An App Launch Guide for Indie Developers | Hacker News Reader

An App Launch Guide for Indie Developers

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181 pointsavinassh20 comments

@adamwulf Cool guide! I'm working on a more development oriented guide based on my app Blanqd (http://blanqd.com). I think it will be useful for folks to see all the nitty gritty details you just don't think about dev-wise going into building your first app. My app is pretty straight-forward and it still took quite a bit of effort.

Fyi, I noticed it says "No in app purchases" at the bottom of your app's store description. I thought you said you switched over to IAP in the guide? Maybe a discrepancy.

awesome - looking forward to your dev guide too! for in-app purchase, i don't have any in the app yet, but will soon. that's how i'll monetize going forward. the last + next updates are geared towards fixing some on-boarding issues, my tutorials were too vague. another good reason to get real user testing asap :)

One thing I'd like to emphasize is the importance of capturing email addresses from potential customers. When you launch, and later, when you add features etc, even a mailing list with a few hundred customers can make a big difference.

Also, remember that getting press is just one channel; you don't need major press coverage to be successful, and even if you get press coverage it doesn't mean you will be successful.

If you do get press, make sure you get as much value out of it as possible. Thousands of visitors to your landing page are worthless if they never come back; make sure to allow them to sign up for a mailing list or even preorder your product (if possible and if you already have a beta)

I like that it's not just focused on launching, but gives you very good advice on how to know if your app is even worth developing.

Great Read. Thanks for sharing. It was mentioned Loose Leaf got 100K downloads a weekend. But total number of ratings (across all versions) is only 23.

That happens on iOS?

yep, conversion to ratings has been super low. I don't ask for that very well at all inside of the app. A good % of downloads were bulk education downloads as well, which don't convert. If I'd done better at asking for reviews inside the app, I think that number would be much higher.

Good guide. Here's a somewhat related question: I'm thinking of writing an iOS app. Should I register an LLC, or is launching it by myself OK?

Good question, that might be a good thing to add into the guide too. Here's a short take: From a tax perspective, they're the exact same. There won't be any difference in your tax rate at all between the two. So unless you need the added liability protection b/c you're working on something like a healthcare related app, then going w/ just your own name should be fine.

Just wanted to add, YMMV depending on where exactly you live.

If you want to have a company name listed for your app on the App Store instead of your personal name, you'll need to create an LLC and register it for free with Dunn & Bradstreet, then create your developer account using that.

I'd recommend to avoid as much bureaucracy as possible and launch with minimal effort. Don't waste time and money on things that aren't necessary. Especially as a single dev, the risks are usually very low and not worth the effort to set up a formal corporation. The major competitive advantage of a single founder is speed and agility; bureacracy slows you down.

Great guide. I really love the step by step approach on how to do all of this things.

GOOD JOB sir!

Seconded.

Looks good! Thanks for writing.

… found a typo: "The first 90% of the product took the first 90% of our time […]" Should be 90%-10%. … and isn't that the 80/20 rule? (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle)

sort like the normal 80/20 rule - i'm mainly pointing out that the estimate for that last 20% is nearly always way under estimated :)

No, he got it right. You don't know this famous quote?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-ninety_rule

Thanks for the guide. I appreciate the reading list.

Great stuff, thank you

awesome, glad you like it!

Customer development. If you are in indie developer and would pay a one time fee or subscription to have this and more executed ping me at 1000app at thegmailmail.

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