APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work

1 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Content Page DISCLAIMER 3 CHAPTER 1: MOBILE APP FLIPPING – A SHORT OVERVIEW 4 CHAPTER 2: THE TECHNICAL PROCESSES 11 CHAPTER 3: THE RIGHT MOTIVES 17 CHAPTER 4: BEAT THE BIG PLAYERS 22 CHAPTER 5: DRIVING TRAFFIC 26 CHAPTER 6: WHY DO EXPENSIVE APPS SELL? 33 CHAPTER 7: CATERING TO THE MARKET’S NEEDS 40 CHAPTER 8: MAKE YOUR APP INTO YOUR GOLDMINE 45 ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

2 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work CONCLUSION 51 BONUS CHAPTER 53 SPECIAL BONUS CHAPTER 69 ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

3 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work DISCLAIMER No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or transmitted by email without permission in writing from the publisher. While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter herein. This book is for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed are those of the author alone, and should not be taken as expert instruction or commands. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, including international, federal, state and local governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising, and all other aspects of doing business in the US, Canada or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser or reader. Neither the author nor the publisher assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of the purchaser or reader of these materials. Any perceived slight of any individual or organization is purely unintentional. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

4 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 1 Mobile App Flipping – A Short Overview With the recent – yet rapidly evolving – advents in information technology and the increased usage of smartphones, several new trends have come into being. Whether these new trends cater to need or to entertainment, their popularity has soared unbelievably and they have entered the domain of ‘common needs’ at an incredibly fast rate. One of these is, undoubtedly, the use of mobile applications. From academic needs to common everyday tasks and from connecting with others to mere entertainment – name anything and you have an app for it. Modern mobile users have learnt to rely on a variety of apps for their needs, since the fulfillment is merely a touch away. Naturally, this has given rise to the app market. Be it the Apple store or Google PlayStore, new applications are entering the market at the rate of hundreds every day. With so many apps being created and marketed daily, what is the likelihood that each of these would be unique? Undeniably, there is bound to be a never-ending overlap. Thousands of apps cater to the same need, and end up succeeding merely because of their superior features. This is exactly what has given rise to the convenient process of Mobile App Flipping. If you are already a mobile application developer, you must have heard of the term. Mobile application flipping refers to the process of creating positive returns by working on an existing application or the latter’s framework. Also known as re-skinning, it is one of the fastest ways to get into the application market without expending excessive time, budget and effort. All you do is find an existing app that caters to the needs of your target audience, and use it to create a new program that caters to the same needs in a better and more efficient way. Naturally, this quick way to generate positive ROI is one of the most popular ones among mobile app developers. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

5 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Why is Mobile App Flipping Profitable? While mobile app flipping may not be publically acclaimed, it is an accepted fact that it has taken over the market to the extent that it is often possible to make large amounts of profit through it. How does this happen, and what are the factors that have made the process so popular? Costs of an app framework – With app flipping, an existing app can be spun into a new one by using an app framework, which developers refer to as the source code. When you compare the costs involved in this, the price of a source code is less than a fraction of the money needed to develop an original app from scratch. The only effort need to expend is that needed to browse and select the best source code, and use it in the best way possible. Higher Returns on Investment - If you have ever created an app or planned to do so, you would be familiar with the costs and effort that goes into it. Naturally, if you are not a professional developer, you will have to hire someone to create your application from scratch. If you are one or believe that you can create a basic app, you will still have to spend money on the creation process and then the marketing. This is especially true if your app caters to a new idea that needs to be introduced to smartphone users. With app flipping, however, most of these costs are eliminated. For one, the money expended on developers and designers is lower, since you can already provide them with the detailed idea as well as the framework, with an outline of the additional features or polishing needed. What’s more is that marketing and advertising may be unneeded, since your application will automatically be categorized with other similar ones in the area, and reach the potential customers automatically. With the low costs needed to complete the process, even an initially low profit will generate higher returns on investment than creating an app from scratch. For instance, a developer spends $5,000 on creating a game from scratch and earns $40 a day from it. With much effort and marketing, the returns may increase to $60. On the other hand, another developer may take the same game, buy a source code worth $500 and spend an additional $500 on improving the app. The costs of this second developer will be a mere $1,000 compared to the original $5,000 and, with more or less the same profits, the ROI will tend to be much higher and a lot more rewarding. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

6 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Lesser time and effort – When an app is created, the final product is not only defined by the costs that go into it, but also other factors that make it existent. In fact, even coming up with a unique initial idea takes more effort than you may imagine. Think of an idea for a mobile app right now. It is highly probably that several apps on the same idea have already been created and successfully sold. If you set out to create a unique app, you will realize that the endeavor is almost unachievable. The idea way to go on about making profits, therefore, is through minimizing this effort and simply expanding and improving on an additional app. Naturally, when you spend merely a couple of days on creating an application as compared to months of futile hard work, the first $1,000 will be worth a lot more. Countless apps – App flipping does not cater to one app being created out of another. You can, in fact, create dozens of apps out of that one. This is extremely beneficial for new developers, who can keep re-skinning an app at extremely low costs until they get the exact product they were looking for. A minor initial investment can, therefore, turn into a huge business opportunity. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

7 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Mobile App Flipping – The Ideal Process So how do you go on about making the most out of this useful process? Initially, it may seem like a mess that you cannot make sense out of. It may seem to have too many steps with many details that may be difficult to get a hang of. However, all you need for this is the BIG picture. What you need is to overview the whole process in a systematic order and framework, and start right from the beginning gradually working your way to the top. The key here is to make yourself known and to stand out among a crowd of thousands, where everyone looks the same. How do you make yourself popular and compete with countless others who are aiming to achieve exactly what you are looking for? Here are the steps to making the best use of mobile app flipping, and eventually overthrowing your opponents in a systematic fashion. 1. Research While mobile app flipping does not need as much effort as an original application does, it does need the intellect and the mental expertise. The first step, in fact, is the most crucial. If you are to use an original app, the one you use can greatly determine your success. Spend your time in going through search engines and app stores. Which are the apps that are most willingly paid for? Which are the apps that have spent a lot of money on marketing and succeeded through it? Which apps have immediately made it into the market and which are the ones that have worked their way to the top? Which apps have the most competitors, and which have ones that are the easiest to overthrow? Go through all of these details and answer every related question during your research, before picking out the best app. 2. Source Code Buying a source code may not be as simple as you think it is. Take your time in researching and determining the best source code for your app. While there are several popular app frameworks in the market, you can decide on one by picking out the best combination of affordability and need fulfillment. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

8 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work 3. Redesign Sure enough, you have borrowed the idea from another app. However, the key here is to achieve uniqueness despite the similarities that are bound to be there. Come up with a unique design for your new app. Ideally, you can change everything from the menu to the images and from the audio to the text. The best part about working with an existing framework is the room for improvement. Look for glitches and disliked features in the existing app, and come up with a new one that has all the good features of the existing up, new features that improve upon it and none of the aspects that the app did not need. 4. Monetization New developers often fail to understand that the key to creating the best app is not by selling it at a high price, but using it as a tool to generate money indirectly. With your app, there are several ways you can generate cash. For one, you can look for other apps, programs and even websites that want to be promoted. Once your app is up and running and has had a considerable number of downloads, you can add a moderate amount of ad banners within it. However, you must realize that advertisements within your app can make or break it. You must keep some factors in mind to ace this part of monetization: • Do not go overboard. Loading your app with advertisements right from the very beginning will immediately earn you a very low rating, causing the number of downloads to fall. • Go for related ads. Your users do not need to see completely unrelated ads. Go for something that might interest them, or something that falls in the same category as your app. • Wait for your app to be slightly popular. Do not load it with ad banners right from the beginning, but introduce them as updates after a considerable number of downloads. • Keep changing them. Replace the ad banners from time to time to keep users interested and to keep generating money from them. • Heck it! You do not need ads in order to monetize. Read on. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

