i

Copyright  2018 by Muoyo Okome

All rights reserved.

You may distribute this ebook freely, sell it, or include it as part of a package, as long as it is left
completely intact and unchanged, and delivered via this PDF file.

All registered trademarks in this book are property of their respective owners.

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

App Magic Publishing

www.appmagic.co

Facebook: Muoyo Okome

Instagram: @RealAppMagic
Twitter: @MoreAppMagic
LinkedIn: Muoyo Okome

i
Table of Contents

Praise for The Seven Steps to App Success ................................................................................. iii

Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... vi
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
Mindset......................................................................................................................................... 13
Market Research ......................................................................................................................... 24
Business Models .......................................................................................................................... 37
Monetization ................................................................................................................................ 43
Marketing .................................................................................................................................... 52
Building Your Team ................................................................................................................... 73
Building Your App and Business .............................................................................................. 85
Bonus ............................................................................................................................................ 93
Afterword..................................................................................................................................... 94
Invite Muoyo to Speak at Your Next Event! ............................................................................ 96
About the Author ........................................................................................................................ 97
Appendix A: Action Steps .......................................................................................................... 98
Appendix B: Resources............................................................................................................. 105
Appendix C: App Mogul Mindset ........................................................................................... 109

ii
Praise for The Seven Steps to App Success

“Muoyo is very knowledgeable about apps and has had great success in the industry. Though I
had no prior tech experience whenI started working with him, soon after, I was able to publish
two apps and I was off to the races. I learned so much I had the confidence to leave my job and
build COSIGN, an app-based e-commerce company that I now work on full time. If you are
thinking about working with Muoyo, just go for it. It will be worth your time.”
- Esosa Ighodaro, Cofounder at COSIGN

“Muoyo is the real deal. He is very smart and he also genuinely cares about helping the people
around him succeed. Every time you hear about Muoyo having some big success in business,
he’s going to tell you about it. He’s going to share it with you. He’s going to tell you how he did
it, and he’s going to teach the people around him how to have the same success. He breaks it
down into the kind of step-by-step process that is most powerful for results.”
- Carter Thomas, Founder at Bluecloud and Coin Mastery

“I met Muoyo years ago and he’s just one of those dynamic people that immediately grabs your
attention. It was no surprise that he rocketed to the top with his app business and continues to
crush it. Smart guy.”
- Trey Smith, Founder & CEO at Buildbox

“Muoyo was instrumental in me taking the leap from corporate America to start my own app
business. With Muoyo’s guidance I was able to avoid many of the common pitfalls and mistakes
many app entrepreneurs face. I’ve now been running app businesses for the last 3 years, and have
already had one successful exit. Muoyo is one of those rare people who knows how to win and
genuinely likes to help others win as well.”
- Emeka Oguh, Founder at PeopleJoy

iii
Foreword

L
ike many of you, my journey as an app entrepreneur began with an idea and a desire,
but no blueprint for success. At times, developing a top-rated app seemed like an
insurmountable task. I was skeptical as to whether I had the chops to develop a quality
project and whether the effort would be worth it. I knew that in order to put my best foot
forward, I needed guidance from someone who understood the process and could meet me where
I was. I received this and more from Muoyo Okome.

Working with Muoyo had been on my radar for quite some time, but my own limiting beliefs
prevented me from contacting him. I’d convinced myself that my project was much too small for
Muoyo and his App Magic team to even consider. But much to my surprise, Muoyo was
completely receptive to working with me and even helped me execute a grander vision from a
business perspective. He directed me to resources to improve my chances of success, offered
insights from his own experience as an app expert/businessman and was patient, which allowed
me to settle in and focus. Looking back, I can only laugh at myself for the time I wasted.

You may be asking yourself what makes Muoyo’s guidance so unique. Muoyo’s insights bring a
great deal of value that extends well beyond just app development. He has a special gift of
distilling relatively complex concepts in ways that are easy to digest. I think this ability to
capture the “simplicity on the far side of complexity” is a mark of genius. Muoyo’s
recommendations on books, podcasts, online courses, and articles sharpened my entrepreneurial
prowess and boosted my confidence in the process. He has pointed me in the right direction so
many times that I no longer hesitate to explore his suggestions. As entrepreneurs, we can choose
to make the necessary sacrifices and do the work or not, but if you are in it to win it there’s
nothing more you can ask for.

Perhaps the most meaningful part of my experience working with Muoyo is seeing firsthand that
he genuinely wants others to win! It matters to him and that has had a resounding effect on me.
It’s not just about a check. It can’t be. He has over-delivered by far too much for that to be the

iv
case. Muoyo demonstrated a personal investment in seeing my project succeed and it has proven
invaluable to my team and me.

If you are hoping to learn from someone who executes and produces results, who is a great
collaborator and effective communicator, who has a proven track record of immense success,
and is an overall genuine person who doesn’t take himself too seriously, then you’ve come to the
right place. Muoyo fits the mold and then some. He is fair, honest, measured and patient, which
has been huge for me, particularly given the steep learning curve with which I entered this
process.

I’m grateful to Muoyo and his App Magic team for making my introduction into the app space
such a fruitful experience. The results have been astounding, the learning has been incredible and
the personal and professional growth I’ve had in such a short time span has surpassed my wildest
expectations.

So, what are you waiting for? Jump in, engage, and get ready to change the game.

- Alexander Okafor, Cofounder at Napturalista Moji

v
Acknowledgements

I recently read a Twitter status which started: “My parents were tasked with the job of
survival and I with self-actualization. The immigrant generation gap is real.”

My parents arrived in the United States in 1981 as grad students from Nigeria with two ugly
yellow suitcases and a bad check from a so-called family friend who had purchased their car.
Through their hard work and sacrifices, they proceeded to build a life full of possibility for my
brother and I, teaching us that anything is possible through positivity, learning, and relentless
work, all while keeping a sense of humor and playfulness (and preparing delicious Nigerian
food). I’ll never forget it or take anything in my life for granted.

Thank you to my late grandma, who taught me “Hard work does not kill. It is poverty that kills,”
and many other pieces of Yoruba wisdom she not only spoke of, but lived by; to my students and
clients, whose success means the world to me, who have enabled me to clarify, refine, and distill
my thoughts on what it takes to build an app-based business; to the App Magic team and our
amazing partners, who I love working and learning with in the trenches every day; and to the
many entrepreneurs who have paved the way, including mentors such as Trey Smith, Zeb Jaffer,
Carter Thomas, and Chad Mureta, as well as others who have taught and inspired me from afar,
such as Tom Bilyeu, MJ DeMarco, Reginald Lewis, and the list goes on and on.

Thanks also to my editor and friend, Angela Clements Johnson, who has spent many long hours
helping shape my very raw thoughts into a truly useful resource we can all be proud of, that will
go on to help many people.

And last but certainly not least, thank you to my beautiful wife, Nicaila Matthews Okome, whose
always direct and timely feedback I have come to trust and rely on, and who has encouraged and
pushed me every step of the way. I promise we’ll take more vacations.

vi
Introduction

I.

PERSONAL PHOTO – MUOYO OKOME, 2016

T
o many, this is simply a photo of a gym parking lot in 2016. But for me, its significance
is far more. Three years prior to that day, I had recently escaped corporate America. I
still vividly recall that first taste of the 10:30 a.m. sun I had never been able to enjoy
from my work cubicle.

It was a beautiful day. I was outside simply because I wanted to be outside. Imagine that.

I glanced at the sky, felt the sun warm my skin, then felt the breeze cool my skin, and couldn't
help but think, "This is the best thing ever—this is life" (which might seem a funny thing to say
about sitting on some stairs).

1
But I was right. More than anything, including money, the app business has given me
tremendous freedom and control of my time.

This holds true whether I am at home, in New York visiting my parents, or even in Hawaii to
speak at a conference. I no longer have to ask for the right.

OAHU, HAWAII - 2016 (TO SPEAK AT A CONFERENCE… AND PROPOSE TO MY WIFE)

Perhaps you want the same. Perhaps there is a burning idea you want to get off the ground. Or
perhaps you want to learn an exciting new skillset. Whatever the case, I think I can help.

2
II.

April 30th, 2013—one of the best days of my life.

As a young child, perhaps around five, I used to tell everyone, “I’m going to retire by the time
I’m 35… I’m GOING TO RETIRE by the time I’m 35.”

So, on April 30th, 2013, a couple months shy of my 30th birthday, I walked away from my job.

I wrote a letter thanking my employer for everything, but acknowledging that it was time for new
challenges. You see, at that time I had started to become more successful outside my job than
inside it. I had a side hustle—which had slowly become my main hustle; so I told them, “I’m
out!”

FAREWELL EMAIL

Fast forward a few years… I still wouldn’t say I’m retired, but I will say I’m free.

3
III.

My journey has never been linear.

After graduate school, I decided to go into consulting and soon found myself politely rejected by
every single company I applied to (thanks to all 30 of you guys).

REJECTION EMAIL

I eventually landed a job with Microsoft and within a year or so, I had distinguished myself
enough to be demoted. Ouch!

Searching for some hope on the internet, I started to become acquainted with the world of mobile
apps. I started an app business on the side simply as an avenue to learn something new and have
at least one positive thing going on in my life at a time when it seemed everything was going
wrong. That was about the extent of it.

My business generated $81.78 in the first month. Progress was initially slow, but started to ramp
up with consistent work and obsession. Six months later, I received a seven-figure offer to buy it.
I turned it down and twelve million downloads later, here I am.

In the ever-changing world of apps, one can never stop learning, nor should you want to. I also
believe this about life. As I continue the journey of developing my skills towards mastery, I offer
you the strategies and resources that have fueled my success thus far. I learn a little more each
day, and if you stick with me, I promise to share it all with you.

4
How about you?

I’d love to know a bit about you as well, and what you want from this experience. What piques
your interest about the app business and how do you see it changing your life?

My Goal for You

For quite a while now, I’ve dreamed of helping one million entrepreneurs succeed. At the time of
writing, I still have a long way to go, but any time I can help to make even a small difference, it
truly gives me energy. I’ll never get tired of that.

Given my experience in the app business, and the massive, growing potential of the space, it only
makes sense that this would be the vehicle and the platform to do so. Drawing from my
successes, failures, and learnings, I wrote this book to help you gain the skills, processes, clarity,
and confidence needed to start and grow your app business—hopefully the type of app business
that will enable you to constantly build your skills while granting you the freedom to choose how
you spend your time. Though the purpose of this book is to help you develop your app business
prowess, many of processes explained here can be applied successfully to any business at all.

And just so we’re clear, though I do occasionally consult with companies and coach students on
the app business, you don’t need to purchase any of that to succeed. My intention is that this
book (along with a bit of Google, YouTube, and hustle) will be the only thing you need to get
started. Everything I have, you will receive in these pages. I’m not holding anything back!

Why Apps?

What initially attracted me to the app industry was not just the eye-popping numbers and growth
rates, but also the many stories of individuals and small teams making a huge impact, and
building significant businesses on their own terms, many of them starting their journey on nights

5
and weekends while still working their day jobs. What if I could become one of these
individuals? What if you can?

Apple iOS downloads reached 30.5 billion in 2017 and iOS revenues nearly doubled to $42.5
billion from 2015 to 2017; and this doesn’t even account for the explosion in the Android
marketplace. Competition is more fierce, but opportunities continue to increase. Though wins
may be harder to access than during the “wild west times” when any fart or flashlight app could
generate six to seven figures, the opportunity is getting larger, not smaller.

Personally, my own experience mirrors these market trends, as only this year, 2018, have I
signed what are potentially the biggest, most lucrative and exciting deals of my career, and am
currently working to ensure they bear fruit. As exciting as the past has been, the future is far
bigger and more compelling.

A Living Document

The truth is that the mobile app industry is constantly evolving, as is my knowledge on the topic.
Rather than any sort of guru or expert, I will always be a student of the game with ever more to
learn, and so this book will serve as a living document. To receive the latest and greatest
resources and insights as I update this book, join my mailing list by clicking the following link
and entering your email address: appmagic.co/connect. Or, simply enjoy the book as it is. Your
choice.

Simplicity

My goal with this book is to take you from Point A to Point B on the simplest path possible, with
no extra fluff in between. I’ll always tell you what’s real.

A part of my journey has included teaching a course on app entrepreneurship. Students enrolled
in the course for a variety of reasons—some of which may resonate with you. When asked to

6
identify where they currently see themselves (Point A) and where they strive to land (Point B),
they shared the following responses:

Point A:
● I don’t know where to start.
● Fear of failure/lack of insight.
● I need to learn how to create apps for myself in a repeatable way.
● I have a different app idea every month.
● I want to understand what works and what doesn’t.
● I’ve tried this before and I want to understand if I did something wrong or if it’s even
feasible.
● I want an avenue to make my ideas a reality, but I need the knowledge about where to
start.
● I’m uncertain if I’m ready.

Point B:
● I understand I don’t need to be technical or a genius, or have “an amazing idea”.
● I have a definite sense of direction.
● I’ve learned the Seven Steps to App Success to get me going in the marketplace.
● I’ve installed the App Mogul Mindset. I am confident in my expertise.

I use these direct quotes at the beginning of chapters to provide some examples you might find
relatable, from people in a similar situation. Regardless of your starting point or end goal, this
book will help guide you along the way.

Getting the Most Out of this Book

This book contains stories and lessons, as well as Action Steps. To get the most out of it, you
need to actually DO the Action Steps. And generally, get used to DOING. If you have a
question, of course you can ask it in the group, but also get used to going to Google or running a
quick test to find out for yourself. The most successful people will have a bias for action.
Reading and passively learning will not get you the results you seek. For easy reference, a

7
comprehensive list of Action Steps and Resources listed within the text is included at the end of
the book.

By the end of our time together I challenge you to have your app on the store, or at least have
that process underway so we can start to build your business, generate cash flow, and stack up
some wins. Once you have the feeling of going to sleep and waking up with downloads and
revenue you did not have before going to sleep, there is no going back. You will want to keep
going, and learning, and growing.

Community

Throughout my time in this business, I have benefited from interacting with people at various
levels of expertise. Mentors who pave the way, peer entrepreneurs who hustle alongside me, and
novices who are eager to get started all add value and passion to the intricate community of app
entrepreneurs. I recommend you find your village, as there is no shortage of opportunity. I truly
believe we can do better together.

You are invited to join our private community of entrepreneurs learning the app game on
Facebook by clicking here: appmagic.co/fb

Surveys

I value your feedback. Why? Because it helps me produce the best content possible, which will
in turn help you. Consider using the surveys listed at the end of each chapter to inform me of
your progress. What’s working for you? What’s not? What questions do you still have? Hearing
your unique perspective will allow me to continue to improve this process, making it as effective
for you as I can.

