the best
ones are also made by Samsung).
Software (Android Apps):

Just like with Apple, you need to download the Android SDK in order to build Android
apps. You can find the software you need right here:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/
A Word about Tablets

You should seriously consider getting an iOS and Android tablet along with the rest
of your hardware bundle. While we focus on developing smartphone applications in
this book, you should not ignore the tablet market.
For one thing the market is much bigger than it used to be, and the competition is
much lower compared to smartphones. Even if you dont intend to make a dedicated
tablet app, you should still check out how your app is going to look and work on
these devices. Any download is a good download right?
If you can only choose one type pick the smartphone, but preferably with a larger
screen. Screens in the 6 to 8 inch range are getting very popular, and will at least
give you a reasonable idea of how your device will work on larger and smaller
screens (its still better to get separate devices though if you can afford them).
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How to Enter Apples iOS Developer Program

Apple does a great job at walking you through the enrollment process and making it
as painless as possible. Just read everything thoroughly and follow the instructions.
The process will involve entering your information (you will need to create an Apple
ID if you dont have one already) and then verifying your email address.
After you verify your email address you will be prompted to choose which Developer
Program you are registering for.
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You will to different types of Developer accounts available both of which will cost
you $99 per year to keep active.
*Tip* Dont forget this is another expense that you can write-off
There are a couple differences between the Individual and Company programs. We
suggest that you initially sign up as a Standard Individual and then just upgrade for
free to the Standard Company later if you want (or are waiting for your business
registration paperwork to get through).
Below we list the differences between the two:
Individual Program
Much faster to get approved. 1 day instead of possibly several weeks for the
Company program
Your name (e.g. John Doe) will appear as the seller
You will still get to choose your company name (e.g. Hipposoft)
You can upgrade to a company and change your seller name later
You only need a personal credit card to sign up (and perhaps some additional
ID if requested)
Company Program
You can have more members in your development team (this wont be
needed if you are outsourcing your applications).
Your company name will appear as the seller name. This is a small issue, but
can make your application look more professional.
As a business it is better to be doing business as your official business name
It takes longer to setup because Apple will need more time to verify your
business information.
You need a valid D-U-N-S number to identify yourself as a legal business
entity. This is a unique 9 digit number available for free in most jurisdictions.
You can get this number by visiting the D&B website and following their
instructions (note: it takes 2 weeks to register for this number).
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We first registered our company Free the Apps! as an Individual program and then
later upgraded it to a Company (which we recommend if youre just starting out). We
had to use our personal names, but later we became Thinking Drone, LLC. As you
can see, that is the only big difference between Free the Apps! and Hipposoft
which has yet to be switched over to a Company.
If you do decide to sign up as a Company, Apple will put your registration on hold
and require that you send in some of your business documents to verify your
business name and address so they can confirm your business belongs to you.
Apple will send you an email with a list of required documents and ID numbers, such
as a valid D-U-N-S number (which you can get from the D&B website). This list may
change overtime as they dont accept Fictitious Business Name statements or Doing
Business As (DBAs) anymore.
This is the step that can sometimes take weeks to get your registration approved. To
speed things up we suggest that you fax in your document and then call the next day
to check up on your registration.
The list of phone numbers is here: http://developer.apple.com/contact/phone.html
You should also call one of the numbers on that list when you are ready to upgrade
from an individual account to a company account.
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Registration Completed
Once your registration is completed and you have paid for your Developer Program,
you will be able to login to the iPhone Development Portal and download the latest
iOS Software Development Kit (SDK).
The iOS Development Portal has many resources to help you get started that you
should go through when you have the time. The most important thing right now is to
find the Downloads section and download the correct iOS SDK that corresponds to
your MAC OS version.
Installing this on your MAC will also install xCode which will allow you to run iPhone
applications on your MAC and allow you to test and play with your applications that
are sent to you by your developers.
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Itunes Connect - itunesconnect.apple.com/
iTunes Connect is your developer portal that you will use to submit and maintain
your applications. You will also need to update some business and financial
contracts in here before you start selling your applications.
Login to iTunes connect itunesconnect.apple.com/ and click on the Contracts, Tax,
& Banking Information link. There is a Paid Applications type contract on this screen
that will require you to fill out the financial contact info, bank info, and tax info. Make
sure to fill this information out correctly because this is how Apple will be paying you
for all of your applications sold.
If you end up making a mistake on the bank or tax info you might have to contact
Apple to make the changes. Once all of your information is filled in and Apple
reviews it, your contracts should be in effect and should look like the below image.
This might take up to a week or more depending on Apple.
You should now have everything setup and ready to go with all the logistics. There
are still a couple of programming certificates to setup before you can actually start
building and submitting applications but we will go over all of that in the upcoming
chapters as we walk you through your first mobile application.
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How to Enter Androids Developer Program

As an open-source project, there are many guides and tools available to help you
begin developing Android apps just go visit developer.android.com to get started.
Since your intention is to actually publish Android apps, there are a few steps you
need to go through in order to be able to do this:
1. You need to register a Google Play publisher account
2. You need to register a Google Checkout Merchant Account to sell apps
3. You need to install the Android SDK to build, manage, and test your apps
Other than this you should take some time to explore the Android Developer
Console to learn about the tools you need to start publishing. Google provides very
straightforward instructions for doing this.
How to Register a Publishers Account

The steps for registering into this program are very simple and if you already have
your own Google account you can skip some steps:
1. Go visit - https://play.google.com/apps/publish/
2. Enter the requested information, this will form the profile for your developer
identity which you can change later if you need to
3. Read and accept the Developer Distribution Agreement applicable for your
country or region.
4. Pay the $25 registration fee using Google Checkout (see the next step). This
is a one-time fee meant to discourage spammy apps, so there are no other
costs associated with developing Android apps.
*Tip* if you want to register a business you should do so with a new Google account
rather than using your personal one.
You need to also register for a Google Merchant account to pay the registration fee,
and you might as well do this anyway as it required in order to sell anything through
the Google Play store (including in-app products and subscriptions).
1. Sign into your Google Play Android Developer
https://play.google.com/apps/publish/
2. Click on the Edit profile link
3. Select Setup a Merchant Account at Google Checkout
Console
through
This will take you through all the steps to sign up as a merchant. Be sure to have
your business information available if you want to register as such.
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Registration Completed
Now that you are registered as a merchant on Google and a developer for Android,
you now need to install the latest Android SDK to start working with your apps. Just
go to the Android Developers website, click on Develop, and then Tools to find
the right page (or Google search it if youre lazy).
The website should automatically detect your operating system, so all you pretty
much need to do is click the big button. The SDK you want is referred to as an ADT
Bundle (Android Developer Tools) and gives you everything you need in one ZIP file.
You should get:
The Eclipse + ADT Plugin

Android SDK Tools
Android Platform Tools
The latest Android Platform
The latest Android System Image for the emulator
If for some reason you are using a different computer, or the website doesnt detect
your operating system correctly you should find a like on the bottom of the page
labeled Download for Other Platforms. Click on this and youll find the correct
download for your computer. Just remember to get the ADT bundle (which gives you
the SDK tools) and not just the SDK tools.
Now follow the instructions on the website and install everything. There are a lot of
resources here to help you explore and learn a lot of things about these tools, and
you definitely should go through them when you have the time.
Google Play - market.android.com

Your Google Play account should show a Developer option, which will be the portal
you use to publish and manage your applications. Youve already done everything
you pretty much need to do in order to start selling apps and getting paid for it.
There are still a couple of things you need to do in order to actually publish your app,
but we will go over these in the upcoming chapters when we walk you through your
first mobile application.
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Chapter 6 Designing for Tablets

If you are considering making apps for tablets (and you should) there are a few
differences you need to take into account. The first thing that you will of course
notice is that tablets screens are much bigger than those of your typical smartphone.
While the hardware and operating systems are essentially the same, and the actual
screen resolution may not be that much different from the high resolution displays
you find on smartphones the way tablets are used is different.
By virtue of its size big enough to be a perfect media consumption device, but
small enough to carry with you everywhere it would be foolish to assume your
smartphone app will work just as well on a tablet. This is partially because you have
so much more room to maneuver, but also because people use their tablets and
smartphones for very different purposes.
Sure, tablets will run most mobile apps at either the native resolution or by scaling up
to fit the screen. Given the choice however, it is much more useful to consider these
as separate devices with very different requirements, and a very different user
experience. You should treat remember that some people will want to use your app
on their tablets even if you only publish one app for the smartphone.
When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPad, he very specifically said that it was meant
to be device somewhere in the middle of the smartphone and desktop experience.
This sage statement has turned out to be exactly right so it is important to
understand that what works well on your phone, will not automatically work well on
the larger tablet screen.
Some Things to Consider with Tablet Apps

It is not hard to imagine how terrible a smartphone app would look, when it is blown
up to more than double the size on a tablet screen. Graphics look fuzzy, the buttons
and navigation are way too big, and all-in-all apps just look unprofessional and out of
place when put into a bigger tablet screen. Youve probably been turned off by apps
like this before, especially in the early days of the tablet.
If your app was only ever meant to be for smartphones, then great, you have nothing
to worry about but if you want to take advantage of the tablet market and be part of
the tablet revolution. It is well worth the extra effort to create a new app experience
specifically geared for tablet users or even to create a separate tablet specific app
(if you have the resources for it).
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There are some more things to consider however, when attempting to create (or
recreate) this experience.
Size most certainly does matter
Tablets are made for Content Consumption

Among other things different about tablets, you now have a touch device designed to
be your window to the world. The extra screen size dramatically changes how people
will want to interact with your app, as there is a lot more information or graphics that
you can comfortably fit on the screen.
While smartphone apps essentially had to always be screen-to-screen, with tablets
you now have the option of having additional content, features, and navigation all on
the same screen.
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Therefore when designing apps for the tablet, it is very important to keep in mind
how people will interact with it. This is not too terribly difficult to achieve nowadays,
but it is something you definitely need to mention to your developer.
If Your App is all about the Content Make it for the Tablet!
The iPad is probably the best device ever created for viewing content, which is why
the market went crazy over tablets and pushing out tablet-based apps. If your app
idea has anything to do with showing content in any form, then you should seriously
consider making your app first for the tablet.
More than ever people want something interesting to read, look at, and interact with
on a smartphone you can get away with a simple trick or funny joke, and be
successful that way. With tablets however a more comprehensive experience is
needed. For example its easy for us to upgrade our Drug Pronunciation app to the
iPad, because we have the content already built in to keep things interesting.
There is also generally less competition with tablet apps than there are smartphone
apps and tablet users (as of this writing) are starved for quality apps that make the
most of the tablet experience.
Same OS, Different Needs

iOS and Android devices use the same operating system, and are therefore
technically compatible with each other. This means that the core of your app
programming can essentially stay the same.
While there is a little extra programming involved, the main thing you really have to
worry about is rearranging the layout and making sure you have the needed graphics
available. Generally if you already have a smartphone app ready, then you are
already about 80% to 99% done to create a proper tablet app.
The thing to decide right now is what kind of project you want to create? You can
follow the guidelines established throughout this book, though we focus on
developing smartphone apps. Then depending on your project type, just make sure
to have the extra graphics required to make a good looking tablet app.
There are two scenarios for making your own tablet app which we will cover here
unless of course you want to stick with smartphones only:
You want to create an app available for both smartphones and tablets
You want to create a separate or exclusive tablet-based app
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Note: It is really important to have your own tablet for developing and testing
your app. Simulators will just not give the experience justice, and by using
tablets yourself you will quickly figure out how the best interfaces work.
Universal vs. Device-Specific Apps

The first decision you need to make is whether you want a Universal app or a
Device-Specific app. The differences between the two are subtle but important.
A Universal app is one app the works on both smartphones AND tablets
A Device-Specific app is an apps specially designed to work on smartphones
OR tablets. This means you need TWO apps to have them available for both
smartphones and tablets.
In most cases (since its cheaper) you will want to create a universal app, so be sure
to specify this when hiring a developer. Otherwise you are likely to get an app that
looks great on the small screen, but scales poorly to the bigger screen (we went
through this hassle ourselves when the iPad was first launched).
Usually the reason to create a Device-Specific app is when one provides a radically
different user experience or level of functionality than the other. Sometimes people
also create tablet or smartphone exclusive apps, because the idea is best served on
only one of these devices.
The choice is really yours, though in most cases though it is better (and cheaper) to
simply make a universal app. Two birds with one stone as they say.
Just be sure to plan for tablets when creating the specifications for your app this is
important for both your designer and your developer. When we start talking about
graphics in the next chapter, we have included the specifications you need to
produce graphics for tablets.
Recommendations for Designing Tablet Apps
Ask your developer to provide custom layouts as needed for large (7) and
extra-large screens (10). For example you can specify that layouts should
load based on the screen's shortest dimension or the minimum available width
and height.
At a minimum, make sure to customize page dimensions such as font sizes,
margins, and spacing for larger screens. This improves the use of space and
content legibility on larger screens.
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Make sure to account for the positioning of UI controls so that they are easily
accessible to users when holding a tablet.
Make sure that enough space is included around text elements, so they dont
get all bunched up at the edge of you screen.
ASOLUTELY make sure that your app layout does not appear "stretched"
across the screen. This is an example of poor scaling and looks really
unprofessional.
Lines of text should not be excessively long you generally want a maximum
of 100 characters per line, with best results between 50 and 75.
List views and menus should not use the full screen width.
Use padding to manage the widths of onscreen elements or switch to a multipane UI for tablets (see next section).
The images below are examples provided by Google regarding optimal layouts for
smartphones versus tablets.
See the difference? Your developer can make sure that you apps adjust themselves
properly based on what device is being used to view your app content.
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Chapter 7: Graphics For Your Mobile App