9 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work 5. Testing The last thing you need your new app is to have operation glitches or errors. Before publishing it, run it through a testing process to ensure smooth operation of the new design and features installed. Refer to Resources at the end. 6. Publishing Now that you are done with making your application, it is the time to publish it. Ideally, you should make multiple version of the app, and upload it on both iTunes and Google Play Store. The process is simple, and all you need is a developer profile. Your app will be up and running in less than 24 hours for Google Play but for iTunes it will take about 7 working days. 7. Marketing Now that your app is up and running, there is no limit to how much you can improve it. The more you market it, the better your returns will be. But wait, before you spend your money. Ideally, you can make use of social media to make your app popular. Whether by a well-managed Facebook and Twitter page or through paid advertisements on these platforms, you can reach out to your potential customers and make your app known. The key, therefore, is to understand the big picture. Here is a simple summary of everything you need to keep in mind during the app flipping process: ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

10 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

11 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 2: The Technical Processes It is an established fact that application flipping is an effective and faster way of creating new apps on existing ideas. It does not only allow you to save time but also the effort that goes into building an application from scratch. Moreover, it allows you to expand on already existing applications, which allows you to bring in additional features that customers might like and to eliminate existing ones that are redundant or need updates. However, the question remains: How do you go on about app flipping? Are you a programmer? If not, should you become one? If you are, should you work on your own or make a company to work with? There are several factors that contribute to this decision. Individual Programmer vs. Programming Company Before you even initiate the research for your final app or indulge into the app flipping process, you need to decide on the path of action you will take on. First off, you need to decide whether working on your own will be better or will forming a company yield better results. Size of the potential business - For one, you need to consider your plans in detail. Do you have a vague idea for a single application, or do you plan to expand it into a larger business? If your current idea is limited to one application, and if it is your first experience with this, it would be ideal to be an individual programmer. If, however, you have previously developed application and now plan on app flipping on a larger scale, you might consider forming a programming company. Remote vs. fixed working arrangement - The choice also greatly depends on time availability. Naturally, if you form a programming company, you will have to invest a fixed amount of time every day into it. It takes time and effort to build a company and to run it consistently enough to make profits. If you already have another job and you are merely working in your free time, which is not fixed, ideally you should stick to ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

12 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work being a hobbyist programmer. Only if you have a lot of time to spare and a fixed amount of hours to dedicate daily should you consider forming a company. Budget - Even though app flipping does not actually take as much money as app building from scratch does, it still needs a certain amount of investment. You need to pay for an app framework, and for the features you need in your application. You might also have to pay for uploading your application into an online store. Your budget, however, will be a lot greater if you plan to open up or run a programming company. This is because a large amount of your revenues will go into paying your employees and programmers. You will also have to manage a lot of other business costs, which may lower your profit. Whether you make more money as a programmer or a company depends on the nature and the popularity of your application, and the returns you get from it. Need for money - There are several programmers out there who flip apps only to make a moderate amount of quick money. They merely need some extra cash and app flipping, with its convenience, is a good way to get this. If you are one of these people, being a programmer is the best option for you if your app turns out to be good enough to generate profits. As a programming company, however, you will need to understand that profit making takes time. Initially, your revenue will only be barely covering your costs. Due to higher marketing and management costs, you may find very less money to spare for yourself. However, with effective marketing strategies, you can begin to make profits overtime and make your company known to mobile application users. Target market - Whether you operate as an individual or as a company also majorly depends on the part of the popular that you are targeting. If, for example, you develop an app to make mathematical calculations, it will only be limited to students of a certain age group, which makes your target market smaller. This eventually gives you an idea of the maximum revenue you can make if you operate at your optimal level. If, however, you make an application on weight loss or a game suitable for all age groups, your market will be a lot bigger. The project, therefore, will be large-scale and will also require wider marketing. In such a case, operating as a company will be more useful. While exceptions are certainly there, you simply need to determine whether your app will be simple enough for you to manage alone. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

13 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Aims and future plans - All in all, the decision depends on where you plan to take your project. It is often possible to start off as an individual, and form a company later on if your app gets an exceptional response and needs wider marketing and more complex management and updates. If, however, your current plans are limited to making and managing a small application, the best would be to be an individual working on a sole application. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

14 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work How Many Operational Options Do You Have? Now that you have decided that you want to flip a mobile application, you need to decide which way you are going to do this. You do not necessarily have to complete the process alone; there are several other options and each has its benefits, depending on your preferences. 1. DIY The most straightforward and quickest way to flip a mobile application is to Do It Yourself. Ideally, this is for people who want to execute a small idea through a small- scale project, and have lesser time and budget to spend. These may also be people who do not have any long-term plans in the app flipping field and are simply looking to make some quick money. If this is the case with you, DIY is the best way. If your app idea is very simple, you can simply resort to popular DIY websites that do not require much expertise. However, there will still be a few key things that you will need to keep in mind if you are planning to flip an application yourself. Source Code – Even if you are planning to flip only one small application, you will need to buy a source code. Since you are planning to work alone, you must invest sufficient time in searching for the most ideal source code for your app, which is one that will allow you to execute your idea and make the required changes perfectly. Use tutorials – Since you do not have anyone to help you, you can, instead, use online tutorials. These are often highly precise and will give you all the information you need. Ideally, you should make sure that you go through multiple tutorials before beginning the flipping process, so that you will be familiar with every aspect of it. Personal marketing – If you are using the DIY method, your marketing will probably be small scale. In this case, the best way to market your app is to start from personal contacts. Start advertising your application on your personal social media pages, and ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

15 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work ask your contacts to share the details with their friends and family. For a small budget and less time, personal social media pages are the best marketing platforms. 2. Outsource The second method comes in when you cannot or do not want to flip an application yourself. In such a case, the solution is simple: outsource the task to someone else! This means that you can give someone the basic guidelines, and pay them to do the job for you. In this case, it is imperative to make sure that you find the right person to do the job for you. This is because finding the wrong person or company can cost you a lot of time and money spent in vain. For this, you can go to freelancing websites and post projects outlining the basic requirements for your project. You can then interview applicants and finalize the one you think will be the best. Make sure that you choose someone with prior reviews and testimonials, since you do not want to be stuck with a fraudulent freelancer. Ideally, you must not pay the freelancer before you receive the final project, though you should provide some security. Outsourcing should be selected as your major method based on the following factors: Larger budget – Naturally, if you have a larger budget to expend on your application, you can spend some of it on a freelance developer. However, you need to be sure that your expected profits will be enough to cover these costs. You must also keep in mind that outsourcing does not allow you to completely leave the job to the freelancer. You must give them a perfect outline to ensure that you will get exactly what you are looking for, and revisions will not be necessary. Lesser time – If you do not have enough time on your hands to execute your app idea, you can find someone who does have enough time to spend on it and trust them with the job. You will receive the final product without having to spend hours flipping and creating an application! Less expertise – Not everyone knows how to flip an application. While it can certainly be learnt, not everyone has the time or the will to do so. If you have an idea for a ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

