4. Reality?
• Make an awesome product
• Put it on the app store
• Nobody ever sees it
• Or nobody pays for it
• Cry
5. “Consider the sad story of Gasketball, an iOS game
that released for free with a $2.99 in-app purchase
to unlock the rest of the content. It managed
200,000 downloads, and at one point was close the
top of the iTunes games chart -- but only 0.67% of
customers paid for the IAP. After two years of work,
the two developers behind the game ended up
homeless, staying with friends while trying to
address the reasons the app didn't sell well and
recoup their investment of time.”
-TUAW Sept 2012
8. Facebook App
App Store Center
Features
Free app a day Questionable
sites
Cross-promo
programs Targeted Ads
Affiliate Marketing
9. Buying installs
What are you paying
for?
• $ spent / Total installs = Effective Cost Per
Install.
• You pay for quantity to get on the app
store charts in hopes of getting a lower
ECPI via organic installs.
• But you pay for quality to get a higher
future Average Revenue Per User.
• ARPU is what matters.
10. Buying installs
• Goal == keep the ECPI number low and
target an audience to get a high ARPU.
• You time your launch around when you
estimate a lower ECPI. Not around
holidays, etc.
• Like any other advertising, you’re bidding
against others.
11. Buying installs
• Cross Promos, Affiliate Programs are
generally very low quality installs. ECPI is
lower (because you’re trading people’s
installs for something else. They don’t
actually want your product), but the ARPU
is almost nothing.
• Targeted ads and organic installs are high
quality. Meaning in the long term they will
account for the ARPU numbers.
12. Installs
Stop campaigns
App store top 10
:(
Balls to the wall
campaign
In the store hanging out
13. IAP Revenue per day
Stop campaigns
$ :)
App store top 10
Balls to the wall
campaign
In the store hanging out
14. So with enough money
you can get anything to
the top of the App
Store?
16. This example used
“illegal” bots to mass
download the app to
force it to the top of
the rankings and once
noticed was removed.
17. “Free” organic install
techniques
• Build light versions.
• Other apps that serve the same
demographic.
• Cross promote your big budget title within
your free viral ones.
• The more organic installs, the lower your
ECPI.
• “Social” and “viral” shit.
18. Get those organic installs!
Cross the line a little. Utilize the
social channels available to the
fullest capacity.
20. blah blah blah I’m • BiblioRdr
Zuck. Let’s talk “Gabe just read a book.”
about appz.
Douche
21. blah blah blah I’m • BiblioRdr
Zuck. Let’s talk “Gabe just read a book.”
about appz.
• Karaoke Plus
“Gabe just sang a song.”
Douche
22. blah blah blah I’m • BiblioRdr
Zuck. Let’s talk “Gabe just read a book.”
about appz.
• Karaoke Plus
“Gabe just sang a song.”
Douche • MommySpammR
“Gabe just took a step.”
23. blah blah blah I’m • BiblioRdr
Zuck. Let’s talk “Gabe just read a book.”
about appz.
• Karaoke Plus
“Gabe just sang a song.”
Douche • MommySpammR
“Gabe just took a step.”
• Ultimate Vision v4.2
“Gabe just blinked his eyes.”
24. blah blah blah I’m • BiblioRdr
Zuck. Let’s talk “Gabe just read a book.”
about appz.
• Karaoke Plus
“Gabe just sang a song.”
Douche • MommySpammR
“Gabe just took a step.”
• Ultimate Vision v4.2
“Gabe just blinked his eyes.”
• Barcamp Omaha App
“Gabe just gave a talk.”
25. •Dick move? Some say “yes”.
• But it works.
• People can turn it off.
• And you owe it to yourself
to let your users spread the
word on your behalf.
26. Similarly give them an easy
way to talk about how
proud they are to be using
your product.
27. Similarly give them an easy
way to talk about how
proud they are to be using
your product.
28. Similarly give them an easy
way to talk about how
proud they are to be using
your product.
29. Similarly give them an easy
way to talk about how Why did they press that
proud they are to be using button? Because they
wanted to.
your product.
30. Similarly give them an easy
way to talk about how Why did they press that
proud they are to be using button? Because they
wanted to.
your product.
31. Things people pay for
• Time. Do things faster.
• Space. Do/have more things.
• Perceived rarity. Do/have things others
can’t.
• Ranking. To be the best.
32. Regardless of your app, a little
gamification goes a long way.
• iOS GameCenter. Built right in. Have
leader boards for arbitrary things. Words
typed, games played, photos taken, etc.
• Facebook. Automatically know a user’s
friends and put them up against each other
with these arbitrary metrics. Friends love
to compare each other.
33. Example of an in-game
contest.
• 33% increase in ARPU on over the duration
of the event.
• Last day of the event... spike.
• People like competition.
• People like “rare” things.
• “ONLY 10 VIRTUAL, DIGITAL Number of people paying
WIDGETS! OMG!” moneyz.
34. This is where I’d add
any last minute slides.
Otherwise I’m done.
Thx.
gabekangas.com
Notas do Editor
\n
Over one million downloads.\nApproximately $20,000/day\n2-day retention of over 40%. Meaning that 40% of people that install the app on day one come back on day two. That’s a large number. Think about all the apps/games you’ve installed and then immediately deleted. This includes crappy installs from people never intending to launch the game more than once. More on that later.\nApproximately 730,000 game sessions a day.\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Chartboost allow cross-promos between other applications. Both yours and others.\nTapJoy allows you to monetize your app by having the user gain something in return for signing up to a magazine, downloading another app, etc. You can also be the “other app” that’s being download and get a large amount of installs by users of other apps.\nGoogle admob, and iAds are examples of targeted advertisement platforms. Say you want your app to be advertised to users of other apps in your demographic.\nThere are many free app a day sites that in return for your money will feature your application and send all of their users to download it. In return for their download they accumulate points to trade in for other goods later.\n
The name of the game is the ECPI: Effective cost per install.\nYou want to acquire a large quantity of downloads to push you up the app store ranks and hope for some virality. Lower ECPI.\nBut you only make money from quality users.\nPeople who are in for the long haul and will spend money. These have a higher ECPI.\n\n
\n
You buy installs in bulk from affiliate marketing and incentive programs, but these users are not installing because they want your product. They want their kickback. They will not be a long-time quality user, and they certainly won’t pay via IAP anytime. They are only there to push you up the App store charts.\nTargeted ads put your product in front of people who may actually be interested in it. These people will be happy to pay if they enjoy it.\n
Once the paid installs stopped, the amount of installs per day dropped significantly. As expected.\n
But once the big push for installs stopped, the existing quality users still stuck around and kept paying. That’s where the difference between a crappy product and a good one will show.\n
\n
Recent example of a game, Temple Run, being completely copied by a game called Pyramid Run. They bought themselves to the #1 spot and then made money off of in-app purchases. Then was removed from the store by Apple once it came to light they were using “bots”, or automated download methods, to catapult them up to #1.\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
It’s free, and they want to do it. They want to tell their friends. Nobody knows exactly why they chose to hit that “Send” button, but they do.\n
It’s free, and they want to do it. They want to tell their friends. Nobody knows exactly why they chose to hit that “Send” button, but they do.\n
It’s free, and they want to do it. They want to tell their friends. Nobody knows exactly why they chose to hit that “Send” button, but they do.\n
It’s free, and they want to do it. They want to tell their friends. Nobody knows exactly why they chose to hit that “Send” button, but they do.\n
\n
I added a “fish farts” leaderboard for the fish game. It’s so stupid and so silly, but it’s fun to look at.\n
