Tarheelfan2009
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I originally posted about releasing my first iPhone app in another thread "App Guerrilla-My Fastlane" because it is part of my long term "fastlane plan". I decided to start this thread to expand with more details about my app release and provide better exposure for those looking for more information about releasing an iPhone app. I hope to shed some light on what it is like going through this process, keep myself accountable, and help others with my experience. So here is a short intro and my journey thus far--
I am 21 years old, married to an amazingly supportive wife, and live in a small town in Alabama. I recently read the Fastlane, read App Empire, and put the wheels into motion in creating my first app. I narrowed my ideas down to 2 or 3 and chose the least complicated and contacted a few different developers. Luckily I found an affordable and local app development group state side and we agreed upon a price for making my app. The development process went pretty smoothly. I explained my idea, sent hand sketched wireframes, and they began developing my app the next day. They did a superb job in translating my idea into the app and it turned out even better than I expected.
My app is called "DogCap-Capturing Your Dog's Thoughts on Camera". With my app you take a picture of your dog and it displays a random and dog-themed caption with which you can share via Twitter or Facebook. It's a simple idea, but there seems to be a trend forming with captioning and meme apps. "I'd Cap That" is hugely popular on iOS and the function of my app is very similar--I just made my captions, font, and graphics geared towards dogs. I'm not expecting to make millions of this app, but rather just gain the experience and hopefully turn some sort of profit for more projects in this area. I made the app as a $0.99 download based mainly on people's willingness to pay for an app that has a novelty function (Ugly Meter, Pet Translator, I'd Cap That+) and the passion that dog lovers have for dog themed products.
A little over a week ago we submitted the app for review and after 9 days my app was processed and released yesterday. Shortly after it went live I updated my app's Facebook and Twitter pages and friends, family, and social media followers attempted to download the app. It wasn't long until I received messages from various people explaining that when they went to purchase the app they received an error message saying "the app you tried to buy is no longer available" . This was something I was definitely not expecting! I had no idea how to fix the problem, but eventually I figured out I needed to call Developer Support to report the issue...and of course, Developer Support was closed yesterday for the holiday :fryingpan:I finally was able to report the problem this morning and after posting in the iPhone Developer Forum I now know that it is a widespread App Store problem affecting newly released apps. It is very disappointing considering I had developed a plan of attack for the launch of my app including social media, blog agreements, review submissions, press releases, etc. Pretty much I am now just waiting to hear back from developer support to know that they have resolved the issue so I can begin promoting my app. I am trying not to get discouraged at this point, but its pretty maddening to know that I have people who are hitting the "Buy" button, but are unable to do so :smash: (I guess this highlights that the app store is still a form of hitch-hiking) I've learned a lot so far and if you would like to look into what I have been able to do with my app and promotion for my app just check out the links below. I plan on tracking my progress on this thread and updating with any useful information.
I have had a great time branding the app via Twitter and Facebook. I currently have about 300 targeted Twitter Followers and close to 40 Facebook Likes. Nothing earth-shattering, but out of the 300 Twitter followers I have had around 10 different followers contact me directly asking when they could download the app and then a dog blogger who also contacted me directly bc she is interested in featuring my app for her 15,000 followers! :smx9:
DogCap Twitter
DogCap Facebook
I had to learn WordPress rather quickly to make my app website. I am happy the way it turned out and think that WordPress is pretty much a miracle worker for the non-programmer type like me.
DogCap Website
I am 21 years old, married to an amazingly supportive wife, and live in a small town in Alabama. I recently read the Fastlane, read App Empire, and put the wheels into motion in creating my first app. I narrowed my ideas down to 2 or 3 and chose the least complicated and contacted a few different developers. Luckily I found an affordable and local app development group state side and we agreed upon a price for making my app. The development process went pretty smoothly. I explained my idea, sent hand sketched wireframes, and they began developing my app the next day. They did a superb job in translating my idea into the app and it turned out even better than I expected.
My app is called "DogCap-Capturing Your Dog's Thoughts on Camera". With my app you take a picture of your dog and it displays a random and dog-themed caption with which you can share via Twitter or Facebook. It's a simple idea, but there seems to be a trend forming with captioning and meme apps. "I'd Cap That" is hugely popular on iOS and the function of my app is very similar--I just made my captions, font, and graphics geared towards dogs. I'm not expecting to make millions of this app, but rather just gain the experience and hopefully turn some sort of profit for more projects in this area. I made the app as a $0.99 download based mainly on people's willingness to pay for an app that has a novelty function (Ugly Meter, Pet Translator, I'd Cap That+) and the passion that dog lovers have for dog themed products.
A little over a week ago we submitted the app for review and after 9 days my app was processed and released yesterday. Shortly after it went live I updated my app's Facebook and Twitter pages and friends, family, and social media followers attempted to download the app. It wasn't long until I received messages from various people explaining that when they went to purchase the app they received an error message saying "the app you tried to buy is no longer available" . This was something I was definitely not expecting! I had no idea how to fix the problem, but eventually I figured out I needed to call Developer Support to report the issue...and of course, Developer Support was closed yesterday for the holiday :fryingpan:I finally was able to report the problem this morning and after posting in the iPhone Developer Forum I now know that it is a widespread App Store problem affecting newly released apps. It is very disappointing considering I had developed a plan of attack for the launch of my app including social media, blog agreements, review submissions, press releases, etc. Pretty much I am now just waiting to hear back from developer support to know that they have resolved the issue so I can begin promoting my app. I am trying not to get discouraged at this point, but its pretty maddening to know that I have people who are hitting the "Buy" button, but are unable to do so :smash: (I guess this highlights that the app store is still a form of hitch-hiking) I've learned a lot so far and if you would like to look into what I have been able to do with my app and promotion for my app just check out the links below. I plan on tracking my progress on this thread and updating with any useful information.
I have had a great time branding the app via Twitter and Facebook. I currently have about 300 targeted Twitter Followers and close to 40 Facebook Likes. Nothing earth-shattering, but out of the 300 Twitter followers I have had around 10 different followers contact me directly asking when they could download the app and then a dog blogger who also contacted me directly bc she is interested in featuring my app for her 15,000 followers! :smx9:
DogCap Twitter
DogCap Facebook
I had to learn WordPress rather quickly to make my app website. I am happy the way it turned out and think that WordPress is pretty much a miracle worker for the non-programmer type like me.
DogCap Website
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