16 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work brilliant application but have no clue how to execute it, you can hire someone who does have the expertise to do so. All you have to do is to rightly pay for the skills. Complex app idea – Sometimes, you may have the time as well as the expertise, but still need help. If, for instance, your app idea is too complex and needs some help, even if it is just a second opinion, it is ideal to get it. Hiring someone to help you straighten out your ideas and execute them in the best fashion possible will yield great results for you. 3. Manage A Team The third option is to create and manage an entire team that will help you with your app development process. Naturally, this requires a lot more time and effort, and is not suitable for all beginners trying to flip an application. You should choose this option if: You have a large company idea – If you are planning to manage a team, your main focus should not be one small application but the establishment of an app development company itself. Naturally, you cannot form a team simply for one small-scale project. You must, therefore, have long-term goals. Larger budget – You must also understand that running a team has a lot of costs. There are several people that you need to pay for their work. In such a case, one application may not produce enough returns to cover your costs. Operating in the long- run, however, will cause your profits to rise over your fixed costs and give you consistent results, provided that the performance remains consistent. You must, therefore, be patient and have several app ideas in the pipeline if you decide to manage a company. Managing skills – An idea is not enough to form a company, even if you have perfect plans. You also need the skills to be a manager. It can consume a lot of time, energy and skills to manage a company, and you should only resort to this option if you are sure that you have the required leadership and management skills. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

17 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 3: The Right Motives There are several people out there who are skeptical about mobile app flipping. They quote examples of how app flipping yields very low profits and one rarely gets any recognition. However, this is where the flaw in your motives comes in. Why exactly are you flipping an app and what are your goals? The answers to these questions can almost wholly define your potential rate of success. For most developers, the goal is to come up with something that will be approved on Apple’s iTunes store or Google Play Store. They work, right from the beginning, to make an application that conforms to the rules of these platforms, and eventually upload their final product on these to reach out to potential customers. However, are these platforms really that beneficial? While they might be great for making small profits, can an app really succeed exceptionally on these? Sure enough, there are applications that have gained immense amount of appreciation. However, considering the number of apps uploaded on these platforms – which is in hundreds every day – the rate of successful apps is very low. How, then, do you make your application successful? Here is how. Forget About iTunes and Play Store This may sound absurd. Surely, these platforms are the best way to market applications, right? Wrong! The fact is that your app, unless it is an exceptional one, has a very low chance of reaching out to a lot of people if it is marketed solely through these platforms. Here are a few reasons for this: Extremely busy marketplace – If you think your app is amazing, you need to look around. Play Store probably has hundreds of other apps that provide exactly the same ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

18 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work functions. The simple fact is that your app needs to stand out. Simply uploading it on iTunes or Play Store does not guarantee downloads or any profits. For all you know, users may never even get to see your app in the crowd. Active users – Mobile and internet users today are highly adept at making decisions. They are also very fast at it; research suggests that an average internet user spends just about five seconds when deciding whether to browse a certain website or download a certain app. Therefore, if your app does not stand among the top few and does not have exceptional reviews, it will probably fail in the market very soon. Rare usage – So, your app looked attractive and therefore it got downloaded. Does that guarantee success? No, it does not. Research suggests that 95% of the total apps that are downloaded are opened only once. This means that unless your app is amazing and keeps the user hooked, you will probably not make any profits and your app will not be in use after a month. Build Your Own Branded App Now that we have established that mere existence on Play Store or iTunes does not guarantee the success of your app, let us look into what does make a great app. The fact is that no matter where your application is uploaded, whether on a popular platform, on a small website or your own well-marketed site, it needs to be highly efficient in order to be successful. When flipping an app, therefore, what you need to focus is not to meet the guidelines of Play Store but to come up with a branded app that will stand tall on its own and attract users regardless of its downloading platform. Instead, you can come up with a great branded app by marketing it on your own website. This means that you can make yourself be known as an app developer, and come up with unique apps every now and then. This can be great because if you come up with one successful app, you can then use it to market your next app before its launch. However, this process is intricate and you must go about it carefully. When creating a branded app, here are the things you need to incorporate. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

19 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work 1. App Branding This refers to all the features of your app that make it distinct from other apps and make users remember it with certain references. App branding is important in order to make a place in the mind of the consumer, and for them to be instantly reminded of the app if they see something similar. If you look at large corporations, all of them are recognized by features like icons, colors, names, etc. the key here is to come up with app branding features that will be different from the rest and will make you stand out. Here are the things you need to include in app branding: Name your app – Developers often underrate this part of developing or flipping mobile applications, believing that any sort of name would become catchy if the app gains popularity. This, however, is not true. Naming you app is one of the most crucial points, and you must make sure you come up with something simple yet unique enough to be remembered. Think of application clones. They all often have the same names, and never stand out among the crowd. While these apps may be downloaded by being mistaken for the original that they are the clones for, this often earns them a poor reputation. Instead of coming up with a clone name, come up something unique that users will remember you for, which can ideally include the name of your brand. Create an icon – This is another chance you have to stand out among the crowd, where everyone has a similar face. If you are flipping an app from a game that is very popular, do not use the same icon in, perhaps, different colors or slight changes. Instead, create an icon that is unique as well as attractive. To create a popular, well- branded app, you do not want users to think that your app is merely the clone of another popular one. Therefore, use an icon that is unique to you and something that has the potential to become popular without being related to others. Branded apps can often have the same icon, or those that are a variation of one primary icon. Unique interface – Among mobile applications and games, there are many that use the same app development platforms and use the same templates. This means that there are very few apps that have a unique user interface. Otherwise, most of them use the same color combinations, the same drop-down menu style, etc. In order to be remembered by users through good branding, you must avoid this. Even when flipping an app, come up with a user interface, like colors, that will be unique to your app. These small unique factors, in future, have the potential to become the defining factors for your app. Ideally, you can make this a simpler version of your website’s interface, by using the same graphics but in a lesser quantity. Using the same or somewhat similar interface for all your future apps will also give you better recognition. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

20 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work App support – There are countless apps out there that have glitches, due to which they are simply abandoned. Users do not have the time to spend a lot of time looking for solutions, and since they have enough alternatives, they simply move on to something more convenient. In order to avoid this, you must have your unique app help and support. Incorporate an FAQ within your app that users can resort to if they face problems. Additionally, offer unique support and customer care through your website. These small features often go a long way to keep customers interested in your app instead of simply abandoning it after using it for a few times. 2. Efficient Features The success of branded apps is not always limited to linking them with your website through names and logos. Often, you can make your app stand out because of other unique features it has. If you already have a website running or a company, you can make a branded app related to it. In order to come up with a better branded app, here are some things you can keep in mind: Do not make it a marketing campaign – Often, mobile app brands are not recognizable because of the so many other brands they are advertising. You want your own company to be distinguishable from others, and not come across and someone merely trying to make money through advertisements. You should particularly avoid hidden pop-up ads, since most users block these anyway and those who do not are likely to delete the app if they come across these. In such a case, your future app sales will also be affected due to the poor reputation. Focus on providing convenience – App and internet users do not like having to spend a lot of time finding what they need. Therefore, create easy navigation and give customers exactly what they are looking for. While you certainly want to make profits, they key is to not make this apparent to your customers and make them feel cared for. This will be great for your future apps, since users will want to keep coming back for newer downloads. Avoid mediocre apps – When working with a brand, you cannot compromise on quality. This is because coming up with an inefficient app will greatly affect all your future campaigns. Users will not want to download another app from a brand that previously delivered mediocre apps. Therefore, remember that it is better to not produce a branded app at all than to produce a poor one. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

