To make money selling your iPhone app, you don’t need a huge budget or a big time ad agency. Yes, both of those tools are very helpful, but the great thing about apps is that there is so much you can do yourself.

Online marketing and the internet have put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to making money, and the app revolution has pressed the pedal all the way to the floor.

You can see this in the way you made your app. Apple has put the power of app development in your hands. You don’t need to be a huge software company to make an app. You just need a Mac, an iPhone, and some ingenuity.

Or, you might not have written the code yourself, but you can still find an app developer by yourself easily. Sites like Elance bring together many experienced developers you can hire by the project. No long term commitment required.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to do it all yourself. There are many smart tools out there to help you. There are tools to help you spread the word about your app. You can advertise your app on search engines like Google, or popular app websites.

There are ways to learn the ins and outs of app marketing, too (just like our free App Profits Roadmap eBook) so you don’t have figure it all out yourself. There’s so much you can do by yourself, but when it comes to app marketing, you’re not alone.

There’s another great source of help, too: your fellow app developers. You’re all going through the same experience, and if you have a question, many people probably have it too. There are developers who have tackled the same challenges you have – how do I create an app that people will want? How do I promote it? What can I do to increase my profits?

While the App Store can be a competitive place, there are many developers who would be glad to share their advice on marketing your app. If you’re worried about a competitor stealing your ideas, seek out someone who makes a different type of app than you. Their puzzle app isn’t really competing with your financial services app. The two types of apps are going after different audiences, so you can both increase your profits without harming the other.

When you do market your app, the key to marketing your app is to do it early and often. If you are working on an app, now’s the perfect time to lay the groundwork to make it a success. Or, if your app is new to the App Store, there is a lot you can do to boost your sales.

You want to build up momentum and excitement about your app, start your marketing efforts even before it appears in the App Store if possible. Get people talking about your new app and make them eager to buy it as soon as it’s available. Have it appear on popular blogs, have it be featured in the App Store, get people sharing it with their friends.

But no matter how long your app has been in the App Store, you want to get buzz around it to get more people knowing about your app and buying it.

Don’t stop your marketing – keep it up, keep building momentum. Reach out and connect with people who might buy your app in every way you can. It’s especially easy online because many online strategies are free or low-cost.

In fact, I recommend you strive to something everyday, even if it’s something small. Making progress each day will make you feel great – there’s something you can point to every day to say you’re making progress to spreading the word.  That momentum will build and build, so even modest marketing efforts can grow into something much larger.

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.

Making and selling iPhone apps has truly arrived as a real business opportunity. The worldwide audience is there – over 50 million users. And, they are excited to buy iPhone and iPad apps of all kinds.

But, when you’re trying to make money with apps, there are some key challenges you’ll likely face. How you deal with these obstacles can make the difference in your success and profits.

I don’t want to discourage you – just the opposite, in fact. Some developers hit roadblocks and give up. Some never even start making an app because they think they won’t be able to do it, or won’t be able to make money from it. But, if you know some of the obstacles you might face upfront, it will make it easier for you to turn your app into a success.

One challenge is getting in the App Store. Before you start selling your app, Apple must first approve it. Because you are only allowed to sell your app through the App Store (not by yourself), submitting your app to Apple is an important step that cannot be avoided. Visit their website and carefully read the rules for submitting your app before you send it in.

When you submit your app to the App Store, you are taking the first step to selling and making money from your idea. If your app is approved, it will be put up for sale and made available to a large audience of iPhone and iPod touch users. After approval, you can begin selling your app and making money on the App Store.

Your job is not done once you appear in the App Store, however. To sell more apps, you must start marketing your app to potential customers. There are many ways to promote iPhone apps you create so you increase your sales and boost your profits.

Another one of your top challenges is how to stand out in the App Store. Once you’ve made an app, how do you let people know about it? There are hundreds of thousands of apps in the App Store – that’s a lot of competition. You might feel like your app gets lost in a sea of competitors.

The App Store is a very popular megastore, but just having your app in it is not enough to guarantee success. It can be hard to set yourself apart.

You really have two jobs here: getting people to find you or hear about you. Then, once they know about you, you have to convince them that your app is worth downloading or paying for. Those are two different challenges, and you’ll want to address each one differently.

Now that you know some of the key challenges you’ll run into while selling your iPhone app, you’ll be ready to face them head on. All developers looking to make money with apps have to submit them to the App Store, and everyone is trying to find ways to stand out in the App Store. Don’t let these obstacles stop you on your way to bigger profits.