I really do want to hear from you!

8
What You Will Need

Beyond this book, you only need a few things to get started:

● A laptop;
● A smartphone (which is technically “optional” but certainly optimal); and
● An App Store account (you can sign up in a matter of minutes).

But most importantly, if this is going to work, you need to have tenacity. Things will not always
be easy and you will certainly meet obstacles along the way. When that happens, I hope you will
take a deep breath, focus on your desired outcome, and push through.

"The genius thing that we did was, we didn’t give

up." -Jay-Z

A Note on iOS & Android

When I first began my app entrepreneurship journey years ago, the landscape was completely
different. Holding the vast majority of both app downloads and app revenue, iOS dominated the
app marketplace in a near monopoly while Google Play trailed in a distant second place. Smaller
app stores like Amazon, Microsoft, and Blackberry fought for the crumbs.

This market dominance, combined with the simplicity of developing for iOS made it a more
attractive and welcoming place to start for an aspiring app entrepreneur. Android’s dozens of
device resolutions and operating system versions proved to be cumbersome when compared to
the ease of use with iOS.

9
APP ANNIE

In the years since, Google has surged, taking a significant lead in downloads, with 70% of
worldwide downloads in 2017. Despite this trend, iOS still benefits from the majority of app
revenue, with 66% of worldwide consumer spend in 2017. This means that on average, each iOS
download will still generate more revenue than a download on Android. Given these financial
realities, and the fact that it is STILL simpler and less costly to develop for iOS, it is the platform
I recommend focusing your efforts on first, and thus the platform you will see more examples on
throughout this book. Please know that all of the techniques described are applicable to Android
as well. Once you have succeeded on iOS, you can expand there.

Innovation

As entrepreneurs (if you are reading these words, then yes, I am talking to you), we earn our
keep through innovation, which Merriam-Webster defines as “the introduction of something
new” or “a new idea, method, or device—novelty”. Essentially, we can think of it as “doing new
stuff”. However, not all innovation is created equal. In a past life when I worked for IBM, our
company motto was, “Innovation that Matters”.

10
 TIP: Innovation only matters to the extent that it brings value to the customer in a way
that matters to them.

For our purposes here, innovation does NOT simply mean doing something that has never been
done before. This approach creates much lower rates of success. My experience has taught me
that it can often be better to focus on initial success, dutifully save your profits until they
sufficiently accumulate, and use your newfound freedom to innovate to your heart’s desire.

The Seven Steps to App Success

I came up with the Seven Steps to App Success (pictured below), as a simple way to visualize
the process required to achieve a successful outcome in the app entrepreneurship game.

MUOYO OKOME, 2018

The model drives home the point that, similar to other domains, success in the app business is a
process (I first heard it described this way in MJ DeMarco’s The Millionaire Fastlane, a book
11
which I highly recommend for any aspiring entrepreneur). It is not an event that just happens one
day.

Most people’s initial instinct is to get an app idea, ask a few friends their opinion, and then start
looking for a developer. This scenario is a recipe for failure, as the foundation of your app and
your business will be shaky from the start. It also sets the false expectation that you are likely to
succeed by creating one app from one brilliant concept, when the reality is that most success
stories take a number of iterations of the process in order to produce the big results we all dream
of. Following the Seven Steps to App Success in the proper order and continuing to do so over
time leads to a stronger foundation and a higher probability of success.

12
Mindset

W
hen I first started learning about this industry, one of my first app mentors, Chad
Mureta, suggested the technique of repeating, “I am an App Millionaire” to
myself, until I believed it on a subconscious level. As ridiculous as it seemed at
that time (and it seemed pretty damn ridiculous), my frustration with my job and life in general
had reached a point where I was ready to try nearly anything to gain some momentum and turn
things around. Maybe you can relate, or maybe not. And so, I repeated the phrase over and over
in my car as I yelled and pounded on the steering wheel (surely a strange scene for anyone who
happened to pass by)—but you know what? It worked.

Most successful entrepreneurs believe that it all starts with your mindset, and I am no exception
to that rule. No matter how great your ideas, technical knowledge, or developer relationships,
without the right mindset, success will be elusive and short lived.

13
Any success that I have had as an entrepreneur began with the strong belief that “it is possible”
and “I can”. If you don’t have that belief in yourself yet, that is OK, you will need to work to
develop it.

INSTAGRAM - THINKGROWPROSPER

You will also need to internalize (and I am repeating myself because it is important) that success
is a process and will not happen overnight once you find the right developer or any other singular
event. Rather, it is best to start small and fast and continue developing skills and experience you
will need over the long term, enjoying the journey along the way.

"Stop worrying about winning a championship and

focus obsessively on becoming capable of a
championship performance." -Tom Bilyeu
14
On the next page, and in Appendix C, you will find the App Mogul Mindset—a list of
completely unoriginal but extremely empowering statements I’ve discovered along my journey.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu, whose Impact Theory Belief System
serves as the basis for the App Mogul Mindset, to Trey Smith, from whom I first learned the
concept of “Model and Improve”, as well as to the many books, thinkers, and ideas that have
helped me to form a powerful world view which I am now sharing with you.

The most important thing about beliefs is that you can choose them and you can change them.
There are empowering beliefs and disempowering beliefs. Given this insight, I highly
recommend choosing ONLY those beliefs which serve our goals, and letting go of those which
do not.

If the beliefs that make up the App Mogul Mindset resonate with you, I encourage you to revisit
them regularly. Print them out, write them down, screenshot or photograph them, stare at them,
add to them—do whatever you must do to internalize them and add them to your belief system.

Can you agree to all of this?

Obsession is a Gift

While I don’t expect this opinion to be popular, I do want you to hear me out. When observing
entrepreneurs I know who have experienced a certain level of success compared to those that
stay perpetually in the aspiring stage, I often notice a difference. While not universal, and not in
every season of life, for the periods of time when they are trying to reach the next level, rather
than pursuing “balance”, those in the first group tend to deploy a level of focus and commitment
bordering on obsession—and believe it or not, I mean that as a compliment.

15
 APP MOGUL MINDSET
■ Read It ■ Believe It ■ Live It ■ #MOGULMINDSET ■

The App Mogul…

. . . knows human potential is nearly limitless.
. . . sees growth as the highest priority, and invests in themselves continuously.
. . . decides who they want to become… and takes action appropriately.
. . . knows that beliefs are a choice, and chooses ONLY those beliefs that serve them.
. . . has a long-term outlook on business and life.
. . . begins with the end in mind.
. . . COMMITS to their success.
. . . seeks simplicity first.
. . . has VERY clear goals, and breaks them into concrete action steps.
. . . does that which moves them toward their goals.
. . . does NOT do that which moves them away from their goals.
. . . takes FULL responsibility for their own success.
. . . does not make excuses.
. . . thinks BIG… but also acts small.
. . . is data driven, and makes decisions with data instead of emotions.
. . . is customer and market focused.
. . . models and improves.
. . . takes action imperfectly: Progress > Perfection and Done > Perfect.
. . . knows that failure is a key part of success and is willing to make mistakes.
. . . takes REASONABLE risks so that the failure is never fatal.
. . . understands that Community is a safe place to make mistakes.
. . . shares lessons learned from mistakes (and successes) with others in the Community.
. . . knows that there are no magic bullets.
. . . is consistent, taking one small step every day.
. . . cares more about finding the right answer than about winning the argument.
. . . motivates and inspires those around them.
. . . is relentless.
. . . is resourceful.
. . . plows through.
. . . always thinks positive.
. . . realizes we create our own happiness, and happiness precedes success.
. . . knows it’s all a game, and is ready to have fun doing it.

& Remember…
"Do the thing, and you shall have the power. The only “Your philosophy creates your attitudes, which create
person you are destined to become is the person you your actions, which create your results, which create
decide to be." your life.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson - Jeff Olson

"The formula for success? Double your rate of failure" “Consistently repeated daily actions + Time =
- Thomas J. Watson Unconquerable Results”
- Jeff Olson

16
In the chapter of his entrepreneur’s manifesto, The 10X Rule, entitled “Obsession Isn't a Disease;
It's a Gift”, Grant Cardone posits:

“Would human beings have made it into space if a team of people hadn't been obsessed
with making it happen? Can a country become great without its leaders being obsessed
with greatness? Would any remarkable leader water down his or her dreams and
encourage the team to adopt a “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude? Of course not! ... Never cut
anything, never dilute greatness, never pull back on your horsepower, and never put a
limit on your ambition, drive, and passion. Demand obsession of yourself and all those
around you. Never make it wrong to be obsessed; instead, make it your goal.”

In my own life, I tend to be a person that often gets obsessed with my goals, at times to the
detriment of other areas of life (it is a flaw as well as a strength). And while I would not
recommend going to that extreme, you have to know that there is no easy button. As great as I
would like to think this book is, reading it does not absolve you from putting in the time and
doing the actual work. For any chance at the outsized results of your dreams, you truly have to
immerse yourself in it, surround yourself with it, continue to learn everything you can about it,
and do whatever it takes over the long term.

This excerpt from my article in the Huffington Post may help to illustrate what I mean by
obsession and how it has helped me along the way:

Can’t place the exact date, but I’ll never forget the feeling... Driving down Washington
Blvd in my Mazda, tears welling up in my eyes.

I generally never cry, but this time the tears were ready. I couldn’t understand how I had
worked so hard just to become a failure yet again.

Had recently learned at work that of our cohort of eight MBA graduates, two would be
getting promoted, while six of us would be taking a lesser title. Something about cost
issues, blah blah blah...

17
My pay was not being decreased, but I have to tell you it stung... and that I felt
disrespected, and not for the first time.

Several times before that I found myself wondering why I needed an MBA to make 100
photocopies, or why I was being instructed to get up from the meeting table so that
someone my age and rank could take my seat, or why I was being yelled at over the
phone on Saturday night because someone’s revenue numbers were not as he wished they
were... No, that was not the first time, but it was the final straw... and I have to thank God
for that moment & that feeling because it fueled my fire.

Once I got past the sadness and into the anger, I found myself flung into action, doing
unreasonable things like deciding to attend a networking conference in Indiana the night
before it happened (and spending ~$2,000 for the weekend) in hopes of getting any other
job.

Unreasonable things like spending $10,000 and $2,000 respectively on two different
courses on developing mobile apps and games through outsourcing (thank God for my
signing bonus).

Unreasonable things like affirming to myself “I am an app millionaire” over and over at
high volumes in my car and spending every waking moment that I had free working on or
at least thinking about my business.

Sometimes unreasonable things are precisely what it takes.

I spent about 6 months getting my first app developed, working through setbacks such as
a talented artist who could not really speak English (turns out communication is
important) and a talented developer who was in the middle of school exams in addition to
my own inexperience, which led me to focus my attention on the wrong areas which did
not provide leverage.

Still at the end of 6 months, I was very proud to have an app on the App Store... and boy

18
 did I learn a lot. The learning I was doing every day just to keep up made me feel alive in
a way that the Excels & Powerpoints of my day job could never match. I was hooked.

My first month on the store I achieved 936 downloads and made $81.78, divided into
$38.72 in advertising revenue from Chartboost (a mobile ads network) and $43.06 in
paid app/in app purchase revenue from Apple.

Thrilling...

The next month we got 2762 downloads for $132.38 and I kept working. Realized I
needed to get more downloads so read everything I could find about app marketing and
sought out some of the more successful members of the group for mentorship, forming
relationships by offering them the best information that I could manage to find and
generally trying to be helpful.

The next month I made $1196.68, on 22651 downloads... which was actually enough to
cover my rent plus a little. We were getting somewhere now. Stayed in the $1000-$2000
range for the following 3 months and continued to spend A LOT of time researching the
market and learning about marketing techniques/search optimization. Early that
December I published 3 games, 2 of which immediately took off, largely due to my
research. I would go on to earn significantly more from the business that month than I
did from the job I had come to hate. I would not leave the job for another 4 months, but it
was clear life would never be “normal” again.

During the earliest stages of my business, it was not even a business yet. It was a side project. I
still had my day job and I did not have a lot of free time. I lived in an old townhouse apartment
that cost roughly half as much as those of my work peers. Though a number of people close to
me find it hilarious to this day, that choice allowed me more funds to invest in myself, my
business, and my freedom. I stopped watching TV. I barely socialized. I would be surprised if I
made it to the gym (some more time at the gym probably would have helped, but alas). I think
you get the point.

19
For however many months it took for me to gain traction, my life was about going to work,
returning home, immersing myself in books, courses, and the marketplace to learn about apps,
and putting my learnings into practice in my business. And you know what? I actually enjoyed
the pursuit. I am not telling you this because it’s right. I am telling you because it is my story,
and it worked. While you don’t need to be as crazy as I am, a little obsession may not hurt your
results.

Invest in Yourself

Beyond just reading this book, you must actively plan to invest time, money, and effort into
developing yourself—and it all starts with your mindset. I have included some of my favorite
resources on the topic. I highly recommend you explore.

Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.

Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch1

ACTION STEPS:

❏ App Mogul Mindset

❏ Take steps to internalize the App Mogul Mindset. Read it. Save it. Print it. Put it
somewhere you will see it every day (your fridge, your phone’s lock screen, etc.).

❏ Write down any other empowering beliefs that help you focus on success.

❏ Share what you are doing to internalize empowering beliefs in the group.

❏ Set Your Goals

❏ When things get challenging, it is often your WHY that will carry you through.
Think about WHY you want to master this process and write it down (for

20
 example, my big reason why is freedom).

❏ Decide on your goal for the app business and write it down. I recommend using
the Goal Setting to Now framework, introduced by the book The One Thing by
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (see below).

THE ONE THING (BOOK)

Goal Setting to Now allows you to connect your Purpose you want to achieve
someday with your Priority you will work on today.

❏ If you are comfortable doing so, share your work in the group.

21
❏ Create Your Disney
This is another powerful exercise courtesy of Gary Keller. In 1957, Walt Disney drew a
sketch of what is essentially the modern-day Disney empire before any of it existed.

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS, 1957

❏ Ask yourself, “If you could wave the magic wand and have everything you could
possibly want happen for your business, what would that look like?”

22
 ❏ Take a blank sheet of paper and draw it.

❏ If you are comfortable doing so, share your work in the group.

❏ Block Your Calendar

When asked about success in his field, comedian Jerry Seinfeld attributes it largely to
consistency. Early in his career he identified that the key to becoming a better comic was
to write better jokes, and the key to writing better jokes was to write them every day. So,
using an oversized wall calendar, for each day he performed the task of joke writing, he
placed a large red X over the date. His goal became not to break the chain of Xs,
allowing him to build massive momentum.