21 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Building Your Own Customer List Do you want to make the maximum amount of profits? Build your own customer list! It might seem very convenient to user iTunes or Google Play Store customer lists, or use that of the original app you are using. However, you can yield greater results by marketing your brand and creating a list from the scratch. This list will be unique to your brand and will eventually create more profits for you than ready-made customer lists will. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

22 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 4: Beat the Big Players Now that we have established that the Big Players might not be your best allies, let us further look into individual app development options to over the repercussions of these already established platforms. The Big Players Do Not Tell You Everything It is often assumed that getting to upload an app on Google Play Store or iTunes, in itself, guarantees success. This, however, is not true. It so happens that when you upload an app on these platforms, you give the big players all the authority over your application. Naturally, there are several things that they do not tell you. For one, the managers can sort applications according to their preferences, which means that the apps that go on the top pages will eventually succeed. Your chance to succeed this way may be very low, especially if you are making an app that is a clone of another. Apple and Play Store also have your lists. This means that they know your list of customers, and all those who might have browsed your app page. Naturally, this list can then be used to market other similar apps, since other apps are then suggested to these users according to their history of downloads. The best way to avoid this is to make your very own list on your website. While this may take a little more time and effort, the profits and other benefits will be worth it. To top it all, you will be the one in charge of everything from your app’s downloads to marketing and profits to popularity. A Branded App Yields Long Term Results So you made an app, uploaded it to Play Store and got sufficient profits. Now that you make another app, you have to go through the process all over again. This is because even the success of a previous app does not give you any significant upper hand in the marketing or sales of another. The reason is that customers on these stores do not know the developer. All they know is the app. They will not be aware of the fact that you are a successful and talented developer. You will, therefore, have to market and sell just like a first-time seller. This disadvantage is eliminated in a branded app that you are selling on your own website. This is because the app is not just known by its name or features in this case, but is also known by the developer or the brand. This means that the customers will ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

23 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work know you and the next time you make an app, they will be aware of your prior success and will be more willing to buy it. Unlike popular application stores, therefore, you will get to make permanent customers and sell to them repeatedly instead of a one-time sale. This is also a major benefit when you are selling apps at a good price. Most people go for free downloads, but if a previous app was successful, customers will be more willing to pay for a future app, since they trust the quality that you are known to come up with. You do not, therefore, have to put in so much time and effort just for a one-time sale. Instead, go for a branded app of your own and build customer loyalty for your brand. Making Money From Your App When you make an app, you need to decide how you plan on making money from it. You can either go for selling it at a certain price, or you can resort to making money through advertisements incorporated within the app. You can use a few factors to determine which way to go. Prior reputation – If you are known for making similar apps in the past, you can sell it at a high price and your loyal customers will probably not mind paying for it. However, this majorly relies on brand loyalty and you are not likely to build this on Apple or Google stores. You are usually a nobody on these stores, and people will rarely every notice the developer’s name unless an application becomes unusually popular. If you do build this, however, pricing your app at an appropriate can be a great idea. Uniqueness – There are hundreds of clones out there for every application. If you want to sell your app at a high price, you may do so. However, there is a very less chance that anyone will be willing to pay for it. This is because several developers out there might have more or less the same product to offer free of cost. Most people will naturally go for the free apps, and unless they find them of low quality or unsatisfactory, they will not be willing to pay for yours. Target population – Most apps and generally aimed at young adults and students, who are also the people looking for free applications. If you are making a game or another recreational app for this age group, it should ideally be free. However, if your target market is the business class or another group that would generally see a few ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

24 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work dollars as a very small amount to pay for a useful app, it would be a great idea to sell it for a certain price. Effectiveness of advertisements – Naturally, you also need to make sure that you get enough returns on your capital and do not operate on losses. Do you have enough advertisements in your app to generate enough returns without actually bothering the user too much? If not, then selling the app for money can be a good idea to at least cover your costs, even if you do not get to make a lot of profits. Now, you have made your decision as to how to make money from your app. Here, however, is the truth: You cannot generate a lot of money through app stores unless you have an exceptionally unique, useful or intriguing app. The apps are usually sold at a very low price and you need a lot of sales to make any profits at all. Here is a further look into this. Pricing Difference in Usual and Branded Apps You make an app and sell it on Apple Store. As a new app, you can at maximum price it at $0.99. App developers would know the amount of work and costs that go into the development, and this seems like a really meager return. Moreover, the number of people willing to pay for an app is really low and you may not make any profits at all. On the other hand, if you create your own website, market an app around the internet and create a brand reputation from a successful first app – which might even be free – you can price your second app at 10 times the cost. While this may seem absurd, there are several reasons why people would be willing to pay this amount: Quality – Your customers know that you produce good quality apps. They had several awful experiences in the past where they have to download several apps only to find that they are only full of annoying advertisements and little usefulness. In such a case, if they trust you, they will be willing to pay for your app. No question asked! The ‘brand’ tag – Everyone knows that anyone can make and upload an app on app stores. They know that most of these are extremely low quality apps that they never open except for the first time they download it. There are several users out there who do not have the time to look through all of these available apps and find one ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

25 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work worthwhile. In such a case, a website selling a branded app through good quality marketing naturally seems like a good option. Accountability – No one really knows the developers of most apps. The most people can do if they do not like an app is leave a bad review for it and move on to look for another. If, however, you are a brand and own a website, people know that they can contact you in case they face a problem with your app, and can file a complaint. While most people may not go to such lengths and avoid the waste of time, this depends on your target population. For management apps, for example, corporate users will want to be in touch with their developer in case of a problem. Expertise – A branded app also signifies expertise. While anyone may upload an app on a popular store, no one would spend time and money on an entire website to sell an app. When you do this, you generally come across as an expert who knows his/her work, which contributes to brand equity. Exclusiveness – Again, depending on your target population, users may want an app that is exclusive than one that is free and available to everyone on an app store. This also depends on the type and nature of your product, so make sure you make the most out of it. Don’t Sell As A Nobody Lastly, you don’t have to sell a product that you spent time and effort in as a nobody. Selling your app on your own website means that you will get credit for what you made, which is also a reason why people would want to buy your app and trust it more than apps that have no apparent background. Build a branded app and get the rightful credit for your work! Tip: There is no price difference between a popular branded and an unheard brand. The question is do you have a brand to it! ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