“Can I really make money with iPhone apps?” is a common question developers ask. You might think that there isn’t much to be made from cute games and fun apps, but don’t be fooled: the app revolution has made it very possible for an individual developer to make an app that reaches huge audiences and makes real money.

Take a look at the numbers to see how possible making money with iPhone apps is. When you create an app, you’re tapping into a huge – and quickly growing – audience of users. There are over 50 million iPhone and iPad touch users out there, plus a growing number of iPad users. These people are your potential market.

And what a market it is! By 2013, people in the U.S. will buy $4.2 billion in mobile applications according to the Yankee Group. While the App Store isn’t the only place to buy mobile apps, it is the largest and most popular.

Plus, people are eager to buy apps. It’s become one of the main reasons people buy an iPhone or iPad, in fact. Users want to tap into hundreds of thousands of helpful, easy-to-use, or just plain fun apps. These clever software programs created especially for the iPhone turn the device into something new.

People have quickly grown to love apps. The average iPhone user has 65 apps and spent $80 to get them, according to AppFire. And, they don’t just download the free apps. The vast majority of iPhone users they surveyed (93%) have bought at least one paid app. According to AdMob, half of iPhone users buy at least one paid app every month.

This means there is a real opportunity to make money with your app because it’s clear people are  excited to buy them. There is a demonstrated need out there for what you’ll sell, which is the best position to be in when you’re looking to make money from your idea.

So, we have a built-in audience of users and a clear desire for them to buy. But, is it easy for you to reach them? That is the final step when it comes to making money from apps. Even if there is a market of potential customers, you still need to be able to sell them your app.

The answer is yes, you can easily sell your app to customers. You don’t need to set up an online store, or figure out how to accept credit cards. You don’t even need to create a website to make money with apps.

Apple has done much of the heavy lifting for you by creating the App Store, its hugely popular mega-mall where people shop for and buy apps. It’s easily accessible from iTunes, as well any any iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. And while you are probably familiar with what the App Store is, you might not have thought about how much it does to help you make money by selling apps.

The App Store has a built-in audience – millions of people who visit it to browse the latest apps. Getting to the App Store is just one click away to anyone with an iPhone. Users know the apps they buy will be easily installed on their device, and have been tested by Apple to work. It’s easy for people to browse and safe for them to buy.

As a developer, you have to submit your app to Apple for review. But this step is far outweighed by the prize you receive when you’re approved: access to millions of potential customers.

Audience, willingness to buy, and easy access – these are the three key ingredients that can help you make money with iPhone apps. You can take advantage of this opportunity by creating the next great iPhone app.

What has your experience been making money with iPhone apps? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

iPhone users love games and developers have created them by the thousands. Gaming is a huge money-making opportunity for developers, but it also presents a significant challenge: how do you make your game stand out?

The iPhone app development company bees4honey, which successfully sells several games in the App Store, uses everything from videos to widgets to spread the word. Konstantin Panchenko shares the company’s strategy for marketing their puzzle game iQBloxing and gives you the insider tips to help you sell your own app.

Marketing Your App: What is your app?

Konstantin Panchenko: So, the name of our app is iQBloxing. It’s a very addictive game. Basically, it’s a puzzle game, but it is very dynamic.

You may know the Flash game which inspired us to create iQBloxing, this game is Bloxorz. You can also take a look at YouTube video of iQBloxing gameplay.

iQBloxing is free, but contains an InApp Purchase option to unlock all levels and achievements. There are 7 levels for free, and 33 total levels.

MYA: What have you done to promote your game?
KP: We’ve done many thing to promote our app, such as:

1. Created a YouTube video and put it on our site’s header, on the iQBloxing promo page, and posted about this video in our blog. Also we submitted this video to some review sites, which provide an option to post the YouTube link.

On YouTube, we found the Bloxorz videos (original Flash game) and made a video reply with our iQBloxing video, so people who are interested in Bloxorz can also see that there is an analogous game on the iPhone. I suppose it would be much better to have lots of iQBloxing videos, so we can make more video replies, but unfortunately we have only one.

2. Submitted to numerous review sites. Most of them will never post reviews until you pay them, but there are also some nice and good-looking sites, like FreshApps. But anyway I’m not sure that review sites, excluding the major ones, are effective.

3. Registered on the most valuable iPhone-related forums, such as MacRumors, iPhoneDevSDK, etc. We created posts about iQBloxing and our company and put short, non-obtrusive ads in our account’s signature. In total we get about 1,000 views of the iQBloxing post – it’s free and doesn’t take too much time.

4. We created something like a widget for our blog. It shows all our apps available on the App Store. Site visitors can easily access our apps in the App Store by just clicking on the iTunes link in this widget. Judging by statistics, we have small sales from this.

