Tweak Your Biz » debiharper

The Good,The Bad And The Ugly With iTune App Reviews

debiharper — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:06:05 +0000

Reviews are something we used to rely on before we downloaded an App, surely it must be a good indication as to how good an App is! Not necessarily, as we found out once we started developing our own apps and were on the receiving end of reviews.

How Many?

There are 123 app stores in the world, and each store has its own review site. All reviews are recorded under the individual countries. There are 400,000 apps on the app store that have no reviews, or are not getting downloaded.

No Way?

The developers/owners are not sent details of the reviews, the only way to find them on iTunes is to check out each country one by one.

Chances are your review will never be read by the Owner or the developer unless they are using a tool like www.appannie.com.

AppAnnie is a tool used by developers and owner of apps, the site sends sales data and collates reviews from around the world and emails the developers, if they are signed up.

Another Frustrating Problem

Owners and Developers of an App cannot respond to reviews. This is very frustrating.

A positive review is fantastic and we do like to say thank you but we can’t.
Also when a review is left that contains incorrect information, such as “I can’t edit” “this app is useless” “it won’t work”, there is no way for the developer/ owner of the app to respond to the user to correct the information, which means that anyone else that reads the review will think that the review is correct, and might base their assessment of the app on an incorrect review.
In general, users of Apps don’t always edit or delete their reviews when an issue has been resolved or fixed. For example, every single genuine issue that has been raised on the App Store Reviews for our apps has been fixed or is in the process of being fixed, but it is not very often that reviewers edit their reviews, or deleted their review or even leave another review to say that the issue has been resolved. This means that the reviews do not provide a level and balanced view of an app.

Developers Love Reviews

Developers love to get reviews, especially positive ones as they are usually stuck in a room with not much human contact, developing away to give us all great Apps to play with and utilise.

We Also Love

Developers also love the user who gets in touch if there is an issue, we want to know about issues so that we can fix them, but you need to do this via email, Facebook or Twitter not by leaving a review in iTunes.

Most Apps have a “contact the developer” button. This will usually let you email the developer with your issue; a good developer will appreciate you taking the time to contact them and will assist you with your query.

This is a good time to leave a review after you have tried to resolve the issue.

It’s Not Fair

iTunes App store reviews are not a very fair representation of the user base of an app. When we say ‘fair’ we are not having a tantrum, stamping our feet and saying “it’s not fair!” I mean that the number of reviews is not representative of the number of users.

For example:

One of our apps has a total of 15 reviews for all versions sold in the USA, but over 15,000 people have bought the app in the USA.
The free version of one of our apps has a total of 19 reviews from the USA, but over 60,000 people have downloaded it.
From these USA reviews there are five star reviews, four star reviews, two star review and one star review.

Quiet a mixture, which goes to show not everyone likes the same things in an app, it is down to personal taste as to whether an app suits you.

Should users leave reviews on the iTunes App Store?

Absolutely Yes. But, not if you are having an issue with an app. If you are experiencing problems with an app, contact the developer so that they can either correct your thinking about how to use the app, or correct the app if it isn’t working as you would expect. Allow the developer the chance to resolve a problem before you tell the world that the app has issues.

Remember that when you leave a negative review, you aren’t communicating with the developer because they can’t respond; you are effectively putting your fingers in your ears and shouting at the developer.

If you do leave a review that outlines some issues in the app, make sure that you edit the review once the developer has fixed the issue, and then leave a nice review for the new version.

Help A Developer

If you are happy with an app, or if you have issue with an app and have spoken to the developer, and they are fixing your issue, leave a review to tell the world about the positive experience. Positive reviews enable app developers to stay in business and keep improving their apps, increasing the chances that you will benefit from better functionality from the app in future releases.

One Last Question

When was the last time you left a review for an app you downloaded from iTunes? There are so many independent little developers out there who would benefit tremendously from a positive review. Support the developers behind your favourite apps put a smile on their little faces by leaving a great review.

I hope you enjoyed my little insight into a developer’s view of reviews.

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Developing An App: Forgot The NDA, Don't Own The Source Code And Other Expensive Oversights

debiharper — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:52:19 +0000

There are so many questions that you need to ask before pressing ahead with your app development project that it is easy to overlook some of the most important ones. To some these will be obvious, but to others it could be the difference between a good and a bad experience. I cannot stress enough how important it is, before getting an app, to spend as much time as possible on the preparation and logistics of your app with your developer.

# 1. NDA

It is always a good idea to get a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) signed before discussing your App ideas in detail with any developer.

