

Ask HN:  Should I continue development of my iOS app - kenver

I currently have an app on the iOS App Store, that makes me about $30 a month.  It took me quite a long time to make, but I did it half for fun and half for the chance that it might make me some money!<p>Most of my users feedback has been positive, with requests for additional features, which I try to get in with updates.<p>The problem is that time is short, and the app doesn't make very much money at all.<p>I don't want to stop supporting the people who have already bought the app, but at the same time I want to try and do some other more successful apps.<p>So my question is how should I drop support without annoying current users who have been really positive to me?<p>The other solution of course is to keep adding features and improve it and hope that one day it kicks off, but it just feels like a waste of time now.
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tjr
Unless you promised otherwise, the users bought the application as-is (or as-
it-was), without any guarantee of future updates. You are not bound to provide
updates. It's a good idea to do so if you can, but perhaps favoring working on
new applications for a while would be preferable.

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

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kenver
Thanks for the advice, I think you've just confirmed what I was thinking
anyway. I'll probably make one last update and then leave it there.

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

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

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

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kaolinite
Make it open-source, make the app free (or at least cheaper) and then every so
often package it up and deploy to the app-store?

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pkamb
Can you post the app?

~~~
kenver
Sure. [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/charty-stats-for-
youtube/id51...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/charty-stats-for-
youtube/id511711220?ls=1&mt=8)

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

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

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

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

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

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