Any app you create will need graphics, and the better quality they are the better. This
should hopefully be obvious already, as were willing to bet that you yourself have
judged an app before on the quality of its icons and screenshots.
Both Apple and Google are quite strict about including at least a minimum set of
graphics before allowing you to publish anything anyway. So its well worth investing
in a high quality designer who will make you look good.
This chapter is dedicated to the specifications of each graphic needed to produce an
app. In a later chapter we will talk about hiring your own graphic artist to produce
these high quality graphics.
A professional graphic designer may or may not already know the required sizes of
each graphic so it is important to include the precise sizes (measured in pixels)
needed for each graphic asset.
General Advice
Invest in high quality graphics. People will judge the merit of your app with no
more than your app icon, and then by the quality of your screenshots. It could
be the difference between 1000 downloads and 1,000,000.
Make sure to use the standard app icons for common tasks i.e. things like
search, download and refresh. People already know what these icons are
meant to do, so there is no need to go to additional effort.
o If you have custom actions that are not part of the default icon set, try
finding (or asking your designer) for the most commonly used icon for
that purpose. Again, you want to keep things as simple as possible.
Higher quality images are always better than low quality (duh). What we mean
by that is if you have a high-res icon that is twice the pixels size that is needed
it will look much better scaled down that going the other way round.
Dont use images that replicate copyrighted works Apple for example is
especially strict on apps that incorporate their products without permission.
Use vector shapes, repeating textures, solid colors, and gradients as much as
possible. These can scale to any size you want without any problems, plus
they make your app smaller.
Try and include as many (if not all) the graphics asked for by Apple or Google.
There is a minimum number required for submission, but if you include all the
possible graphics, you can be sure your app looks great no matter where how
people find it.
ALWAYS provide the maximum possible image resolution possible even if
you dont intend your app to be used on larger screens (like on a tablet). Like
we said above, better an image too large than too small.
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Graphics for Apple iOS Apps

Since Apple tends to push out new hardware every year, there is little point listing
each and every graphic asset needed for your app. There are several types of
graphics you need for your app, though not all are required.
Here are the latest Icon and Image Size guidelines from Apple:
Tip: If you cannot (or dont want to) launch your browser from this book fire up your
favorite browser and search for the following term:
iOS human user interface guidelines icon and image design
The top result should always be the exact page you need, direct from Apple.
It is also a good idea to browse further into the graphical guidelines provided by
Apple. If nothing else, this will give you a good idea of what to expect, what to ask
from your designer (and why), and perhaps inspire some ideas that utilize the special
features Apple tries so hard to offer.
The following pages do get a bit technical, but you dont really need to know the
specifics but you do need to make sure that your developer and designer DO know
these specifics. If theyre any kind of professional worth their salt, this should not be
a problem at all.
Read more about what Apple has to say about:
App Icons
Launch Images
Bar Button Icons
Newsstand Icons
Web Clip Icons (especially useful for linking your website!)
Graphics for Android Apps

There is an astounding array of Android devices out there, but thankfully Google
does a great job of specifying and explaining exact what is needed.
Here you can find the latest graphic asset guidelines from Google. Here is also some
additional information about how to best make use of Iconography in Android apps.
If you cannot (or do not want to) launch these links, search Google for android
developer graphic assets and you should find the pages in the top 2 results.
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Chapter 8: Your First Application

Now it's almost time to get started on your first app! Before we get started, we will
need to focus on planning. In this chapter, we will be going over the entire design
process with you to help get you on the right track.
We will be getting your ideas and thoughts onto paper, and then translating them into
solutions. The planning process doesn't just end with the design. There is an entire
marketing aspect too. You don't want your great idea to flop because you priced it
too high or you didn't know how to get visibility. We will take you through, step by
step, using our live application that is in the Apple App Store as an example.
K.I.S.S.
Ever heard of K.I.S.S.? "Keep It Simple, Stupid". This principle applies perfectly to
creating applications. Why? There are a lot of reasons, but the most important ones
are cost, time, and risk. You don't want to be working on a project that is too
complicated. This will not only be expensive and take a long time to develop, but you
run the risk of losing everything you've invested into it.
Your first application should ideally be simple because it will be cheap, fast, and you
will have gained from that invaluable experience.
Keeping it simple means cheaper apps and more often than not a better overall
app that people prefer using (if you remember our success stories above, these were
mostly really simple ideas). Keeping things simple and focused also allows you to
create more applications and therefore generating more income.
By having invested less money into developing this one application, you now have
less financial risk. Just because the app is simple, doesn't mean it won't be a hit.
There are tons of simple apps out there that are huge hits (we barely scratched the
surface in our success stories section).
The length of time for development is another key factor. You don't want your
application taking so long to develop that by the time you're finished, there will be
five more on the market just like it. There is still a lot to be done after completing your
application. Marketing is also a big part of making your application successful. You
don't want to waste most of your time waiting for development.
Low risk and high reward is one of the biggest perks of the mobile apps business. By
keeping things simple, you keep your risk low, but still have the chance to churn out
that one "jackpot" app. You only need one hit to make it big! Even if your app isn't a
hit, you would have still gained experience that you can apply to future projects.
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Identify Your Audience

Here's an important question:
Who do you want to buy your app?
If you said everyone, then we've got a problem.
Have you ever heard of the saying: "There's Rich in the Niche"? Well, it's true. The
more you try and hone down who your target audience is, and forget trying to sell to
everyone, the more successful you and your application will be.
Try to sell to everyone, and your approach will be too general, and your results will
be mediocre at best. If youre thinking oh but Uber targets everyone and theyre
doing great this is simply not true. Uber targets a) people with cars who want to
make money and b) people who often travel by taxi AND are fed up of their regular
taxi service. Much more specific right?
So the real question is who is your target audience? What do they need that you
can provide?
The answer, obviously, depends on what kind of application you want to create, but
spending time to answer these questions will help you to determine exactly what you
want included in your application, as well as how to sell and market it.
This is why our app Drug Pronunciations has done fairly well for us. It caters to a
very specific type of person (people in the medical field), who are looking for a very
specific type of information (help with pronunciations, which happens to be a very
important thing for people in the medical field to know).
That is exactly who this app is for. It's not for little 14 year old Jimmy who likes to
play games, or Claire, the mom from Indiana who loves to shop. It's for people in the
medical field, namely those who are studying medicine.
Choose Your Category Wisely

When you submit your application to any of the stores for approval, you have to
choose a primary category, and a secondary category for which the app will be
places within the store.
The secondary or sub category is much more important nowadays. When we
started, we've never really saw any major changes in sales or downloads based on
which secondary category we selected but this is no longer the case.
While the primary category is very important, the secondary category helps make it
easier for you to market you app for a very simple reason.
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The category that you place your app will have an effect on how many sales and
how many downloads it gets. It will also determine how easy it will be for you to rank
in the top lists, as well as how long your app will stay on the first "new releases" page
when it first comes out.
While you ideally want to rank at the top of your primary category (and of course the
dream is to get the #1 app in the entire app store) it is much easier to get highly
ranked in a specific sub-category, than it is to get highly ranked on the general
main categories.
The reason for this is because there is less competition in each sub category,
because you only compete with people in that sub-category. While if you tried to
compete in only the general categories youre competing with everyone in that
general category. This is much harder than it needs to be.
Want to know an easier way? Focus on getting a top ranking in a less competitive
sub-category (note: not all sub-categories are created equal). While some subcategories are very crowded, it is still possible to find an under-served sub category
desperately in need of a quality app.
Even if you opt for a more crowded sub-category (after all you should always choose
the category most suitable for your app idea) there is a very important reason why
you want to get that top-ranking
Once you rank highly in your chosen sub category Apple and Google will start
promoting your app for you. You heard that right.
Ever notice how some apps pop up immediately while you browse your favorite app
store? Every single app shown there has ranked highly in their sub category which
tells Apple / Google that this is a great app which they will then want to promote
because their whole purpose is to serve you with great quality apps!
It is much easier to rank in a main category once you get to the top of a subcategory. One you get the top ranking in a main category the sky is the limit!
Put Your Ideas to Paper

Perhaps you've long been dreaming about one great app idea. Maybe you have
dozens of ideas bouncing around in the brain of yours. Youve seen them and
imagined them in hundreds of different scenarios, and its absolutely perfect!
Do you know what the problem with that scenario is? Its stuck in your head, and it
will stay there unless you actually make the decision to put it down on paper.
Otherwise how can your developer build it for you? How can your designer make the
graphics? And how can you put an app in the app store if its stuck in your head?
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Now comes the time when you must learn how to create a detailed description of
your idea, and also how to convey what you want to others. By implementing the
tools within this section, you will soon be a pro at communicating exactly what you
are envisioning in your head.
Tools for Putting Your Ideas on Paper

Even if you already have an idea for a mobile application brainstorming and idea
mapping are very important. As much as you might know about your app in your
head, you're going to need to write it down and flesh it out on paper so you can see
exactly how it's going to work.
This helps you translate your ideas properly for the developers who will be making
the app for you. Additionally, you'll be able to see exactly what parts are missing, or
what needs to be changed around before handing it off to the developer.
Seriously this is one of the most important parts of the process, so don't get too far
ahead of yourself and make sure to at least do a wireframe, which we'll talk about
later in this section.
We will also tell you about certain tools we used that can help you take the app that's
in your head, and put it onto paper.
There are many great tools out there too many in fact but well tell you about the
ones we know about. Dont feel limited by the tools we suggest, you absolutely
should explore other tools to find something that works exactly the way you prefer.
Youll be a lot more productive using tools that you actually enjoy using.
A Quick Word on Collaboration

Since youll be working with a team of people to build your app, its a good idea to
figure out how youre going to collaborate with other people.
Email, Skype, and messaging may be perfectly fine for the most part but you also
need to figure out how to quickly share documents and other files, and make sure
theyre always updated. It quickly gets messy when there are dozens of files and
hundreds of emails to sort through every time you want to find something.
For example, because we had multiple partners as well as more than one designer
and developer working for us we decided to use Google Docs to sync and share all
out documents with each other. We use the built-in word processor for sharing and
fine-tuning things like the app descriptions and keeping track of ideas, while we
utilize the spreadsheets to take care of data such as downloads, financing, etc.
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Plus its free, and thats always nice.
Conceptualize Your Idea with a Mind Map

A mind map is like a bubble diagram of your thoughts, and a roadmap for how
everything is connected together. Its a great way to map out your idea, and quickly
see how your entire app will work and flow together.
You can sign up for a free account with MindMeister to get started, or opt for the
open source FreeMind and download the software to your computer. In either case,
youll soon be able to categorize and put thoughts into a perfect hierarchy.
This will help you figure out what your app is all about, and what parts and sections
are involved. For example, check out the quick watered-down mind map below of our
drug Pronunciations application:
As you can see you dont have to make things too complicated at this juncture.
Also dont be afraid of starting from scratch and trying a different approach. The best
thing about mind-mapping on a computer is that you can just save a new document,
start with a fresh slate, and still go back to your original idea if you want to.
Spec Writing
Writing specifications is about describing EXACTLY how your app to work, and what
it will do. This is a very important step, as this document (when ready) will eventually
go to your developer so they can build it for you.
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In the beginning however, it's not only beneficial for you as the creator of the
application to fine tune exactly how you want the app to work, where you want each
button to go, where each graphic to will be placed etc. but it's so your developer
can figure out exactly what to do.
The more detail you can put into your specs, the less chance of any confusion
between you and the developer. Youll only waste time and money, and gain a lot of
frustration if your instructions are unclear.
Your job is to try and make it as easy as possible for your developer to figure out
what you want, and there's no better way to do this than to write a set of detailed
specs. So make sure you spend the appropriate time at this stage.
So how do you write specs? Keep reading and well show you how.
How to Write a Spec for Your App