It allows both parties to talk freely about potential app ideas, business models, etc, safe in the knowledge that anything discussed will not be disclosed to anyone else.
In the context of discussing your app idea, it is meant to give you peace of mind that the developer isn’t going to steal your idea. Most developers have enough ideas of their own without needing yours, but the NDA makes this assertion official and professional.

The developer will usually have a copy of an NDA if you don’t already have one of your own.

Now, onto those questions that are all too often overlooked…

# 2. What type of App am I getting?

I covered this in a previous post but it is so important to be aware of exactly what you are getting, as Apps do perform differently depending on whether you go for, Native, Web, or Hybrid. They differ in speed, functional capability, availability off line, and look-and-feel. Expensive mistakes can be made in an effort to save a bit of money. Discuss all options and the pros & cons to these type of Apps with your developer, and then just to be sure, double check the information.

# 3. Who owns the source code?

This is a biggie. Most people assume that if they are paying for an app they are getting everything. This is not necessarily the case.

European law states that source code belongs to the developer unless the developer assigns ownership of the code to a third-party.
In the US, the opposite is true, the source code automatically belongs to the client.

So, why would you need the source code? After all, you’re not a developer, it’s not like you can do anything with the code yourself! Well, if you ever need to change developers for any reason, unless you have the source code your new developer will have to start from from scratch.

There is also the question of why the developer would want to keep the source code; this is usually for one of two reasons:

Firstly to force an ongoing relationship, i.e. to tie you in to getting the existing developer to make any future changes or updates at whatever price they want to charge you
Or so that they can recreate the app again and again for other clients.

# 4. Do you have exclusivity?

This tends to go hand in hand with the previous question; if you don’t own the source code, do you have exclusivity? Ok, first of all, what is exclusivity?

Exclusivity ensures that the developer will not sell the source code to someone else to create a competing product, nor will they recreate your app as a competing product directly for another client, or themselves.

Even if you own the source code, you should still ensure that you also have exclusivity. There is a caveat with exclusivity; it will only ever apply to your specific implementation of your app idea, and will not cover variations of it.

# 5. What is the cost of maintenance and upkeep?

A maintenance contract offers some peace of mind that all those little bugs will be dealt with as they arise.

And they WILL arise; It’s not a case of IF the app needs updating, it’s a case of WHEN the app will need updating.
Negotiate a plan with your developer that suits you both, but as a rule of thumb, an annual maintenance contract for a native app should cost somewhere in the region of 10-25% of the initial development cost of the app, depending on the complexity and the service level offered.

# 6. What happens when Apple or Android bring out new updates?

Quite often, these system changes have an impact on existing apps and your app may need changes to cope with whatever updates arise. Your developer will know about any potential changes and whether they will impact your app before the system updates are released so should be able to pre warn you. Handling these changes will often form part of the maintenance agreement that you have with the developer, but make sure.

If you have a Hybrid app make sure you know the consequences and problems that may arise when Android and Apple do updates.
Remember, with Hybrid apps there are 3rd party libraries involved and these have to be updated so that your app continues to function properly.

For example:

When Apple brought out IOS 5.1 it changed the way temporary data was handled and controlled which meant that the system could (and did) delete temporary data. This effected Hybrid apps that use temporary storage for their data.

These types of issues do not get an immediate fix, the 3rd part libraries have to be coded to adapt.

# 7. Do you own the app in the app store?

We have seen cases of apps being put on the app store under the developer’s account. This is not a good option for a number of reasons:

It means the app belongs to the developer not you. Regardless of any legal documents or guarantees that you may have in place, Apple’s rules are clear, and if your relationship breaks down with the developer you will have no recourse through Apple to get control of your app.
If you ever change developers and want control of your app, it will have to be removed from the app store and resubmitted under your own developer account. You will not be able to resubmit the app using the same name, and regardless of the fact that it uses exactly the same code, it is a completely different app as far as the app store is concerned, so any reviews or ratings that were associated with the app in the app store will be gone.

Most of the above also applies to the Android Market Place.

You should ensure that you have your own developer account and that your app is released under that account. Your developer will be able to guide you through the process, or even set up the account for you.

# 8. Should the app be localized?

This is less of a question for you to ask the developer, and more something to consider that often gets overlooked. When you’re thinking about the initial app idea, you should think global as well as local, most apps can cater to overseas users, and even if your app is only aimed at a local market, the users of the app may not be local.

Most people will associate “languages” with “localisation”, and whilst having your app available in other languages is a part of localisation, it is not the only part and may not actually be the most important factor depending on the type of app and the target audience.

