Apptation – Chris LaCombe
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About the Episode
Coming is a live call with a listener of the podcast and awesome app developer where we discuss reskins, app store optimization and PR.
Chris LaCombe is the founder of Apptation.
Show Notes
- Reskins
Chris feels that reskinning is a fad and that the reskin market is overcrowded and is not sustainable. He shares that it is not really creating but just spinning another app from an existing one and he does not see the sense of selling a truly successful app for others to reskin. Chris thinks that if somebody has a truly successful app, he should do the reskinning himself so he can make more money out of it and he should continue squeezing it for as long as possible.
- ASO Optimization
Investing in ASO has worked well for Chris. Both Chris and I agree that “well” is something between 300-400 daily downloads. Chris thinks that investing time to research the correct keywords for ASO is worth the effort because it got him to the 3-digit goal for downloads per daythat he required to feel that his efforts have been truly rewarded. The 3-digit number is also the magic figure that must be hit if an app is going to make any money for its creator. Chris voices an opinion that to make decent money in the app market, you will require a portfolio.
- PR
We also discuss the eternal question of how to get the press coverage required so an app can have visibility. Cold calling and emailing are thankless tasks every app developer must go through if he wants his app downloaded. We swap insightful tips such as looking for popular sites or create niches. The sites that count, especially if you want to go public with your pro version of the app, usually require 25 reviews and a 4-star rating before they will cover any new app going pro. Getting the ASO spot on would also help, as well as tweaking the app as much as you can.
Chris believes that if you can get enough downloads to impress these guys, you will get your press coverage. We both agree that all these efforts can create a snowball effect that will eventually provide the visibility the app creator wants and needs.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to build a mobile app?
Entrepreneurs invest on prototypes that only get shelved. Do the needed 10% and make the app.