26 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 5: Driving Traffic Once you are done with the app flipping process itself, the next important step is marketing your app. You reach out to your target audience and let them know that your app exists, it might as well never be uploaded on app stores or your website. You need to make sure that among thousands of apps, it reaches the eyes of your potential customers, so that there is consideration to download it. When it comes to reaching out to these people, there are several modern strategies that are used. From paid advertising in other apps to leading customers through hidden links, there are several strategies to make an app visible to customers. However, you must not resort to these no matter how many customers these generate. Why? Reputation – Old school strategies might be slow to work, but they are the most effective when it comes to reputation. This is because modern web and app users are aware of all marketing strategies and any cheap strategies will no fail to impress them. Old school strategies remain the most genuine way to attract customers. Building customer loyalty takes time – Sure enough, there are several modern strategies that work overnight to bring in lots of customers. However, most of this traffic is either irrelevant or temporary. If you want to build a great reputation with customers, the best way is to take time to do so. Something that you put time and effort in will make your customers loyal to you and will be useful for repeated future sales instead of a small-scale one-time sale. Relevant traffic – Old school methods are the most reliable way to generate related traffic. Getting overnight traffic is often useless because most these people are barely interested in your product. Therefore, you should take time to research and reach out to potential customers who actually might be interested in your product and are likely to have the willingness to download or even buy it. When it comes to old school strategies that are working successfully for website and app developers since several years, there are a few major ones that you can focus on. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

27 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work 1. Social Media Marketing If you want to reach out to all of your potential customers around the world, the best way to do this is to use the social media. Marketing your app on Facebook and/or Twitter, whether for free or through paid advertising, you can reach out to a lot of people and can make yourself known, even if you are a new developer in a market full of popular experts. Making a page or a group for a new app is the best way to let people know about it and to gather information, which can then intrigue them enough to go to your app page and download or buy it. The best way to go on about this is to make and manage a Facebook page. However, there is a key to this. Almost every business has a Facebook page, and it is not as easy to get customers to ‘Like’ it as you may think. You must focus on a few key points to make the most out of the benefits of Facebook marketing. Genuine ‘Likes’ – There are several online platforms where people can now post jobs for freelancers. A shocking category in these is overnight fan collection. There are several companies that offer professional services to get a lot of likes – in sets of thousands – overnight. While a big figure of fans on your Facebook page might look good, the fact is that most of these will be random or maybe even fake fans. Even if they are genuine fans, the fact is that they have not likes your page because they are actually interested in it. Therefore, the figure only has visual attractiveness and does not do much to increase your profits or get you more customers. The best way, therefore, is to avoid overnight solutions and to collect fans gradually over a period of time. Regular management – There are several fan pages out there that get very popular, and immediately lose the popularity because they are not regularly managed. If you make a page for your app, you must regularly post related information that will interest fans and will keep your page active. Best is to get fans to participant in the form of contest or questionnaires. Moderation – Apart from posting updates, regular moderation and customer service can also be provided through Facebook pages. Make sure you regularly address queries and complaints from customers, and do not keep them waiting. If you make sure that you focus on these key points, there are several benefits that you can drive out of social media marketing for your app. Here are some of these: ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

28 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Exposure – As of the most recent statistical analysis, Facebook has over 1.19 billion users. Having this huge number on the same platform and being able to market your product to them is, perhaps, the greatest convenience you can get. It means that you do not have to go through the hassle of gathering people at one place before advertising your product. Lesser expenses – Facebook business pages can operate free of cost. However, it is ideal to spend some money on them to get the best results. The best part is that even if you spend money, the amount will be extremely minimal. If you plan to advertise your page through an ad banner, Facebook will charge you as low as $10 per day, with the ad being exposed to tens of thousands of people. You might end up spending just about $100 to get thousands of fans to reach your page and eventually your app. Target audience – There are over 1 billion users on Facebook, but that does not mean all of them would be interested in your app’s page. What’s more productive is that you target specific people and attract only them. While you can also do this with the content of your page, using Facebook advertising makes it a lot easier to do so. You can choose who sees your advertisement by categorizing people according to age groups, geographical localities, etc. For example, if you are aiming to make an entertainment related app popular among local people, you can choose to advertise to young adults in your particular city or country. Facebook page analysis – A great feature of Facebook pages is that they analyze your page automatically. You can see graphs and figures showing your most recent likes, while you can also see your progress over time. The analysis also includes a general overview of other pages that your fans or similar users like or visit, thus giving you a good idea about your competitors and their progress. Building brand loyalty – It is very easy to build brand loyalty and to keep customers interested in your page through Facebook. For example, you can keep adding innovations to your app and details and updates about this to your Facebook page. You can also post polls and statuses to interact with your customers and ask them what changes would they like. Addressing their queries and keeping in direct contact with them can go a long way for building customer loyalty. Traffic for your website – It is easier to get traffic for a social media page than for a website. You can, therefore, use this traffic and direct them to your website by linking it in your status updates or providing a direct download link. Easy analysis of competitors – The fact is that all of your competitors also use Facebook to market their apps and brands. You can visit their pages and check the ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

29 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work updates they are posting and the progress they are making. You can, then, accordingly alter your own methods and improve your performance go attract more customers. 2. Search Engine Optimization SEO is very important, since almost everyone on the internet uses popular search engines to reach what they want. If your app or website does not appear among the first few results on web pages, it is unlikely that you will ever reach your potential customers. This is because most people do not have the time to check all the pages of a search engine, and will usually find what they want on the first or the second page. The same is true for app stores. People search for keywords and download the apps that appear among the top few results. If you are selling your app on a website, your main goal should be to lead people to this site. Here are some tips you can use for this: Keywords and key phrases – Take your time to research the keywords that your potential customers use most commonly. Then, with the help of an expert, carefully add these to the content on your website. This reason you need an expert to do this is because you don’t want to overdo it. Adding excessive keywords will not lead more people to your site, but simply get you banned from popular search engines. External links – SEO through keywords can also be obtained through external links. You can, for example, hire a writer to create keyword-optimized posts about your app and post them on various platforms on the web. This way, these posts might appear among the top search results when users type these keywords on Google. They can then find you after reading a post about your app, or can reach your site through a direct link incorporated in the post. Minimal content – A great way to improve SEO on your website is to make sure that the content is minimal and organized. This is because clustered content makes it difficult to make out the useful information, which causes poor listing by search engines. White-hat methods – Never look for overnight SEO solutions, because they do not exist. The seemingly attractive overnight solutions are almost always based on black- hat SEO methods. While these may drive traffic to your website in the short-run, you might get permanently banned from Google in the long-run, and be unable to market your website any further. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

30 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Another part of SEO, when it comes to applications, is mobile SEO. This is because the improvements in technology have made mobile phones very convenient, and several people now mostly surf the web on their mobile phones. This is majorly because they have to download apps directly to their phones, which is why they search for them through the same device. Therefore, when carrying out SEO, you must keep mobile users in your mind and adopt methodologies that will complement their preferences. Here are a few tips: Easy navigation – Remember that complex websites can be very difficult and annoying to operate on mobile phones. Therefore, keep your website as simple as possible to make it easy for mobile users to operate. Make images small – On mobile websites, the most important thing is speed. People do not want to wait for several minutes for a website to load. Therefore, make sure that all the images on your website are very small in size and do not take forever to appear. If they do, this can immediately create a bad impression on your potential customer. Use proper headers – It is very annoying for website users, especially those on mobiles, to get lost on a website and lose track of what they were looking for. Therefore, use proper headers that will allow them to easily find what they are looking for. Effective titles and descriptions – This is true both for your own website and for apps on other app stores. When people search for an app, they reach it through the keywords in the title and the description. Therefore, make sure that you add popular keywords in these. Coming up with a totally unique title may not get you anywhere if it will never appear in search results. 3. YouTube Videos Another great way to market your application and to attract people to downloading it is to create YouTube videos relating to it. Video marketing is a relatively new but very popular advertising method, especially for mobile applications and other software programs. This is because not all web users are willing to read lengthy descriptions and reviews. Most of them prefer to go to YouTube and simply see a short video reviewing an application, which leads to a quicker decision. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