Factors such as:

the display of dates & times,
currencies,
metric or imperial measurements,
miles or kilometers,
and decimals or commas for the number separators

These may have a bigger impact than whether the app has localised languages available.

But when it comes to language localisation, there are two very important points;

Firstly, make sure that the developer creates your app to use localisation right from the start, even if you are only going to release the app in English initially, as this will simply the process of adding new languages later.
Secondly, and this is very important, DO NOT USE machine translation services; they make work very well for a paragraph of text in an email, but they do not work for apps (or web sites), where they cannot possibly understand the context of individual words. Aside from the context issues with translation, a professional app translation service will understand the constraints and limitations of the device screen size.

Finally, do your research before implementing every possible language, as you may find that certain nationalities actually prefer the app in English whilst others absolutely must have it in their own language. These preferences can also change depending on the type of app, so a business app may be ok in English but a utility app needs to be in the localised language.

# 9. Have you got contracts in place (re: all of the above)?

This is so important for both parties, no matter how friendly you are with the developer or the client things can go wrong. Make sure you are covered. Make sure you are clear about what you are getting, have it in writing and after you are both happy, sign contracts.

This is your App so ask as many questions as you need to, after all it is your business and your money and a good developer will want to make the whole experience as simple and understandable as possible. App Development is not pocket money, but neither is it as expensive as going for the cheap option and getting stung.

Do your research, ask questions and listen to your gut. A lot of time will be spent chatting with your developer so you really need to have a good relationship and trust.

May your App adventure be an h-Appy one, please leave any questions or comments below.

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Native, Hybrid, Mobile Enabled, Facebook. So Many Types Of Apps, But What Are They?

debiharper — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:53:55 +0000

When you hear the word “App” mentioned, do you know what is being referred to? It could depend on the context in which the word was used, but if it is predicated by words like “iPhone”, “Android”, Smartphone”, or “Mobile” you would expect it to mean something very specific; in that context, the “App” would be a mobile device app that you would download from the iTunes AppStore or the Android Market and install on your smartphone.

Different types of Apps

The word App has been around for decades, it refers to application: applications are everywhere and in the past have mainly been used to describe any program running on your computer. Microsoft word, Office, Photoshop etc... these are all applications, but in recent years the word“app” has become more and more associated with mobile devices.

It is worth pointing out that each of the different app types listed below are valid options for specific solutions; you just need to make sure that what you pay for is what you requested and adequately meets your needs.

# 1. Native Device App

A Native device app is the “app” that most of us think about when people talk about apps;

These are the apps you get on your mobile devices and download from the Apple app store or Android marketplace. I am using the terms Apple and Android as these are the platforms most people are familiar with.
A Native Device App is an app that is designed and developed in the way that was originally intended, using the expected tools and programming languages for the specific platform. This approach allows the app to make full use of the Device Operating System and device capabilities (camera, gps, accelerometer, push button notification etc).
Native apps are stand-alone apps that are always available on your mobile device.

The end result will be an app that exactly meets your needs. In order to have an App in the app store or in the marketplace you will need an account with Apple and Android, but this is something your developer will advise you on or I can blog about later...

# 2. Hybrid App

A hybrid app can be seen as a halfway house approach;

It is positioned between the Mobile Enabled Website and the Native Device App.
A hybrid app is created in much the same way as a mobile enabled website; it uses a web development approach to create the app except that it uses specific JavaScript libraries that can communicate with the device libraries.
The next process is what positions the HTML5 app between the mobile enabled website and the native app. The app is wrapped in a container that can be submitted to the App Store/Android Market as if it were a native device app.
A hybrid app will appear on the App Store/Android Market, it will have an icon on the user’s device and depending on the functionality, it will be available when the user is offline.

However, there are some disadvantages to this approach that you should be aware of:

The app will not be able to make use of certain device capabilities, nor will it make use of the hardware acceleration (so it will be slower at performing certain functions), and because of the libraries it uses,
It will never be as up to date as the underlying device operating system.

The functionality available with Hybrid apps is constantly developing so keep watching, I think we will be seeing a lot more from Hybrid technologies.

A Hybrid app makes it easier to create an Apple version and an Android version and the overall costs will be cheaper than a native app but make sure it can manage all the capabilities you require from an app.

The Facebook app is an example of a hybrid app; it is downloaded from the app store and has the features of a native app, but requires you to be online in order to get updates that enable the app to function.

# 3. Business Card App

I mention business card apps because I’ve recently seen a company offer a €30 app, which can be very misleading. It really annoyed me as it was not an app, but to those unaware of what they were getting it was a cheap app. Most people have the sense to think “if it sounds too good to be true then it is”.