❏ Build your own massive momentum. Whether it is once a week on the weekends
or one hour in the evening every week day, decide exactly when you will be
working on your app business, and set a recurring block on your calendar.

❏ Share a screenshot of your calendar or tell us when you plan to work on your app
business in the group.

23
Market Research

Point A:
● I don't know where to start. I have no knowledge in this industry.
● I don't have any app ideas. I don't know what to do and how to monetize it.
● One of my biggest hurdles is not knowing what to do next.
● I sometimes get insecure not having a tech background.
● I have no app, just the IDEA itself.
● What tools/resources do you use to perform your research?
● What are the best data sources to identify market/customer needs?
● At what point do you stop researching to start executing?

Point B:
● The market will tell me everything I need to succeed.
● My app idea is viable and my business will be profitable.
● I have a repeatable process for generating more high-potential app ideas at will.

24
Ideas are

YOUTUBE - GARYVEE FANS

“I
have an app idea,” may be the most common phrase I hear on a weekly, if not daily,
basis. Nearly everyone wants to innovate by launching their million-dollar idea that
the world has never before seen (I have heard a lot of these over the years). An idea
pops up in a flash of inspiration as you walk down the street, ride on the subway, or bathe in the
shower, and though that can be a beautiful thing, most times it will not lead to a sound business.

25
Am I saying that this strategy is impossible to execute? Of course not. But any entrepreneur who
wants to create something that has never before been seen (and consequently never been
demanded by the market) should understand the tremendous risks that come along with that
strategy. They should be aware of the high probability of producing a product that no one wants
or needs.

100FIRSTHITS.COM

This mistake has single-handedly killed many more businesses than the culprits about which new
entrepreneurs worry, like lack of money or having an idea stolen. I’ve been there before, and
trust me, it is not a lot of fun.

The great news: there is another way. Rather than stake your chances on being a one-in-a-
generation type of visionary while you are getting your feet wet, why not take your cues from
data sourced from the market so you can produce exactly what it wants? Why not have a higher
probability of initial success and learnings, and build momentum and confidence that you can
then carry into your future projects? What I am describing is a process known as reverse
engineering the market.

26
 “A victorious army wins its victories before seeking
battle” -Sun Tzu

The goal of any business is to solve the problem of a customer. As entrepreneurs, this means that
our first step is to identify the need or problem we will address. Reverse engineering allows you
to shortcut this process by discovering which problems people want solved by observing the apps
they are already demanding and learning from the patterns observed. The goal here is NOT to
create copies of the apps that you find, but rather to develop a sense of what the market wants
that is truly grounded in data and thus grounded in reality.

A $48,000 Lesson

Around the time my apps first started ranking in the top charts, I received a phone call from a
friend of a friend who wanted some advice on an app that he was building. Not long into our
conversation, I learned that he had spent $48,000 getting the initial version developed, and
though he did not say so explicitly, observing the lack of ratings and reviews on the app listing as
well as the app’s low ranking on the charts, it was painfully obvious that not many people were
using this app and there was absolutely no way he would make his investment back. As he
transitioned to telling me about the new, much better developer he found to help him develop
version two for “only $32,000” and asking for advice on that, I felt a pain in the pit of my
stomach on his behalf and gently stopped him.

The problem here was not the first developer, nor was it the second (though I have no idea how
good either one was). It was that he had come up with a “brilliant idea” in a vacuum and decided
to drop a large amount of money on it without ever verifying that anyone would want to pay
money for it or even use it.

Don’t let this be you. As much as we all like to dream about overnight success, success is a
process and a journey. It always takes a while to get there. More likely than not your first app,
your first business, your first anything is bound to be more of a failure and an education than it is

27
a runaway success, but it will 100% help you to develop vital skills you will need to eventually
succeed.

FUNDERS AND FOUNDERS, ANNA VITAL

Knowing this, it is better to keep the first project smaller, simpler, and less expensive while you
learn the tools and the skills that will help you become a more effective entrepreneur and help
your future apps flourish. So, while you are finding your way (and even after), you might as well
reverse engineer the market.

When reverse engineering the market, our goal is to identify apps exhibiting consistent high-
level performance that we could potentially build at a relatively low cost. And how do we know
how much each app will cost to build? Well, we don’t. But we can make educated guesses, and a
good rule of thumb is that simplicity lowers the cost while complexity raises it.

28
 TIP: When estimating the cost of development, remember that simplicity lowers the cost
while complexity raises it.

For example, a complex app like Lyft, with many moving parts required behind the scenes,
would be far more expensive to develop than a simple note taking app. Further, the team that you
hire, their track record of experience, and where they are based will also affect your cost of
development—but I will get more into that when we discuss building your team in a later
chapter. As you spend more time navigating these processes, you will get a better sense for what
makes an app more or less expensive to produce.

Keys to Reverse Engineering

The reverse engineering process is quite simple, but yet very powerful.

● Monitor the Top Charts section of the App Store daily (Paid, Free, and Top Grossing) to
see which apps are present.
● Look for trends and patterns.
● Consider longevity: Has the app you’re reviewing been ranking highly long term (for at
least a number of months)? Or is it a flash in the pan?
● Conduct “deep dive research” on the app’s theme, audience, icon, keywords, and
screenshots. What stands out and what can you learn?
● Look for “amateurs”, anomalies, and any apps that look out of place. Often those apps
can teach us a lot about what is currently working in the marketplace, even when their
own success may not be long-lasting.
● If you are starting from an idea that you’ve developed independently of research, you can
still use the tips above. Look for similar apps that help to prove (or disprove) that the
market will use the app you want to produce. You can use these apps to learn a lot about
how you should and should not build yours.

29
Market Research Overview

Perhaps the most important lesson in this entire book, Market Research will determine the
direction for your business and your success. By using the techniques explained here, you can
discover exactly the kind of app customers are already demanding, and precisely what they
desire from the app to improve its utility and value. Take note of all available information and let
the data guide your decisions (as you should in any business that you enter).

Some questions you should explore include:

● Which apps are worth pursuing?

● How should the apps be marketed?
● Which business and monetization models will be most advantageous for your situation?
● Who is your target audience?
● Which apps resonate (and do not resonate) with your target audience?

One great thing about apps is the significant amount of data that is publicly available for
consumption. This allows for a level of transparency and insight from which many other
businesses may not benefit. A great deal of this data is available from the app stores themselves.
One key example is the Top Charts feature. Both the App Store and Google Play use Top Charts
to provide insight into how the top apps in the marketplace are ranked. Though the algorithms
will never be fully disclosed, Top Free apps are currently getting the most downloads among free
apps, Top Paid apps are currently getting the most downloads among paid apps, and Top
Grossing apps are currently making the most money among all apps whether free or paid (note
that this ranking does not include revenue earned via external ad networks or other sources
external to the app stores). It’s a good idea to review the Top Charts each day, or at least
regularly, either at the top level of the App Store, within your categories of interest, or both. It is
truly a wealth of information.

30
How to Conduct Market Research in the Store

Market research is not only one of the most important topics we will cover, but also one of my
favorites. The key takeaway here (not rocket science, I know), is that if you look at enough apps
in great enough detail over a long enough period of time, you can start to figure out what works
and what doesn’t work. As obvious as it may seem, most people do not do this necessary work.
You can learn a great deal by studying both successful and unsuccessful apps. I recommend
conducting market research on a macro level (looking at the whole store) as well as on a micro
level (within individual apps). This process should also be conducted on a category level, for the
categories that you are most interested in entering.

Let’s take a look at the App Store and how information is presented there. For each app you
would like to explore, you can dive a little deeper and even take notes:

Where to Start
● Begin your investigation with one of the three Top Chart categories: Top Paid, Top Free,
or Top Grossing. You can do this using your mobile device, or via a tool like App Annie.
● What patterns/trends exist?
● Choose an app to further assess.

Initial Reaction
● Does the app quickly grab your attention?
● What about the app stands out?
● What are some aspects you love about it?
● What are some aspects that could be improved?

Categorize the App

● Under which category does this app belong?
● What business and monetization models does it leverage?
● Which developer has created this app? Are they a known entity? Is the app benefiting
from their brand/track record?

31
Marketing
● What marketing strategies does it utilize? Is it paid or free?
● What stands out about the title, icon, screenshots, description, preview videos, and
website?
● How does the marketing influence you towards a conversion or sale?
● What sub-niches (if any) do you see?

App Performance
● How are users rating the app?
● Observe the design and functionality of the app.
● All things considered, does it appear expensive to build?
● Utilize free tools including App Annie and Top App Charts (now topappads.com) to aid
in your assessment.

Though this process will provide valuable data, remember that you cannot see the whole picture
from the charts. Many of the apps listed have massive marketing budgets which the average app
creator like you and I likely cannot replicate on our own. Despite this, learning how the top apps
drive downloads and conversions both through their marketing and within the apps themselves
can be hugely valuable. Revisit your notes often, so you can emulate the lessons learned in your
own apps.

Beyond the basics that you see in the App Store, always be mindful that this is a fast-paced
global business that operates around the clock. There are opportunities everywhere and things are
constantly changing. You can get information and ideas by looking at the App Store in other
geographies to see what is performing well. For example, you might note that a new productivity
app has taken hold of the entire Brazilian, Australian, or South Korean market even though there
is currently nothing like it in the United States.

This also provides a glimpse into the future to see what the next few months and years may hold.
What trends are occurring outside of the stores? What announcements will Apple and Google
make that may have implications on the business? Oftentimes if these companies are coming out

32
with new technologies or software updates, they will want to prominently feature apps which
help to show them in the best light. This can be leveraged to your advantage.

For example, with the advent of its iOS11 operating system, Apple began focusing on iOS’
augmented reality features and capabilities and consequently, the App Store now includes a
special “AR Spotlight” featuring a curated list of apps that leverage these features effectively.

IOS APP STORE (DON’T ASK ME WHY HE’S DRESSED LIKE THAT)

It also goes without saying that your competitors are another powerful source of data. You
should always download their apps to see what is working for them so that you can incorporate
those tools and techniques in your own apps while taking them to the next level.

33
While doing your research, use a system, spreadsheet, or checklist to keep yourself organized.
Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure you are putting your efforts towards the
strongest ideas and opportunities. In particular, pay attention to consistency in the marketplace,
cost and feasibility. I always recommend starting small and simple, and scaling up over time, and
prioritizing reusability, which can extend the value of the apps you create.

Conversion & Retention

When it comes to winning the battle for attention on the App Store, a considerable portion of
success comes down to the concepts of Conversion and Retention.

Conversion is all about grabbing a user’s attention and prompting them to take a defined action,
such as a download or a purchase. People have a process and a pattern when it comes to their
App Store browsing behaviors. On average, people will take no more than 10-15 seconds before
making their decision to purchase or download. Our goal is to optimize for this conversion by
ensuring the user’s buying process is not interrupted. The main levers we have in this pursuit are
the Icon, the Description, the Screenshots, the Ratings, and optionally, App Preview Videos.

Retention is about realizing customers are more valuable than clicks. Once you have a download,
you should see that individual as a person and ultimately, as a potential customer. They are more
than simply a click and you should design to retain them for the long term. As early as possible
(preferably within the first 30 seconds) the best apps find ways to show the user value, and to
demonstrate why the app is amazing and worth their investment. As a result, the long-term value
(LTV) of these apps can be massively more than the value of the initial download.

Model & Improve

As previously stated, it is a common mistake for many beginning or would-be entrepreneurs to

believe that “never been done before” equals instant hit. Unfortunately, that could not be further
from the truth.

34
Particularly in the early stages when you are learning the ropes, it is a much higher percentage
play to reverse engineer the market, allowing it to dictate consumer needs and define the
audience, so that you can use that information to your advantage. It will benefit you to consider
the demonstrated appetite of the market, the timing and current trends in the market, and apps
that exhibit continued success. Rather than trying to create the next best new thing, when you
Model and Improve you start from a concept that has already been proven to work, use it as
inspiration, and take it to the next level by manipulating one or more attributes to come up with
an entirely new product built from a strong, proven foundation.

Given the above, it is only natural that we study consistently successful apps while asking:

● Why are they successful?

● How are they marketing?
● To whom are they marketing?

Remember, your success can be made easier by taking an idea that has already been proven and
making it better. Or taking two or more proven ideas and combining them in new and
advantageous ways. Though never before seen innovation is exciting, it is also expensive and
quite risky.

We do not have to venture far to find examples of successful apps throughout multiple categories
that have used this strategy. For example:

● Before Facebook there were Friendster and Myspace.

● Before Angry Birds, there was a PC game called Crush the Castle which had nearly the
same gameplay, with far less universal and cute graphics.
● Before Talking Tom and his animated friends, there was a much simpler app called
Smack Talk pioneering a similar idea.
● Before Tinder there was Match.com.
● Before Spotify and Pandora, there was Napster.

35
The examples go on and on and it is not unique to apps. You can find Model and Improve at play
in many different industries.

To be clear, this does not mean that you should copy or plagiarize. Do not do that! Rather, the
goal is to learn from what is already working well in the marketplace and find ways to take that
proven experience to another level for the customer and audience.

Go through the app experiences meticulously and read the reviews for intelligence. Then, ask
yourself how you can improve the app on one or more dimensions by giving the customer more
value in a way that is meaningful to them. Try to avoid going too expensive too soon before you
have a thorough understanding of the market. With these steps, the Model and Improve process
can bring you repeatable success, not just in the app business, but in any business.

Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.

Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch2

ACTION STEPS:

❏ Browse the App Store and its Top Charts.

❏ Pick 15-25 apps that interest you and download them.

❏ Think about what makes each app successful, what is missing, and how you could use
Model and Improve to make the app better.

❏ For the apps in your list where you see the most potential, take a deeper dive and go
through each step of the analysis laid out in this chapter.

36
Business Models

L
aunching your app into the marketplace with no clear direction is not my idea of a good
strategy. Intentionally following a clear business model greatly increases your chances
of success. It helps define your overall strategy, which in turn informs how you will
allocate your resources (including time and money), guide your steps, and make decisions.
Deciding your model and strategy up front also allows you to make objective choices and
consistent progress, working towards your success a little more each day while ignoring the
shiny objects that do not fit into your plan.

Potential Models

With that said, here are some of the business models you might consider:

In the Agency Model, you make apps for other people and businesses. Rather than generate your

37
income from activity in the app stores, you make money from contracts with the people for
whom you are developing apps. You can either build these apps yourself, or build a team that
will help you perform that work.

Fueled is an example of a highly successful award-winning agency who has built apps for clients
such as Warby Parker, Barneys, Verizon, as well as a number of chart topping apps that have
collectively earned over $500 million in revenue and $100 million in venture capital funding.
Thousands of agencies around the globe serve clients ranging all the way from individual
entrepreneurs to the Fortune 500 companies and funded startups served by Fueled.

