This is the one day of the year you don’t want to miss if you’re selling an iPhone app, and it will likely be larger than ever this year. Retailers have ‘black Friday’, the day after thanksgiving in the US, as their day to rack up sales when customers mob their stores. Not many iPhone app developers know it, but they have a special day all their own – December 25, Christmas Day, as well as the days following it. Find out why and learn what you can do to maximize your sales on this mega-shopping day.

According to 148Apps, Christmas Day has historically been a global day for huge app sales, with some apps seeing 2x to 4x spikes in sales. What makes this the perfect time to have your app in the App Store? Gadgets like the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are popular gifts (especially the iPad this year!). Once people unwrap their new devices, one of the first things they want to do is download new apps for it. That’s a big part of the fun of a new iPhone or iPad – getting the latest apps to see what this new toy can do.

Plus, gift cards for iTunes are super-popular presents for the holidays. With free money in their hands, shoppers love to browse the App Store and will buy apps they might have been considering before or try new apps all together.

It’s clear that the holiday season this month will be a big money-maker for the App Store, and can be for you too. How can you make the most of this golden opportunity?

First, make sure your app is in the App Store in time to cash in. Submit it as soon as you can to allow Apple time to review and approve it. Take extra care to review your app to make sure it’s free of any bugs and follows Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines. And, double check that your submission meets all of Apple’s rules, including the icon, description, and keywords. You want to give your app the best chance to sail through the review process. Having your app rejected would cost you in lost time and sales at this critical time of year.

If your app is already in the App Store, do all you can to help it stand out.  This might be the time for a new and improved description. Or, launching even a small website for your app can help you promote it in new ways this holiday season, such as with social media. If there is something new about your app (new features, reduced price, etc.), you can send a press release for free.

Perhaps the holidays would be a good time to try a sale on your app. Offering a limited-time discount, like  retailers do this time of year, can boost sales even more from the larger number of shoppers looking around the App Store.

This holiday season is expected to be huge for sales of apps, especially because of the launch of the iPad. Don’t let this money-making opportunity pass you by. Get your app in the App Store and check that you’re set to cash in.

Now’s the time to learn everything you need to know to sell more in the App Store. Our new online course is now available (but only for a limited time) that walks you through 6 easy and powerful steps that can double your app sales (or more!): click this link to sign up for the course.

(If you’ve visited the order page before,  you may need to hit “refresh” or “reload” in your web browser so you can sign up or the course.)

Over 6 weeks, you’ll receive 25 audio recordings (plus full transcripts) that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s marketing made easy, without jargon or fluff.

You’ll learn how to:

*  Get pages full of 5 star reviews — the easy way

*  Avoid rejection and get into the App Store the first time

*  Convince App Store shoppers to buy your app

*  Get huge publicity from your app’s website (5 free tools)

*  Choose the perfect price for your app

*  Advertise on Google for bigger profits

The best thing is you don’t have to be a marketing pro to make these tips work for you. It’s designed just for app developers like you.

Sign up now – there’s no risk because you’re covered by our 60 day money back guarantee.

Making an iPhone app can be exciting and profitable, but it can also be frustrating, especially when it comes to selling it. That is what we heard from you in our latest survey. And we want you to know that we are here to help (read on for a sneak peak).

What you said about marketing your apps

Thank you to everyone who took the survey – many more of you turned out than we ever expected. It is clear that marketing your iPhone app is not easy and just putting it in the App Store is not enough to guarantee a profit.

Here are the challenges app developers like you say they are facing:

• Coming up with ideas for an app that sells – How do I know if my idea for an app is a good one? That is what one developer asked, and we know many of you are feeling the same. Before you put in the time to create your app, you want to be sure it is an idea that your customers will love.
• Creating a marketing plan that gets big results (without a big budget) – Several people said they were overwhelmed with promoting their apps. There are just so many possibilities – search engine marketing, Twitter, yelling from the rooftops – that many developers said they did not know where to start.
• Submitting your app to review sites and getting published – We heard from many developers that their top frustration is submitting their apps for review and hearing nothing back. Or worse, just getting a canned email response that “we’ll get back to you”.
• Overcoming frustration at low sales - “I haven’t sold a single app” several people said. Others have tried everything but cannot break into the Top 100. Many developers said how frustrated they are that their hard work is not being rewarded as they expected it would.