A business card app is essentially a very limited version of the Mobile Enabled Website which is packaged to disguise itself as an app. Hosted web apps are very rarely offered with any sort of design element, your app would be based on a template that would also be used for many other hosted web apps.

The limitations of the business card app mean that it is only ever of any use as a sort of mobile electronic business card, on a par with a single page website which shows an overview of what your business does, maybe a few images, and a set of contact details.
A business card app won’t appear on the App Store/Android Market. Because of the way it is packaged to pretend to be a “proper” app you will have an icon on the user’s device, but and it won’t be available when the user is not connected to the net.

# 4. Mobile Enabled Website

OK, so a mobile enabled website is not strictly an app, but it is often referred to as one.

Mobile enabled websites are simply websites that have been adjusted to run well when viewed from a mobile device.
If you are looking to display the contents of your website on mobile devices, then this is likely to be the best option for you.
As with all web development, you will be able to work with your chosen designer/developer to ensure that you get the layout/branding/content that you want.
A mobile enabled website won’t appear on the App Store/Android Market, you can create an icon on the users device but and the app won’t be able to function when the user is not connected to the net.

A mobile enabled website is a very valuable tool and will help you reach a more mobile market place. People tend to spend a lot of time on line when out and about, commuting and travelling. Having your site mobile enabled makes sense and is not at all expensive. For those fearing the mobile digital era this is a cheap easy and great start to entering the mobile world.

# 5. Facebook App

A Facebook app is an app created specifically for your Facebook business page;

These types of apps can help with your branding and web traffic on your Facebook.
These are not usually developed by App developers and will not be available on the App stores , they really are only tools for Facebook.

The decision to invest in a mobile app solution for your business depends on your target audience and the functionality you require. This will give you a little insight so you are armed with some prior knowledge before jumping into the mobile arena. If you have any questions or queries good or bad, please feel free to comment.

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Nine Tips To Prevent Your App Becoming A Needle In The 600,000+ Apps Haystack

debiharper — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:04:28 +0000

Creating a fantastic App is easy with the right developer, but creating a fantastic app that gets noticed and downloaded is another challenge altogether. You may have created the world’s greatest app, an app that will have a massive impact on everyone’s lives, but unless they know about it, it’s just another app in a sea of several hundred thousand other apps.

App stats

Firstly, you need to understand what you are up against when you release your app to the world;

As of 2^nd April 2012, there were 605,843 apps on the app store from 147,304 publishers.
Two days into the month there had been 734 new (non-game) apps released, which works out at 367 new apps added to the app store per day.
Even being noticed amongst 367 other apps on the day of your app’s release is hard enough, let alone being spotted amongsth 600,000+ other apps.

The figures above are produced by 148apps.biz and are well worthy of in-depth analysis when you are looking at developing and marketing an app.

Obviously, not all of these apps will be direct competition, the majority may not even be in the same category as your app, but there will definitely be enough crowding to allow your app to vanish amongst the many others.

So you need to make sure that people aren’t looking for “an app like yours”, but that they are looking for your app.

App marketing

There are essentially two ways that people will discover your app;

they’ll be told about it,
or they’ll find it themselves.

So you need to ensure that you are giving your app the best possible chance under both of these circumstances. This is where app marketing comes in.

It is worth noting that app marketing should not be seen as an afterthought; it is just as important as the app development, and it should be happening from the beginning of the project, not left until the app is released.
If you haven’t been marketing the app before it was released, you’ve already lost out on a big opportunity to make use of hype marketing, i.e. building up the hype of your app so that by the time it is released you already have a big audience eagerly waiting to get their hands on your app.

Ideally, you should engage the services of a professional app marketing business as they know what they’re doing, and they have spent a great deal of time and effort ubilding up contacts that can make a huge difference to the visibility of your app.

However, budgets don’t always stretch to dedicated marketing, so I’ll share some tips for improving your chances if you’re doing your own marketing. Actually, “effective” app marketing is time consuming.

You could post a message on Facebook, send a few tweets, send an email to a single app review site, and call that app marketing, but it won’t produce the results that you want.
This is one of those situations where you get back what you put in; the more time & effort that you put into your app marketing, the higher the chance of success.

# 1. Treat app marketing as a campaign, not an afterthought.

Before you get to the stage where you are sat infront of your computer, staring blankly at the screen, thinking “What do I do now? Who should I target? What should I say?”, you need to sit down and plan who you are going to target:

what marketing material you are going to produce?
how you are going to engage with your audience?
and how you are going to get your message out to the masses?

