Newsstand apps use the same approval process as regular apps, there are no barriers to entry except figuring out how to code for Newsstand. Once you go Newsstand your "content" no longer needs to go through any Apple approval process. You just publish content any time you like, and a Newsstand App updates automatically. The only thing that needs to be approved is changes to your code. Overall though, Newsstand is not very well explained in Apple's documentation, and paid subscriptions are a mess.
We publish a standard app at the moment, because Baker did not support Newsstand until a short time ago. We will be updating in the next week or so.
DPS pricing is still bad. Single edition only gets you one issue. One freaking issue! You need to upgrade to professional ($495 per month!) or above to publish multiple issues, and then pay $.30 every time someone downloads one of your issues. Compare that to setting up Baker (free) and setting up Amazon S3 free account (15GB data out per month) and DPS looks like a total scam.
Its expensive. I think I calculated it at the cheapest its $4000 per year. And you pay per issue and per user and per download, so the cost adds up pretty quick.
This is what we use and we love it. The guys behind it do a lot of hard work and the newest version supports free Newsstand subscriptions. https://github.com/simbul/baker
DPS pricing is ridiculous. Completely untenable for small publishers. Not only do you have to pay to use the software, you have to pay to publish each issue with them, and then pay when someone re-downloads a file, which happens often because Newsstand is built that way. You don't control your code, and you can't take your magazine anywhere else without re-creating it. If you ask me, its a steaming pile of dung.
If you're a small publisher, I ask that you please take a look at Baker, an open source framework for publishing magazines on the iPad. We use it (but are not the people behind it) and we love it. The newest version supports free Newsstand apps.
I second this one. I bet its a way to avoid the situation where people break the rules but the court only gives Amazon a bit of money. Amazon doesn't want that, they want you to stop breaking the rules. So if you agree ahead of time that money alone won't cut it when you mess up, Amazon can move right on to remedies that don't involve money, like shutting you off from the API or getting an injunction.
We have a digital magazine (although we don't sell it, its free), and we use an open source project called Baker that is also made for books. From what I've heard from the people on the books side, they almost all use the iBookstore or Amazon to charge for their books and not worry about adding payment processing on their own.
Are you sure people don't book a vacation online? It seems the weakest part of the argument. I booked my last vacation almost completely online, albeit from different vendors. The flight was booked online, then the hotel (also online), and finally my car, online. The only time I've used a travel agent is when I travel to places that aren't online, such as Kenya, where I needed a local agent to find a driver and map out a route.
I think its improving, its within a few screens of the top search results. Not sure if because its getting good ratings or more downloads or if Apple is adjusting the results so that people who search for "The Magazine" will actually find the magazine. Currently at 1:15 pm, Oct 11 its at #54 on the iPad and #39 for the iPhone.
Yeah, people have been using InDesign for ages. Its unrealistic to expect those same people to learn how to code, which means hiring an entirely new team just to design the magazine for another medium. We're lucky in that we only publish for the iPad. Here's the link btw: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/overnight-buses-magazine/id49...
P.S. Have fun in Japan, let me know if you by any chance come back with a long, well written travel essay.
I guess we'll find out how far Apple is behind Google when it comes to search. I couldn't find the ranking for "The Magazine" because it was too far back. But presumably as it becomes more popular, it should move up in the rankings.
For example, when people search on Google, the pages that get clicked on move up in the rankings, until the most useful page it at the top. Hopefully, as people search for "The Magazine" and then download it it will move up in the rankings. But if it doesn't, it shows you how far behind Apple is. I think Google has done this for almost a decade.
Not all of us magazine makers are coders. For a lot of us, its all about the words, not the format. My little iPad-only travel magazine isn't even in Newsstand because I have no idea how to code it, but our articles have won awards. The technology is not as important as the content. I wish I could do all those things you mentioned, but the fact is I have no idea how. A big magazine might be able to do them, but it requires a total revamp of business practices and a restructuring of workflow. And that's hard when a magazine is staffed by people who will lose their jobs when digital magazines take off.
Try searching for "The Magazine" in the App Store. Shows you how well Apple's search algorithms work. App Store SEO is a black box, and I'm not even sure how Marco would improve his ranking with a name like "The Magazine."
*Note - iPad 1 can see the app in the App Store, but can't use it as it requires iOS 6.
Go with sponsored search, its way more above board, people recognize it from Google and its easy to integrate into the search results (usually). That way you get commissions from people who book, you get money from people bidding on ads, and hopefully you can get commissions as a travel agent when people click through an ad.
SEEKING FREELANCER - Tiny project, iOS, $100
We use Flurry for app analytics and Baker (https://github.com/simbul/baker) as the basis for our travel magazine. We're trying to get Flurry to tell us what URL is clicked on when someone taps a link in our app. Flurry events can pass a parameter along. We want to know the URL, that's it. Interested iOS developers can contact tom@overnightbuses.com.
What about integrating group organizer tools to keep organizers hanging around and using you. Like itenerary tools, ability to send out emails to the group about changes, tools for splitting up costs evenly, that sort of thing. If they use you to organize, they might use you to book.
Also, question: you say it's difficult keeping track of commissions; if you did keep track of them well would that be enough money, or are you looking for an alternative revenue stream?
All of the brokers I ever talked to in NYC were "in" with management, I was always the "first" to see an apartment that "wasn't listed" and it inevitably wasn't the one the broker put up on Craigslist with the awesome pictures because it just got taken "yesterday."
Its horrible finding an apartment in NYC. Especially if you're a working professional. Most people don't have cars, and apartments aren't helpfully near each other, so you're spending a lot of time hopping on trains and walking streets. If its the weekend, you're spending a whole day just to see a few places if you need to wait for trains. As you can imagine, any place where giving the super a six pack gets you a set of master keys, people aren't very reliable. Half the time you show up and the apartment is gone, the listing is wrong, or the place is a heap.
If you work during the week, you're either running around at night looking for apartments, or by the time you get to the weekend, all your research is out of date. This is why brokers exist in NYC.
Does anyone know if developers can track Facebook likes? Can you connect your App Store page to your Facebook page and track who shares it? Will iTunes connect show Facebook likes?
The open source software we use for our magazine is always looking for people. If you want to learn Newsstand and create a new branch there might even be an opportunity to make money eventually. http://bakerframework.com/
I didn't realize there were a lot of low cost options when I asked. I'm also not sure what I need, so it was a general question about what people on HN find helpful in terms of making sales.