Anatomy of an App Store Success Story

As soon as Apple announced that they would launch an App Store along with the debut of the iPhone 3G, I am my team KNEW we wanted to develop applications that could be distributed via iTunes.

Our first app was called iVote Mobile. Launched this summer, iVote is a free app that allows users to cast their opinion on a number of political, social and cultural issues. To date the app has been downloaded over 47,000 times and users have submitted nearly five million votes. We\’re pretty happy with that.

However, we knew our biggest hit was yet to come. As of this past week, we hit the App Store jackpot.

Late this past summer, our executive team made a list of various application ideas. Having a team largely comprised of men, we can up with the idea of doing a \”fart\” app for the iPhone. After all, if virtual beer and fake fish ponds could do well, why not digital flatulence?

Our developer expertly crafted an application which had us laughing around the office. iFart Mobile was born. We went to submit the app to Apple, and that\’s when it happened.

Another iPhone developer went public with a video of their application which was similar to our application. It didn\’t have the features that ours had, but it was definitely the same concept. The video detailed how Apple had rejected their application based on seemingly arbitrary criteria, reasoning that the app was \”without utility.\”

The story was covered by many mainstream news sources and tech blogs, leading many to question Apple\’s \”Big Brother\” approach to censoring apps.

Granted, Apple can do whatever they want with their store. However, developers were concerned about investing time and resources into an app that had an uncertain future.

We decided to continue with our application submission just the same. It took only a day or so for the application to be placed \”in review\” by the app store.

This was a good sign as they had not overtly rejected our app like had happened to the competing developer. We speculated that perhaps it was due to the fact that our app actually had utility vis-a-vis the \”security\” function.

On December 12th (I think), Apple went public with their decision to lift the ban on novelty apps that fell into our category, and the app became available in the iTunes App Store.

Just eight days later, iFart Mobile has rocketed up the App store charts to the #3 position, topping the Entertainment category as #1.

I\’ve already gone public with sales-to-rank data here.

This blog entry is to discuss and ask questions regarding what makes a successful app.

According to MacWorld, over 10,000 apps have been submitted to the app store as of December 1st.

How does an app get attention with so many competitors?

It\’s important to note that a successful app launch is no different than any other product launch. The rules that apply to a new web site or any new product or service apply.

These are not exhaustive or in any particular order. Like many of my blog entries, this is just stream of consciousness.

1) Be first to market.

We came up with the idea for our app a long time ago. We began developing it when the app store was still new. And we were willing to take a risk, investing time and resources to see it through to completion.

This really paid off for us as there are nearly THIRTY copycats in the app store now.

On one hand, I feel bad for those who saw us rocketing up the charts and attempted to seize the opportunity. But on the other hand, it illustrates how critical it is to be first to market. How much room is there for other \”fart\” apps in the app store? It\’s very crowded.

On top of that, some developers saw fit to blatantly steal our trademarked term, \”iFart\” hoping to capitalize on our success. Not the best idea, in my humble opinion. Not only do they open themselves up to litigation, but they cranked out inferior apps which do a disservice to the customer. I am confident that we have produced the best app in the genre… hands down.

Which leads to my next point.

2) Be original.

There are so many apps that have yet to be invented! Why not spend time and resources coming up with something new hoping for some scraps from the table, rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel?

Have the copycats achieved any success?

When I search the app store Top 100, there are only TWO apps in our genre. Ours and the one whose complaint got picked up by some media and blogs. There are no others in the top 100. In fact, if you go to the entertainment category, you have to get to #20 before you find another competitor. And I suppose they are there because they have copied our trademarked name.

New apps in the genre don\’t stand a chance unless they…

3) Build a better mousetrap

Again, I\’m confident that we have the best app in our genre. As other apps began popping up, a quick glance revealed that many were obviously thrown together without any regard for quality. We had more features than the others, and it was amusing to watch competitors begin promising similar features in their apps. Even now, the other leading app in the genre has begun promising a feature in v1.2 that we made standard in v1.0.

The lesson is this. Develop a quality product (even if you are just producing digital farts) and seek to innovate. The market is flooded with mediocrity. Seek to stand above the crowd and do something extraordinary.

By the way, this is not the core of our business model. It was just another idea we brought to fruition. My company is developing other apps which are going to lead to the way in \”more respectable\” niches. :-)

4) Create buzz

It doesn\’t matter what your product or service is. If you think you can hang a shingle and people will be knocking your door down, you are in for a rude awakening.

You MUST become a marketer. You must create \”buzz\” in the marketplace.

Marketers are aware of the features and benefits of their products. They capitalize on this at every turn and know that getting attention requires action.

There are those who create buzz and there are those who leverage buzz. Those who create buzz will always have the advantage.

This means you must actively pursue media attention by both direct contact and press releases. I use a number of PR services to spread my message across the web. And I\’m not afraid to send a good story to a contact in the mainstream media. No guts, no glory.

5) Use social media

You must leverage social media to it\’s fullest by interacting with your audience.

I was accused of \”spamming\” Twitter because I sought to engage in conversation with people who mentioned a competitors app. I am not a bot. Twitter is designed to engage in this kind of dialogue, and if I want to reply to other people in a social media context, I see nothing wrong with it. It\’s a guerilla marketing technique.

6) Use video

You must use powerful mediums to communicate your message. We created a video spoof of Apple iPhone\’s \”This Changes Everything\” campaign and uploaded it to video sites all over the web.

While not THE most viral video on YouTube, we still managed to get over 7000 views in just five days.

Video is a powerful medium and the web is practically begging you to use it. Be creative and make a video that will get people\’s attention.

7) Don\’t settle

We\’ve already developed new features that are going to go in the next version of iFart Mobile. They are more advanced and innovative than what others are offering. If you just stay with what you have, you can ride the wave for a bit. But innovation makes waves and insures the likelihood of continued success. What are our new features? I\’m not telling. Watch and see. :-)

So there you have it. Some bullet points that you might want to consider as you seek to develop your own application for the iPhone, or for whatever you hope to market.