There are several ways to write specs but it basically comes down to written forms
and visual representations (like diagrams or flowcharts).
Sure you could write out and describe each and every little thing about your app and
be done with it. However this quickly gets tedious for both you and your developer. A
written component is essential, but we definitely recommend saving a thousand
words and use a picture (or several).
One way to visualize your app is using a bubble diagram, which is just like creating
the mind maps that we described above. Start in the middle with your loading page
and home screen and connect all the pages together as you intend to link them in
your app. All you need is pen and paper to get started (but try out MindMeister or
FreeMind to put your sketches to computer).
The advantage of this method is that it is very fast, and very easy to fix so its
perfect for the conceptual stage. Plus you can quickly identify any issues at this
stage, and then redo the bubble diagram until you are completely happy with how it
flows together.
One limitation however, is that it can be difficult to visually see exactly what you want
going on, and what pages or screens you want to see pop up, and from where. Its a
good start, but your developer may bombard you with questions about how you want
things to look and work.
Wireframing
An easier way is to create a wireframe, or a series of "storyboard" drawings to
describe and map out exactly what you want to see and what happens on each
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screen. To get started, simply take a sheet of paper, draw a rectangle that
represents the screen of your mobile device, and draw out what you want to see.
Beside the rectangle, describe what the screen is, and where it's going to lead. If
there are buttons, draw arrows to another rectangle that represents the screen that
will show up when a user clicks on that particular button, and so on and so forth.
There are also plenty of wireframing tools out there that specialize in mobile apps.
Not only does help make all the functionality very clear, a good service will save you
time be letting you drag and drop all the elements you want and take the hassle
out of drawing obvious things (like the iOS or Android user interface).
Most mobile app wireframing websites will offer a free 30-day trial, though you will
eventually have to pay the monthly fee which runs around $10 to $40+ a month
depending on the service.
If you dont want to pay for a wireframing service or are just starting out, we suggest
trying Fluid which offers a free account for apps with less than 10 pages.
JustinMind also offers a forever free account, but theyll start you with a free pro
account for 30 days so you might end up losing part of your work once the trial
expires (the tool is good, but you may balk at the $19 per month).
If you take the time to do this, you're going to know the ins and outs of your app so
well, that you should have no trouble explaining any part of it to your developer if
they have any questions or concerns, and they will - so be ready for it.
Here is an example of what a wireframe can look like:
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As you can see, you dont worry about making anything fancy. Just stick to boxes
and simple shapes to get the idea across. Make notes, draw arrows do whatever
you need to make each function as clear as possible
Flowcharts
If you're not much of an artist, or have trouble with the intricacies of wireframing
there is an easier solution and that is a flowchart.
Flowcharts show clearly how an app should works, and what it should do when a
user takes an action e.g. click a button, follow a link, or select from the menu.
We recommend using a tool such as Gliffy for this purpose. Gliffy is a cool tool that
allows you to draw flow charts, which will again help you and the developer see
exactly what goes where. Here's a quick example:
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Make sure you spend enough time on this part whether you use a flowchart or a
wireframe along with your written descriptions. The clearer and more detailed your
specs, the easier and faster it will be to build your app.
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Chapter 9: How to Outsource Your Application

This section is all about how to find the developer who is going to build your
application. It's very important that you pay close attention to everything that we're
about to tell you here, because it's the bread and butter of our success.
Again, we outsource the development of all of our applications, so we let the experts
do the hard work for us. Unfortunately, there are many developers out there who
claim to be experts, but are not.
It's a very competitive market for mobile developers, so they're willing to bend the
truth and do what it takes to get your business. Follow our tips and give yourself the
best chance of finding that perfect developer for your iPhone application.
Where to Find Freelancers

We like to say that there are two basic ways to find an application developer:
Through online marketplaces for freelancers
Through Google Searches
Google search is great for many things, but youre more likely to find bigger
companies that spent a small fortune on SEO to get ranked on the first page. If you
type in "iOS app developer" or Android app developer into Google, you'll certainly
find a number of companies that are willing to design your app for you.
Although many of these companies are highly qualified, you'll find that they tend to
be more expensive than the developers you can grab off of Elance and Odesk,
especially if you are doing something highly customized and a little more
complicated. If youre willing to trawl through the next hundred pages to find the
cheaper poptions then by all means you can do so (hough we suggest an easier
way).
The biggest differentiator between finding someone from a web search as opposed
to Elance or Odesk is that you often cannot see a record of their job history with
ratings from previous clients. Both Elance and Odesk also offer numerous
protections for buyers, which by itself is an excellent reason to start there.
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Online Freelancer Marketplaces

We recommend going through an established freelancer marketplace such as
Elance or Odesk to find the people you need. These sites are basically like an Ebay
for software development, though many other types of services are offered as well.
There are other sites such as Guru or Freelancer, but they are smaller than Elance
and Odesk (who by the way are actually one company since 2013). This means the
best freelancers are to be found where there are more projects being posted.
There are also specialist sites out there for developers, designers, and all other
manner of specialties. We strongly recommend sticking with one marketplace where
you can get all the skills you need. Its much easier to keep track of everything on
one website than several especially when just starting out.
Why Freelancers are Awesome

There are hundreds out freelancers out there right now just waiting for you to
post a project on Elance or Odesk. All you have to do is post a description for the job
that you want to be completed, and then sit back and wait.
People who are interested in your job will post a bid, and then you get to choose the
person that you want to work with. It sounds simple (and relative to building and
coding the application yourself, it is), however there's a lot more to think about when
choosing your developer (or for that matter any freelancer).
Were going to walk you through the whole process, so youll see each step exactly
and how to avoid any potential pitfalls.
The Virtues of Elance and Odesk

Elance is our personal recommendation for finding your developer, primarily because
we've had a lot of success with it ourselves, and it's not very complicated to
understand. Theres nothing wrong with Odesk, we just prefer using the interface of
Elance.
Because theyre the most popular outsourcing websites out there, you'll have plenty
of developers to choose from all with different styles, price ranges and
personalities. We find handling business through Elance excellent because they
have a great record keeping system, both for messages and for keeping track of
finances.
You can also require the developers to submit screenshots every so often while they
work, so you know that works getting done, and you can sort of see the development
of your app in real time as it is happening. You both have to agree to use the Work
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View feature, which requires a little setup to get going. In most cases, however, they
do a great job and don't need to be hounded very often, if ever at all.
As far as payments are concerned, you can choose to have your project be bid on as
a fixed price, or an hourly rate. Usually, a fixed price is better because you'll
understand the total cost up front, and not have to worry about your developers
lagging just to get a few more dollars out of you.
You and the developer that you award the project to will negotiate a payment plan,
which usually consists of a certain percentage up front to begin working on the
project, another percentage sometime in the middle of the development (perhaps a
beta test after the first iteration is complete), and finally the rest at the end. Again,
those tasks and milestones can be set and reset by you and/or the developer.
Be sure to use the Escrow feature as much as possible, as this gives you at
least some sort of guarantee with fixed price projects as escrow funds only get
released once you are satisfied with the work. Once you have a group of
professionals you can trust and/or have more experience dealing with freelancers
you can switch to the hourly projects if you so choose.
You can connect a Credit Card to your profile (which will take time to be verified by
Elance), or you can use a Paypal account as well to make payments. The security
and notification features are quite good on Elance, so youll be informed well in
advance of any upcoming charges to your account.
Odesk runs basically the same way as Elance does, however the user interface the
and the way payments work is a bit different. Generally though the same advice
applies as written above.
You can also keep tabs on your developer with hourly screenshots, and this works a
little easier on Odesk than Elance. All you have to do is review your contractors
Work Diary to confirm they have worked every hour that you are paying them.
Jobs can be placed as a fixed price or an hourly rate, whatever you choose, and
payments are made through credit cards or your PayPal account.
Start Your Freelancer Project

We'll go through the details about how to write your job description for your
application in the this section, but the first thing you want to do is sign up for an
account on Elance or Odesk
Simply go to Elance.com or Odesk.com and follow the instructions for signing up.
Both companies do a great job of walking you through the process, so we shouldnt
need to give you the play-by-play here.
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Feel free to browse the available freelancers first if you wish. It will give you some
idea of who the top freelancers are on the site, though dont focus too much on
picking a particular freelancer right away. Once you post your job, the whole point is
that an available freelancer will come to you.
General Tips and Advice
Remember that freelancers on these sites want very much to get your
business. Dont pay too much attention to all the sweet words youll be
getting. Your job is to weed out the jokers and find a qualified candidate for
the right price. Always remember that.
Though it is not required, be sure to add your payment information to your
account. Freelancers often get burned by people who post jobs and never
bother awarding them (therefore wasting their time). You will lose out of bids
from the best freelancers without a verified method of payment.
Since your account is brand new you will have no reputation on the site.
Meaning that some people will hesitate to bid on your project, because there
are only so many projects that any good freelancer can bid on.
Once a project is completed, make sure to leave positive feedback (at least
the first few times). This will show other freelancers you may work with that
you are a good person to worth with and encourage more bids.
There will be further advice as we progress through this section.
Start Your First Project

Once your account is ready and your payment information verified, do ahead and
follow the instructions for posting your first job. Elance and Odesk will prompt you for
this, and they have made great effort to make this process as painless as possible.
As you progress, there are certain questions that will be asked.
For the job title, make sure you include specific words such as "iOS application" or
"Android app developer" or Designer for mobile app. Developers look out for new
jobs with those keywords in the title, so make sure you do this to get maximum
exposure.
Remember that freelancers read hundreds of projects titles on any given day, so get
to the point quickly so people will catch it with a quick browse. If it is at all possible,
try and be as specific as possible without being too wordy. For example:
Developer needed for iOS and Android app

Need graphics for a new mobile app
iOS developer needed for graphic message sharing app
Mobile app design and development
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Android app project
As you can see, you dont need to do anything too fancy
Select the Appropriate Category

It is very important to select the right category for your project. Freelancers are
limited in what type of projects they can bid for, so make sure you select the right
category so theyll actually be able to bid on it.
Assuming you are looking for a mobile app developer on Elance you want to select
the IT & Programming category, and on Odesk this will be the Software
Development category. Also do everyone a favor and select the sub-category
Mobile Apps as well, as it makes it easier for freelancers to find your project.
You will also have the option to select Desired Skills. This is usually not necessary
because of your job title, but if for any reason the desired specialty is unclear (or
difficult to make clear) then youre better off selecting some skills. Some freelancer
sites may also force you to select at least one skill.
Write Your Basic Job Description

The job description is where you write about your project, so that all potential
developers can determine:
If they are qualified to develop your app
If they want to work with you on developing your application
How much they will bid for it.
Writing your job description is an essential part of the process, because how you
write it may affect who bids on your application. It also sets the tone for the
developers which may impact how they work with you in the future.
If you write a very poor description with no clear deliverables, you may lose out on
some excellent bidders, and in the worst case you can get your project delisted. If
you are not detailed enough, you may also get bombarded with very basic questions
which should have been answered in the description.
Job descriptions will obviously vary from application to application, however there
are a couple of things you should always try to do:
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Stay Professional: If you start off looking like a professional, you'll be treated
like one throughout the entire process. Just imagine what the developers
might think of you if your job description started off like this: "OMG! I'm so
excited to tell you about my application, it's going to be DA BOMB!"
Remember, you're doing business with people who develop apps for a living.
Don't Tell Them You're a Newbie: Yes, you're probably new to the mobile
app scene, but don't tell them that in your job description! If you do, you're
opening the door for them to take advantage of you, which we've seen
happen before.
Always Ask a Few Questions at the End: This is a great way to see if
someone bothered to read your whole description, or if they are just posting
some boilerplate bid. There will almost always be some boilerplate text so
dont let that bother you. The key is to look for whether they answer your
questions, and whether they mention something specific about your project.
So, what should you include in your job description? Here's a basic outline for you:
Start with an Introduction: A short, professional introduction about who you are
and what you're trying to accomplish will do.
Basic Information About Your App: Don't give away all of your details here (we'll
tell you why in a second), but give just enough so that they'll have a basic
understanding of what you app is about.
An Expected Timeframe: Always try to include when you want the application to be
finished. The more complex the app, the longer it will take to finish.
If you've already created a schedule for yourself, try to have the developers finish 2
weeks in advance, if possible. That way, there's a safety net just in case they fall
behind, and also they'll have the chance to fix any bugs that you notice once it's
finished.
If you are unsure of how much time is needed, just ask them to provide an estimated
time for completion (then add 2 weeks just to be safe).
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (optional): A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a
document (usually a PDF or Word file that you can attach to the project description)
that basically tells the developer that they cannot take or steal your idea and use it
on their own. We used them in our projects, but you dont technically have to.
Many of you, were sure, would like to protect your idea, and this is exactly how it's
done. We've never heard of any developers, especially ones from these outsourcing
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websites, take anyone's idea before (they do this for a living, so it wouldn't be so
smart for them to do so), but if you want the extra protection then do so.
This is pretty standard and most developers know about the NDA, so don't worry
about them not understanding why you want them to sign it. Be sure to address the
NDA in your job description, and let them know you'll give them the full details of
your application after they sign it.
Why We Start with a Basic Description

As we indicated above, we don't give away all of the details about our application at
first and there is a very good reason why. We only give a detailed job description to
the bidders who:
Answer all the questions we asked at the end of our basic description
Tailor their bid according to your project specifications
Ask professional questions about the app
Note that typically you will get adjusted bid amounts will appear once they hear the
details from you. Something you should expect.
We do this because it puts the ball into the freelancers hands. It is their job to
convince you that they are the right person for the job. You'll get a good feel for how
each freelancer works by how fast they get back to you on the message boards, and
what they write to you.
Below is an example of a basic description for one of our projects:
Choose Your Project Type

There are two project types you can select on Elance and Odesk either fixed price
or hourly. We recommend starting with a fixed price project because you will see
exactly how much the project will cost, and your freelancer will be highly motivated to
deliver their work for that budget.
Since fixed price projects also offer an escrow service which means the freelancer
will only get paid once you are happy with their work. The only downside is that you
have to fund the entire project up front (or at least the first milestone) before the work
can start. Hourly projects are more flexible, but they need more monitoring to make
sure the project is progressing to your satisfaction.
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Choose Your Budget

On average, mobile apps on Elance cost between $1000 and $5000 to create,
depending on exactly what kind of app you're looking to produce. If youre really not
sure about the appropriate budget for your app, then just put Not Sure the
bidders will tell you exactly how much they want to charge.
The approximate budget is just an estimate, and you'll always get an exact bid from
developers as they get more details about your project, so don't worry so much
about this before you even make your first job post.
Choose your posting type

Once you get through all of the above, you will be asked to choose your posting
type. There are three choices:
Basic (always FREE)
Verified ($5.00 which adds a verified seal next to your post)
Featured ($25.00 which highlights your project to freelancers)
The standard option is all you really need, BUT there is an advantage to paying for
the extra exposure (even the $5 option). Remember that from the freelancers point
of view, theyre seeing dozens of new people post jobs for the first time and most
of them never bother to award a job. This means many of the best freelancers may
simply decide not to bid at all!
You should strongly consider paying the $5 for your first job post simply because it
proves to the top freelancers that you are actually serious about awarding a job to
someone (remember, right now you have no reputation on the site).
Dont bother paying to post however after your first awarded job. Youll get plenty of
freelancers bidding without going with the Premium option.

