

Ask HN: Why doesn't my ios app perform on the US market? - bornonthebull

Hi there,<p>I've developed an app which sells pretty well all over the world - I can't make a living out of the revenue but I am still happy. The app performs pretty well in most of the (wealthier) countries, but underperforms in the US and Canada. This is where I need the help of the HN community.<p>=&#62; Why does my app suck on the US market? Is there an obvious reason I don't see?<p>What I mean by suck on the US market: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/585/screenshot20120828at155.png/
The US just makes 2.8% out of my total downloads, although it should be a huge market.<p>iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/id473512078?mt=8
Some public analytics: http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/minipedia-offline-encyclopedia-wikipedia-reader<p>The app has an average rating of 4.25 with 280 reviews worldwide. The average rating in America is 4.0 with 16 ratings. I am using a freemium model and make my profit through in-app sales.<p>Thanks,
Bobby
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helen842000
Just a thought but wondering if the abundance of free wifi, fast home internet
access & unlimited data plans for iPhones in the US mean that they're less
likely to be without internet access - so wikipedia is always available.

Personally here in the UK, I find data charges quite expensive so I limit my
access. Also I don't have accessible wifi at work so I'd probably find the
offline feature quite useful! Where as I know my friends in the US are most of
the time pretty well connected. Everytime I speak to them they're streaming
audio, video or both!

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pixelcort
Are your competitors' apps available in these other countries that you're in?

If not, that might explain the discrepancy.

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bornonthebull
They are available in these countries as well...

Since it's an offline app I thought the 3G / WiFi coverage might be way better
in the US than in other countries. Might this be one issue?

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pixelcort
Not sure about U.S. and international 3G / WiFi coverage.

I'm assuming your app is localized into a bunch of languages. While your
competitors' apps are available in these countries as well, are they also
localized into commonly used languages?

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nicknyc
Rethink, or try removing, the word "Encyclopedia" in the app's title

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bornonthebull
Okay - is it too uncommon?

Any idea what a good title would be? I placed keywords like Offline, Wikipedia
and Encyclopedia in the title.

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nicknyc
In my mind, an encyclopedia is a reference book at the library. I don’t need
one and I’ve never paid for one. They’re huge and come in volumes, they’re out
of date, slow to use, etc. That doesn't describe your app or the value it
provides, right?

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bornonthebull
Right. +1 for that :)