31 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work There are several other benefits of using YouTube videos as a marketing tool for your app. Automatic target audience – YouTube will automatically list your video in related videos when people are watching mobile app reviews or tutorials. This means that you will automatically reach your target audience, without having to spend any money or researching or reaching them. Minimal costs – The best part about YouTube is that there is no cost of uploading a video, even if it is for marketing purposes. You also do not have to spend a lot of money on the preparation, and can us any handheld camera or even a good mobile camera to record the video. Subscribers – YouTube allows people to subscribe to your channel, which means it is easier to reach out to people who are likely to buy your product. All you have to do is to keep creating videos that interest them, and at the end of every video lead them to your website where they can download your app. Tutorials – An added benefit of YouTube is that along with marketing your app, you can also teach people how to use it. You can simply make a video explaining the features of the app along with visual aid. People who want to learn how to use the app will definitely prefer a video over a written tutorial. Making videos, therefore, is a great way to reach out to a larger number of customers, especially to those who are mostly found only on YouTube. To make the best use of it, you must ensure good quality videos. This is because even the reputation of a great app can be undermined by a poor marketing video, and people may never want to visit the website if they video they watched was disappointing or unconvincing. 4. Other Media Depending on your target audience and your budget, there are several other marketing methods you can use. You can, for example, advertise your app in newspapers or on the television. You can also give interviews on the TV or the radio about your app. However, these methods are not very popular among app users, since their interest in and time spent with this sort of media is minimal. These methods will be successful after you have had an immense amount of success on the web. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, is a popular subject for TV documentaries because of the immense success of Facebook on the internet. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

32 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work These methods also require a large budget, and you should only indulge in them if you are sure that your application will generate enough profits to cover these marketing costs. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

33 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 6: Why Do Expensive Apps Sell? Undeniably, the idea of expensive mobile applications seems difficult to digest. This is because most of use popular app stores where most applications range from free to $1.99. In fact, this low pricing is what has fueled their popularity and lad developers to publishing more and more apps there, believing that the high traffic on these stores will ensure high profits. Naturally, in such a scenario, if you are told to make your own website and to sell your app on it for a higher price, you might find it absurd. However, the fact is, that even if most people don’t know this, there are several such websites operating successfully. Why is this difficult to digest? It is because a few trends have become so common that they can be generalized to almost the entire population. For one, it is usually believed that any store apart from Apple or Google’s stores is unsafe. People generally assume that apps downloaded from random websites will contain harmful bugs and viruses, which will harm their phone. This is true to some extent, since most apps on unsafe websites are either loaded with bugs or with advertisements and unwanted automatic downloads of various programs. However, this is not always the case. To avoid this, users just need to make sure that they are surfing a secure website, that has a proper background and contact details. The reason these websites are not very popular is the low willingness to pay for applications. In fact, if you look at iTunes, 15 of the top 20 best selling apps cost less than $1.99. This has created a nominal value for money, where the idea of an ‘expensive’ app is anything that costs more than $0.99. Even though this is actually a very minor amount, it is seen as a whole lot considering the number of free applications available. In fact, most users are not even willing to spend a couple of dollars to get a good quality application. This trend has been given rise to by a number of reasons. For one, there are so many alternatives available that spending money on apps and games seems almost absurd. Why even spend two dollars when you can get more or less the same product for free from another provider? Another reason is the fact that most mobile users are young adults ranging from ages 15-25. These are usually people who do not earn on their own, and do not own items like credit cards. Therefore, for them it can often be a hassle to even make a small payment over the internet. Indeed, most of the times, they would rather save this amount, since they are not overly obsessed with the quality of the product they get. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

34 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work However, here is the interesting thing to notice. All of these commonly talked about trends are only limited to popular app stores. They took birth here and are prevalent here, and do not extend on to branded apps or private websites selling these. There are several websites that sell apps for a lot higher prices, and there are a number of consumers willing to buy from them. Let us take a look at these providers. Why Do These Expensive Applications on Private Websites Sell? Yes, there is a huge target market that is willing to pay more than a few dollars for a great app. These people visit popular brands and shop directly from them, instead of going to app stores and searching through several similar apps before finding the right one. Instead of these free apps, they rely on established businesses known for creating good quality apps. Let us take the example of The Joey Yap Store, which focuses on selling astrology and divination related apps. These range from $8-$30, and are very popular among people who are interested in these areas. Why do people pay this amount for these apps when ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

35 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work they get other similar apps for free? Reinforce the brand’s core aim – When you create a brand, you ideally focus on one area or aspect. Like these applications focus on Astrology, you may focus on health and create applications in its subcategories, like weight loss, healthy eating, yoga, snacking recipes, etc. When you do this, every app you create reinforces the core that your brand operates on, and makes its reputation better. This works positively for your brand’s popularity, since people learnt to associate it with one particular niche. Differentiate it from the market – This is exactly what separates such brands from the market. For example, there may be several apps out there for horoscopes, but since they are free, people would not really expect them to be reliable. Joey Yap Store, on the other hand, is known to create such apps in the past and has a definitely niche, which will be preferred over nobody creating an app related to divination. Reliability – Focusing on a particular niche also makes such providers reliable. A customer would know that the app is not being created by someone who does not ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

36 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work know anything about the niche. Creating multiple apps in the same niche signifies experience and expertise, which many people prefer. This is usually a preference among professionals and business owners. If, for example, a business owner is looking for an app to schedule and manage business events, he/she would not go to an app store to find the best app. Instead, he/she would prefer to find one reliable app from a known provider, even if it costs a lot more than those iTunes and Google Play. The idea of ‘expensive’ – For this particular target market, the idea of ‘expensive’ apps is different. While a student may find a $1.99 app too much to pay for, a business owner would find a $50 app perfectly suitable and ideally priced, considering the benefits it will provide. Essentially, it depends on the purpose an application serves and on the seriousness of that purpose for the buyer. Someone who seriously believes in divination would want to buy an app from Joey yap Store, since they would know that the creator is experienced in the field and is not just creating something vague and inaccurate. Such people would see free apps as those of low quality. Knowledgeable consumers – Today, several customers are aware of application making processes. They understand how and why these apps are made. A customer, for instance, knows that an app is meant to make money, and if it is downloadable for free, the money will come from somewhere else. This is usually from annoying advertisements between apps, which are often more prominent than an app’s main features themselves. Business owners and other professional users, who do not want to be perturbed by such features of free and cheap apps, would rather go for an app that is priced higher but provides for a better user experience. Better customer service – People know that buying a free or a $0.99 app from a popular app store means little or no customer service. You will usually not find your complaints addressed. In fact, you might not even bother to make a complaint and simply go on to another app, since it does not cost you anything. This is a major reason why professionals buy expensive applications. They know that they will get value for their money, and will be able to contact the developers in case of a problem with the application. When these are sold at high prices, the developers cannot simply ignore customer complaints and have to fix any problems that might occur. Future app benefits – Buying apps for a higher price is like a one-time investment. Customers know that they can continuously enjoy free updates, and may even be able to enjoy other benefits when buying apps from the same provider in future. Therefore, the benefits that come with being a permanent customer of a branded app store are a lot more than being nobody on iTunes or Google Play. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