You shared the challenges you face each day as you try to promote your iPhone apps, and I want you to know that we want to help. We have been there, too, and know that the right game plan can make all the difference. That’s why I want to let you in on a project in the works that I think you will be interested in.

Sneak peak of app marketing e-course

To help you promote your app, we are creating an online course that will show you exactly what to do step-by-step to get maximum returns with minimal effort. It can be frustrating logging into iTunes Connect each day to check your app sales only to see zeros looking back at you. There is no need to struggle any more, or buy dozens of marketing books.

When the new Marketing Your App course is available, members of our email newsletter list will be the first to know. If you would like exclusive details before anyone else, sign up now.

The App Store now gives app developers like you a powerful new way to get more downloads and boost your sales. It uses an age-old marketing strategy: give something away for free and use it to make more money.

How can you use this proven technique for your app? We’ll show you.

Marketing 101 says that people love free things. They do not have to think if it is worth the $0.99 to buy your app. They know if they do not like it, it’s OK – it did not cost them a cent. But, there is one problem with the “give my app away for free” strategy: how are you going to make any money?

You could set a price and sell your app, but there is a challenge with that too. People may not be sure your app is worth the price. “What if I buy it and do not like it?” Even if your price is as low as $0.99, customers might worry they will have buyer’s remorse.

Try it before you buy it

What if you could have the best of both worlds? You could offer your app for free and watch lots of people download it. Then, after they have tried it and loved it, you could turn them into paying customers.

Now you can, thanks to a recent change made by Apple. You can now offer a free version of your app in the App Store and let your customers pay to upgrade it. Whenever people choose to upgrade because they want additional features in their app or more levels to the game, you make money.

Or, you can offer both a free and paid version of your app separately (as many developers do now). The advantage of the new way is that your customers can upgrade easily within the app, meaning people are more likely to do it.

And here’s tip to boost your sales: To encourage people to upgrade, you have to offer attractive features that people will want to pay for. Often developers will give away too much in the free app, so users do not have a reason to pay to upgrade.

Get a leg up on your competition in the App Store today. Build in an upgrade feature to your iPhone app and turn your app users into paying customers.

Discover more tips to help you boost your iPhone app sales – sign up for our free email newsletter using the form below. Do not miss out on insider secrets that can help you make more money.

Get people talking about your iPhone app – submit it to review sites. Not only can get you get free exposure for your app, but they can also link their audience right to your program in the App Store.

To help make it easier for you, we show you four app review sites to get you started. While you’re not guaranteed to get your app reviewed, there are so many websites that discuss and review iPhone apps you have a good chance to get some free publicity.

Aside from getting your name in front of people who are actively looking to download apps, there’s another benefit of review sites many app developers don’t think of. Get a good review on a popular blog or website and you can (and should) quote it in your description.

Use a quote from your glowing review and people may look at your app in a whole new light. Now, your not just another developer. Your app is used – and liked! – by someone. Maybe I should try downloading it too…

To help your app marketing, here are review sites to consider submitting to:

• iPhone App Reviews
• Whats on iPhone
• AppVee
• FreshApps

When you do contact these sites, remember you’re competing with many other submissions for the attention of their editors. Stand out from the pack by saying what’s new, different, and surprising about your creation. How does it help make the lives of that site’s readers better?

Don’t hold back – make your submission rise to the top of pack to make sure you get a review. And, do all you can to make sure it’s a good review.

What is your favorite app review website or blog? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

To get more sales for your iPhone app, you need more than a great description on the iTunes store. To supercharge your earnings, make sure you have a website that tells everyone exactly why they need your app.

It doesn’t need to be a large site – even one page will do if it’s well-designed and gives your users all the reasons they need to buy your app.

Want some inspiration? Web Designer Wall has an excellent collection of powerful iPhone app sites plus tips to design your own:

http://www.webdesignerwall.com/trends/iphone-app-site-design-trends/

Why do you need a website for your app? Isn’t your description in the iTunes Store enough? A website gives you a new way to promote your app – it’s a stand alone advertisement that can link directly to the iTunes Store where people can download your app. Your website has the flexibility to show what makes your app special.

And, using your website, you can invite people to connect with you in ways that go beyond just a download. In this blog, we’ll show you ways to get people to buy not only your first app but every one after that because they’re on your email list, they follow you on Twitter, and they’re your raving fan. Stay tuned to learn the secrets behind apps that get you noticed and make you money.

But first, check out the iPhone app site inspirations and build that website.