Review and Post
Finally the last bit! You should review what your post, make sure everything looks
clean and legible, and check if there are any changes to be made. Once you are
happy with what you see, go ahead and post the job.
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You'll immediately get an email saying that your job has been posted to the Elance
job board, and developers will be able to see and bid on your project right away.
Elance will automatically start emailing you when new contractors bid on your
project, and the first ones will usually come within the first 15 minutes.
If you get no bids at all after a few hours, you may want to review your description
and compare this to a similar project to see whats going on (and adjust accordingly).
If youve followed our instructions precisely, there should be no such issues.
In general though you should always wait a few days to make sure you catch as
many available developers as possible. Wait at least a week before awarding any
jobs. Take the time to consider and reflect on who is the best candidate for you.
Invite some bidders

You will get the option to invite some bidders, but there really is no need to do this. If
you have the time to do this, then by all means go check out some of the available
talent. You can invite up to 30 contractors to bid on your project (this is unlimited if
you went for the premium posting).
Note that some contractors will be too busy for your project, and Elance will also
deactivate accounts if contractors do not respond to enough invites. So dont feel
bad if you get any declined invitations this is not personal at all.
The Detailed Job Description

As important as the initial job description is for the project, the detailed job
description is really what the freelancers (especially developers) will use to
understand exactly what you want the final product to look like.
The bid price may be adjusted at this point (usually upward) but this is to be
expected. As more details are uncovered, this usually entails more work for the
freelancer, and accordingly the price goes up.
We highly recommended that you write this beforehand, so you don't have to waste
time writing it later once you get responses from potential contractors (or signed
NDAs if you went that route).
Your detailed job post should include as much detail about your application as
possible and if you have them ready you should also attach your wireframes or
any other drawings or sketches that you have.
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For our Drug Pronunciation Application, this is exactly what we sent to all the
developers we shortlisted:
Here are the requirements for our drug pronunciation application and how we
want it to work. We've drawn up and attached a simple wireframe for the
application as well:
Title Screen:
This screen will be the main starting screen and will just consist of the Title,
Start Button and some information.
Search Screen:
As the user starts typing into the search box the list should fill up according to
each letter typed in. They are then able to scroll through the words and select
whichever word they would like.
At the bottom of the list there should always be the "Suggestions" link just in
case they are looking for something that isn't there.
Drug Page:
This page will have the drug name, a play button, a phone speaker checkbox,
and links to Google and Wikipedia for the drug.
Phone Speaker Checkbox - Is it possible to have this option to play the sound
through the phone speaker (The user would have to hold the phone up to
his/her ear) to hear the sound. This would be instead of playing it on the loud
speaker.
Just in case someone wants to listen to the pronunciation of a word discretely
without anyone knowing.
Suggestions Screen:
This screen will allow the user to type in a word and submit it to go into our
database of suggested words. Is there a way to post to a link that we will
create but not allow the user to actually see the link? We wouldn't want people
typing it into the browser and abusing this function.
We will need the suggested term, as well as an iPhoneID so that one user
can't submit the same word over and over again.
We will be setting up this database and the website for you to post to.
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Things you will get from us:

A list of terms in an excel spreadsheet. (I have attached a sample excel file
with the terms for the letter A). Total number of terms will be between 3000
and
3500.
An mp3 file for each term. File naming conventions: all lowercase, dash (-) for
any
spaces.
User Interface design, and icon.
Comments:
We would need to be able to easily update the content with new terms/mp3s.
These would just go out as normal iTunes updates. We believe this is a fairly
simple and straightforward application so we are looking for a good price, and
a quick turnaround time. Please let me know if you need any more
clarification.
Thank you,
John Doe
What to Look For Once You Get Bids for Your Project
In this section, we'll give you some advice and some tips on what to look out for as
you begin to get bids for your application.
Pricing

The price of your application will depend on the application itself. However, even for
the same application, bids from the various developers can cover a rather large price
range. For our Drug Pronunciation app for example, we saw bids that ranged from
$500.00 all the way to $3000.00. Your specific application will most likely have a
different price range.
The price difference could be for a number of reasons: size of the company (if
applicable), general experience, their home country, how desperately they need a
job, or even the quality of work they do.
It's up to you to find out exactly what kind of work they can do, which is why we
always suggest to not even look at the developers' bid amount until after you decide
on which ones interest you first.
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When we first started developing applications, we made the price the primary factor
in our decision of which developer to go with. Well, it didn't turn out so well. We
chose the lowest bidder, and the quality of our apps weren't as good as we had
hoped, and they were even delayed a couple of months as a result.
To investigate further, we're going to look into their portfolio and reviews.
Check their Portfolio

After you get bids, the next logical thing to do is investigate their portfolio or any
samples and links that are attached.
The freelancer's portfolio will show you exactly what kind of work they do, and if their
style matches what you had in mind for your app.
On Elance and Odesk, you can view the freelancers portfolio by simply clicking on
their username. That will take them to their profile, which has all of the information
you need to make an educated decision as to whether or not they are someone you
could see yourself working with.
We strongly suggest going with a freelancer who has some reviews and ratings on
their profile. While the freelancer could be very good, there is no way for you to
confirm that, and likely you have too much to risk finding out.
In the portfolio, we always check to see what kind of work they've developed in the
past. They may have a number of different kinds of projects, such as website
designs or other software types, but since we're in the mobile app business, that's
what we want to look at first.
If youre looking at a developers job history, try not to make any conclusions based
on the design of the application alone. Remember, a lot of times the graphics are
done by a third party, so we shouldn't judge the developer on how the app "looks".
Instead, we should look at how the applications work, and exactly how technical they
are. The more complicated and technical they look, the more obvious it is that the
particular developer of the application you're looking at knows what they're doing.
You can even try out the apps by downloading them to your device. If it works really
well, then no need to worry too much about the visuals. You can find a designer to
do a better job in that department.
So go ahead and look up their apps in the appropriate store. Sometimes, if the app
was made specifically for a different country and hasn't been opened to the U.S.
market, you won't be able to check it out, but usually youll be able to download their
app.
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We also look specifically at the reviews to see if there are any problems with the app
from a developmental standpoint. If the reviews are bad, it may just be because the
idea for the app wasn't good or maybe the app cost too much. If you read the
reviews and there seems to be a lot of bugs or screen crashes, you will want to stay
away from that particular developer.
If you look through the portfolio and it doesn't seem like they have much experience
with developing iOS / Android applications, then you may want to steer away from
that developer. If you want to, you could send that developer an honest message,
saying something like, "I was going through your portfolio and noticed that you
haven't had much experience with iOS applications. What can you do for me that all
of these other, more experienced iPhone developers can't?"
The answer may surprise you, and it's possible that they have more apps to show
you and have just not updated their portfolio recently.
Check their Reviews & Feedback

Besides the portfolio, you should also always check out the feedback that other
clients have left for the freelancer. This is a great way to get a quick snapshot of
exactly what kind of developer you might be working with.
For example we chose a developer who had done 31 projects with a 95% positive
rating, and no negative reviews, which is a good sign. Besides the summary, you
can look at reviews from clients for each specific project that they've done.
Messages

Besides the portfolio and the feedback, there's no better way to figure out if a
freelancer and you will work well together, than by directly messaging each other.
You're going to be investing quite a bit of money, so the question is why wouldn't you
have a conversation with your potential developers before selecting one?
Elance has a great messaging board system that is good for pre-development
conversations, so you can get a feel for how quickly they respond, and how
communication will be between the two of you.
Look through each individual portfolio, and if you have questions about anything,
just ask! If you want to hear from other clients who have worked with them in the
past, you can simply ask for a reference and more than likely they will be happy to
provide one or two references for you.
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Think about it like it's a job interview. You're the boss, and you're hiring a developer
to work for you.
Award the Project

First of all, if you haven't found a freelancer that you like yet out of all of the bids that
you receive, that's okay. You aren't forced to choose one, and you can just simply
cancel the project. If you paid for the job post, then you can ask for a refund or
request a new job post with the same feature you paid for.
You will, however, have to leave a reason why, which is common courtesy because
these developers have taken the time to read your job description and place a bid. If
you do cancel, just be honest and say that none of the developers fit the criteria that
you were hoping for, for the development of your application.
Then simply repost the project and check out some new freelancers. Remember that
peoples availability can change at any moment, so its worth the effort if youre not
totally happy with any provider, or would just like to hear from more.
If you have a handful of developers that interest you, then you should take into
account the price. But again, the price shouldn't be everything. You'll hopefully make
up the price in no time with your application once it hits the store anyways.
After you select a freelancer and award the project, things will start to happen right
away.
First, all of the other developers who placed bids should see that the project is now
closed, but you get one or two who doesn't pay attention and continues to message
you about the project. Just kindly message those particular people that you've
already awarded the project to someone else, and they should stop bugging you.
Milestones & Escrow

Once you you'll be taken to a screen talking about milestones and funding the
escrow (if you used a fixed price project). Milestones are particular dates that certain
things regarding your project get done, as well as when payments should be made to
the developer. At the very beginning youll see there's just one milestone, which is
the completion of the project.
Our recommendation is to just wait and let the freelancer come up with a milestone
schedule first, and you can adjust things accordingly after that, or just simply agree
to the terms.
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Milestones can be updated or changed at any time by you or the freelancer, but the
other party must agree before they actually change. There is a lot of protection for
both you and the freelancer so be mindful of this.
In software development (including mobile apps) there are generally 3 milestones
used for any project at minimum (though you can use any number you like):
Upfront Payment - This is the deposit that you'll usually have to make right at
the beginning before development starts. It acts collateral in the way it lets the
developer know that you can make payments and that you're definitely on
board with the project. An upfront payment of 25-50% is usually standard for
mobile applications. Sometimes freelancers are ok with you just funding the
escrow, but you will have to release the money quickly if you expect them to
continue working on the next milestone.
Beta - This milestone is when you get a version of the app to test. Not all
developers will require a payment or milestone for the beta version (some just
go 50% up front, 50% after the final product), but we included it here in the
screenshot just so you don't get caught off guard.
Final Deliverable - This is the last payment you'll give the developer which
should happen after everything you wanted to be done is done. Make sure
you pay only after a final version of the app has arrived in your hands. Note
that all legal rights to the work are now transferred to you, and the developer
no longer has rights to the software (this is part of the Elance agreement).
Some Notes on Selecting a Graphic Artist

The design and appearance of your application (including graphics that appear in the
store) plays a very important role to the functionality of your application. You yourself
have likely went straight past an app in the store because you didnt like the icon.
You (generally) do not want to hire the same team to do both the development and
the graphic art. While there are exceptions, it will more than likely lead to mediocre
results.
Developers are good at developing and graphic artists are good at creating graphics.
You don't want to mix the two unless you are dealing with a company that has a
separate designer and developer.
In any case there are a plethora of graphic artists looking for work on outsourcing
websites such as Odesk or Elance. Take your pick.
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How to Get the Prettiest Designs

While we love Elance for most things, and we have found plenty of talented
designers through there there is another option.
This is holding a design contest on 99Designs. 99Designs is a website where many
upcoming designers go to cut their teeth and make their mark in the field. This is the
perfect place to find really talented designers before they get famous.
How it works is pretty simple. You choose the amount you are willing to pay for your
app graphics, then any interested artists will post their designs in hopes that they
have the winning design. This allows you to view multiple possibilities by the many
different flavors of talent but youll only pay for the one you like.
This may be more costly than hiring a graphic designer directly, but it gives you more
options for choosing a great design especially if youre unsure of how the app
should look. Remember that investing in graphics is always worth it.
App designs start from $499, while app icons start from $199 though you can of
course opt to pay more in hopes of attracting better talent. This seems like a large
cost, but in the grand scheme of things it is a great deal for what you get.
The graphics you will need will vary depending on the platform (iOS or Android), and
which device the app is meant to be used for (phones or tablets). Remember to
check the latest requirements from your preferred platform.
Example icon for "Medical Drug Pronunciations"
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Example splash screen for "Medical Drug Pronunciations"
Communicating with Your Virtual Assistants

