Talk about the app Store's products and operating strategy

In this era of craftsmen, more and more developers are investing in the development of mobile apps. How to stand out in the fierce competition, less detours? We have an exchange with the air network responsible for the operation and promotion of IPhone games, and have gained a lot of experience and know-how, which is worth sharing.

IFANR: Please tell me about your views on the development, status and trends of the Apple app Store.

Loud: Apple's app Store has evolved into 40多万款 apps and has undergone many changes, but the overall trend has been in the process of normalization. It is becoming more and more difficult for an application (product) to stand out in many applications. Looking back in 2007, a seemingly ordinary application, it is easy to appear on the top of the list, when it can be said that the blue sea, and now close to becoming the Red Sea market.

But it is still the best platform for development and entrepreneurship, and Apple's app Store constantly regulates market rules, improves application quality, and makes better products appear in front of users.

The closure of Apple's app Store also has the advantage that developers compete on a fair platform. Of course, as the competition intensifies, for individual studios, small development teams, the possibility of a red-globe angry Bird, though still, is getting smaller.

IFANR: We know that in the Apple app Store platform, the development, promotion and profitability of the product is a complex project, which experience can be shared?

Loud: Yes, I believe many iPhone application developers want to develop an angry bird. But the reality is, many applications in the online after the hundreds of, thousands of of the download, and then reduced to the Apple app Store hundreds of thousands of application of the ocean, it is rare to have the time to shine.

I from the application of the design and development, the promotion of the operation of the time sequence to comb the key points you should pay attention to, and finally summed up the basic idea of the Apple app Store.

product design must focus on market/cultural differences

Products must have a good positioning before development, this positioning should not only clear, but also pay attention to the target market and user differences. Regardless of the game or the tool software, may encounter the cultural difference or the region characteristic question.

Detailed analysis of the specific situation, such as the "Three Kingdoms" game, in China is very easy to get the user's approval, but if the U.S. market will be very few downloads.

Not only in the cultural aspects of the differences to pay attention to the psychological and customary differences also need to pay attention to. For example, I developed in 2009 a section called "Help Me Make decision" (English name is idecide) application. September 2009 in the United States market on the line, but has been poor response, and then try to free, the effect is still bad, the day only 2000 of the global download. And this product to the Chinese market, to enter the top 30 in China's total list.

After the analysis of the reasons, the Chinese people will hesitate to meet the choice, this application can play a helpful role. This is rarely the case in the United States, so customary differences ultimately lead to a different situation in China and the US market.

First Impressions: The importance of product names and icons

The first impressions of the product include names, icons, screenshots, and descriptions, which are the determinants of whether the user downloads.

First is the name and icon, the user in the cell phone screen between a lot of application software, then how to give your software in the eyes of users jump out, it is necessary to see the name and icon design skills.

The Apple app Store in the United States has a product named Balls 7 Cups, not outstanding, but when it changed its name to Skee-ball, it jumped to the United States ranked first game. If you know American life, you will find that Skee-ball is a popular arcade game in Europe and America, so when people see the name, they naturally know what the product is, and it is logical to download and start playing.

This example shows the importance of the name, the original name of ten Balls 7 Cups, although the way the game is explained, but it makes people feel vague. Similar examples in the Chinese market has "fishing tatsu people", in China's game rooms, large shopping malls, will have to grab plush toys, so when people see this application, naturally know the game's general situation.

Subject matter is also an important factor, the name of the use of known names, more easily attract users ' attention and understanding. For example, "Three Kingdoms", China's game players on the Three Kingdoms, tower defense are very familiar with the name of the game has a general understanding, easy to make users download.

Icon design to be particularly exciting, the first to eye-catching, to make your icon in the screen most prominent, but also to allow users to understand your application, the combination of the two icons is the perfect design.

After the product name and icon, users will see screenshots and text descriptions. Screenshot is also a key item, to be able to put your product characteristics at a glance, good products will not simply put the phone screenshots, but through a professional PS processing, the product's main function, the most dazzling part of the focus on the display, to attract users to download the desire. Writing instructions should also be written to be attractive enough to be seductive. If the English version, be sure to avoid grammatical errors.

product warm-up and release: important jobs overlooked by many developers

It is very regrettable that many developers do not attach importance to the preheating of the product or even realize that it is preheated. Before the line, regardless of large companies or small studio products, should do some preheating promotion work, of course, there is enough money for the early publicity is the best, but if there is no such budget costs, should also be in the Free forum, pre-release pictures, to attract the attention of users. In particular, game products, in the warm-up, it is best to use the form of pictures plus video.

The product's online may be the only chance for a product to appear in front of the user. To grasp this opportunity, get more users to download and use at the beginning and try to win the Apple App Store recommendation. In the product online, to mobilize all the channels to spread the message, you can use the PR company, BBS, Twitter, Facebook and so on.

The pricing of the charging product should be reasonable, for example, it can be set at 0.99 US dollars. It is particularly necessary to note that the price of a product is not determined by the time and cost of development, but by the market.

recommendation: Can meet not to ask, encounter don't miss

The rules and standards recommended by Apple's app Store are not known outside the world, but we all know that recommendations are important to a product's success or failure. And many products, from the beginning to the end of the developer to give up, have not been recommended.

Some experiences I can share:

every week at least a Chinese-developed products recommended; On the recommendation is more than any advertising has the effect of the promotion way; good products on the possibility of a large, bad products are not necessarily no opportunity; The recommended validity period of only one week, to cherish; recommended, different location effects are not the same, The higher the position is, the better the effect is; if the price of the charged product exceeds $0.99, it is recommended to reduce prices, but never free. Top of the list: Excellence in Learning

The Apple app Store rankings are decisive for a product, a choice that users use to vote on a mobile phone, a result of a product from technology development to promotion.