37 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Indeed, there are not a lot of people who are willing to spend a lot of money on applications, and the majority goes for free products. However, the fact is that if you target the right people in the right way at the right time, even this small market will be enough to cover your costs and make substantial profits. This is because one download of an expensive app may be worth 50 downloads of a cheap app on iTunes. Therefore, your target should be branding a successfully flipped mobile application instead of simply uploading it on an app store and losing credit for your hard work. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

38 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work How to Make the Most Out of It? Now that you have decided that you are going to brand an app rather than rely on other application platforms, you must make sure that you make the most out of the process. Market through your own website – Why go for common app stores when you can make your own? Make a website and keep adding your own branded applications to it. You can then convert your website into an app store itself. Remember that the best website will be the one that has a core theme that can be identified immediately. Considering our example, Joey Yap uses the same theme – divination – to create different applications. This builds brand equity and leads to greater trust in the brand by the customers. Well-defined application – Your customers are paying a higher than average price for these apps. This means that they expect good quality in return. Make sure that your app is well-managed and detailed, and has been devised keeping customer interests in mind. Remember that these consumers are not looking for simple or vague apps catering to a single function only. They would download free apps if they wanted that sort of service! If you look at the Divination app by Joey, it outlines the key features of the app, thus informing the potential customer in detail about the functions that will be available. Build trust in your expertise – It is great to be an expert in everything. However, this is almost next to impossible. Even if this does happen, it happens after you have been operating as a successful brand for several years and are ready to expand into another niche. Therefore, in order to be reliable, make sure that your website or brand focuses on one particular niche. This shows the customer that you know what you are doing and are the expert in a certain area. Provide consultancy – To further build trust in your product, be available. Do not be one of the businesses where it is impossible to reach the CEO. As the developer, even if you are not directly available, include a section on your website about your expertise and keep updating it with your professional activities. Knowing who is behind the application lets the consumer know that they will be taken care of even after they buy the app. This also plays a major role in psychologically lowering the price of your product. For example, a $29.99 app may be too expensive when made by a nobody, while it may be seen as highly affordable when made by a well-known expert. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

39 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Well-managed store – In order to compete with popular app stores, you must make sure that your website is easy to use and downloads are simple. Ideally, you can create a shopping cart in your website and embed popular payment options, followed by a direct download link. Make sure that the process is convenient for the customers and does not take too long, since web users do not have a lot of time on their hands to go through complex download methods. For example of well-themed e-commerce store you can refer to reference section. Compatibility – It is very important to ensure that your app is compatible with popular operating systems, like iOS and Android. This is because most mobile users use these software programs, and your app will be rather useless if it does not operate perfectly on these systems. IOS platform have an advantage over Android due to standard hardware, iPhone for example. However, there are many hardware model that sits on Android. This makes it hard to fulfill each and everyone out there. We do have a solution, Kindle. All in all, what you need to work on is to create a brand reputation to your website, which must be good enough to challenge that of popular app stores. Your main focus in the process, however, should be quality, content and support. Uphold the name of the brand and make sure that you give your customers appropriate value for their money. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

40 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 7: Catering to the Market’s Needs By now, you may have finalized whether you are going to flip your application to upload it on your own branded website. However, one thing you must cater to the needs of popular smartphone users. This means that regardless of where you upload your app, you must ensure that it is compatible with iPhone, iPad and Android devices. This is the only way you can reach out to a large number of customers. The following diagram shows the recent trends in the mobile market. Clearly, iOS and Android take up most of the market in smartphones, and go side by side except occasional ups and downs. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

41 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Why Is This Important? Reach out to more people – There are many mobile operating systems out there, but iOS and Android are the most commonly used ones. These are probably the ones you have heard the most about, since they are used by all major mobile phone companies. In fact, even tablets now operate on these systems. For example, you have iPad operating on iOS and other tablets using Android as an operating system. This means that you reach out to a lot of people by making your app compatible with these software operating programs. Most popular platforms for apps – There is a reason these two platforms are popular. They provide for excellent features that support applications and games. The touch system and other features of these mobile phones, like motion sensors, provide an opportunity to create great apps. You can use several such features to make your app more interesting. App management – These software programs are also ideal for managing apps, which explains why users prefer to use these over other, outdated systems. You can make use of this popularity by creating your app in accordance with the requirements of these systems, even if you don’t upload them on their official application stores. Another reason you must use these platforms for your app is the popularity of modern devices among people. Almost everyone today has a smartphone or a computer. In fact, these devices are now incorporate with useful features that have made them a part of everyday life. People use these devices in every professional and every minor task, which means that most of their time is spent on these. This in turn means that there are greater opportunities for app developers to explore, and there are endless possibilities as to what function an app can serve. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

42 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Why Do People Use Android and iOS Devices? There are several reasons why these mobile phones and other devices are so popular among people. Here is a breakdown of the most common purposes served by these modern devices: Games – Unlike the past when mobile games were highly simple and quick, meant to temporarily entertain only, mobile games today can be highly complex and intriguing. There are several games that users often get addicted to and spend several hours a day playing. The interesting fact is that these users are not limited to children. In fact, they mostly comprise of young adults and adults. Popular examples of games with extraordinary popularity are Flappy Bird and Candy Crush. The challenging and intriguing nature of these iOS and Android games have led them to generating millions of dollars or revenue. This is, therefore, one popular area you can explore when making or flipping an app. Entertainment – Apart from games, there are several applications out there that serve other entertainment purposes. Apps that provide updates on the latest movies, for example, fall in this category. Others use them to download and save music. These are also commonly downloaded both from the official app stores and other private websites and brands. Facebook – It is undeniable fact that Facebook is, perhaps, the most popular website on the internet. People from all ages, professions and countries visit the website daily, making it ever-popular. With modern devices now, several people access Facebook on their mobile phones and tablets. In fact, because of the increasing trend of Facebook browsing on mobile browsers, there is now an official app for this, while there is a separate one meant for Facebook messaging only. Due to the introduction of these, visiting Facebook is what millions of people use iOS and Android devices for. Other social networking sites are also visited, though this one remains the most popular. Utility – Like previously mentioned, several people own smartphones not for entertainment but for the utility they provide. A homemaker, for example, may own a smartphone because of the useful home-management apps available. Similarly, business owners use these phones to effectively organize and manage their schedule, keep a check on the market changes and manage their staff, etc. This usefulness, therefore, is a major reason why people spend a lot of time on smartphones today. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

43 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Apart from these areas that get the most time by mobile users, there are several other functions served by these devices. Many people, for example, use them to stay updates on news. All in all, at least 80% of smartphone usage revolves around mobile applications, while only the other 20% is spent on common functions like calling and text messaging. While this may seem surprising, the figures hold true because of the fact that even functions like voice calling, video calling and text messaging are now served by several popular mobile applications. Users, therefore, rarely ever use their mobile network or data packages to perform these functions. The following figure shows the breakdown of these functions, and the proportion of time spent on these devices by both iOS and Android users: ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