Learning how to effectively communicate with your virtual assistants or service
providers is extremely important. Effective communication will give you better and
more timely results from your providers and will allow work to run much more
smoothly which is a great relief to both you and your provider.
One thing to remember is to be professional. You are now the boss, so act and
communicate like one. Be professional, courteous and remember to have a little
patience. Most of your service providers will be from half-way around the world so
their English might not be top notch, but you will still get your moneys worth because
they are professionals at what they do.
Instructions should be as clear and precise as possible. Write instructions at a 2nd
grade English level that can only have 1 interpretation and give clear deadlines.
There are many ways to communicate with your service providers. We have found
that the easiest method is to write clear and effective emails. This will limit the
communication time needed and allows the providers to do their work. Some people
might prefer Skype or instant messenger.
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Just remember to keep logs of all your conversations if you use instant messenger,
there might be a time that you need to refer back to what someone said in case of
conflicts. Elance and Gmail are particularly good at this, but services like Skype will
not keep your chat logs so make sure to save them.
If you are working on a project through Elance, then do everything through the
Elance private message board. This will keep things logged and organized just in
case you need to resolve a conflict later. Treat each Elance message just like an
email.
Try not to be such a micro-manager. No one likes a micro-manager and no one is
happy to work for one. Send your providers their tasks and give them some time to
work on it. Give them clear deadlines and remind them if they miss deadlines but
dont bother them every hour asking how the project is coming along.
One good way to make sure they understand your requirements is to ask them to
confirm and to ask questions if there is anything they dont get.
Many times a good provider will provide a development schedule with milestones for
completing certain parts of a project. Keep in mind the schedule and make sure your
developer stays on top of it.
Here is a sample schedule given to us for one of our more recent projects:
Milestone #1 (9 Feb ~ 12 Feb):
We will finish...
1) The main frame
2) Online searching module
3) Searching function based on user's current location
4) Listing results and displaying them on a map
5) Testing and bug fixing of all modules above
We will finish...
1) Searching based on inputted addresses
2) Searching based on addresses picked from the contact book
4) Android-UI-style proposal
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By 16 Feb, we will provide a prototype for you to test and a proposal on

android UI-style. And we will be waiting for is your feedback.
We will finish...
1) The UI work (including the animation page)
2) Deal with all problems or requirements from your feedbacks
We will finish...
1) Advertising module
2) The lite version
3) Assistance passing through Android Market (if needed)
In our experience, sometimes you wont hear from a provider in a while, but that
doesnt mean they are not working. In this case a simple checkup message would be
in order but please try not to hassle your freelancer every couple of hours.
Hi guys,
We were wondering how the progress is coming on this project. Any
updates would be appreciated.
Thanks!
John Doe
Sometimes your provider will do something completely different than you had
planned. Before getting angry and pointing fingers at anyone, sit back, relax, and
make sure it wasnt your fault to begin with.
Did you give them clear and precise directions? Did you use too many big fancy
words? Even if it wasnt your fault, most things are easily fixed without any stress. In
technical fields especially, sometimes there are certain ways of doing things that you
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might not expect, but are really the right way of doing it. Just kindly explain to them
the issue and allow them to clarify, or fix it to your specifications if needed.
Hi Guys,
I noticed (issue), when I had originally intended it to be like (this way).
Is there a reason you went this route? Because I was expecting
something quite different, so if there was something that wasn't as
clear as it should have been, I apologize for that. But I would really like
to understand what is going on.
Please let me know.
Thanks!
(Your Name)
You should get a response quite soon. If there is a solid reason why the developer
chose this path then you might want to consider going with what the expert sayd.
Now if it turns out to be an obvious mistake, or you've told them to correct the
mistake once already, and it seems like they're just being careless or lazy, then you
might want to respond with something like this:
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Hi (developer's name).
It has recently come to my attention that (mistake). This really concerns
me because mistakes like this should not happen, especially with a
professional developer like yourself. I'm putting in my best effort to
make this project successful, and I hope that you would do this same.
That is what I'm paying you for.
I hope to see this fixed by our next deadline, which is (insert deadline /
reminder date).
Thank you.
Of course, these are just example messages, but you should be able to structure
your emails (or better yet, direct instant messages), in a similar way that makes
sense for your particular developer and your project. Lastly, be sure to CC everyone
on the developer's team, especially the "higher-ups" (if there are any), if things are
just not working out like their supposed to.
On the other hand, if your developers are doing a great job, you should definitely let
them know. This not only makes them feel good about the work they've been doing,
but it will encourage them to keep impressing you and probably do even better work.
Sometimes, they'll do even more than you've asked of them, just to help you out
Hi (developer's name)!
Thanks so much for your hard work so far, that's exactly what I like to
see. So far, everything looks like it should, and I'm really impressed that
everything has been done on time. If this keeps up, you can be sure I'll
be working with you on future projects, so keep up the good work, and
keep trying to impress me.
If there's anything else I can do to help you along the way, you can
always just message me.
Thanks again (developer's name).
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Chapter 10: Test Your New Application

So now you have gone through the process of selecting your developer and are on
your way to getting your first application completed.
Now you need to figure out how is your developer going to send you the different
versions of your application and how are you going to be able to test them.
We have found that developers go about sending you the source code for the
applications differently. Some will send you the full source code for each version of
the application and some will send you an ad hoc file that you will just drag and drop
into iTunes and have it install on your device.
In the end you will need the complete source code from your developer in order to
submit it to Apple or Google, but some developers dont like to release the source
code until you have paid for the development costs in full.
In this chapter we will go through how to install the application on your iOS device
given both scenarios. The information is also available in your iOS Developer
account, so log in there and check the latest information yourself.
Google provides excellent instructions for doing the same thing with Android devices,
and with the sheer variety of Android devices available we would have to write a
separate book to explain all of it.
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Ad Hoc File Installation (Apple):

An ad hoc distribution means that the developer packages your application using a
unique ID for your device (iPhone, iPod touch, Galaxy etc.) and gives this to you for
you to install on your device.
Identifier (UDID):

The first step is for you to give your developer your devices unique id number. When
your developer asks for it, here is how you find it.
1. Plug your device into your computer
2. Open iTunes and select your device from the left hand menu
3. Under the summary tab you will see your devices Name, Capacity, Software
Version and either Serial Number or Identifier (UDID). If the Serial Number
is showing, then click it to show the Identifier (UDID). The Identifier (UDID) is
what you are looking for.
Installing Ad Hoc:

When you get your ad hoc files from your developer it should come with 2 things
1. A Mobile Provision file that ends in .mobileprovision
2. The application file. This will either end in .ipa or .app
Now follow these steps to install it to your device.
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1. Save those 2 files above to a convenient location on your computer

2. Drag and drop the .mobileprovision file onto the Library -> Applications in
iTunes. If youre using a Mac you can just drag it into your iTunes icon.
3. Do the same with your application file. Drag and drop the .ipa or .app file onto
the Library -> Applications in iTunes. If youre using a Mac you can just drag it
into you iTunes icon in your doc.
4. Your application should now show up in iTunes under Library ->
Applications with a generic icon.
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5. Now sync your applications from iTunes to your device and it should be
installed for testing on your device.
Source Code File Installation:

If your developer decides to send you the source code for the application instead of
an ad hoc then you will need to follow these steps to install your application. Source
code just means all of the application files and programming code necessary to run
the application. We will go through some of the more important files in more detail
soon.

Preparing your Device for install
In order to install your application to your device using the source code, you will first
have to setup a couple of things in the iPhone Developer Program Portal online.
Login to the iPhone Dev Center http://developer.apple.com/iphone/ and then click
the iPhone Developer Program Portal link.
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Once in, you will see a description of the iPhone Developer Program Portal and a
link to launch the development provisioning assistant. This is a great resource
designed to walk you through setting up the Development Provisioning Assistant.
You need this in order to setup your computer and XCODE to be able to run your
application on your device and build it for submitting to the app store.
Once youre done going through all of the steps of the Launch assistant you will be
able to also manually create and install Provisioning and Distribution Certificates
yourself by going through the menu on the left. Apple provides very handy How To
tabs for each one of these that will easily walk you through each step. Apples
guidelines and processes are constantly changing, but they do a great job giving you
simple step by step instructions for getting stuff done.
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Installing your application to your device

Now you should have your programming environment all setup to install your new
application to your device and test. Lets go through in more detail what files are
important in your source code and how to edit. We will use the included source code
for Medical Pronunciations as an example.
First lets browse to your application folder. This folder will contain all of your
application files including all the code, data, and images that may be used in your
application. In this main directory you should see a file ending in .xcodeproj
(speakit.xcodeproj in our case). This is the main application file, double click to open
it in XCODE (you should've already downloaded and installed the iPhone SDK
mentioned above).
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This will open up your application in XCODE. If it is overwhelming, dont worry, we

will go through what you see on XCODE now.
Important sections of XCODE to know
1. Top left drop down box This is the drop down box which will let you pick
which Device SDK and which configuration you will use to build your
application.
2. Top center button - Build and Run This button will build your application and
either install it on your device (debug configuration) or build your application
for submission (release configuration).
3. Left pane This is the tree view list of all the files associated with your
application. Everything from the main programming files to the images used in
your application should be in here.
4. Top right pane This is an expanded file list of the selected folder.
5. Bottom right pane This pane will show the contents of the selected file. You
will be able to edit the source code of a file here.
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There are a couple changes you will need to make to your application before you
can run and install it on your device.
1. Update the signing certificate.

Remember the certificate that you installed earlier? This is where it comes into play.
When you open an application there are different profiles that are associated with it.
This controls how you want XCODE to run and build your application. The default
Debug profile is what we will be using to install to your device and test. We will use
the Release profile to build and run your application to submit to iTunes, but we will
go over this later.
In your directory/file tree on the left pane of
xCode, there should be a Targets that you
can expand to show the target configuration
file for the application. See below, in our
application the file is called speakit. Double
click on this file to open up the Target Info
window.
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Above you will see the Target Info window. First make sure you are on the Build tab
at the very top. Also make sure that under the Configuration drop down you have
Debug selected. Debug is the configuration we use to build the app for testing either
in the simulator or your device.
Now scroll down until you see the Code Signing Identity Any iPhone OS Device
field. This is the certificate that will be used by xCode to build your application. If you
do not select the correct one then you will not be able to install to your device. Select
the correct Development Certificate. This should be the one that you installed
earlier.
2. Update the unique code and version number

While still in the Target Info window highlight the Properties tab above.
Here you will be able to edit your applications unique identifier name. This is used by
Apple to uniquely identify your application. A good rule is to use the appID that you
created in the previous section in this format:
com.<companyname>.<uniqueappid>
So for example one of our apps was name: com.freetheapps.dashofcolor
When building an update you want to make sure you go into this screen and that the
unique identifier is the same as the previous version so that Apple recognizes it as
an update.
Also on this screen is the version number of the application. Usually a good rule is to
leave the first version to be 1.0. When you build an update you can change the
application number to something higher like 1.1, 1.2 etc. Sometimes when submitting
a really big change you might want to change to be a complete version higher like
2.0.
After these updates you may close the Target Info window.
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Updating Display Name:

The name that appears below the icon on a device is called the Bundle display
name. You are limited to the number of characters you can show so try out some
variations to find a title you are happy with. Here are the steps on how to change the
Bundle display name.
First go through your file tree and find a file that ends with Info.plist
In the right hand pane you will see the contents of the Info.plist file. This file has a
field named Bundle display name. This is the value that you need to change in
order to change the display name. Be sure to save the file after your changes.
Build and Run Application:

Your application settings should now be all set
for you to build and run your application for
testing.
First you will need to make sure the
configuration profile is correctly set in the top left
hand drop down of xCode.
The Active SDK should be set to the base SDK
that your developer developed the application in.
If you are going to be installing the application to
your device to test (recommended) then choose
one of the iPhone Device values. If you are
going to be testing on the simulator on your computer then choose one of the
iPhone Simulator values (good for just a quick test).
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The Active Configuration should be set to Debug for testing. Later on you will set
this to Release when you are done testing and your application is ready to be
submitted to iTunes. We will go over this in the next chapter.
Next step is to go to the top Build menu and Clean All Targets for the application.
Then on your device make sure you delete any old version of the application that
might be present on the device. This will ensure that any changes you have made to
the application will be re-built into the application.
Finally click on Build and Run at the top and your application will compile, build and
either install to your device or run in simulator mode. Make sure your device is
connected to your computer at this time.
If you run into a problem trying to install your application to your device and you have
checked and made sure all your settings are correct then you may need to reboot
your device.
How to reboot your device:

Hold the Home button (thats the big button on the lower front) and the Sleep / Wake
button (thats the little button on the top) down. Keep holding these two buttons
down until the screen goes black and the Apple logo appears. Wait while your device
reboots.
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Testing: Tips and Advice

