During the last few years, we have seen numerous mobile applications gain popularity. Apps like Instagram, Angry Birds, Pokemon Go have taken the world by storm. Their net worth is at least $100 billion. A mobile app business may sound lucrative, but the honest fact remains that not everyone can do wonders in this sector. It is estimated that only 25% of the developers earn a margin of more than $5000 a month – for the rest, the app is of no use.
There are many gaps for those who wish to earn via mobile app development. The apps can be simple and holistic and yet be of great use. In fact, an average person uses close to 30 apps each month. And the best part is that people spend around 4 hours a day browsing through the applications. This might intrigue you to go ahead and build your own application. So why not? Here are some of the steps to go about creating a mobile application of use:
The Key Step – An Idea
An idea always changes a life. The initial idea of traveling faster brought about the invention of the wheel and the idea of roasting food brought upon the invention of the fire. Any successful entrepreneurship becomes successful with the existence of an idea. An idea alone can change what we think, how we think, and how we go about doing things.
People say that a great idea brings about 5% of success. You will need to have a strong and solid dream about where exactly you would want your application to stand. How exactly would you want your application to stand? There would be penultimate dreams that pull you to that destiny. An idea hence is of utmost importance.
Know Your Data – Market Research
It is extremely important to know your data, to know who are the people you are targeting, and who your customers are. For that, you will need to survey people, ask them what they want, and fulfill their needs. If you don’t have a very concrete idea, this step will help you to understand what you would want to build for your people.
Exploring the market will give you a rough and detailed idea about the competitors in the market, the lacunae in the market, the existing problems that are present and more. There would be a dozen tools that you would discover, to analyze your application’s efficiency, to understand the application’s functions and more. You can also conduct user research.
The Choice of the Platform
Initially, people had to take up a horde of choices when it came to platform building. But things are easier now, and there’s only Android that’s running the market. This is why most businesses choose Android for their first app launch.
iOS is famous too, that makes it a quite choice to make – its either that or this. Google and Apple have thus narrowed down your hunt of applications and have brought this down to quite a narrow search. Or you could simply go for cross-platform app development using React Native or Flutter. And it’s a good idea to also get a progressive web app developed for your business.
The Beginning of the Process – Development
After choosing the platform, the next important step would be to sit back and wait for the app to get developed. This will be a team-building procedure, where you will be working in close association with the mobile app developers. There will be coders, mobile app designers, app developers, photographers, and more. Hiring some people on a freelancing basis and some people on a permanent basis would be the right balance for it.
If you have a website already, you can also get it converted to a mobile app.
Process the Plan – Business Plan Formulation
Now that you have the application ready, keep your eyes open on the market needs and simultaneously have a quick look at the business strategy that you are going to use. This will save you from unnecessary losses. Have a good strategy that will help you battle both long term and short term problems.
Remember that this is a competitive business and it will take up all of your revenues if you don’t plan it well. When you would need money for the beginning, these will be the exact steps that will help you.
The Finance Bomb – Planning Your Money
This one is the most crucial. You would definitely need a proper financial backbone to jump into a deal like this. The project may need somewhere about a thousand dollars and you better be ready for it. If you are doing this on your own, that might be okay, but if you are taking loans remember that the bank has to be paid back.
Crowdfunding is one of the options that quite a lot of people explore. You wouldn’t have to return the money, and you would use it in your own discretion. Finding a partner should also work – there should be enough leverage between the two of you, and you both can work out the pay and the shares.
Work Out the Prototype and Feedback
Feedback from the public is key. It helps you get an overall image – of the entire scenario. It helps you to identify the application’s pitfalls and advantages, so it is important to release a prototype in the market and see the usage benefits. This mobile app prototype would help you get funding.
You could even get some people to give feedback on the application – just to help you navigate through the process. Everyone loves a free test drive, and this should help you through.
The Money Bug – Pricing
You could keep levels – either make it fully free, or paid, or even make a free version and a pro version with in-app purchases. This would help you generate the return of investment – and this would finance the remaining part of your business.
You could allow advertisements, encourage direct selling or other methods. Whatever the process be, it requires to be well optimized.
Application Marketing Procedure
The application may be great, but if it is not marketed well, there wouldn’t be any good use to it. To beat the harsh competition, one needs to master the selling of the application. Use social media interaction and more to get through ahead of the competitors. Learn effective marketing strategies to market your mobile app.
Final Thoughts
Once you get these strategies right, releasing a mobile app to the market won’t seem like a hefty task. It would be filled with excitement and give you an exhilarating experience. Stay tuned with AppMystery to learn more.