FUELED.COM

In the Factory Model, as you would imagine, your focus is on producing a relatively high
volume of apps, each of which contributes a small amount to the success of your business. “App
reskinning” is the process where a change is made to an app’s graphics but its code is retained.
This practice, which began falling from the peak of its popularity around 2014-2015, is one
example of how the Factory Model can be executed.

In this model, you seek to launch many apps, market and cross-promote them to grow your
portfolio, and typically monetize via ads, in-app purchases, and perhaps subscriptions. Rather
than spending a lot of time and resources developing any one app, your emphasis is more on
developing many in a short amount of time. It is still possible to leverage this model today, but to
be effective, you will need greater quality than in years past. The time when one can simply
pump out reskins without adding significant value and still make a profit is over, and the market
is better for it.

38
The Studio Model is perhaps the inverse of the Factory. In the Studio Model, an individual or
small team is focused on creating a small number of high-quality apps. While the same
monetization channels such as ads, in-app purchases, and subscriptions are likely in play, the
Studio Model places a much higher emphasis on quality over quantity and developing longer-
term relationships with the customers who download your apps.

The Finnish company Sumoing is a classic example of a studio, with five very polished, high
quality apps under their belt, including the consistently chart topping coloring book app, Recolor.

IOS APP STORE

The Dealmaker Model is as simple and straightforward as is sounds. The Dealmaker connects
two parties to conduct a transaction and makes money as a result of executing the deal. This
could take the form of broker fees on a portfolio sale, a revenue sharing agreement with an
influencer, proceeds from selling the rights to a top performing app, or any other kind of deal
you could imagine. I should also stop to mention that you can serve as a Dealmaker for your own
apps or other people’s. The only limit is your creativity. Solo entrepreneur Andreas Kambanis of
Nibble Apps bringing his simple but clean recipe app template to health influencer Kevin Curry
of popular blog Fit Men Cook to create the massively successful, award winning Fit Men Cook

39
app is an excellent example of this model working at its best. We will delve deeper into this later,
in the chapter on monetization.

IOS APP STORE

The B2B Model focuses on creating apps which businesses can use as marketing channels and/or
customer service/customer loyalty channels. In other words, the objective is to build simple apps
to attract new customers and engage existing ones. The model is typically leveraged by small
business owners (who still primarily seek to focus on their core business) and also by savvy third
parties who want to provide this service for business owners who need it but would rather spend
money than spend the time and focus developing this competency outside of their core expertise.

The apps used for this model can either be built from scratch, be built with the help of app
templates, or be built using one of many app builders such as Bizness Apps.

The Publisher Model focuses on marketing and distribution. In today’s crowded marketplace,
marketing to get your app downloaded and consumed can often be one of the most challenging
problems for developers. Publishers alleviate that problem by taking control of the marketing and
distribution responsibilities, usually in exchange for a healthy slice of the revenue share.

40
Typically, any company operating as a publisher will have unique skills and strengths in
marketing and distribution as well as a demonstrated track record. Though publishing is by no
means a new model (for years there have been publishers for music, movies, books, magazines,
etc.), when it comes to the app world, most publishers are focused on mobile games, and it has
proven to be a very successful model in that arena.

Choosing Your Model

So which model is the best one to use?

Of course, the answer is, “It depends.” There are individuals today enjoying massive success
using each of the models mentioned above. In addition to the tangible research discussed in
previous chapters, it is important to look inward and consider the type of business you are
interested in running, and to which you are best suited. Do you want to have numerous products,
or just a few? How will you acquire downloads and revenue? What will be the driver of your
business? What is your personality? What strengths, skills, experiences, and relationships do you
already possess that you could potentially leverage? What skills are you willing to develop? And
finally, what are you excited about?

Remember that lasting success in anything takes consistency over a long period of time, and
building an app business is no exception. Consider all of these factors to ensure you select a
model you can stick with long enough for you to develop the skills, experience, and knowledge
that it takes to bear fruit consistently.

Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.

Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch3

41
ACTION STEPS:

❏ Decide which business model or models appeal to you most.

❏ Looking at the next 12-months, create a timeline for your business including milestones
and goals.

❏ Decide how you will measure success with respect to your chosen model.

❏ Ask yourself, “Why is this the right choice for me?” Consider factors such as budget,
team, growth and monetization goals, as well as potential for an eventual exit.

42
Monetization

M
onetization is the process by which you convert your relationship with your users
to cold, hard cash. Users indicate their initial interest by downloading your app,
and through your monetization process, they can make an investment which
unlocks more value for them. Monetization is how the customer votes with their wallet and how
you get paid.

It’s interesting to note that a small percentage of your downloads and users (let’s call it 3%-5%)
will ultimately account for the lion’s share of your revenue—at least the revenue that is paid
directly from users, as opposed to from a third party. Perhaps chief among the reasons why: as
the mobile app marketplace has evolved and matured, users have been able to access an
increasing amount of functionality free of charge, and so they have come to expect it. But lest
you be discouraged, the point is that done right, these small percentages can add up to very
significant sums.

43
Of course, you can also monetize by selling your traffic to others, otherwise known as
advertising, which brings you revenue from a much higher percentage of your user base, but in
smaller amounts at a time. Mobile app advertising has certainly risen in magnitude and
prominence in recent years and can be a valuable part of your monetization mix.

To provide the proper environment and inputs for strong monetization, your app must be both
highly relevant to the user as well as exciting to them, or it is unlikely to work. Think about it—
there is no reason for a user to deeply engage with or directly pay for an experience that does not
speak to them or move them. It is your job to make these things happen.

In addition to the obvious point that monetization provides you with income resulting from your
labor, it also provides you with an indication of accomplishment and a more objective way to
measure the value you provide to your customers. Downloads are fun and impressive, but in
many instances, they don’t paint the full picture. While there are a variety of ways to achieve
high numbers of downloads, many of which are unprofitable, money talks—and as hard as this
may be to hear, it will tell the story of whether people are engaging with your app and finding it
valuable or not.

Monetization Mindset

Before you dive into setting your monetization strategy, first revisit your market research and the
app business plan you’ve started to construct. After that, spend some time reviewing competitors
and similar apps in the space. Observe what models and pricing mechanisms are already working
so that you can start testing there and allow the market to give you feedback as you tweak and
iterate.

44
 TIP: When testing, plan ahead to record the result of each change you implement. Be
aware of your baseline to ensure you can measure the impact of each action.

Once you find strategies that work, consider pushing them to other apps in your portfolio
in order to magnify the benefits gained.

The Role of Analytics

While I largely ignored this aspect of the game during the early parts of my journey, measuring
and understanding data and analytics within your apps can provide a distinct advantage when it
comes to monetization.

Once their software is included in your app (usually by the addition of a few lines of code),
analytics providers such as Facebook, Flurry, Localytics, GameAnalytics and more allow you to
see data on session time (how much time customers are spending in the app), retention (the
percentage of users remaining X days after they initially install the app), typical paths taken by
users who eventually make a purchase, typical points where users exit the app, average revenue
generated per customer, and many other pieces of information which can be leveraged to
understand and improve your app’s monetization performance. Regardless of which
monetization strategies you decide to implement, effective use of analytics has the potential to
make you more money.

Monetization Strategies

Paid Apps

Paid apps are a simple and straightforward monetization method in which the user makes a
single upfront payment granting them unrestricted access to the app indefinitely. The prominence
of this method has certainly shrunk over the years, but it can still be effectively used in certain

45
situations, particularly when the user is using the app to solve a very specific problem as soon as
they download, and that problem and solution are easily explained and understood (for example,
a document scanner app). That said, a quick scan through the Top Paid charts, both at the top
level and in different categories will reveal that there are still a large variety of apps using a paid
model.

Should you opt to create a paid app, there are some best practices to follow:

● Do NOT use ads; your users will crucify you for this, as they will feel disrespected.
Because they have paid you up front, they expect not to be interrupted with advertising.

● Have a solid and seamless onboarding process which clearly shows users how to get the
value they are expecting. Useronboard.com, though not specifically mobile-focused,
provides many excellent examples of how to accomplish this.

● Listen to your users’ feedback through a variety of means, which includes requesting
reviews (but make sure to avoid being overly aggressive or annoying given that they paid
for the app).

● You can also leverage in-app purchases (IAPs) within paid apps, but be sure that each
one adds very significant value. Be sure that the users will not feel cheated, and that your
users can get full value from the app without the use of IAPs.

Freemium (Free + In-app Purchases)

Put simply, freemium describes providing access to the app for free, while providing one or more
options for users to purchase upgrades via in-app purchases. The freemium model focuses on
acquiring more users to download and try the app, becoming potential customers, with the
expectation that a certain percentage of these users will pay to upgrade the app and extract more
value.

46
There are two types of in-app purchases: 1) Consumables, aptly named because they can be used
up and bought over and over (e.g., a package of minutes for an international calling app or extra
lives for a game); and 2) Non-Consumables, which can only be bought once, after which they
can be used forever (e.g., a premium photo filter pack for a photography app or remove ads
forever for a game). The key to selling either type is to give enough value to build sufficient trust
for the user to want to further invest—and the timing of the ask is critical.

Give your users a good experience while reminding them that an even better experience is
available if they are willing to pay for it. Consider starting out by giving them a taste via a time-
limited free trial of the premium experience. It can also be useful to test a variety of price points
to see what ultimately resonates the best.

Advertising

Used within free apps, and often combined with the freemium model, advertising is a
monetization method that has the advantage of being “free” to the user. The advertiser pays in
currency, while the user just pays with their time and attention.

There are a number of different ad formats available, all with their own advantages and
disadvantages: banner ads, video ads (15-30 seconds), full screen interstitials, rewarded video,
and native ads are some of the most common.

Advertising tends to work best for simpler apps with mass market appeal that have longer
sessions and/or repeated usage (these factors allow more possibility for showing ad impressions).
Because payouts are typically fairly low on a per-impression basis, the advertising model
requires relatively high volume in order to be viable.

When using ads, timing and relevance are both important. Targeted ads that are relevant to the
demographic of your audience will perform best, and you want to implement them in such a way
that they do not interfere with the core user experience. While bigger, more intrusive ads often
offer a larger payoff, you have to be careful to balance this and weigh your options.

47
There are a number of advertising networks you can work with to monetize your app. While
assessing your options, ask questions about how your app is related to their inventory (game or
non-game); the size, longevity, stability, and funding of the company; the flexibility and formats
offered; and their fill rate which determines how often ads will be available when requested (this
can differ by geography).

Subscriptions

After finally being introduced to the App Store a few years ago, subscriptions are now becoming
a force in app monetization. Subscriptions allow the user to make weekly, monthly, or yearly
payments for ongoing access to content or a service. Their main advantages are that they provide
long-term, recurring revenue streams which allow for more predictability, and the ability to
retain access to customers without forcing them to complete a new transaction each time.

Subscriptions can be used across many different classes of apps, as long as there is some
component of the app, content, or service that is being updated fairly frequently. There are
currently a variety of price points that have been accepted on the market, depending on the
perceived value of the service being offered. Developers can either use Apple/Google’s built-in
solutions to implement, or provide a custom implementation on their own server. The latter saves
a 30% (or 15%) commission fee, but makes it much more difficult to convert users to paying
customers.

As long as the app continues to provide subscribers with value, they are likely to stay around
(though there will inevitably be some level of churn, or users who leave the app). This makes
subscriptions a uniquely attractive financial opportunity for developers whenever the model can
be leveraged.

Dealmaking

If you are willing to open your mind and think creatively, there are myriad number of ways you
can form agreements to effectively monetize your apps by partnering with another company or

48
individual. Though there are numerous ways to structure these deals, at their essence, the other
party provides money, traffic, brand, or something of the sort, while you provide users and/or an
app and/or your expertise on the market. Allowing a brand to create a white-label version of an
existing app you created (meaning that the brand pays a fee to publish a version of your app as
their own) is one form this might take; another potential scenario is an affiliate deal where you
share a percentage of app revenue with an influencer.

The key to making effective deals is to know what you have, what you want, and where you
want to go. First, know which assets you bring to the table. Second, know which assets you are
lacking that a partner could provide. Third, set clear expectations for what each party needs to
provide for the arrangement to be a success. Too often the last part is skipped, to the detriment of
the app developer.

A partnership could be based upon providing access to a large, engaged user base of the type of
customer the advertiser covets in exchange for money. Another example could grant access to a
finely tuned conversion machine to which they can point their legion of fans in exchange for a
share of the revenue generated. There are endless opportunities outside of the App Store and
many ways to structure the deal. Start with smaller companies operating in a similar space to
you, and work your way up as you gain experience and confidence in your app’s performance
and the mechanics of the deal. Merely getting in the game and being cognizant of what is
happening around you may expose you to potential deals you had never previously conceived.

49
You offering me half the revenues of the blockbuster app business you create as thanks for
writing this book would be another example of a great deal. However, if and when that happens,
I would also be happy with a nice email :).

COMEDY CENTRAL

Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.

Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch4

ACTION STEPS:

❏ Set up an account with a mobile advertising network such as Applovin, HeyZap, inMobi
or Google Admob.

❏ Decide which monetization strategy or strategies you will use to monetize your app.
Write down any in-app purchases, ads, or subscriptions you will include.

50
❏ Decide on the price of your app.

❏ Go into the App Store and find five apps that are making money outside of the App Store.

❏ Write down ideas you have that could leverage a similar strategy.

❏ Consider which monetization strategies will you leverage in the long term to achieve
your goals.

51
Marketing

Point A:
● How do I get my apps the highest visibility and engagement?
● I’m not sure where to start or how to market them.

Point B:
● I am achieving app visibility, downloads, and conversions systematically and repeatedly.

I
n app marketing, the goal is to get users to download and use your app so they can
eventually become longer-term customers. However, not all downloads are created equal.
Quality is more important than quantity, but we strive for both.

As with any other kind of marketing, the old adage, “if you build it they will come” could not be
further from the truth. Hope is not a strategy. Create a plan that you can measure results against

52
and aim to control as much as possible. While there are no magic bullets and you should never
expect perfect results or overnight success, there are proven techniques that we can leverage to
our advantage depending on the situation. These tools make up our marketing roadmap. Prepare
to follow them diligently and you can reap success over the long term. As you develop different
channels, skills, and competencies, you will be able to leverage them across multiple apps, thus
magnifying their impact and opening up new opportunities.

However before exploring any techniques, please remember that the first, most important step is
having a product that some collection of people actually wants or needs. Without this in place, no
marketing technique in the world can save you.