Now that you have successfully installed your mobile application, it is time to go
through and test it. Keep in mind that the first couple revisions will not be perfect to
your specifications.
This doesnt mean that your developer is incompetent. Testing and debugging is a
normal process in all software projects, and it always takes a number of revisions
between developer and client feedback to get a software application to work
perfectly.
Go through your application and keep a detailed checklist of bugs, problems, and
things that dont work correctly. It is helpful to break this up into a numbered list that
your developer can then just go through and fix one by one.
Make sure you go through all of the applications functionality thoroughly to make
sure everything works and nothing breaks the application.
Here is an example of feedback we gave to our iPhone developer for one step of the
pronunciations application:
Hello Team,
I have provided some feedback/comments about this build of our application:
1. We would like the attached picture to be the one that shows up when
the program is loading. Then when it is done loading it should go to the
main home screen with the start button instead of going straight into
the program. Only when they press the "start" button should they go to
the search screen.
2. On the search screen instead of the "cancel" button we would like it to
say "Search" instead.
3. Please get rid of the "Candidates" title above the search results.
4. When loading up the search screen all of the words will show up in a
list. If we have 3000 words in that list will it slow down the application at
all? What about have 3000 mp3s? Will that slow down loading of the
application at all?
5. On the suggestions page we would like users to be able to type in their
own suggestions. It would auto fill to whatever was on the search page
but they should also be able to type in to fill in the rest. For instance, if
they were searching for abacavir but it wasn't in the list, they would just
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type in abac and not find it, then they would click suggest, and they
should be able to fill in the rest.
6. UI: I noticed that you were able to use our UI screens for the interface,
but can you use the titles and back buttons that we've provided instead
of the default apple ones? For the name of the term you can just use a
big font that goes there and use the background we've provided: drugswall-drug.png
7. We noticed that there is a thick white trim around some of the buttons,
"Submit", "Google", "wiki" buttons. The buttons we've provided
shouldn't look like that.
8. Can you add in the button clicking sound for some of the other buttons,
"Submit", "Google", "wiki", "start". No sound for the back button or
when clicking on a term though.
That is it for this build.
Thank you!
John Doe
Once you are satisfied with the app and everything is working as it should it is now
time to submit your mobile app to Apple and/or Google.
There is still one thing you have to decide before doing that however, which you will
see in the next chapter.
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Chapter 11: Monetizing Your Mobile App

This is what it is all about. Making money from your hard work and that is what is
section is all about.
Amazingly, where most apps fail is because the publisher did not think about
monetization at all or assumed that with enough users, the money will come. Well
in reality, it doesnt matter how many users you have if you never make a dime from
them (or have a wealthy investor backing you but thats a different book).
There are many ways to monetize your app, so its up to you to find the right one that
works best for you. The hot trend right now is the current freemium fad, but this is not
always suitable for every idea.
First we need to tackle an important question.
Free versus Paid Apps

The general thinking nowadays is that it is over for paid apps. The justification for
this thinking is based on the numbers, and through extensive research + trial and
error by various app developers.
From 2010 to 2012, the proportion of free apps on the App Store ranged from 80% to
84%. By early 2013, that number grew to 90%, and by 2017 this is expected to rise
further to about 96%.
So the vast majority of apps are available for free, and this has become expected by
the majority of users. Research has shown that people seem to want free content
more than they wanted to avoid ads, or have the highest quality experience possible.
Keep in mind this is not true in every case (your idea might be different) but we want
you to know what the market is saying. There will always be specialized apps that
will be able to charge for downloads (like some finance & investment apps).
The most compelling evidence that supports the shift to free is looking at what other
app developers are doing. Many experimented with different price points over the
past months and years, and then ended up offering their apps for free (most often
supported by in-app purchases).
There are ways to make paid apps work however, if you want to go that route.
Where Paid Apps Can Still Work

There are still categories where specialized apps are selling, and you need look no
further than the App Store leaderboards to find out which paid apps are doing well.
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Productivity, Medical, Business, Healthcare & Fitness, Navigation, Catalogs,

Lifestyle, Photo & Video, Travel, and Weather are all examples of categories
where paid apps made up half or more of the top 10 apps. It is worth noting that
many of these paid apps also use in-app purchases to get more sales.
Most successful paid apps today are about getting something done. Something that
people do often enough where paying for a premium service or extra convenience is
worth the few dollars (like working, booking tickets, or making trades etc.)
The ultimate conclusion you get from the latest trend is this: unless your paid app is
doing something unique (or notably better) in a less competitive niche, people will
look for the free apps first.
If your app does this, then congratulations you are part of an increasingly rare
breed of apps. If in doubt or if youre app doesnt fit the above criteria then you
should strongly consider making your app free.
Pricing Your App

One of the most important aspects of paid applications is choosing the right price.
You need to find the "magic number, which means the price will be the perfect
balance of downloads vs. pricing.
The right number for you depends entirely on what kind of app that you want to
create. There are basically three directions you can go with this:
The Hit App
High volume, low price

Wide appeal
Targets impulse purchasers
Usually needs a big marketing campaign
Profit through volume
Examples: Angry Birds ($1) iTranslate ($1)
The Premium Niche App
Low volume, high price

Limited appeal
Targets a serious and/or professional niche
Users discover app through serious research
Large profit-per-user
Examples: Omnifocus ($10) Proloquo2 ($190)
The Premium Hit App
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High volume, high price

Something of a unicorn for mobile app developers
Graphically rich games tend to do well here
Examples: Minecraft ($7) TomTom GPS ($50)
Your paid app idea will likely fall into one of these categories
It is worth pointing out that Premium Paid Apps tend to be (in fact must be) very high
quality. The Grand Theft Auto series can charge $5 for example, because they
include almost console-like 3D graphics in the gaming experience.
Simpler paid apps will accordingly be limited to the $1 or $2 level. Even at that low
price the major risk is having your app buried under all the other new submissions,
because it is very difficult to get a good ranking without a big marketing campaign to
tell as many people as possible that the app exists.
What many developers try when figuring out the best pricing is something called A/B
testing. This is basically trying out various price points to see which one will make
the most profit. Its a pretty straightforward math problem then.
Heres a very simple example:
Price point A - $1 2000 downloads $2000 in sales

Price point B - $2 1000 downloads $2000 in sales
Price point C - $3 500 downloads $1500 in sales
Here we see that there is no difference in profit between A or B (remember that

Apple or Google will take 30% from your sales). Price point C is obviously the worst
choice, as you end up making the least money overall.
Since price point A gets more downloads, you should sell your app for $1 to get the
better ranking.
Lets see another scenario now:
Price point A - $1 4000 downloads $4000 in sales

Price point B - $2 2250 downloads $4500 in sales
Price point C - $3 1150 downloads $3450 in sales
Now we see a different scenario. You now make more money from Price B because
you have more than half your users still downloading at double the price. You could
still choose Price A for the better ranking (and hope for more sales later) but you will
make the most money from Price B.
Thats the name of the game. You sacrifice download numbers (and therefore your
ranking) for the sake of making more money.
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Our advice if youre in doubt about what price to charge however, always go for the
lower price. At least youll get more downloads, which means more visibility which
means youll have an easier time to succeed.
For example you can try running a marketing campaign (and at least you got some
money to fund this) or at least you learned a lot from the experience, and can now
apply this to your next project.
The Advantages of Free Apps

Free applications offer some advantages over paid apps.
You will reach a much larger audience

You will gain more visibility in each respective app store
You will get many more downloads compared to paid apps
It is much easier to convince someone to download your free app
It is much easier to have a successful app
The only real downside of free apps is that is more difficult (but certainly not
impossible) to make money from your efforts. This is why we put successful in
quote marks. You can get millions of downloads, and not make a cent from it.
This often happens to new mobile app publishers for one reason only. They didnt
think about how to monetize! Well youre not going to do that, and well show you
how to make money from free apps.
While the choice of free or paid is really up to you and your app idea in the vast
majority of cases you will want to publish a free app. Just like the 90% of app
publishers who already do so.
Free apps give you exposure, and they give you downloads. Our free apps typically
got over 10 times the downloads of our paid apps and while we made more money
in the first month from paid over the whole year free apps won hands down.
You can also turn a successful free app into a paid app (i.e. offer a premium version)
but it is much more difficult to make a paid app into a successful free app.
How to Make Money from Free Apps

It seems odd when you think about it. Making money from free? How is that even
possible?!? Well some answers are obvious, the others less so.
We were making up to $2800 a day from free apps, and this was before our methods
became all the rage in the app market. Even if you only make 1/10th of that ($280 per
day) that comes to a yearly total of $102,200 an equivalent six figure salary!
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There are really many ways to make money from free app, but it is critically
important to choose a model that will work for your idea.
As we go down the list of ways to make money from free apps, try to imagine how
you can integrate this model into your app idea. You dont want to disrupt the user
experience, but make the flow as natural and painless as possible.
So for example you cannot plaster ads throughout your entire screen, but you can
strategically place an ad so the rest of the app is still usable. For example Angry
Birds will throw up ads only after playing several rounds of the game; or in a box next
to the menu while the player chooses their next option.
So lets go over some of the ways you can make money from free apps. There are
four basic pricing strategies you can use:
Mobile Advertising
Advertising is the simplest way to monetize your app. All you have to do is assign a
space in your app so a third-party can use it to deliver ads. The idea being that when
those ads generate revenue, you get a piece of it.
Bew warned though it does sound easy, but dont let the simplicity of this approach
fool you into thinking youll be able to sit back and let the ad dollars roll in.
Most advertisers use a pay-per-click (PPC) model which means that every time a
user clicks an ad in your app, it creates a little bit of revenue. Although this is very
simple to implement, it can be very hard to get any real financial reward out of it.
You basically have to have an app with lots of traffic, as the amount of clicks youll
be able to generate is limited (like 1 or 2 out of every 1000 users). This means the
payout will be small unless you have the scale to make it work.
CPM (Cost Per iMpression) is generally much better for app publishers just starting
out because youll get paid (a few cents at least) for every eyeball on your app.
Yes you still need lots of traffic to make good money from it, but less than CPC (at
least to start).
Generally you always want to try out several different mobile ad networks to see
which one gets the best results. You should also never stick with only one ad
network, which will get into a bit later.
Right now there are two particular ad networks we want to talk about. There are
dozens more networks out there, but we have the most experience with these two.
Admob
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Being the child of Google, AdMob should be the first advertising network for app
developers to consider for monetization. In fact this was our favorite ad network for a
long time and we made plenty of money from it.
The best thing about AdMob is its integration system that helps you connect across
all the major platforms such as iOS, Android and the rising Windows Phone.
You can also choose from a wide range of ad formats for both mobile devices and
tablets, including standard banner ads, interstitial (full screen) ads, interactive ads
and exclusive custom search ads. Integration is very painless with AdMob, as the
documentation is clean and complete with recommendations for best practices.
We also see a lot of reports however that revenue on AdMob is not as good as you
can get with other ad networks (plus support can be hard to reach). Apparently best
integration does not mean maximum revenue, so you might want to try your luck with
other reliable networks.
In short you should use Admob simply due to its size and ease of integration, but
not as your exclusive ad platform.
Millennial Media (mMedia)
Millennial Media (or mMedia) clearly knows how to do business, and offers lots of
grand deals for developers. They are also the first mobile advertising network to
create an Initial Public Offering (IPO) which just goes to show you how strongly
they perform.
Weve found that mMedia offers the best combination of advertisement and
monetization for your app (at least right now). You get a full-fledged self-service
platform that offers strong publishing and advertising features that you can utilize to
promote your apps.
Always Use Multiple Ad Networks
There are a lot of advertising agencies you can sign up with, such as Google AdMob,
Microsoft Advertising, Apple iAd, and AdDuplex to name a few. The thing is that
many ad networks dont serve ads globally, and sometimes dont give you the most
relevant ads for your particular app idea.
This means we strongly recommend using multiple ad networks as a backup; and
then implement a few more as a backup to your backup. Setting up these backups
was the only way we could be sure there was always have ad content being served,
and that users wouldnt see an ugly blank space.
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Freemium
Our favorite way of monetizing apps is by using in-app products. These are products
or upgrades that you sell inside your app, such as the option to remove ads, health
upgrades in games, or additional feature packs.
The choice of product to sell is entirely up to your app idea, though usually the
choice of product is pretty obvious. Like adding new languages in a translation app,
more app skins in a content app, or extra levels in a game.
What is really excellent about in-app products is that you can get users excited about
the value you add, before you sell them products in your app. Plus you gain the
benefit of extra exposure and downloads which in turn gives you a better chance of
converting someone to a paying customer.
This is a win-win in our opinion. Users can use your app and test it out before
deciding to invest in it, and in return youll get more downloads and more money in
your pocket in the end.
Of course there are people who complain about in-app purchases, but have you
noticed that many of these complaints tend to come from actual users of those
apps? You do the math on that one, then come up with a compelling premium
feature (or several) to offer.
Creating a Lite Version

This is still an option, but a lot less popular nowadays. The App Store landscape has
changed a lot since 2008, when it was filled with a lot more apps operating on a paid
model.
Some publishers (us included) chose to release two versions of their apps a lite
version for free and the full premium one. Developers hoped that users would try the
app for free and then buy the premium version for a small price if they enjoyed it.
As it turns out, this did not end up happening for the majority of app publishers. What
ended up happening was that too many users ended up sticking with the free
version, and never bothering to upgrade.
The better course in todays market is to go freemium. The concept is actually quite
similar, but with an important distinction. You dont call your basic app a lite
version, but offer several individual products, you give your users.
This has the benefit of providing users with multiple options where they only have
to pay for what they want. Plus there is the chance that people will buy ALL the
extras you offer which is not possible with a free lite / paid premium model.
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Chapter 12: The Submission Overview Process