5. We have a Twitter account where we post all our news. We are trying to grow our followers base to increase the effect from Twitter.

6. We embedded ad banners in our free game Brain Twister. This banner is linked to iQBloxing on the App Store.

7. Every app we submit to the App Store has a “More Games” section which contains direct links to all our apps on the App Store.

MYA: Are you planning to release a paid version of your game?

KP: We are going to create a paid version of this game – iQBloxing Pro – with more levels and I suppose we will post some promo codes in forums. I think we’ll try this idea – create a “premium users” group. These guys will receive promo codes for every one of our paid apps via email as soon as the app hits the App Store. Premium users would post an iTunes review for our app. Not sure if it will work well, but we are going to try it.

MYA: What tips do you have for developers who are looking to sell their iPhone apps?

KP: Having a good, high-quality product is only a half of success, the other half is marketing. Create a useful program which helps users and try to get as much as exposure as possible. Work hard and you’ll reach success!

iQBloxing is available in the App Store by clicking on this link

Calling all iPhone app developers: Would you like your app featured on this blog? Find out how

There are new tips and tricks for marketing your iPhone app all the time. We help you discover the latest articles that can help you sell more in the App Store by rounding up links from this blog and beyond. Check out these links:

Is 2010 your year for a mobile app?

Why you should start watching your App Store ranking like a hawk

Apple finally creates easy and short links to the App Store

New study: More and more people using their iPhones and other smartphones

Get approved! How to submit your iPhone app to the App Store

If you made an iPhone app, it’s essential to build a website for it. Step 1 is choosing a domain name

Apprupt launches affiliate network to help developers promote their iPhone apps

Develop perfect mobile websites for your iPhone app

Want to be the first to know about new iPhone app articles and ideas that can help you increase your sales? Subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up to receive emails now.

If you are trying to figure out the best ways to market your iPhone app, you are not alone. Every app developer has to figure out how to make their software stand out among 100,000 competitors in the App Store.

We want to make it a little easier for you in our new occasional series of case studies from app developers who have been there – and are succeeding.

One example is Dan Nelson, who uses everything from a slick video trailer to old fashioned word of mouth to sell his iPhone app BATAK Duel

Marketing Your App: What is your app and what does it do?

Dan Nelson: BATAK Duel is our first iPhone and iPod touch game. It tests reaction, hand-eye coordination and dexterity skills to their absolute limits. In the game you face 10 challenging opponents whom you must defeat in order to win your freedom from slavery.

MYA: What have you done to market your app?

DN: Lots of different things.  Telling everyone I personally know about the game, yes, even my postman!  Submitting numerous press releases to the media. I have also created a promotional website and a promotional video on YouTube. And submitting to numerous ‘app review’ sites.

MYA: What tips do you have for developers who are trying to sell their apps?

DN: I would say don’t just launch your app and then sit back expecting to cash in, in most cases this just won’t happen.  Be as proactive as possible in getting the word out, spend a couple of hours a day marketing your app and don’t give up!

You should notice that the more you promote your app then the more it will sell, so just keep promoting it.

Also, make sure you create an official website for your app and include a development blog
and Twitter support.

Finally, make sure you support your app by returning all customers’ emails (be polite!), fixing bugs as required and adding new features to your app.  If you do all of this then you should do very well indeed.

BATAK Duel is available in the App Store by clicking this link

Do you have an iPhone app you would like to see featured on this blog? Find out how.

How you describe your app in the App Store can make or break the sale. You don’t have much room to tell your customers what makes your app worth buying right now. Find out what you can learn by looking at the descriptions of top-selling apps and how you can make write your app description easier.

You don’t have to be a copywriter to come up with a compelling description that drives sales. You just have to know the 4 parts of a successful description in the App Store. Use these as building blocks to write your own. Breaking it down and writing each part individually will make the process easier and quicker because you won’t be overwhelmed.

Also, remember that you will not write the perfect description the first time. Put your ideas down on paper (or, more likely, a computer) first and then you can revise and improve as many times as you like.

Here are the 4 parts that every best-selling app description must have:

Headline

The first things many people want to know about an app are “what is it?” and “what does it do?”. You can quickly answer these questions and encourage people to read more with a short but powerful headline. Just like a newspaper article, your headline should sum up the most important aspect of your app and spark someone’s interest so they will read more.

Quotes, awards, and testimonials

Help your app stand out from the crowd by showing what makes it popular and worth people’s time. The best way to do this is with quotes from users and reviews.