Napturalista Moji, launched by a client of mine in 2018, provides a stellar example of an app that
gets this right. Because they have done a great job of understanding the audience they want to
serve and delivering a product that satisfies a strong desire for them, social media posts are met
with enthusiastic engagement in the form of likes, comments and shares. Comments are
PASSIONATE. There are many thank yous, people expressing how much they and their friends
love the app, positive reviews on both app stores, customers re-sharing the app via their own
social posts, suggestions on how to improve the app, SALES when people upgrade the app, and
even some tears shed.

All this adds up to a very promising start for the app. They know that users in their target
audience want the app and will use it and share it with friends once they discover it. So, the job is
now to test the marketing channels described below, discover those that work best for them, and
double down on them. Though they were not the first to ever create an emoji app celebrating
black women, by understanding their audience and what they really want from a product like
this, Team Napturalista was able to execute ten times better than previous attempts and create a
product that people love to use and want to share with their friends.

53
NAPTURALISTA MOJI

If you follow the Seven Steps as designed, the market research step can help you put yourself in
a similarly advantageous position.

When you start to assemble your marketing plan, leverage the market research you performed as
the valuable asset it is. Your market research will inform decisions on the app title, icon design,
keywords, description, and more. It is not enough to merely “set it and forget it” after initially
conducting the research. As the market constantly changes, you need to stay abreast of evolving
opportunities so you can effectively capitalize.
A few of my favorite app marketing tools include: the App Store itself (manual search), Sensor
Tower, Google Adwords, App Annie, and Apptopia.

As you get started, there are a few fundamentals to keep in mind. Always collect, measure, and
analyze data to enable smarter decisions. Pay attention to what the data, the market, the store,
and overall trends are telling you. Know the target audience for whom you are making your app.
Don’t start to buy significant amounts of paid traffic without a good understanding of the above.
Optimize your app for all relevant devices on which it will be used.

54
And finally, while you need not be put off by a crowded or competitive market (after all,
competition signifies demand), realize that to succeed there, your product will need to be
significantly different and/or better in a way that matters to your target audience. That’s right—
you actually have to be good.

Marketing Roadmap

Your app marketing breaks down into Organic Marketing (which costs time, but not money) and
Paid Marketing. Organic Marketing includes App Store Optimization (ASO), Content
Marketing, Community Building, Social Media, and Customer Service and Support, while Paid
Marketing includes Paid Advertising Traffic and Influencer Marketing.

Let’s explore each one of these items below:

App Store Optimization

App Store Optimization, which can be thought of as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the
App Store, describes the process of improving an app’s visibility and downloads within an app
store. It is conducted by manipulating the different components of the app store listing, including
icons, screenshots, preview videos, descriptions, and keywords.

In a world where 65% of apps are still found via search, it is integral to stand out and be found!
Several years ago, one might have been able to rank an app in the top charts solely based on
ASO—a strategy which I leveraged heavily. Currently, the proliferation of millions of apps to
navigate, as well as algorithm changes by Apple and Google, mean that ASO is not nearly as
powerful or influential as it once was. Don’t expect it to “make your business” alone. Even still,
solid ASO still helps and its low cost and ongoing impact make it a great place to start for
beginners.

55
Icons

Your app icon represents your first impression to a potential customer, as it is typically the first
thing they will see when browsing through the app store. With millions of apps now in
circulation and more being added each day, it is very easy to skip over any one app in this
environment. For this reason, your icon needs to stand out from the crowd and it needs to be
understood right away.

IOS APP STORE

To ensure that your icon does its job, it must be distinctive and focused. It should focus on one
main idea/topic/keyword and use beautiful professional graphic design. Stay away from using
overly complex designs, anything with too much text, or trying to achieve too much in one
image. Stay focused!

Always evaluate your icon’s effectiveness before taking it live. Testing tools like testico.net or
App Sparky allow you to preview how the icon will appear on a device when it is scaled down in
size. Ensure that it still stands out. Assess others’ opinions, especially if they fall into your target
market demographic.

56
Screenshots and App Preview Videos

If icons are the first impression, then screenshots are the second. Use them to capture the user’s
attention, give more information to help guide their decision, and sell your app experience. Tell a
story and highlight specific compelling benefits rather than simply listing off features and
functions. Your screenshots should match the expectations initially set by your icon and
keywords.

IOS APP STORE

A great way to evaluate your screenshots is to show them to people who know nothing about
your app and see if they are reliably able to understand the clear primary benefits and the story.
Lastly, ensure the screenshots adequately showcase the quality of your app.

TIP: Evaluate your screenshots by showing them to potential users who know nothing
about your app. Are they able to clearly understand the primary benefits and story?

57
App preview videos perform precisely the same function as screenshots, but use a 30-second
video format to tell the app’s story rather than an image. Screenshots are mandatory on both
Apple and Google, but app preview videos can optionally be leveraged for enhanced storytelling
and conversions.

Creating Your Icons and Screenshots

Creating effective icons and screenshots is a process. Here is one way you can go about it. First,
to get inspiration, find similar, competing, or complementary apps by searching relevant
keywords in the App Store or Google, by browsing relevant App Store categories, or via the Top
Charts. Once you have a solid list, review the apps, starting with the most successful ones.
Assess the icons and screenshots by asking the following questions:

• What gaps in the market do their commonalities address?

• What stands out and makes them unique?
• What are some ways you can model and improve to take their app to the next level?
• What makes you want to click, engage, and learn more?
• What appeals to this particular audience?

When you perform the analysis, check for consistency and longevity before taking a competitor’s
app too seriously. Don’t be fooled by a “flash in the pan” that has run a clever promotion, but
will be gone from the charts by tomorrow. Also, while it is great to emulate, be inspired; model
and improve, but be sure not to blatantly copy.

58
 TIP: Before modeling an app on any dimension, confirm its consistency of performance
in the marketplace.

Below is an example of an app that has performed relatively consistently over a long
period of time. The chart shows rank history data from App Annie.

APP ANNIE

Once you decide your direction, it is time to act on that decision. Graphic design does not have to
be expensive in order to be good. I highly recommend hiring help from a freelance designer
through websites such as Upwork, Freelancer, DeviantArt, or Dribbble.

If you are not a professional graphic designer, do not attempt this part yourself. You can kill your
chances of long-term success just by performing poorly here. Once your icon is ready, it is time
to experiment. Put it out to the market, measure your results, update your icon accordingly, and
iterate.

59
Descriptions

App descriptions serve as the sales and marketing copy for your app (and on Google Play they
also serve as a source of keywords). While many more people will view the visual elements,
making them more influential and impactful, a certain percentage will read the description,
making it your opportunity to further influence them. Tell them a story. Showcase the benefits,
functions, and evidence. Use testimonials to bolster your case.

The description allows up to 4000 characters to influence a conversion, so use them to sell your
app’s benefits. The questions and prompts below can be used as a guide:

• What is the value proposition to the user?

• What are its unique characteristics?
• What problem does it solve, and how?
• How does it improve lives?
• What’s in it for the user from an emotional perspective?
• What’s the most important message you want to convey? Include it in the first couple of
lines so it will appear “above the fold” when viewed in the App Store.

All that said, the vast majority of app users will never read your description (it’s just the truth),
so don’t go too crazy or invest an inordinate amount of time here.

Keyword Optimization

While ASO includes optimizing all parts of your listing, including the icon, screenshots, and
preview videos we mentioned before, when most app developers discuss ASO, their focus is on
the keyword.

60
What are Keywords?

For our purposes, keywords are words or phrases used to describe and find apps. On iOS you can
enter your keywords in your iTunes Connect lists in a 100-character dedicated keyword field as
well as in your app title and subtitle. In Google Play, keywords should be interspersed
throughout your description copy, and they can also be included in your app title. To find initial
candidates for keywords, think of what your target app user is actually looking for and what they
might type in the search box to find it. To guarantee reliable downloads, aim to rank in the top
five or ten slots of any keyword (or keyword phrase) you pursue. Continually test and optimize
the keywords to find the best combinations and improve your results over time.

Keyword optimization is advantageous because it is perhaps the least expensive form of

marketing available (the cost is only your time and effort), and once you get them up and running
effectively, they are fairly passive and continue to generate consistent results.

Rather than being too general, target specific audiences. Ask yourself what your specific
audience will be searching for. Review high-performing competitor apps and take note of
keywords in their title and description, as well as those you can find via keyword tools such as
Sensor Tower and App Annie. Use this data to once again model and improve. You will be most
effective in your keyword optimization when you pursue the long tail traffic (traffic highly
specific to your app) that may be lower volume, but is highly relevant and highly targeted.

Rather than trying to get everything 100% completed up front, consider this an ongoing process.
Test your keywords early and often. Leverage analytics tools to determine which ones are
working for you and which ones are not so you can slowly replace underperforming keywords
and improve performance over time.

Keys to Keywords - Performing Your Keyword Research

There is a method to the madness when it comes to selecting your keywords. Rather than simply
pursuing keywords that drive the most traffic on an overall basis, instead, consider 1) relevance,

61
2) competition/difficulty, and 3) traffic, in that order. To yield effective results, brainstorm
keyword ideas, check for relevance, examine difficulty, examine traffic, and then measure
results. Again, your goal is to rank in the top five to ten for each keyword, so testing and
tweaking on a regular basis is imperative.

When brainstorming keywords, first start with the obvious “seed keywords” and phrases which
clearly define your app, and then seek to cast a wide net, with as many potential keywords as
possible. Use a spreadsheet to track them and stay organized. As always, model and improve by
researching competitor apps’ keywords by evaluating their reviews, titles, subtitles, keywords,
and descriptions. A number of tools can help you to assemble this data. Here are just a few:
Google Keyword Planner, App Annie, Sensor Tower, Mobile Action, Gummicube, AppTweak,
Appcod.es, Thesaurus, WordPot, Keyword Shitter, and OneLook.

It does not matter if you can get traffic from a keyword if that traffic will consist of the wrong
users who will not download your app and convert. With this in mind, you should avoid going
after generic, commonly used keywords, and instead opt more for long tail, multi-word
keywords. Though mentioned earlier, it bears repeating—relevance is of the utmost importance.
Relevance > Competition > Traffic.

TIP: When doing keyword selection, relevance should be the primary factor.

Relevance > Competition > Traffic.

Next, consider competition/difficulty. Once you’ve established that the keyword is relevant, your
app also needs to rank well for each keyword in order to benefit from it. A keyword does not
benefit you if you rank well outside of the top ten results people get when they search for that
keyword or keyword phrase. Consequently, it is helpful to observe the apps ranking for the

62
keyword and determine how strong they are as competitors. Determine whether you will be able
to compete with or fare better than them, as the ranking depends on app strength.

Finally, it is time to evaluate the traffic. While many prioritize the traffic driven by a keyword
above all, this is a big mistake that yields poor results. Rather, you should look at relevance and
competition first, as described above. The only requirement is that traffic is greater than zero, as
this means people are searching for this keyword and you can get results by ranking for it. That
said, all things being equal, you will naturally want to opt for the keyword with greater traffic.

With your keywords now selected and in place, and your app live, it is time to consider
measurement. Measure early and often. Leverage tools like Sensor Tower (my favorite) to make
it easier. Allow enough time to get a sense of how each keyword is performing. In general, allot
at least a few weeks for trends to level out. Once you can see which keywords are driving your
traffic and which are not, update keywords as necessary and continue to optimize.

App Store vs. Google Play

While keyword optimization is important across both iOS and Google Play and the research
process is essentially the same on each platform, the platforms have similarities as well as
differences with respect to this process.

On the iOS App Store as well as Google Play, the title is the most important place you can put
keywords, as it wields the most influence. On iOS this is followed closely by the subtitle, which
does not play a role on Google Play. On iOS there is a 100-character keyword field which you
benefit from filling up as much as possible (separate each word using a comma and do not use
any spaces) whereas on Google Play, keywords are indexed directly from your app description
and the density, or repetition, of these keywords matters (resist the urge to spam though, as the
algorithm will downgrade your app for this).

To be clear, as of now, iOS does not use the app description for keywords at all. On iOS you can
only update keywords each time you submit an app update for review, whereas on Google Play

63
you can update your keywords any time and have them go live within a matter of hours. Finally,
it appears that, as one might expect from the most advanced search company in the world,
Google Play search is similar to Google web search and quite a bit more sophisticated than the
iOS App Store search, which relies on comparatively few inputs and parameters.

Social Media

While social media can take quite a bit of time and effort to execute well and will not be a good
fit for every kind of app, it also has its benefits for app marketing. It is inexpensive and allows
you to reach many potential users, but in my mind the biggest benefit is the ability to build a
community with whom you can engage, from whom you can request feedback, and to whom you
can market future apps.

In fact, rather than expecting that you will drive a massive number of downloads from your
social media efforts, perhaps a more practical use is to gather a core group of your ideal audience
in a place where you can engage with them, learn about their likes and dislikes, and source
valuable insights for your product development and enhancement. Facebook groups and
Instagram pages can be excellent for this, but your choice should ultimately be decided by where
your audience is already hanging out online.

To get started, choose one to three social media platforms where your audience congregates. Post
and engage consistently, using content that you know appeals to them (not just your app link).
You can use automation such as MeetEdgar, Buffer, or HootSuite to magnify your message, but
do not become over-reliant on this strategy. People can tell when most of your content is
automated, and they will stop paying attention.

If you don’t know what to post, first look at your competitors and the top apps in your space or
niche. Which of their posts get the most engagement and why? Run experiments to compare the
engagement of different types of posts you’ve created. Measure the results and repeat until you
find a working formula.

64
Social media marketing will be most effective for apps where you can build community and give
people something to talk about. Examples include: apps with a passionate audience, free apps,
unique apps, apps with high levels of engagement, apps with compelling content within, and
apps that create moments that people want to share.

Customer Service & Support

For most apps, customer service and support needs tend to be less than most traditional
businesses. However, when done right, it can represent a unique opportunity to differentiate your
product and company as well as to form a deeper relationship with the customer.

In our context, the objectives of customer support are to collect and respond to customer
feedback, provide answers to common questions, form relationships with customers to build
community, and develop positive rapport through reviews rather than the negative variety.

Customer support can be performed through a number of channels. While you don’t need to
execute all of them, you can choose one or more which work best for you and your business.
Those channels include: in-app prompts, email, your website, social media, the app description,
FAQ’s, chatbots, and live chat.

Paid Traffic

Paid traffic describes downloads (also known as installs) that are acquired via advertising
purchased from mobile ad networks. Paying for your downloads has a number of advantages
including massive amounts of volume available (more than any other channel), leading to
massive scalability, instant access to traffic and results, and the ability to test quickly and
inexpensively. However, that all comes at a price (pun intended).