Apples application submission process has gone through many changes and
improvements over the past year or so. When we first started developing
applications it took about seven days for an application to go through the submission
process and go live on the app store.
There was recently a time when it was taking Apple 2+ weeks for an app to get
approved. Luckily, it seems like Apple has streamlined their review process and it is
back to a week or less for an application to get approved.
We have experienced a couple of our apps getting approved in only 2 days, but one
thing for sure is that you can never predict when your app will be approved. You will
just have to submit and be patient.
In general Google is much faster than Apple when reviewing and approving of apps,
taking usually 1 3 days compared to Apples 5 12 days. Make what you will of
that information, but this is how it works.
Googles submission guidelines are very straightforward, so we suggest visiting their
Launch Checklist page directly to get the instructions.
Apple has notoriously always been picky about submissions, which has discouraged
many a new app publisher. Were going to go over Apples submission process point
by point so you wont make any simple mistakes (which anyone could make) to
make sure your submission doesnt get denied.
But first, some advice which applies to any mobile app submission.
Prepare Your App Profile

Your app profile is the page that appears when someone selects your app icons
while browsing their store. Since this is the point that someone wants to check and
hopefully download your app, you should really get this part done right.
Aside from the actual application file itself (which you now have) we recommend you
prepare some additional material for your app, before you start the submission
process.
App Description and Keywords

You need to write a good description for your mobile app. Most descriptions include
some sort of sales copy to entice the reader into buying your application, a list of
application features, and maybe some kind of tutorial on how to use your application.
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You dont need to make it too long (Apple for example allows 4,000 characters max
for the description) but make it long enough to have a good impact. We
recommend browsing several bestselling apps in your category to get the right idea
for good descriptive content.
After you have your description ready, you'll need to come up with some keywords.
This is one of the most important parts of submission because keywords will
determine how your can be found via search.
Take the time to figure out all the keywords related to your app. Do not rush this
part. You can find plenty of keyword tools online to help you generate useful
keywords.
Also do not add spammy or irrelevant keywords. Apple will reject your submission,
and you might get into trouble later with Google. Its not worth the bother, as people
tend to get upset when they find irrelevant results in their search.
As an example here is our description for Medical Drug Pronunciations:
**Also available on iTunes: MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY PRONUNCIATIONS**

**Drug Pronunciations: Over 2500+ drug pronunciations at your fingertips!!**
---------------------------------------------------Medical Drug Pronunciations is a simple application that will play back audio
of the correct pronunciations of over 2500 drugs used in medicine today (which
includes the top 200 drugs)
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First impressions are everything, and nothing screams out inexperience

and incompetence like butchering the pronunciation of drugs! Be
confident when pronouncing drugs by knowing how to pronounce them
properly beforehand.
Physicians, pharmacists, medical students, nursing students, physician
assistants, medical techs, pre-med students, foreign health
professionals Virtually anyone in, or interested in the health
professional field will benefit from our application!
----------------------------------------------------
HIGHLIGHTS:
-Accurate audio pronunciations of 2500+ drugs including both generic
and trade names (verified by physicians and pharmacists).
-Simple, easy to use, intuitive interface.
-Internet access is NOT necessary to listen to the pronunciations!
-Continuous FREE updates for new drugs and user suggested drugs.
-Integrated web browser with direct links to Wikipedia and Google for
additional drug information
----------------------------------------------------
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Browse the selection or enter the drug of interest in the search
field to narrow your list.
2. Select your drug and press PLAY. Its that simple!
3. To listen again press Back and select your drug again.
4. For additional drug information, select the Google or Wikipedia
buttons to open an integrated browser.
5. If your drug is not listed, submit the word through the provided
submission page and we promise to include it in future updates!
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OUR PROMISE OF QUALITY

We always strive to deliver the highest quality products and although we are
very confident in the accuracy of our pronunciations, everyone makes
mistakes! If you find a drug pronunciation that you disagree with, please let us
know via email (contactus@medicalpronunciations.com) and well be happy to
look into it. Thank you!

Icon and Title

You should already have a full set of graphics ready to upload to the store. These
will be used to display your app in the various App Stores.
The icon and title of your app is usually the first thing anyone sees, so these are
extremely important. Hopefully you decided to invest in high-quality art as an icon
that looks like cheap clip-art isnt going to cut it.
The title of your application should be short and straightforward because the
available space is extremely limited. If your title is too long it will get clipped by the
mobile OS, and that just looks terrible.
Try to give the user a good idea of what your application does in the title. A good
example of this is our Convert Units application. There was a competing free convert
application out before ours called Units. This might sound like a cool, catchy name,
but it doesnt tell you anything about what the application does.
We named our application Convert Units for FREE which quickly rose to the top,
and destroyed the competition. The title alone tells the user that our application will
let you convert units and that it costs nothing.
Our icon for Medical Drug Pronunciations:
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Screenshots
You can, and should, upload screenshots of your app. This is something simply
expected by everyone, so do not skip this step. Apple allows you to submit up to 5
screenshots for your app, while Google lets you do 8 and you must submit a
minimum of 1 screenshot.
The best way to grab a screenshot from your application is through your device.
To save a screenshot on your Apple device: press both the Home button and
the Sleep / Wake button down at the same time. You should hear a camera
sound and your screenshot will be saved as a new photo.
To save a screenshot on your Android device: press both the volume down
button and home button (note: on some devices its the power button) for 1-2
seconds, and you should hear the camera click.
Try and get screenshots of all the most important features of you app, including the
splash screen. Assuming you invested in some really beautiful graphics, these will
go a long way to convincing someone to give your app a shot.
Now onto the Apple submission process (which can be tricky for newbies). Google is
more straightforward and you can find their submission guidelines here.
Getting Your App Ready for Submission to Apple

There are some necessary steps in order to get your application ready to be
submitted to Apple. Similar to how you needed a Development Provisioning
Profile to install your application onto your device for development, you will need a
Distribution Provisioning Profile to prepare your application for distribution on the
app store.
You should have already created and installed the Distribution Provisioning
Profile if you had followed the steps in the previous section. If not, go back and do
that now.
Building your application for submission on App Store is very similar to building your
application to install on your device. The only difference is making sure you are using
the correct configuration (Release) and that it is setup correctly.
Setup your Release Configuration Certificate for Apple

This step is very similar to when you setup your development certificate earlier in
your directory/file tree on the left pane of xCode, there should be a Targets that you
can expand to show the target configuration file for the application. See below, in our
application the file is called speakit.
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Double click on this file to open up the Target Info window.
Above you will see the Target Info window. First make sure you are on the Build tab
at the very top. Make sure that under the Configuration drop down you have
Release selected. Release is the configuration we use to build the app for
submitting to iTunes.
Now scroll down until you see the Code Signing Identity Any iPhone OS Device
field. This is the certificate that will be used by xCode to build your application. You
must select the correct Distribution Certificate in order for your application to build
correctly.
Build and Run Your iOS Application

Make sure your application settings are all set correctly as specified under the
testing chapter.
You will need to make sure the configuration profile is correctly set in the top left
hand drop down of xCode.
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The Active SDK should be set to the base SDK that your developer developed the
application in. Make sure it is one of the Device selections and not a Simulator one.
The Active Configuration should be set to Release to build your application to be
submitted to iTunes.
The next step is to go to the top Build menu and Clean All Targets for the
application. Then on your device make sure you delete any old version of the
application that might be present on the device. This will ensure that any changes
you have made to the application will be re-built into the application.
Finally click on Build and Run at the top and your application will compile and build.
Ignore any warnings or errors about the device not being connected correctly.
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Get the iOS application file

Now that your application is built you should be able to see it in your directory/file
tree in the left pane of XCODE. It is in the Products folder and should end with .app.
Highlight this file, right click it and then select Reveal in Finder.
This will open up a Finder window and show you the application file.
Right click on the application file and select the Compress<File name> option.
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This will compress and package up the application file into a .zip file as shown
below. This is the final application file that you will use to upload to iTunes. We
suggest that you drag this file to your desktop for easy access.
Upload Your Description, Icon, and Screenshots

When prompted, add your descriptions and upload all the files Apple asks for. Ideally
you have all the requested files available, but you only need to include the minimum
required files.
Submit Your Application

Now that you have all the pieces to your application you can start the new
application submission process. Open a web browser on your computer and go to
itunesconnect.apple.com and sign into your developers account.
Click on the Manage Your Applications link to go to the application page.
Click on the Add New Application button on the top left of the pane to start your
new application submission.
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1. Export Compliance Answer yes or no whether or not your application

contains encryption. If you did not purposely have any functionality that
requires encryption for your application you should be able to answer no.
2. Overview Fill out your application details here including title, description,
keywords etc.
For the Copyright field we usually put the year and name of our company.
The Version Number should be the same version number you set in XCODE
when building the application.
The SKU Number is a unique id number you give your application, this can
be anything that easily identifies your application. Examples: drugpronunciations, convert-units, anatomy-pronunciations.
Demo Account Full Access is if your application requires a
username/password for full access to all the functionality in your application.
You will need to create a test account for the Apple Review Team to use to
test your application.
3. Ratings Use your best judgment to fill out the table and give your
application an appropriate rating.
4. Upload This is where you will upload all the files (application, icon,
screenshots) that you prepared earlier. One of the screenshots will be used
as the Primary Screenshot.
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5. Pricing Select what pricing tier you want your application to sell at. This can
be changed later. The availability date is not important right now. When your
application is approved you should log back into iTunes connect and update
your availability date to the date your application was approved.
6. Localization Here you will be able to enter information about any other
languages that your application might support.
7. Review Review all of your application details and submit your application.
Application Submitted
Congratulations! Your application is now submitted.
The application review process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
It is hard to predict how long it will take for your application to be approved.
If you have any problems during this whole process a great resource is your
outsourced developer. Most developers that we have worked with have been more
than happy to answer any questions we have had about the whole process.
If in the case that Apple rejects your application for any reason, and if its a
programming/code related problem, forward the detailed rejection to your developer.
They should be able to advise you and fix the problem and send you an updated
version until Apple approves your application.
Then simply try again once the issues are fixed. Apple is notorious for being picky
about submissions, but if you are determined, you will get there.
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Chapter 13: Marketing Your App

After you've followed the steps to finally submit your application to the App Store in
iTunes Connect or Google Play through the Developer Console, it's going to be at
least a few days until you hear back from them (usually 24 hours for Google).
Instead of just waiting around, there are things you can do during this wait time to
maximize the impact of your application's approval.
Ideally you have created your marketing plan BEFORE submitting your app. Though
now is the perfect time to get everything setup for the (eventual) release of your app.
We strongly recommend however that you start hyping early. If you know you have a
unique product, let people know about it before the launch whether through an
interesting Coming soon website, or via your social media network.
Create a Website for Your Application

If you haven't done so already, you should definitely create at least a basic website
that highlights your new mobile app and exactly what it can do.
Though many free options exist for publishing and hosting a website, we highly
recommend spending the little extra cash on your own domain and website. It makes
a world of difference to see a site called www.myawesomeapp.com compared to
www.myawseomeapp.webhost.com.
Since you already have the copy for your app (from the descriptions you uploaded to
the app store), as well as the screenshots that you used to submit with your app it
shouldn't be too hard to get everything done in just a day or two.
If you have yet to create your own website, here's a step by step summary of what
you can do.
Register a domain name

You have two viable options for choosing a domain name. You can name it after
your company, and publish individual pages for each app you create or register a
domain named after your app.
Either way you go, it may be difficult to find exactly the name you want. Most domain
registrars will let you try as many variations you like, till you find something you like.
111
If you keep having difficulty finding the right domain you can tryadd a word or two,
such as "app" and if youre lucky you'll find that it is still open. Avoid using
trademarks in your domain name, to reduce the risk of trademark infringement.
You can also try going for an unusual country or domain extension. You may have
better luck finding the domain you want with an extension like .in, .me, or .ly
compared to the more traditional .com, .net, or .biz.
You can also go for something really creative with the latest domain extensions such
as .money, .party, .world, .work and a whole lot more. The days of the .coms ruling
over websites are long gone, and you can get away with these more unique
extensions without much difficulty.
To keep things simple, try finding a good domain registrar and website hosting
service at once. We like Name.com for both, but there are many options available.
Be sure to check out some reviews before choosing a registrar, as there is quite a bit
of difference between registrars which are not always reflected in the price.
Cost of registering a domain for 1-year: $5-$25 depending on extension.
Find a Website Host

