

(Android) Developer Income Report #6 - kreci
http://www.kreci.net/reports/developer-income-report-6/

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prs
I enjoy reading about your struggles and experiences in earning a online
income.

Is it safe to assume that those earnings are for December 2010? If yes, I
would have assumed that earnings for Android software would have increased
quite a lot more as this month is typically the strongest for many developers
- See <http://taptaptap.com/blog/million-million/> for a good example.

As for iPhone programming, feel free to check out
[http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/developing-apps-for-
ios-...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/developing-apps-for-ios-
hd/id395605774) if you haven't already - There is plenty of material available
from Stanford for free that will allow you to create your first iOS
applications easily.

~~~
kreci
Yes - that is for December 2010. I know the link - but still considering cost
of starting developing for iPhone (hardware) and time to learn new language vs
outsourcing opportunity...

------
brianobush
One commenter makes a comment that the developer "has no passion", to which
kreci responds it is "just business". I have to agree with the commenter, that
it is sad the apps are made for the sole purpose of ad impressions and the
niche blog content is outsourced (and not very good content on top of that).
All of it seems a bit shallow, but that is my opinion. In my own app
development, I want my apps to empower people and enrich their lives. If I
succeed in that endeavor, I will be rewarded.

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bane
I haven't really been following Android dev income trends (other than Angry
Birds' incredible ad revenue), anybody care to comment on the general state of
Android revenue as compared to a year ago? (I suspect it's greatly increased,
but even with similar numbers of phones out, I also suspect iOS devs pull in
more money).

~~~
ergo98
_I suspect it's greatly increased, but even with similar numbers of phones
out, I also suspect iOS devs pull in more money_

The majority of iOS devs make little to nothing, documented countless times.
Of course when you hear the rare success story it is presented as a norm,
which paradoxically leads to a gold rush that really ensures that no one gets
rich (and quick!).

And the same is entirely true for Android. While the user base has grown
dramatically, the number of applications have exploded as well so there's
significantly more competition.

~~~
wallflower

      The overwhelming majority of iOS devs make little to
      nothing, documented countless times
    

Not true. The majority of iOS devs I know make a decent revenue stream that
involves making apps for the like of Fortune 500 companies and startups. Since
they walk the company through the whole process of becoming a registered Apple
iOS developer, you would never know the app was ghost-coded.

~~~
bane
Are these typically free apps the consultants are developing? (Like say,
Yelp's app).

~~~
wallflower
In almost every case, the apps are funded by the marketing budget and are
always free apps to promote the organization or company's brand. It is in
essence another marketing channel. There are also cases where a non-profit
gets corporate sponsorship.

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csomar
_Moreover I have hired a talented writer via Freelancer.com to keep my niche
blog updated to gain more search engine traffic (he takes $1 per article!)._

You can't know if the guy is a talent or not, if you are not more talented
than him. That being said, and with ridiculously low rate, I highly doubt if
he is talented.

------
kreci
As usual comments are welcome and very desired!

~~~
othello
How many ad impressions does the $1,700 Android revenue correspond to?

Thank you again for posting these numbers every month.

~~~
dpcan
I would REALLY like to know this too. I have a game getting 1.6 Million
impressions every 6-8 hours and I only want to put ads on the game if it makes
financial sense.

~~~
illumen
$400 - $1600 - $3200 per 6-8 hours?

No one can say without knowing about the specific app, the advert
implementation, and the amount of users you loose because of the
implementation. I'd guess something around that much though.

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grantheaslip
> Moreover I have hired a talented writer via Freelancer.com to keep my niche
> blog updated to gain more search engine traffic (he takes $1 per article!).

$1 per acticle? I know the articles on the site
(<http://www.minimotherboard.com/>, via a comment) are short and not really
original content, but assuming he's spending even 10 minutes per post, he
could be earning more working the drive-thru at McDonald's. I suppose he's
agreed to it, and it's not your fault he's undervaluing his work, but that
strikes me as insultingly low. I really feel for the guy if he's been forced
into writing for what is essentially table scraps.

~~~
muhfuhkuh
Just taking the latest artcile on the jetway mini-itx mobo, it's only 200
words. Your comment on the writer (quote not included) is 81. How long did it
take you to write?

If she can bust out one article in 5 minutes, even with breaks of a few
minutes in between to stretch or just clear her head, the writer can do 15 of
them in an hour. And that's assuming kreci is her only client. I can see her
making over US$100/day quite easily, and depending on where the writer is
situated (and it seems that she is not a native English speaker/writer based
just from her word usage alone), making between 25-30k year could possibly be
no small potatoes.

FYI, I just wrote the preceding in 5 minutes and it's 118 words.

~~~
grantheaslip
Maybe I'm just a slower writer, but 15 articles an hour seems impossibly fast,
especially considering that the articles require some degree of research. Do
you honestly believe someone could write 100 of those articles every day? Even
if it were possible (and I'm not really sold on that), that sounds absolutely
soul-crushing.

And yes, you (and other commenters) do bring up a good point in that $1 has a
lot more value in many parts of the world. And while it still strikes me as a
bit exploitative, I fully understand how untenable my complaining about this
is considering basically every piece of electronic equipment on my desk was
probably made by someone earning the around the same, if not less. The same is
probably true of the clothes I'm wearing.

~~~
chc
I know a reporter who can bust out 10 full-length newspaper-quality articles
in an hour. 15 shorter pieces is certainly doable. You just have to be
habituated to the sort of writing you're doing (and be a fast typist).

------
revorad
Regarding Amazon affiliate earnings, what are the ToS requirements regarding
promoting affiliate links directly? Presumably, every affiliate sale makes
Amazon money, but if one were doing a lot of sales, would Amazon accuse you of
stealing money from them?

~~~
prs
As long as we are talking about legitimate sales originating from real people,
the 24-hour duration of the affiliate cookie puts Amazon into a very favorable
position. I cannot see why AMZN should accuse you of stealing money.

[https://affiliate-
program.amazon.com/gp/associates/agreement...](https://affiliate-
program.amazon.com/gp/associates/agreement/)

~~~
revorad
I'm thinking of this - <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2049808>

~~~
prs
The case you are referring to looks like a "cashback deal".

The purchasing party receives something (money,extension of subscription,...)
in return for finalizing the transaction through your affiliate link.

As far as I know, this kind of deals is not possible through the Amazon
Affiliate Program.

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mrlebowski
Can you share your experiences -- how you promoted your previous apps?

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kenjackson
What is the conversion rate on Android ads?

I ask because I have trouble believing that people click on the ads out of
intention. I think I clicked on one by mistake before (although, honestly
can't remember for sure).

I just find it hard to believe that Angry Birds makes $1M in ad revenue per
month. I don't get why you'd click an ad when you're about to play a game.

~~~
aaw
I get anywhere from 1%-3% clickthrough, depending on the app, with AdMob.
Whether your ads blend in with your app and where you place your ads affects
this rate. AdMob recommends that you place your ads at the end of a user
action, as in, once they've played a few rounds of a game, present them with
their score and an ad. I think that's exactly what Angry Birds does.

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Tichy
What is the niche blog?

~~~
kreci
My Mini-ITX blog - <http://www.minimotherboard.com>

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danielh
Regarding iOS development, keep in mind that even if you outsource, you still
need an iPhone to verify the work. Maybe you can borrow a phone from a friend.

If you want to develop yourself, you don't need the latest hardware. A used
Mac Mini is enough and should cost around 300€.