It can also be quite expensive if you start driving larger amounts of traffic, making it a cost
prohibitive option to many. Also, finding your winning ads, audience, creatives, headlines, etc.

65
requires testing—which requires money. And finally, because you are transacting with a third-
party ad platform, you are governed by their rules and can be shut down at any time if they
decide you are out of bounds.

Paid traffic works best when you know your numbers cold, such as the long-term value of a
customer, retention, and the price you are willing to pay for an install, so if you plan to use paid
traffic, you better be confident with your analytics measurements. It is also ideal for situations
where you need users in the app to quickly test a new feature or give you data.

Facebook is the place to start with paid traffic, as it is the most user-friendly and you do not need
a big budget. You can easily get started with a budget of $5 or $10 per day and build this up over
time as you gain experience and confidence. If you eventually tap out your potential here (which
should take quite a while) you can slowly start to explore other networks such as Apple Search
Ads, Google Adwords, and even places like Snapchat and Bing.

To maximize the effectiveness of your ads, experiment with and optimize the audience, image,
headline, and copy—probably in that order. It is also important to note that video ads have
emerged as a highly effective ad format for many ads, due to their visual nature and storytelling
ability. If leveraging paid traffic, it is advisable to test using video as part of your marketing mix.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing describes partnering with one or more individuals or brands who already
command the attention of individuals in your target audience, so that they can promote your app
to their fans. Typically, this promotion will be done in exchange for a flat fee per social post (or
package of posts), a percentage of the revenue earned, or some combination of the two.

When looking for influencer partners, relevance is again the most important consideration,
followed by the level of the engagement of the account as well as the number of followers.
Bigger is not always better in this context. For example, despite costing you a cool quarter
million US dollars, a single post to Kim Kardashian’s 116 million Instagram followers might not

66
yield you as many downloads as multiple posts from much smaller influencer accounts, where
the audiences are highly targeted, and much more similar to your target audience. And by the
way, purchasing multiple posts from these smaller accounts will cost you far less.

When searching for the best influencer partners to promote your app, you can either do the work
personally, using a combination of social media search, google search, and direct messaging to
do your networking, or you can contract an influencer marketing company to work on your
behalf. Done right, influencer marketing is another way you can drive a massive number of
installs quickly, but be aware that it is not just “pushing a button” to turn it on, as is the case with
paid traffic. With influencer marketing, it can take significant time and effort to source the right
partnerships and then set up effective campaigns.

Cross Promotion

Put simply, cross promotion describes advertising your own apps within your other apps to move
traffic internally within your app network. While promoting your own app through cross
promotion means that you are forgoing a monetization opportunity, when you have a portfolio
that has similar apps and/or similar audiences, it can be a savvy way of subordinating short-term
gains in favor of long-term success. When one user for a single app turns into a multi-app user,
your entire network, your downloads, and your long-term revenue has an opportunity to grow. A
great example of a company that leverages this strategy effectively is the massively successful
casual games publisher, Ketchapp, who has the ability to cross promote any of their apps to their
hundreds of millions of engaged users at any point in time. As always, measure your results and
adjust accordingly.

Content Marketing

Instead of solely pitching your products or services, content marketing describes the act of
providing relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their
issues.

67
While content marketing requires time, consistency, and strategy to be effective, it can also be
quite an effective strategy which offers you free traffic and allows you to build authority and a
platform you control—your email list. Not surprisingly, it is particularly effective for apps that
produce or distribute content and apps in niches with lots of content and/or opportunities to
highlight users. That said, you should temper your expectations. While content marketing is
excellent for building and deepening your relationship with your prospects and users, it is most
likely not how you will drive massive numbers of downloads.

The traditional press release also falls under this category of content, but typically will not yield
great results for your apps. Unless this strategy is working for similar apps in your niche, you
don’t need to bother.

Instead, strive to produce highly valuable content on topics that interest your target audience.
Share content through blogs (your own, or through a guest post) as well as your email list. When
using this strategy, model and improve on other successful blogs in the niche. You can start off
with a simple Wordpress blog (buy an inexpensive theme that looks professional) and an
inexpensive email list provider. Places like Facebook groups, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Quora can
also be useful for your content distribution, community building, and engagement. Remember,
do not simply post and run. Be a human! Interact, engage, and make an impact!

Publishing

Publishing essentially describes when you partner with high traffic apps or app companies
(known as publishers) to release your app under their brand and in their account. The publisher
offers increased marketing and monetization potential in exchange for a share of the revenue.
Simply approach them to pitch them on a deal, but make sure that you know your numbers and
are bringing them a high-quality product that fits in with the rest of their portfolio for the best
chances of success.

68
Note that in the app world today, publishing is most common in the casual gaming space, and
publishers will be concerned with performance numbers such as your app’s retention and the
price at which they can reliably acquire installs.

A/B Testing

I would be remiss not to mention a few other tools and strategies you need as part of your
repertoire. A/B Testing describes when you test two different options for a particular setting or
attribute to determine which one performs better. You can test icons, screenshots, titles,
keywords, description copy, or just about anything else involved in your marketing results. By
performing A/B tests repeatedly and consistently over a period of time, you can significantly
improve your marketing effectiveness. If you like, there are a number of third-party services you
can use to help you A/B test (just Google them).

Push Notifications

Similar to text messages, push notifications are messages that pop up on a mobile device. They
are sent via apps and app publishers can send them at any time; users don't have to be in the app
or using their devices to receive them. Leverage push notifications to keep your users engaged
for longer periods of time, get their attention at timely opportunities, and periodically bring them
back to the app. The engagement and retention you drive can lead to stronger search rankings
when applied correctly, but be careful not to go overboard, as it will cause your users to uninstall
and not return.

Launching Your App

The primary purpose of a launch is to maximize your app’s exposure in a relatively small amount
of time. It is a coordinated effort to expose your app to the masses and can be done on either a
small or a large scale. A common misconception is that the launch is the “be all or end all” and

69
you have to hit a home run. While this is a fun period in your app business, it will not make or
break your success.

TIP: During the launch, your goal is to drive a high volume of people to your app at the
same time for the purpose of generating attention, reviews, and feedback. Furthermore,
you want to create excitement, sharing, and long-term engagement.

Your launch process actually begins with what we call a prelaunch (this comes from Jeff
Walker’s well-known Product Launch Formula). During this phase, you are preparing for your
app to go live. Upload your app to iTunes Connect or Google Play and prepare to receive
feedback and collect analytics data. Your app launch will never be perfect, so while it is
important to be prepared, do not allow it to make you become overly anxious or stressed. Take
time to reflect on your progress and enjoy the thrill as preparing for a launch is one of the most
exciting times in your business.

Outside of the App Store, prepare by reaching out to relevant people who may be able to help
you get the word out, such as bloggers or influencers in your space. Begin building an email list
and/or social media list or group of interested parties who will download your app once it
releases, and work to learn as much as you can about marketing and launch via books, podcasts,
and other people in the business.

During the first five to seven days of your launch, on iOS you usually experience a slight
“algorithmic lift” in which you typically receive a bit more exposure and some additional
downloads as Apple allows your app to rank slightly better than it normally would on your
keywords. This does not happen on Google.

Your primary goals during this period should be to gather data and feedback while also ensuring
that your app works as expected. Pay attention to your ratings and reviews, as well as your

70
analytics and any other avenues through which you might receive feedback. You should also
seek to acquire as many ratings and reviews as possible.

During the final stretch of your launch (which may last two to three more weeks, depending on
how you want to define it) use the data you acquired to plan your next move. Assess your
analytics, level of performance, feedback, and observations to start planning your first update.
Determine which traffic sources will power your paid strategy moving forward, if applicable.

Your allotted budget will influence your objectives and expectations as you kick things off.
Regardless of the budget, however, simply throwing money at the launch and hoping for the best
is not a sound strategy. With a small budget, your main focus should revolve around collecting
data and ensuring the app works as expected. As the budget increases, you have the resources to
focus on tactics such as increasing your rankings, preparing for subsequent updates, and finally
exploring more traffic sources to determine what is going to produce the most desirable results.

Soft launches describe when you perform beta releases in smaller geographies outside of your
primary markets, often those where user behaviors closely mirror those within primary markets.
In a soft launch, purchase small to moderate amounts of paid traffic in smaller countries to
ensure that the app is working as expected and to collect data before your big release. This
process is usually performed by larger professional app companies looking to understand their
data before starting to spend their massive budgets, but it is a technique you can leverage as well.

In a slight twist of the above, I recently started doing mini launches in the United States (which
is typically my main target market) each time I release a new app so that I can collect data and
make improvements before making further investments.

Launching is not ONLY about producing enormous results right away. Another important
purpose is putting your app in contact with the market so you can collect feedback. Listen to
your customers, data, and systems so you can continue to improve your app and knock it out of
the park over the long term.

71
Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.
Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch5

ACTION STEPS:

❏ Sign up for free accounts on Sensor Tower, App Annie, and Apptopia.

❏ For each of the apps in the store in which you are interested, review and analyze the icon,
screenshots, app preview videos, keywords, description, category, web presence, and
anything else that might be able to inform your marketing. What makes the app
successful and how can you Model and Improve to make it better?

❏ Decide which marketing strategies you will leverage in the present and long term. How
will you measure effectiveness?

❏ Conduct keyword research for an app of your choice.

❏ Over time, revisit and improve your marketing based on your results and what you see in
the market.

72
Building Your Team

Point A:

● How do I find good developers to work with?

● I don’t want to be overcharged.

Point B:
● I have a reliable team I consistently work with to produce great apps.

O
ne lesson I have learned during my time in this business is that the people you work
with can make it either incredibly frustrating or incredibly fun, so you certainly want
to invest the time to find the people with whom you are going to work best, and then
you want to learn their goals, wants, needs, and desires, so you can invest in them and retain
them. Looking back over the years, this has been huge for me, and continues to be so.

73
When it comes to building your team and attracting the best talent, approach this task with the
mindset of being a first-class employer. Be confident, be organized, ask the right questions, be
decisive, and be a leader. Be of service to the people that work for you and strive to leave them
better than you met them. If you project these behaviors to the world, and more importantly to
the candidates with whom you interact, you have a much better chance of hiring stronger talent.

A Few Tips to Consider

● Hire slow, fire fast—proceed with caution.

● Behave like the boss. You are the one who must set the direction.
● Be the boss you would want to have. Be firm, but fair.
● Be extremely clear and concise.
● Have a plan and procedure that is easy to follow.
● Lead by example. If you do not exhibit professionalism, you will not receive it from
people working for you.
● Respond promptly and via the appropriate channels.

Consider using milestones and deadlines to improve your project’s efficiency. Break the work up
and check in at regular intervals, or you will surely be surprised at the end product—and not in a
good way. You can also creatively use incentives and bonuses to encourage the outcomes you
desire, such as on-time delivery and absence of bugs.

Finding a Good Fit

Before hiring any candidate, you must first ensure their competence and experience for the
particular task you want to accomplish. Do they have the programming skills that will be
needed? Does their portfolio back up their promises? How is their communication? I
underestimated the importance of communication on my first project and have never made that
mistake again. Make sure they are clear, direct, and frequent communicators or your project will
suffer.

74
 Points to consider when hiring:

● Consistency - This is one of the most important, in my opinion. Does the

candidate’s work consistently make you say “wow”?

● Portfolio and Track Record - Has the candidate done similar work to what you
want to accomplish? Is the quality of that work excellent?

● Platforms, Languages, and Skills - Based on what you need completed, do they
have the skills necessary to accomplish the goal?

● Reviews, references, referrals - What are other people saying? This can also
offer insight into the candidate you are considering.

Next, consider their design sensibilities. Most often, you will hire two very different people for
programming and design, as they require unrelated skills, but sometimes, you can find both on
one team, and less often, in one person.

That aside, your developer needs to understand the difference between good and terrible design
when they see it. You will not select perfect fits 100% of the time, but you can limit your
downside by paying proper attention to each of these areas up front.

One of the most important things I like to communicate from the outset is that I am looking for a
long-term relationship with the person I am hiring. Oftentimes, this is what the developer or
designer is looking for as well, so setting the tone in this way encourages them to put their best
foot forward from the start.

75
Team Structure

In order to execute your app business, the main people you need on your team are a developer (to
write the code) and a designer (to create your user interface, images, etc.). Once you begin
accruing revenue, you may consider a project manager to handle the day-to-day operations while
you take a more strategic view of the business. Of course, there are a multitude of ways to put
together a larger, more complicated team, but the above is what I recommend to get started.

Where to Find Talent

Nowadays with the rise of the internet, it is amazing how many avenues we have to hire
development and design talent. Here are just a few:

● Upwork.com (my go-to source)

● Freelancer.com
● Guru.com
● Toptal.com
● Github
● Meetup.com/Meetup Groups
● Forums and Facebook Groups
● Coding Competitions
● Craigslist
● Google Search
● Referrals (very reliable, but dangerous to depend only on this source)

How Much Will It Cost?

I knew you might ask that question. And similar to considering how much a car costs (where the
price for a 30-year-old post-accident Volkswagen is far different from that of a brand-new
Bugatti), the answer is “it depends”. All things being equal, developers in countries like the US,

76
UK, or Australia, where the cost of living is more expensive will have a higher asking price than
those in developing countries where the cost of living tends to be lower. Years of experience and
track record may affect the rate. Hiring from Upwork or Freelancer is likely to be less expensive
than hiring from Toptal. Hiring my company, App Magic, would likely cost more than any of
those, if you were able to get one of our slots, as we are not a huge team. And hiring the high-end
type of firm that typically works with Fortune 500 companies or funded startups would cost you
considerably more, with the conversation starting around $100,000-$250,000. Well-funded apps
like Airbnb and Lyft spend millions of dollars on their development.

Also, as mentioned before, the complexity of your project will directly affect how much you end
up paying. So, with the many factors you have to consider, don’t always go for the absolute
cheapest rate, as it may cost you in other ways if quality is not up to par. Rather, shop around, do
your due diligence, and look to find the optimal combination between price and value that meets
your needs.

With all that said, my recommendation is that for your first project (and probably your first few),
you consider it a learning experience and seek to keep things relatively small, budgeting no more
than $2,000 or so (and if you have less to spend, budget less—it is completely possible). To do
this, you will likely need to hire from an outsourcing site (or hire a friend or student or partner
with someone who agrees to not get paid up front).

Resist your natural urge to complicate things, keeping your project very simple and straight to
the point. Buying and leveraging source code templates from sites like CodeCanyon,
SellMyApp, ChupaMobile, and others can also reduce your cost of development (though they
also provide some constraints, reducing your flexibility and options). Once you start to get the
hang of running successful projects which return their budgets and more, you can start to
increase the size of your projects and take more risks with confidence.