After you secure your domain name, you'll have to get website hosting to go along
with it. We like using Name.com for both domain registering and website hosting, but
the choice is entirely up to you.
Try to find a host that will take care of as much technical heavy lifting as possible
e.g. 1-click WordPress installation. The time and hassle savings are worth the little
extra cost.
You will also want at least one email address (which is normally included) so there is
a way for customers to contact you for any reason. Something simple like
contact@yourawesomeapp.com will suffice. You may want to consider a named
account like yourname@yourawesomeapp.com if youre more ambitious.
If you have the budget to spare, you can also hire someone to setup the site for you.
Though generally the process is so easy nowadays that it is more economical to do it
yourself for the first app.
You generally only need to take the basic hosting service offered by your web host,
as this is usually plenty for a website just starting out. If your app takes off in a big
way then you can always upgrade, but otherwise it is usually better to save the cash.
Things you want from a good value web host package:
112
10GB+ of disk space (though 1Gb is really plenty)

100GB+ bandwidth (this is important as you want room for traffic)
10+ Email accounts (1 is minimum, but you can usually find better)
1+ database(s) for your WordPress site
Cost of hosting a website for 1-year: $50-$150 depending on package.
Find a WordPress Template

You will definitely want to use the WordPress platform for your website. 1) its free,
and 2) you can find just about anything you could possible want to do with your site
for free i.e. through plugins and extensions.
A good WordPress template (or theme) takes out almost all the hard work of setting
up your own website, but gives you a lot of control and possibilities to expand.
Finding a good WordPress template can take a lot of time, but you really dont need
to go overboard. Find a good looking, high-quality theme designed for apps
You could also go for a free template, but these usually require more setup and
configuration. A good paid template will usually include everything you need, so all
you have to do is add a few pictures and paste in some content.
At the higher end you can try a service like ThemeForest, where WordPress
templates will run you around $30-$40 (you dont need to pay much more than this
for a top-quality theme). Plus they offer templates specifically designed for mobile
app websites.
If you intend to publish many apps, each with an individual website then consider a
service like Elegant Themes. You can get complete access to all their themes (87
themes as of this writing) for a mere $69.
Things you want from a good WordPress template:
Responsive design meaning itll look great on mobiles

Drag-and-drop page builder
Social media integration
Everything else on offer is up to your preferences and vision. Consider for example if
you need a pre-built pricing table, slideshow animation, or working forms etc.
Cost of a premium WordPress template $30-$50 depending on theme.
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Overall the costs are pretty low, and paying the little extra will save you MANY hours
of hassle that you could (should) be spending on your app ideas. Once you career
takes off you should strongly consider outsourcing this task as well.
In the meantime learn as much as you can from this experience. Setting up your
online presence is the best possible learning experience you could wish for.
Tip: make sure your website is easily shared via social media.
Your Social Media Presence

Social media is a great way to generate buzz around your app. As soon as you come
up with the right name for your company and app, you should claim your social
media handles as soon as possible.
At this point youve done your homework. Youve studied your target audience. Now
you want to create a demand for your app and drive people to download. The best
thing about social media is that for the most part it is free, with an open playing field
for everyone (even with minimal budgets).
The key to preparing your Social Media campaign is creating good content, and as
much as you can muster! Develop content that will keep your target audience
engaged for example if you are promoting a cooking app, then perhaps you can
share some of your best recipes, or killer tips for the kitchen.
Time to get creative! Its all about getting people talking and sharing!
A common way of accomplishing this is by creating a cool video. While videos are
expensive to create (from $500 to $5000) theyre one of the easiest ways to get
people wanting to download the app and try it out.
No matter what kind of content you create, make it something that describes your
app and make it funny and quirky if at all possible. The idea is to get people
excited about your app without pushing it so hard, and then get them to download.
Traditionally Facebook and Twitter are the places to go for app promotion, but you
shouldnt discount other services like Pintrest, Reddit, Instragram, or any other
content creation and sharing platform.
Tip: Go to where your audience hangs out, and talk to them there.
Aside from your own social media accounts, you should also make an effort to reach
out to other people on their accounts. Start a discussion, ask for advice, ask for a
shout out and make sure to give something back to the community.
114
Social media and the blogs are also not isolated from each other. Review blogs and
tech websites for example, are part of the app promotion eco-system, and the
easiest way to reach these kinds of influencers is through their social media
accounts (the traffic and buzz they generate are worth pursuing).
Tip: Always be relevant, and target the accounts, blogs, and sites that are in
your category e.g. if youre making a wine app, contact the wine blogs!
Once you get the ball rolling with social media, youll likely discover that it can be one
heck of a time sink if youre not careful. The next immediate step is getting an
automation tool such as HootSuite, to save you precious time by helping you publish
new content on all the major channels in an instant.
Assuming you have a few to several apps going, and the time spent on social media
becomes tiresome even with automation tools. Then is the time to start bringing a
freelance social media expert on board to carry the workload.
Tip: Automate as much as you can, and get help as soon as feasible.
Utilize Promo Codes

What are promo codes? Promo codes allow the developer to give out their apps for
free. These codes are very useful in marketing your application, and can be found in
your relevant developer account on Apple or Google.
Dont be stingy with the promo keys either, in fact you should be as generous with
them as possible. Promo keys are cheap marketing collateral, and a way for you to
put your app in the hands of influential people (such as a reputable blogger).
Throw the keys at your favorite blog, and invite them to give some away for free in
some sort of competition or lottery. If you can find a category-specific blog, youve
got a direct line to your target customers.
Promo codes are overall a great way to reach new audiences, and strengthen your
relationships and reputation with the right people.
Tip: Give out promo codes without hesitation. It never hurts.
Get Reviews
Always ask people to review your apps. If youre engaging them in social media, on
your website, or really anywhere online there is always an opportunity to ask. As
long as you are respectful and not too pushy, the worst someone can say is no.
115
You can also sign up for a free account with something like Apptentive which gives
you the ability to add in-app surveys. The service is quite expensive, but there is also
a free account option which should be plenty for your first app.
At minimum you should ask your friends and family to help you out. Just make sure
to do something nice for them afterwards.
There are also plenty of app review sites out there to request reviews for your new
app. These sites usually require promo codes for them to review your app (which is
why we told you to be generous with them!). These reviews will generate some nice
buzz for your app and hopefully will get you more downloads.
Reviews in any app marketplaces are essential, as this gives people an impression
about the quality and popularity of your app (plus it has an effect on rankings).
Here is a list of some of the more popular mobile application review websites that
you may want to contact to get some publicity:
FreshApps
AppVee
Apptism
148Apps
iPhoneAppReviews
AppRater
TheiPhoneAppReview
AppBrain
AndroidTapp
Tip: Dont be afraid to ask others to endorse your app.
Use One App to Boost Another

Cross-promoting across your apps can help them get more downloads and boost
each other in ranking. The ultimate aim of this is to get people to get more of your
apps after the download the first one.
One way to do this is by creating a "More Apps" button across your apps. Another
way is to include an ad (tastefully please) insider your app to promote your other
apps for example on a loading screen, or a dedicated ad section in lieu of a mobile
ad from a different company.
116
A Word about Paid Advertising

Weve purposely left out any mention of online advertising (such as via AdWords) for
one important reason. This type of advertising is *dominated* by the bigger brands,
and they will simply outspend you no matter your budget.
Traditional online (and most mobile) advertising is simply a waste of money for you
who are just starting out. It will continue to be a waste of money unless you can
spend a minimum of $5000 per month to do it (a better number is actually
$10,000+ per month).
Many companies spend millions on such campaigns, so even if you can compete on
that kind of level, there are much cheaper options available (as weve outlined
throughout this chapter).
Weve tried advertising on the social networks as well (Twitter and Facebook
specifically) and while these were great at getting fake fans liking our posts. The
small number of extra downloads were not worth what we had to spend on those
campaigns.
It is of course possible to be successful using these advertising channels, but we find
the high cost too much for the return. We found many cheaper and more effective
methods (which again, weve outlined throughout this chapter).
If you want to dive in to the world of paid advertising through Facebook (the only paid
advertising weve used), there is an amazing and in-depth course of Facebook
advertising at http://FBUncovered.com.
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Chapter 14: The Importance of App Ranking

The ranking of your application is the most important aspect of getting downloads.
Higher ranking equals more visibility, and the more visibility the easier and more
likely people will discover your app.
Your ultimate goal should be to make the Top 100 list of your respective category.
This is why you should choose your category strategically, as it is easier to make the
Top 100 list in less competitive categories.
What is interesting about getting to the Top 100 list is that the increased visibility
brings you more downloads, and fuels a boost in your rankings.
If you're lucky, you might make the Top 5 of your category and get in the Top 100
overall list. Below is the graph that displays the downloads for our app "Convert Units
for Free". There are three key points, where our downloads significantly increase.
A. Breaks Top 100 Overall Free (24,506 downloads)

B. Breaks Top 50 Overall Free (47,171 downloads)
C. Breaks Top 5 Overall Free (64,281 downloads)
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On point A, when our application broke the top 100, we gained more visibility and
saw a surge of downloads. We saw another spike in downloads at point B, when our
app broke the top 50. Point C is when we were on the front page of the Top Free
apps and we saw another jump in downloads.
As you can see, you app ranking is important. Weve covered quite a bit in our
marketing chapter about how to promote your app ultimately to improve your app
ranking and make it easier for people to discover your app.
Here is some additional advice that can help you improve your app ranking:
App Store Optimization (ASO)

You may have heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) which is used to improve
the search engine ranking of websites. ASO works the same way for mobile apps,
and is a powerful yet often overlooked weapon to improve rank because the
regular app store search is the number one discovery method for mobile apps.
There are two important parts to ASO 1) optimizing your keywords and 2) tracking
your competitors. While a relatively simple process, it does require time and patience
to succeed, but thankfully less in the way of money.
Apps that incorporate a keyword into their title rank on average 10% higher.
Working keywords into your title and app description can make the largest
immediate impact to ranking higher for specific search terms.
A keyword in your app title is the number 1 most important criteria used by
app store search engines.
A keyword in your app description is the 2nd most important criteria used by
app store search engines.
Track your rankings for specific keywords over time and youll begin to see
which keywords are more effective for bringing in downloads.
There are many tools for keeping track of your downloads, revenue, and app
rankings for keywords. One that we recommend and personally use ourselves is
Appfigures.com, which offers a free account for tracking up to 5 apps.
Tracking your competitors ranking for keywords is more difficult than tracking your
own, but understanding what keywords your competitors are emphasizing can give
you a competitive edge. Knowing what keywords your competitors are using gives
you the change to either try to rank higher than them on those keywords, or choose
to target other words altogether.
119
Always Improve and Increase Your Ratings & Reviews

Weve already covered how ratings and reviews can influence whether people will
download your app in the first place. No matter how many ratings you receive, you
should always be trying to get more its that important!
An interesting phenomenon weve discovered, is that it seems less important to get
5-star ratings, and more important to get MORE ratings overall. Weve seen time and
time again, that the app with 1000 3-star average reviews will get more downloads
and results than the app with 100 5-star average ratings.
Google (as of this writing) does weigh app quality more than Apple (surprisingly), but
apps with more ratings still generally get to the top. Sure, given an equal number of
ratings, the one with the better average will come out on top BUT you will still find
plenty of 1 or 2-star apps in the top 10 for any given search.
This means you should not necessarily obsess about getting perfect ratings each
time, but do try to get as many as you can. Our point is that good ratings are nice,
but they are not the end of the world if you dont get them.
We also highly recommend you sign up for a free account with something like
Apptentive, which gives you the ability to quickly add in-app surveys. The paid
service is quite expensive, but there is also a free account option which should be
plenty for your first app.
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Conclusion
Our goal with this eBook was to open your eyes to the wide array of possibilities
available to you with mobile applications. There are a million possibilities in terms of
the variety of apps you can develop and tons of potential for big products.
You are now equipped with the tools to build and complete your very own mobile
apps from start to finish. Now, of course, there is more than one way to accomplish
the daunting task of getting your idea up and running. But we've presented you with
the keys to success without all the hard work. You get to be an overseer. Once
you've hired your developer and designer, simply stay in contact, check back
regularly and prepare for launch.
Never before has there been such an opportunity for passive income. The Internet
and cellular phones provide diversity and reach to such a huge audience. We don't
know about you, but our heartbeat goes up as we think about what that means in
terms of profit potential.
Now's the time to "grab the bull by the horns." Take everything we've taught you in
this book and put it into action today. Take one step at a time. Your idea may be
small and simple, but powerful. Every step you take is one more toward profit,
success, and passive income that could change your life forever!
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Copyright,

Legal Notice and Disclaimer:

Copyright 2015 The App Shortcut. All rights reserved worldwide.

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How to Setup Your Own Business Entity ......................................................................................... 29

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Choose Your Category Wisely .......................................................................................................... 51

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How to Make Money from Free Apps .......................................................................................... 96

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Chapter 1: Success Stories

A Few of Our Applications

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Flash for Free

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Convert Units for Free:

Convert for Free #3 Top Free

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Baby Maker - $2.99

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Splash of Color FREE (Now known

Splash of Color FREE (Now known

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Chapter 3: Unlimited Possibilities

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Success Stories of Other Applications

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Sound Grenade (free):

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Push For Pizza

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Chapter 4: Business First

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4. Easier to Sell / Get Bought Out

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2. Time to Get Approved

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Types of Businesses and Why They Matter

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4. Limited Liability Company (LLC)

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How to Setup Your Own Business Entity

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Your Business Bank Account

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In order to get a business banking account, as we mentioned above, you're going to