44 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work How to Sell to Your Customers? To know what your customers want, you first need to conduct research into popular preferences and choices. For this, you can look into the important area of mobile research. Naturally, mobile phones with internet provision and other useful features are now a popular research tools. Several people use the effectiveness of mobile communication for research purposes. By looking into the trends of mobile research, you can use them to come up with the aims that a useful app must serve. The most popular starting points for mobile research are search engines. People use browsers as well as official apps for these and use them to look for popular needs ranging from automotives to apparel. Other starting points for research are websites and branded apps. The most commonly searched for items, however, are generally the same. These include areas like real estate and finance, while others like electronics and common daily use items are also commonly looked for. Conclusively, you can exploit either of these to make your app popular among mobile phone users. To summarize mobile research, here are the proportions of preferred starting points and search items. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

45 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Chapter 8: Make Your App Into Your Goldmine You should now be working on your idea of a branded app and planning to sell it on your own website. As previously explained, an app coming from a well-known or even upcoming brand and being sold on an intriguing website with good marketing skills will sell more than just another app made by nobody on a usual app store. However, you don’t necessarily have to come up with a unique and new idea for an app. If you own a business or are planning to open up one, you are in luck. You can now use your business to come up with an easy yet unique app and make the most money out of it! Products/Services Apps Every time you come across a new app, your first instinct is to recall whether or not you have heard of it, since this usually provides a good idea of what the app will be like. If you have heard good reviews about it in general, you will feel more comfortable downloading or buying it, since you will know it will not waste your time. However, when are the times when you see an app and immediately download it without any reluctance? This is most probably when the name of the app is so well-known that you are sure it will live up to the standards. This also happens because simply the name of the app suggests what purpose it will serve, so you do not have to delve any further into the details. For instance, let us consider Facebook Messenger App. It required very little marketing on the internet, and the only major marketing that took place was notifying people on Facebook about the convenience the new app can provide. The reason the app became so popular so fast was because of the brand name Facebook, something that people are familiar with and trust. Similar is the case with other popular websites. People download their apps simply because they already know about the website and its services, and have an idea of what they will be getting. This gives rise to our idea of coming up with an app for your own products, services or business in general. Indeed, if you are a successful business operating smoothly, you will not find it very difficult to market and sell your app. Here are a few reasons such branded apps are a great idea and can be the money-making machine that you are looking for: ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

46 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Ready-made marketing – If you are already running a business, chances are that you will now need large-scale marketing. This is because a new app needs marketing from scratch. For example, you need to make an entirely new Facebook page for it and gather audience for it so as to be able to tell them about your new product. However, if you are already operating as a business, chances are that you already have a Facebook page with some audience, if not a lot. This means that there already are people to market your app to, and you do not have to spend a lot of time and money driving traffic. The process becomes easier itself, owing to your prior popularity. Customer trust – Mobile users are not smart enough to spot poor apps from good ones. They judge an app by its outlook, marketing and reviews before making a quick decision of whether or not to download it. This way, a lot of apps that seem to be poor clones of others often go ignored, or get deleted after the first time they are used. If your app is associated with a product, however, it will be a lot easier to get through this process. Customers will be more willing to download your app if they have previously heard of your product. In fact, even if they have not, they will tend to rely more on an app that has a legitimate website in its description than one that has been uploaded by a random developer and has no further associations. Convenience – The simple fact is, people want convenience. Creating an app that supports your own product or service is a great way of making your customers more loyal and keeping them interested in your product. This is because even though mobile browsing is very common, there are several websites that can be a mess on mobile phones, and can be difficult to manage. In such a case, if you can make an app with the commonly needed features of your website, consumers will love the convenience being provided to them, and your app will sell. Pricing – This also allows you to sell your app for a higher price. For example, while people may not be willing to pay $10 for an app that has never been heard about, they will be a lot more willing to pay it for an app that comes from a professional business, is associated with a website and promises customer support after purchase. Everyone wants accessibility and accountability, and when they get this, it can play a major role in convincing them to pay a price for your app that they would not otherwise pay. You can, therefore, earn ten times more money than you will when uploading your app on iTunes or Google Play. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

47 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Cross-marketing – Your website is now a great way to market your app. You can simply include a banner of the app on your site, or introduce a new landing advertisement page for your website. On the other hand, your app will be marketing your website and your product. Even if it people have never heard of your product, they will hear about it when they come across it on an app store or reviewed somewhere on a tech website. Therefore, you will be able to market both the sides and earn higher revenue from both. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

48 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Come Up With An Application E-Book Here is one of the indirect ways you can turn your app into a goldmine. If you thought the only money you can make from your app is through direct downloads or incorporated advertisements, you were wrong. The fact is that the mere reputation of your app can allow you to make money through several other ways. One of these is to come up with an application related to your e-book, and sell it alongside it. How does this work? Why would people buy both an app and an e-book? For this, you need to look beyond the realm of common entertainment apps that are easily replaceable. Obviously, no one would want to spend a lot of money on these or their related products. However, there are several apps that provide utility and consumers who buy them are looking for them to serve serious purposes. For example, if you make an app related to weight loss and healthy weight maintenance, you can write a small e-book on tips and techniques on how to enhance the results and get the most out of the application. With niches like this, people would be most willing to spend a few extra dollars to get a lot better results. Here are some tips to get the most out of an application e-book: Usage techniques and tips – You can create a small e-book explaining how to use the app in the best way possible, along with examples. However, this will only work for apps with extensive functions, and might work best for managerial apps aimed at professional users. Complementary e-books – You can also create an e-book that complements the theme of your app, and sell it on your website along with the app. Since these people are willing to pay a considerable amount of money to buy your app, chances are that they will be willing to pay a few extra dollars to get a useful e-book that will provide more advantages. Therefore, you can use your brand and website to make money off the e-book. Offer an attractive package – A great way to make more money is to offer the book with extra bonuses when bought with the application. Naturally, this will be seen as a discounted benefit by many and could sell successfully. ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.

49 APP FLIPPING: Amazing App Flipping Tactics That Work Sell Your E-Book On Your Own Website It is a fact that an e-book sold on your own website will make a lot more money than an e-book sold on random platforms on the internet. This is almost like selling your app on your website rather than a common app store. There are several reasons for this. Pricing – When you sell on popular electronic book platforms like iTune, you can ideally only price your book around $1.99. While the more expensive ones may be around $9.99, there is very less chance of an entirely new author being able to sell an introductory book at this price. On your own website, however, you can set the price a lot higher than this and people will still be willing to buy it because of the brand equity and marketing techniques you create. As long as you market your e-book effectively, it will be easily sold for a higher price than common electronic book libraries. Reliability – Like app stores, almost anyone can write and upload a book on Amazon. When you upload one on a private, branded website, however, people tend to rely on it more since there is very less chance of a poor quality website being uploaded on a popular website. If it is, it will immediately bring down its reputation. The willingness to buy, therefore, will be a lot higher. All in all, what you need to do is to realize that you can use your own flipped application as a goldmine, only if you know exactly how, when and where to market it. Now is the time when you stop relying on the big players and introduce yourself a competitor to them rather than a mere blind follower! Flip your very own app marketed on your very own website store and earn a lot more than you can through popular app stores! Your services, Your Products convert it into app - App eBook sells at higher price from a Branded site! ©Copyright 2016 AppNews Network. All Rights Reserved.