77
Job postings

Today, I have a team that I consistently work with to produce my apps. However, before that,
despite the myriad of possibilities, each with their own pros and cons, my primary source for
talent was Upwork, and the process there begins with a job post.

Posting your job does not have to be time consuming or complex. Essentially, you need a brief
job description including the job responsibilities, project requirements, deadlines/milestones, and
of course, the target price you are willing to pay.

While there are many valid ways to do this, I typically break my description into three basic
sections—intro, body, and conclusion. The intro describes what makes your organization
excellent, and why someone would want to work with you. The body describes the project
requirements in an interesting, and concise manner, without going into excessive detail. The
conclusion is the call to action that informs the respondent on how to take the next step. Include
your budget and whether the project will be charged at a fixed price or hourly rate. You can also
include the timeline and scope of work.

Practice concisely communicating your ideas. Use comparison to existing apps, simple sketches,
wireframe tools (wireframes are sets of images which display the functional elements of an app),
or any other method that will allow you to make your point simply. The confidence and
competence you exude will help you attract ideal applicants.

Below is an example of a real job post I used to hire a developer. Note that the exact words are
not important, so don’t seek to copy those, but the simplicity and psychology are key.

78
UPWORK.COM

Once your job posting is live, continuously review applications until you narrow the selection
down to a shortlist of candidates to interview. As a first pass, you can eliminate unqualified
candidates or those with thoughtless or incomplete responses who may not have even read the
job posting. Slowly but surely, you can pare down to the best candidates.

As a quick note, I find it vastly easier to hire designers than developers, as it is much easier to
see if their work consistently meets and exceeds the level of quality you desire. With a
developer’s code, despite portfolios, references, and interviews, you will not truly know the
quality of their work until they produce something specifically for you. For that reason, it may be
easier to familiarize yourself with the hiring process by hiring a designer first before moving on
to the task of finding a developer.

Conducting the Interview

There are countless ways to conduct an interview, and you are welcome to use any methods you
find effective. Below is what has worked well for me:

Narrow your applicant pool to five to ten quality candidates before beginning interviews. Though
everyone has a different way of approaching this, I typically conduct my interviews via Skype
chat. Believe it or not, I use text only. I find it convenient, and for developers who speak English
as a second language, it may often put them more at ease.

79
When evaluating candidates, I generally cover the same range of topics. Most importantly, I need
to see examples of their past work. Have they completed projects similar to mine? What is the
level of quality? Are they consistent or only great some of the time? I also like to ask about their
other skill sets as well as those of their team members. I ask about their typical work hours and
when they are available to communicate, as well as other commitments and projects they have,
so I know what level of attention I can expect.

Asking whether they will upload and submit the project is also a good idea. Though it’s a
relatively trivial task for a developer, it can get complex and frustrating for someone who is not
familiar with it, so it does not hurt to have your developer commit to handling that from the start.

Finally, I like to ask what edge they will bring to the team. Though it may be seen as an odd
question, and can even sometimes be off-putting, I’ve learned about some extraordinary talents
and exceptional attitudes that I would not have otherwise discovered were it not for this question.
I highly recommend including it in some form.

Hiring Tips

Consider the following tips to make your hiring process smooth and successful:

● Avoid posting a job description that is too broad. Include a few specific requirements and
expectations to let candidates know the key skills you are seeking.
● Define management expectations such as schedule of communication, expected working
hours, and deliverable schedule. The more you establish these expectations from the
beginning, the less you will experience unpleasant surprises down the road.
● Communicate a long-term mindset from the start. This helps to set a good tone for the
relationship in which both sides are incentivized to be their best.
● Regardless of how good a candidate looks on paper, interview multiple candidates and
review a range of bids. Do not settle just because you do not find the right person
quickly. Be persistent.

80
Once you successfully hire at least one employee, develop a hiring template that can be used
repeatedly for future projects and positions. Though it may need to be adapted as time
progresses, a strong template will save you time and make this process easier.

Testing Your Talent

Even after the hire, it can often be a good idea to test your developer to ensure that they can do
what they say they can do. If you decide to leverage a test, it makes sense to make it a task with
real world applications.

Have the developer take on a small project or role within a project (this is typically what I will
do for someone new). You can also have them implement an ad network, SDK (a plug and play
code library that allows you to easily interact with an existing service, for example, the Facebook
Ads SDK), or some other small feature to an existing project.

Whichever method you choose, think of it as an extended interview in which you have the
opportunity to experience what it will be like to work with them—information that can be much
harder to glean from a brief chat. What better way to learn what it will be like to work with
someone than to actually work with them? Though you are paying for this work, even if the hire
does not pan out, it is far better than committing to a larger, more complex project with the
wrong development team.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s)

Another question I’m most constantly asked is, “Do I need an NDA to protect my million-dollar
idea?”

No. Not necessarily.

81
While there is certainly a time and place for non-disclosure agreements, at the beginning I
believe it is far more important to build something of value that is actually worth defending. Too
many people reverse this. In addition, if you are following a process similar to mine, there is a
high probability that you are working with developers overseas. An NDA is only as good as your
ability to enforce it. How do you plan to do that?

Further, the vast majority of these developers are professionals in the business of building apps
for a fee. Not only would it be terrible for their reputation and business to go around stealing
client ideas, but they simply have no interest in the effort it would take to build out your very
different business. As we’ve discussed, there is far more to succeeding than just creating an app.

In any case, I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on the internet, so feel free to consult one
should you have questions on this topic.

Getting Started

When you’ve hired your team and you are ready to start the project, be prepared to provide them
with all the resources, information, and details necessary to complete their tasks immediately.
Always communicate directly, simply, clearly, and concisely. Use well-defined deadlines,
milestones, and payouts. And always remember to start small so that you can build familiarity,
trust, and experience with relatively low risk and low cost.

Delivery

It is important to specify and agree on how the final delivery of the project will occur. When will
it happen? How should the work be packaged and organized? How will the work be
documented? How will bugs and omissions be accounted for and resolved?

Establish a shared space to which work will be uploaded both at milestones as well as at the end
of the project. You can use simple storage such as Dropbox or Box, or a repository made

82
specifically for code such as Github or Bitbucket. Just make sure you are indeed using something
and that both parties have agreed upon and feel comfortable navigating.

Specifics

Before finalizing your agreement, address the following specifics. Will the payment be fixed, or
based on an hourly rate? This will have already been addressed in the job posting, but it is good
practice to reiterate the expectation at this point. I highly recommend agreeing on a fixed price to
avoid paying for empty hours or having to micromanage, especially at the beginning of the
relationship.

Will any portion of the payment be made up front? If you must make some portion of the
payment at the start, I recommend using escrow to protect yourself and your money. Also, you
should only make payments AFTER you receive deliverables.

Project Management Tools

For my first [too many] months in the app business, all my projects were “managed” entirely via
a combination of Skype chat and email. While both are fine modes of communication when used
as intended, I highly recommend using a dedicated project management tool unless you enjoy
losing track of conversations and spending endless hours digging through your inbox.

Asana is probably my favorite, and Trello and Basecamp both get high marks from friends in the
business. I am sure there are a number of other great options as well. I don’t care which one you
choose, but I implore you to choose one for the sake of your business, your organization, and
your sanity.

Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.

Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch6

83
ACTION STEPS:

❏ Sign up for Upwork and/or Freelancer.com and post your job.

❏ Narrow your list to the best and most qualified candidates.

❏ Interview five to ten candidates to develop a feel for the process.

❏ Narrow again to the best of these five to ten candidates.

❏ If you are satisfied, make your first hire. Otherwise, continue the process.

❏ Choose a project management system.

❏ Create a shared document/drive/folder for your project.

84
Building Your App and Business

Point A:

● How do I actually build a quality app?

● How do I turn it into a sustainable business?

Point B:
● I have my app in the marketplace with concrete plans to grow and scale my business.

W
hile this book is rapidly coming to a close, it is just the beginning of your
knowledge acquisition and your journey to mastery. I hope that you will continue
on that journey with us in our Facebook community.

85
Designing Your App

Designing your app is the critical process where you take the knowledge, insights, and nuggets
gathered in the previous steps and put them all together, allowing your team to see your vision
and their role in bringing it to life. This can be done manually or digitally, but either way, it must
be done well.

Before diving in, be sure you completed your market research. Know which apps you will use as
inspiration. Anticipate which parts of these apps you want to emulate and which parts you want
to improve upon, as well as any new elements you will bring to the table. With that information
ready, it’s time to assemble your wireframe.

Why Wireframes?

A wireframe can be defined as “an image or set of images which displays the functional elements
of an app, typically used for planning the app's structure and functionality.”

APP WIREFRAME SKETCH - TECHNOEDIT.COM

While it is tempting to jump directly into the development process as quickly as possible, you
will benefit from creating a wireframe first, as its visual nature makes it a highly effective and
valuable communication tool. The effort put into creating the wireframe will pay dividends later

86
on in the form of easier communication with developers and designers, ease of editing, accuracy
of estimation, and more.

The Manual Approach

When creating your wireframe, you can either do so manually or with one of many software
tools, some of which I will list a few paragraphs below. Personally, my favorite approach is
using a good old pen and paper combination. Here are the rules and guidelines to follow when
doing so:

● Put yourself in the user’s shoes when designing the experience.

● Use only clear and concise language and communication. Do not use five words where
one will do.
● Adopt a mindset of simplicity. Lay your app out so a 10-year old or your grandmother
can look at it and immediately use it. As a byproduct, your developer is more likely to
understand it as well.
● Reference existing apps where helpful (use screenshots to paint a clearer picture).
● Use any mode of communication that will enhance clarity (images, text, voice, etc.).
● Draw it out in stages rather than trying to capture everything at once.
● Remember the Conversion and Retention Rule discussed earlier in the book:
○ Make sure your user will be able to experience value within a short amount of
time.
○ How will you immediately grab their attention and engage?
● Sketch out your app’s navigation and make it very clear.
● Keep things as simple and user-friendly as possible.
● Make no assumptions—and leave no room for them.
● Design screen by screen, making sure each one achieves its objective.
● Ask your developer to estimate the time and cost required and break that estimate down
by feature.
● Show your wireframe to others (particularly in your target market) to get feedback.

87
Wireframing with Tools

As mentioned above, you can also build your wireframe using a number of different tools. The
process and mindset are not very different, but there are some advantages, such as the ability to
more easily edit, as well as the polished professional output you will have at the end.

In no particular order, here are some of the different tools you can use to create your wireframe:
● Invisionapp
● Balsamiq
● FluidUI
● UXPin
● Photoshop/GIMP
● Powerpoint/Keynote/Keynotopia
● Wireframing mobile apps
● Pen & Paper

Testing

While testing is not the sexiest part of this process, it is quite necessary. Plan ahead for testing
and include it in your agreement with your developer.

These guidelines can help your testing process:

● Find random testers (preferably in your target market) and get their feedback. Ideally,
they should use your app for at least one hour.
● Test for crashes and bugs. Is everything working as expected?
● Test for clarity of navigation and ease of use. Do users intuitively know what to do?
● Document any necessary changes.
● Make necessary changes, prioritizing the most critical issues first.
● To the extent possible, test on all devices where your app will be used.

88
Testing Tools

There are a few tools available on the market that allow you to install an app on your device
before it is released to the public via the App Store. This allows you to troubleshoot, eliminate
bugs and glitches, and determine what your target users actually want versus what repels them.
My favorites are Testflight (which was bought by Apple, and now lives within your App Store
Connect account) and Diawi. Betafamily is another tool with similar functionality, and there are
a number of others of which I am not as well acquainted.

These services help you to prelaunch your apps to limited groups of users before the official
release. On Android, you can also have the developer send you an APK file, which can be
opened and installed directly on your device without a need for the Google Play Store.

After the Launch

Launching your app is an amazing feeling. What once only existed in your mind is now a
tangible software prouct that people around the world can download, use and enjoy. Nonetheless,
knowing that being seen by Apple and Google as a leading app typically leads to more
downloads, usage, and revenue, your mind may quickly move on to a new question: “How do I
get my app to achieve and maintain prominent positioning in the app store?” I’m glad you asked
that question.

The Algorithm

Both App Stores use an algorithm (or a formula) to decide where apps will rank in the top charts,
as well as how they will rank for keyword searches that users type. These algorithms are
essentially black boxes that we will never see inside. However, there are certain elements that we
know play a role, and will likely continue to do so in the foreseeable future, namely:

89
 ● Reviews and ratings - This simple customer feedback informs the platform of whether the
market cares about your app and what they think about it. It goes without saying that you
want to collect as many positive ratings and reviews as possible.
● Download and update velocity - The number of downloads you get matters, but the rate at
which they come in may be even more important. An app that gets a ton of downloads on
launch day only to stay quiet for the rest of the week will not rank highly for long.
● Conversion metrics (downloads and revenue) - When people see your app listing, what
percentage of them download? When people use your app, what percentage become
paying users? These factors will also play a role in how your app fares with the
algorithm.
● Retention and Engagement - How long are people spending in the app and how often are
they returning?
● Updates - The platforms love updates because they show that you are investing in your
app and your customers. When considering an update, explore ways to show your users
more value, and efficiently and effectively increase monetization. You should also pay
attention to top competitors to see what you can learn from their updates.

Systemizing Your Business

You’ve now touched every part of the process and managed to get your app up and running.
Congratulations! Now, what’s next?

It’s time to start systemizing your business via Standard Operating Procedures (or SOPs).

Why Standard Operating Procedures?

Systems and processes add financial value to your business. As in, if you ever find it in your
heart to sell the business, you will likely receive a higher valuation for it. The primary reason for
this is that SOPs also add business value in the form of efficiencies that can actually improve
your scalability as well as your bottom line.

90
SOPs take all the actions that happen in your business and record them into step-by-step recipes
that anyone can follow. This creates repeatability and predictability in your business, allowing
for easier training of new employees and contractors, smoother operations, and faster, more
sustainable scaling. This allows you to spend more time working on your business than in your
business and keeps the momentum rolling should you ever need to step away.

How to Systemize

When building your SOPs, emphasize clarity so that anyone will be able to pick them up and
perform the necessary tasks correctly. Anyone should be able to understand your SOPs. Leave no
room for guessing.

Be very concise and approach this in a step-by-step fashion, making lists of the work that needs
to be performed. Use text, screenshots, video, audio, or whatever medium best helps you to
explain the process. Don’t make any assumptions about the person who will be reading the SOPs
and using them to perform a task; err on the side of including more detail instead of less.

Remember: Keep it simple, be as concise as possible, and assume nothing.

Rather than stumble through explaining the intricacies of effective SOP creation, here are three
references that do an excellent job:

● The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

● Work the System by Sam Carpenter
● Scale by Jeff Hoffman and David Finkel

Questions or feedback on this chapter? Click here to let me know.