Research your audience so you know exactly who you are targeting and what their expectations are, research your competitors so you know what they are saying and who they’re saying it to, but more importantly, plan what you are going to do before you start and then stick to your plan.

# 2. Be prepared to be ignored.

You’ve seen from the figures above that there are huge number of apps on the app store, hundreds of new apps released every day, and you can be sure that a significant number of the developers / publishers are trying to get their app noticed. When you request a review from one of the many app review / blogging sites, you may not get a response.

You need to understand that this is not because your app isn't good enough, it is most likley because you were one of a few thousand people making the same request.
Don’t let this phase you, just keep plugging away.

You can improve your chances of success by targeting review sites that have an interest in your app’s target market and avoiding those that don’t.

# 3. Don’t be shy.

You've produced a fantastic app that the world needs to know about, so tell them about it. Don’t wait to be asked or you’ll still be waiting whilst your competitors are reaping the rewards.

If you see a review of similar apps and yours isn’t mentioned, leave a comment about your app; at the very least, potential users will pick up on the comment, but you may even get the notice of the reviewer.
If someone on twitter asks for opinion on an app like yours, tell them about your app.
The same goes for any social media, if there is an opportunity to talk about your app, take it.

Modesty has no place in app marketing, your app is brilliant, people want brilliant apps, so tell them how brilliant your app is, and why it’s so brilliant.

# 4. Know your audience.

You've created the app, so you know the categories of people who are most likely to use your app. These are the people that you want to be targetting. It is too easy to say “My app is fantastic, everyone could make use of it.”, and very difficult to target ‘everyone’. Trust me, I’ve tried, and failed.

You should pick 2-3 categories of people that are ideal users of your app and target them.
Find out what publications they read, what web sites they frequent, who are the influencers in their industry, and you will then have a valuable list of outlets to target your specific audience.

Build up your exposure category by category, eventually you’ll have targetted ‘everyone’.

# 5. Be the expert.

With so many apps on the app store, it is inevitable that a fair few of the apps are ‘copycat’ apps. A developer / publisher with an understanding of a specific problem has produced an app to provide a solution, and when this app becomes successful, other developers, who may not have the same level of understanding of the problem, produce similar apps and essentially copy the functionality.

The best way to differentiate yourself from the copycats is to be known as the expert
Engage with users and potential users on as many platforms as possible,
Write blog posts about the problem and solutions, converse with people on social media about the problem and solutions.

Make sure that you are known as an expert and people will value your app above the copycats.

# 6. Update your app on a regular basis.

Updating your app on a regular basis serves 2 purposes:

it shows your users a certain level of commitment to the app, and in turn to them and their needs,
plus it also keeps your app in the app store charts and helps your ranking by keeping your app featured in the app store.

# 7. Give away your promo codes.

With each version of your app that you release, you have 50 promo codes to give away. Avoid the thinking that if you give someone a promo code that is one less person that will buy the app. If everyone that you give a promo code to persuades just 10 people to buy your app, that is 500 sales. If you don’t give away your promo codes, there will be fewer people talking about your app.

# 8. Offer “one day reduced price”.

Reducing the price of your app temporarily, or even offereing it free for a fixed period, can produce fantastic results, if it is done properly.

You need to build up the hype before you reduce the price so that you have as many people as possible waiting for the price drop.

Some people will see the hype and buy the app at the normal price,
most will wait for the reduced price and you may end up generating more revenue during the reduced price offer period,
but the real reason for doing this is to get as many people talking about your app as possible.

You notice that your app sales are still increased after the price has reverted to normal.

# 9. Ask for reviews.

Reviews have an impact on whether people will buy your app, so you shouldn’t wait for people to leave reviews, you need to ask for them.

You can easily add code to the app so that it requests a review from the user after they have used your app for a specific length of time,
and you can ask anyone that contacts you about the app to leave a review.
Even if a user has got in touch about a problem with the app, if they see that you are engaging with them and dealing with the issues, they are likely to leave a positive review.

Going back to the “don’t be shy” statement above, when you ask for a review, ask for a 5 star review.

The tips outlined above are just pointers, each one could be expanded to be a separate blog post in its own right, but they should give you enough information to help with your app marketing efforts and hopefully increase your app sales / downloads. However, this is just about getting your app noticed, there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that even once people have found your app, they choose yours over one of your competitor’s apps, but that will have to wait for my next blog post.

Image: “Many mobile smart phones line up to purchase applications at a store, A number of app tiles representing mobile smart phone/Shutterstock“

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