A few well-chosen quotes show potential customers that your app is fantastic – not just because you say so, but because other users just like them have tried it and love it. Make sure your testimonial is short and descriptive. Just saying “it’s the best app ever!” does not carry much weight.

Also, make sure to include any awards your app has received. If it has been shown on a popular app website but not reviewed (so you do not have a quote), you could write “Featured on (site name).”

Benefits

When Apple says “There’s an app for that”, your job is say what is the “that”. Is it getting organized? Saving time? Meeting new people? Make it absolutely clear how your app will help your customer by listing the most powerful benefits.

This will likely be the longest part of your description in the App Store. But successful app developers know that it should not be long-winded. Spell out the benefits in a bulleted list rather than long paragraphs so that customers can quickly scan your description to get the information they need. Few people (especially on the smaller screen of an iPhone) will read your entire write-up from start to finish so make the format of what you write easy to scan.

Call to action

End your description by asking your customers to take the next step and download or buy your app. Even though you may think this is obvious, a call to action such as “Purchase this app today” can help you increase sales because it makes it clear what you would like your customer to do. It also asks them to take an action now – if they wait thinking they will buy your app later, they will likely forget about it.

Looking for more tips to help you boost your iPhone app sales? Sign up for our email newsletter today and receive our new guide “5 Ways to Make Money with iPhone Apps” free.

When you choose a price for your iPhone app, you have to make some very important decisions. Your price is one of the first things potential buyers will look at in the App Store and can make the difference between an average performer and a best-selling app.

How do you decide what your app price should be? We’ll help make your decision a little easier by giving you the top questions to ask yourself:

1. Should my app be free? There are really only two prices that matter on the App Store: free and not free. If you have a free app, people don’t need to think about their purchase because there is no risk and no regrets. The problem, of course, is that you are not making any money from free apps. You will need another way to profit from your apps (for ideas, sign up for our email list and get our free guide “5 Ways to Make Money with iPhone Apps”).
2. What do similar apps sell for? Take a look at your competition. If you sell an app that is similar to several others, you can stand out by keeping your price below theirs.
3. How much is my app worth to my customers? Ask yourself what benefit the app is bringing to the people who use it. If it saves time, your users will value that. Maybe it helps people do their jobs better or it just entertains them. The stronger the benefit, the more you can charge.
4. How much better is my app than free apps? It will be tough to set a high price if your paid app is too similar to free apps already available. For example, if you created a chess game app and want to sell it for $1.99, make sure to say exactly how it is better than the free chess apps (better graphics, more options, play against your friends, etc.).
5. Will I want to offer discounts later? If you think you might hold a sale later (which can be a great way to boost your sales), do not set your app price too low. When in doubt, set your price a little higher and you can discount it later. (It’s a lot harder to raise your prices without a negative reaction from your customers.)

Choosing a price for your iPhone app is not easy, but it is also not set in stone. Keep an eye on your sales and competition to make sure you always have the perfect price.

Want to submit your app to the App Store? Learn how to improve your chances of being accepted — and avoid the mistakes that cause Apple to reject many apps.

These tips come right from the source. Business Week snagged the first-ever extensive interview with Apple Senior Vice-President Phil Schiller, and he reveals the top reasons why your app might be rejected after you submit it to the App Store.

Apple is the gatekeeper to their popular store, so you must get their approval before selling your app. The process can be slow, so make sure your software is right the first time you submit your app to avoid having to submit it a second time.

Common Mistakes Can Keep You Off the App Store

Before you submit an app to the App Store, learn some of top reasons you might be rejected according to the article. We’ll show you how to avoid these common mistakes.

1. Technical problems: Bugs in your software is a top reason you might be prevented from selling your app. Apple might send your creation back and request technical fixes. To avoid this delay, test, test, and test again. But know that it is also subjective – you could be declined if your app does not work as expected (even if you say your bug is really a feature).
2. Inappropriate apps: “Inappropriate” content may be subjective, but it can stop you from getting in the App Store. Before you submit your app, make sure you are not coming too close to the line. Of course, Apple is likely to reject your app if it steals user data or is otherwise malware.
3. Trademark violations: Using images or terms that Apple owns the rights to might get your app in trouble. While you’re at it, make sure all your photos and graphics are OK to use. Don’t submit your app if you use an illustration, sound, or other creative work that you do not have the rights to use. While Apple may not catch it, you are putting your app (and yourself) in a dangerous position.

When you submit your app to the App Store, you are taking the first step to profiting from your great idea. Make sure it speeds through the approval process and finds a place on the App Store by avoiding these common mistakes.