Survey link: http://appmagic.co/ch7

91
ACTION STEPS:

❏ Practice wireframing one or two app ideas you have researched.

❏ Seek out other app entrepreneurs to discuss the business and share strategies. Our group
might be a great place to start (shameless plug).

❏ Decide on a strategy for your app launch.

❏ After the launch, collect data and prepare a strategy for your first update.

❏ Think about how you might systemize your business and create your first SOP.

❏ Plan for your next steps, including:

❏ Using analytics to make decisions;
❏ Scaling your business;
❏ Selling your business; and
❏ Networking and partnerships.

❏ For more on designing a great app, check out Tapworthy.

❏ For more on systems and SOP creation, check out the books below:
❏ The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
❏ Work the System by Sam Carpenter
❏ Scale by Jeff Hoffman and David Finkel

92
Bonus

W ant my help to move faster?

As I alluded to previously, I’ve helped dozens of people build their app businesses,
accumulate real revenue, and sometimes even sell their companies.

So far, I’ve personally assisted over 100 people start their app businesses.

Unfortunately, I can only take on limited clients (I’m only one man), but I boiled down the major
keys into an hour-long training webinar that you can watch for free here:

How to Create Your Hit App Without Funding or Coding

If after reading this book, you really want to hit the gas with proven strategies and best practices
for starting and growing your successful app businesses, this training webinar is for you. I’ll
show you things like:

● How to pick a winning project when starting out, so you don’t waste your money;
● How to get results without funding or coding experience;
● Three fatal mistakes to avoid on your first app;
● How to deliver your customers’ dreams so they will talk about you for free;
● How to blow up your app marketing without a big budget; and
● What’s working NOW: The exact strategies friends of mine are using to dominate the
App Store today.

The “Creating Your Hit App” Event is completely free. Make sure to check it out:

How to Create Your Hit App Without Funding or Coding

93
Afterword

M
y biggest lesson in this business probably comes from one of my biggest failures—
which I would not fully realize until it was in the past.

In 2013, one of my apps was Top 10 in the charts yielding up to 80,000 downloads per day. A
colleague with more experience in the industry counseled me to lighten up on my ads so that
more users would stay around for the long term, allowing me to build a valuable audience for
that app as well as others to come.

I thought about it briefly and said, “NOPE!”

Given that my revenue had now reached THOUSANDS per day, I just KNEW that I was smarter
than him. (This is usually the moment when we are the most vulnerable, and on the verge of
learning a hard lesson.) Plus, I felt that I was better than him. I knew how to get my games to
rank highly at will, so my perception was that he just didn't know how to do it like I could do it.

My game eventually lost steam, but as expected, I was indeed able to launch more apps to the top
of the charts at will—until I wasn’t.

It turns out, I wasn't in charge. Apple was in charge and they change their algorithms to benefit
THEIR business. My old tricks did not work anymore. I went on to discover new tricks,
strategies, and techniques, but that is not the story here…

A year later in 2014, a French studio called Ketchapp launched a viral game to the top of the
charts. Rather than blast their users with ads, they followed a strategy very similar to what my
colleague had advised a year earlier. They lightly monetized while funneling their users from
game to game to game, sometimes launching a game per week and building up a loyal base of
hundreds of millions of users in the process.

94
In 2016, after just 2 years of existence, Ketchapp was acquired by Ubisoft for a rumored $200M
- $350M.

Ouch.

As you set off on your own app journey, I wish you many lessons, failures, successes, and
adventures. And I hope you’ll let me know all about them.

95
Invite Muoyo to Speak at Your Next Event!

A
re you interested in inviting Muoyo Okome to speak at your next conference, event,
or board meeting? Muoyo is one of the most highly demanded and respected speakers
on mobile app marketing and entrepreneurship. He has been invited to speak at the
Wharton School of Business, 1776 Startup Incubator, Georgetown University, Johnson &
Johnson, the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Living Social, Howard University, and the
Bluecloud Entrepreneur Summit, among others. With his breadth of experience, track record of
real-world results, and quick-witted sense of humor, none of your attendees will forget this
experience. For inquiries and availability, send your email proposal to speaking@appmagic.co.

96
About the Author

orn and raised in Brooklyn, New York to a proud Nigerian family, Oritsemuoyogbene

B (Muoyo) Okome is the founder of App Magic.

His companies have produced over 100 apps
which have profitably achieved over 12 million
downloads across 100+ countries worldwide, including
several that have earned Top 10 and Top 100 status in the
App Store (out of several million apps).

Muoyo consults, teaches, and speaks on topics such as

mobile app entrepreneurship, production, marketing, and
monetization. He particularly enjoys speaking to young
people.

Muoyo holds a BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University and an MBA in
Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School. Prior to leaving the corporate world, he
worked at IBM and the Microsoft Corporation in Software Engineering, Consulting, and
Business Management roles.

Aside from mobile technology his interests include sports, personal development, cuisine and
travel.

Facebook: Muoyo Okome

Instagram: @RealAppMagic
Twitter: @MoreAppMagic
LinkedIn: Muoyo Okome

97
Appendix A: Action Steps

Below, you will find a comprehensive list of all the Action Steps included at the end of each
chapter. This list will serve as a roadmap as you embark upon your app entrepreneurship
journey. Save it in a location that is easily accessible for you to reference frequently. Feel free to
add steps that feel helpful to you along the way, and let me know what adaptations you make! In
our Community, we value everyone’s input.

Mindset
Mindset

❏ App Mogul Mindset

❏ Take steps to internalize the App Mogul Mindset. Read it. Save it. Print it. Put it
somewhere you will see it every day (your fridge, your phone’s lock screen, etc.).

❏ Write down any other empowering beliefs that help you focus on success.

❏ Share what you are doing to internalize empowering beliefs in the group.

❏ Set Your Goals

❏ When things get challenging, it is often your WHY that will carry you through.
Think about WHY you want to master this process and write it down (for
example, my big reason why is freedom).

❏ Decide on your goal for the app business and write it down. I recommend using
the Goal Setting to Now framework, introduced by the book The One Thing by
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (see below).

98
 THE ONE THING (BOOK)

Goal Setting to Now allows you to connect your Purpose you want to achieve
someday with your Priority you will work on today.

❏ If you are comfortable doing so, share your work in the group.

❏ Create Your Disney

This is another powerful exercise courtesy of Gary Keller. In 1957, Walt Disney drew a
sketch of what is essentially the modern-day Disney empire before any of it existed.

99
WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS, 1957

❏ Ask yourself, “If you could wave the magic wand and have everything you could
possibly want happen for your business, what would that look like?”

❏ Take a blank sheet of paper and draw it.

❏ If you are comfortable doing so, share your work in the group.

100
 ❏ Block Your Calendar
When asked about success in his field, comedian Jerry Seinfeld attributes it largely to
consistency. Early in his career he identified that the key to becoming a better comic was
to write better jokes, and the key to writing better jokes was to write them every day. So,
using an oversized wall calendar, for each day he performed the task of joke writing, he
placed a large red X over the date. His goal became not to break the chain of Xs,
allowing him to build massive momentum.

❏ Build your own massive momentum. Whether it is once a week on the weekends
or one hour in the evening every week day, decide exactly when you will be
working on your app business, and set a recurring block on your calendar.

❏ Share a screenshot of your calendar or tell us when you plan to work on your app
business in the group.

Market Research
Market Research

❏ Browse the App Store and its Top Charts.

❏ Pick 15-25 apps that interest you and download them.

❏ Think about what makes each app successful, what is missing, and how you could use
Model and Improve to make the app better.

❏ For the apps in your list where you see the most potential, take a deeper dive and go
through each step of the analysis laid out in this chapter.

101
Business Model

❏ Decide which business model or models appeal to you most.

❏ Looking at the next 12-months, create a timeline for your business including milestones
and goals.

❏ Decide how you will measure success with respect to your chosen model.

❏ Ask yourself, “Why is this the right choice for me?” Consider factors such as budget,
team, growth and monetization goals, as well as potential for an eventual exit.

Monetization

❏ Set up an account with a mobile advertising network such as Applovin, HeyZap, inMobi
or Google Admob.

❏ Decide which monetization strategy or strategies you will use to monetize your app.
Write down any in-app purchases, ads, or subscriptions you will include.

❏ Decide on the price of your app.

❏ Go into the App Store and find five apps that are making money outside of the App Store.

❏ Write down ideas you have that could leverage a similar strategy.

❏ Consider which monetization strategies will you leverage in the long term to achieve
your goals.

102
Marketing

❏ Sign up for free accounts on Sensor Tower, App Annie, and Apptopia.

❏ For each of the apps in the store in which you are interested, review and analyze the icon,
screenshots, app preview videos, keywords, description, category, web presence, and
anything else that might be able to inform your marketing. What makes the app
successful and how can you Model and Improve to make it better?

❏ Decide which marketing strategies you will leverage in the present and long term. How
will you measure effectiveness?

❏ Conduct keyword research for an app of your choice.

❏ Over time, revisit and improve your marketing based on your results and what you see in
the market.

Build
Build Team
Team

❏ Sign up for Upwork and/or Freelancer.com and post your job.

❏ Narrow your list to the best and most qualified candidates.

❏ Interview five to ten candidates to develop a feel for the process.

❏ Narrow again to the best of these five to ten candidates.

❏ If you are satisfied, make your first hire. Otherwise, continue the process.

103
 ❏ Choose a project management system.

❏ Create a shared document/drive/folder for your project.

Build App

❏ Practice wireframing one or two app ideas you have researched.

❏ Seek out other app entrepreneurs to discuss the business and share strategies. Our group
might be a great place to start (shameless plug).

❏ Decide on a strategy for your app launch.

❏ After the launch, collect data and prepare a strategy for your first update.

❏ Think about how you might systemize your business and create your first SOP.

❏ Plan for your next steps, including:

❏ Using analytics to make decisions;
❏ Scaling your business;
❏ Selling your business; and
❏ Networking and partnerships.

❏ For more on designing a great app, check out Tapworthy.

❏ For more on systems and SOP creation, check out the books below:
❏ The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
❏ Work the System by Sam Carpenter
❏ Scale by Jeff Hoffman and David Finkel

104
Appendix B: Resources

Below, you will find a comprehensive list of all the Resources referenced throughout each
chapter. Use this list to prevent recreating the wheel during your app entrepreneurship journey.
Save it in a location that is easy for you to access frequently. Feel free to add resources that you
discover along the way, and let me know what adaptations you make! In our Community, we
value everyone’s input.

Stay Connected

❏ Join my mailing list to receive book updates and other app entrepreneurship content:
appmagic.co/connect
❏ Become a member of our private community of entrepreneurs learning the app game on
Facebook: appmagic.co/fb
❏ Let me know your feedback on the book: appmagic.co/yourfeedback
❏ Connect with me via social media:
❏ Facebook: Muoyo Okome
❏ Instagram: @RealAppMagic
❏ Twitter: @MoreAppMagic
❏ LinkedIn: Muoyo Okome

Business Model

❏ Lean Canvas
❏ Useronboard.com

105
Monetization
Monetization

❏ Analytics
❏ Flurry
❏ Localytics
❏ GameAnalytics
❏ Mobile Advertising Networks
❏ Applovin
❏ Facebook Ads
❏ Google Admob
❏ inMobi
❏ HeyZap
❏ Unity Ads

Market Research/Marketing

❏ App Annie
❏ App Store itself (manual search)
❏ App Sparky
❏ Apptopia
❏ Google Adwords
❏ Sensor Tower
❏ Testico.net
❏ Topappads.com
❏ Keyword Optimization
❏ App Annie
❏ Appcod.es
❏ AppTweak
❏ Google Keyword Planner

106
 ❏ Gummicube
❏ Keyword Shitter
❏ MobileAction
❏ Sensor Tower
❏ Thesaurus

Build
Build Team
Team

❏ 99Designs
❏ Coding Competitions
❏ Craigslist
❏ DeviantArt
❏ Dribbble
❏ Forums
❏ Facebook Groups
❏ Freelancer.com
❏ Github
❏ Guru.com
❏ Meetup.com/Meetup Groups
❏ Toptal.com
❏ Upwork

Build App
Build App

❏ Asana
❏ Basecamp
❏ Bitbucket
❏ Box

107
❏ Dropbox
❏ Github
❏ Trello
❏ Wireframing
❏ Invisionapp
❏ Balsamiq
❏ FluidUI
❏ UXPin
❏ Photoshop/GIMP
❏ Powerpoint/Keynote/Keynotopia
❏ Wireframing apps
❏ Testing Tools
❏ Betafamily
❏ Diawi
❏ TestFlight

108
Appendix C: App Mogul Mindset

109
 APP MOGUL MINDSET
■ Read It ■ Believe It ■ Live It ■ #MOGULMINDSET ■

The App Mogul…

. . . knows human potential is nearly limitless.
. . . sees growth as the highest priority, and invests in themselves continuously.
. . . decides who they want to become… and takes action appropriately.
. . . knows that beliefs are a choice, and chooses ONLY those beliefs that serve them.
. . . has a long-term outlook on business and life.
. . . begins with the end in mind.
. . . COMMITS to their success.
. . . seeks simplicity first.
. . . has VERY clear goals, and breaks them into concrete action steps.
. . . does that which moves them toward their goals.
. . . does NOT do that which moves them away from their goals.
. . . takes FULL responsibility for their own success.
. . . does not make excuses.
. . . thinks BIG… but also acts small.
. . . is data driven, and makes decisions with data instead of emotions.
. . . is customer and market focused.
. . . models and improves.
. . . takes action imperfectly: Progress > Perfection and Done > Perfect.
. . . knows that failure is a key part of success and is willing to make mistakes.
. . . takes REASONABLE risks so that the failure is never fatal.
. . . understands that Community is a safe place to make mistakes.
. . . shares lessons learned from mistakes (and successes) with others in the Community.
. . . knows that there are no magic bullets.
. . . is consistent, taking one small step every day.
. . . cares more about finding the right answer than about winning the argument.
. . . motivates and inspires those around them.
. . . is relentless.
. . . is resourceful.
. . . plows through.
. . . always thinks positive.
. . . realizes we create our own happiness, and happiness precedes success.
. . . knows it’s all a game, and is ready to have fun doing it.

& Remember…
"Do the thing, and you shall have the power. The only “Your philosophy creates your attitudes, which create
person you are destined to become is the person you your actions, which create your results, which create
decide to be." your life.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson - Jeff Olson

"The formula for success? Double your rate of failure" “Consistently repeated daily actions + Time =
- Thomas J. Watson Unconquerable Results”
- Jeff Olson

110