I originally posted this on the Technical Forum, then I realized that the best part is not technical. The information on marketing and customers is gold - and doesn't just apply to software marketing.
LINK: An Experiment in BlackBerry Development: Lessons Learned Writing PodTrapper
This is an interesting web page about one person's experience. It's long; however Colin Powell might read it because IT IS NOT BS.
The discussion about development is Blackberry specific. The discussions about marketing and customers are more generic; therefore, more valuable. OTOH: Web artists and others should take note of the author's efforts to outsource graphics design.
Here is the authors outline.
LINK: An Experiment in BlackBerry Development: Lessons Learned Writing PodTrapper
This is an interesting web page about one person's experience. It's long; however Colin Powell might read it because IT IS NOT BS.
The discussion about development is Blackberry specific. The discussions about marketing and customers are more generic; therefore, more valuable. OTOH: Web artists and others should take note of the author's efforts to outsource graphics design.
Here is the authors outline.
Code:
* Why I did it
o Listen to podcasts during commute
o Need to carry blackberry for work
o Didn't want to carry two devices
o Saw potential on iPhone for sales, wanted to take advantage of BB App World when it became available
o Sounded fun
o Thought I could do it better than the next guy
* The platform
o Java based, MIDP/CLDC or RIM specific
o Decided to use full platform and go with RIM specific APIs
o Choosing a version is problematic since not everyone has compatible versions
* Development
o Look and Feel
+ Very limited widgets
+ The widgets are stark
+ Spent significant effort making it look good
+ Finding someone to hire for graphical help didn't work out
+ RIM has internal UI elements they don't publish
+ Results in inconsitent UIs across applications
o Networking
+ Lots of networking options available
+ Very complicated to get working
+ Steep learning curve
o Background Processing / Memory
+ Need to be constantly concious of memory use
+ Garbage collection isn't a magic bullet
+ Many BB devices have very limited memory
+ At least it's possible
* Pricing
o Initially goal wasn't to make a huge sum of money
o After beta at 9.99 wanted to up it to 12.99
o Trying to keep it under the point where most people would question the value
o Think it could be priced higher
o I'd prefer people saw me as an incredible value than a tax on podcast listening
o Thought about subscription models or paying for updates
o Talked with some of my users about it (link to forum post)
o Want to offer free version with ads (see third party integration)
o Pay for features (flopped)
* DRM
o Went with device-specific registration codes -- mistake
o People switch phones a lot for various reasons
o Haven't arrived at a viable solution that reconciles the competing goals
* Retailer experiences
o Handango
+ Before going in to it Handango was the only service I'd heard of
+ I had (incorrectly) assumed they were the most popular since they were the only one I'd heard of
+ I also assumed that's how they justified their 50% cut (which actually turned out to be more like 60%)
+ Ended up dropping them eventually
o Direct sales
+ Went through paypal, resulting charges are ~4%
+ A bit of work to set up
o MobiHand
+ Much more reasonable pricing (80/20 split), except for all of the loopholes
+ Not many sales come from Mobi themselves, but through 'channel' sites, which themselves keep 20%
+ A lot of BB sites run their own channels and add a lot of value to their stores (mobile app stores, reviews, etc)
+ This probably should have been the first sales venue
o App World
+ Definitely rushed to market
+ The marketing potential is huge
+ Needs some improvements
+ Great rates (80/20 always)
+ Costs money to participate -- $200 to start which covers 10 submissions -- waived for early adopters like me
+ Great support, even if it shouldn't be needed
+ Review process (end-user) needs improvements
+ Review can make or break an app
+ Needs a recommendation engine
+ Browsing needs to be improved drastically
+ Registration issues/teething issues
* Sales before marketing/betas
o Word of mouth at first
o Review on crackberry
o Graphs
o Realized I needed usage tracking
* Marketing
o Pre-App World marketing was essential
o Marketing is real work
o You get back as much as you put in
o After we started to see potential (after first crackberry post) we realized the potential
o I'd rather spend time improving it than selling it
o App world takes care of that, largely
o Process we used
+ Each email was specific to the target, no mass mails
+ Started with what I thought was obvious (tech podcasts)
# Didn't work out so well
# Organic was the only way I got mentioned, marketing didn't matter
# Didn't have the impact I thought it would
+ Next up, tech blogs
# Worked out a little better, but not much
# Crackberry is great
+ Next up, non-tech podcasts
# Also didn't work too well
* Sales after marketing
o App World is significant
o Graphs and impacts
* Third party integration
o It's really hard to get anyone to talk to you as a single developer
o Need to be a startup that isn't actually making any money
o "One man shop" stigma
o Tried the approach of appearing to be a company
o Integrations:
+ Audible DRM
+ Advertising network to provide an ad supported version
* Customers
o Biggest reward
o 'Email developer' menu item has worked well
o Forums are crucial
o Some people don't think about their comments (example email), but you can't let that affect the response
o Very few negative comments
o Public defense (link to examples)
o Developers not communicating with their customers are missing out
o Spend about an hour a day responding to emails and forum posts
o Customers are the biggest source of new feature ideas
+ Try to always ask after solving a user's problem if there are any features they'd like to see