There are 3 charts in the Apple app Store, and different lists have different values. The list of fees and free items is the most commonly seen by users, and for developers, the best-selling rankings are the most worth learning and reference.

To fight for fees and free items rankings, the impact list of each product after the completion of the core work. Specific methods and practices should be developed according to different product types. such as the design and development of a theme of the series of products, mutual recommendation, guide users to the Apple app Store evaluation of products, free of charge, the development of a free version of a variety of ways to achieve this goal.

For developers, the most valuable learning is to learn from top grossing, such as analyzing top-ranked products, how they design names and logos, editing screenshots and descriptions, and analyzing the top application categories to see what types of users are focusing on. What theme of the product, looking for their own development direction and inspiration.

free version: enough power

The free edition is a very good promotional tool for fees and games or utility applications.

Free use version is sure to make, in the full version before or after the launch can be. Because in the Apple app Store, the most benign promotion mode is the first in the free list has a very good position, the toll edition will be in the toll list will also be ranked in a good position.

Of course, the competition in the free table is very fierce, sometimes although the product is very good, but still not enough attention, then the official fee version can be free. There is a table tennis application software is this situation, without any external force, the product free, become the first free list, back to the toll list, but also into the top 200 of the charge list. Of course, the premise is that your product is good enough.

For the free edition, there are several shared experiences:

Not for no reason free of charge (the new product is not free at the beginning, even if you want free), if it is in the recommended position, never free; at the end of the highest point will have an effect, not only for a free day; or use 1.0 edition Free Promotion 2.0 edition, the free list competition is also very intense, unless is the fine, otherwise wants to take the advantage of the external force; Paid promotion, money to spend on the blade

For paid promotions, there are several shared experiences:

If the budget is only hundreds of dollars, it is better not to pay promotion; My personal experience, Admob used to push free products more effective, pay products to be prudent; in the Web ads to have a lot of flowering can have effect, input-output ratio is not necessarily good; large companies can use PR company to promote , the game built-in advertising to buy (Tapjoy,flurry, etc., more suitable for the promotion of free products); Advertising is a knowledge, design, advertising words, layout and so on, all need special people to do. Change is absolute, accept change, adapt to change!

The Apple App Store has been changing, and here we can review the major changes of the past few years and make it more understandable that "change is absolute":

previously appeared in new after the product was updated, and later because many products used this rule to update the product in order to appear in new, change to update does not appear in new. But these are causing a bad effect, is a product, in addition to the opportunity to appear on the line, then it is very difficult to have the opportunity to occur; previously applied names, categories can be modified, is now dead; allow the built-in charging points for free products; the iphone App Store Before the original recommendation page, more than a category page, resulting in a significant reduction in the recommended effect, and the recommended products are basically weekly down, resulting in only New and noteworthy effect; the computer on the Apple App Store revision, added a lot of recommended location, but the effect is not very good, Note that most users are still on the phone to buy directly; July 2010 launched the iad;2010 year September launched Game Center, now the game application if not set connection Game Center is unthinkable. 2011 launched ICloud.

As you can see, every time the Apple App Store rules change, product operations must change accordingly. At the same time, we can actively take advantage of these changes when we passively accept these changes. Tracking and using Apple's latest technology, for example, is a good way to get recommendations from Apple's App store, but preferably within 1-2 weeks of the launch of new technology.

iterative update, patching up, feedback user

Iterative development is an important means to continuously improve the product and maintain the development of users, and after each version update, screenshots and instructions should also keep pace with the times. Let the user see your progress and ascension. Like "Angry Birds" this product, although it was developed two years ago, but in these two years, they constantly update content, increase the difficulty, so today we see the "Angry Birds" is actually a new product.

On how to grasp the time interval of iterative development, depending on their specific circumstances, mainly to absorb the views of users, add new features, modify the comprehensive selection of the BUG decision. If you encounter a very serious BUG, of course, the sooner you fix it, the better.

Under normal circumstances, iterative upgrades are not too dense (e.g. once a week), will cause user aversion, but also do not interval too long (such as not updated once a year), users will feel that the developers themselves do not value their products, the user's views and suggestions are not effective timely repair.

the best model is that products speak for themselves, but the role of product operations is increasingly important

Product is the first, is the most important, only your product is good enough to have a relatively large audience, if you can do the ultimate, this product can speak, such as release a free version, so that users feel really good, then it can really rush to a high position. For example, Ifingter 1945, in 2008, is the first in the free rankings, the second in the charge ranking.

Spend money to promote, can let the product rush high, but whether can be long, depends on the quality of the product. The combination of free charges, the need to pay attention to the grasp, if the content of the charge is not high, it will result in a low yield, not to achieve the desired effect.

We also see that as competition intensifies, the importance of product operations is rising. In such a competitive market, operations have risen to be one of the key factors in the success of the product.

IFANR: Finally, please give some advice to the application developer who is ready to start a business.

Loud: First, for the friends who want to start a business, my suggestion is, it is best to do a product online try, experience the whole process. Decide whether to resign and concentrate on starting a business. There's a lot of good night-fame entrepreneurial stories, but competition at Apple's App Store is not easy, and entrepreneurship is not just about enthusiasm.

Second, pay attention to user feedback, timely reply to the summary. The user's views vary widely, and developers can look at the problem from the user's point of view, but know that they are not real users. The user's suggestions and opinions often open new ideas or problems that have not been realized in the past.

Third, many mobile application development teams are confused about development platform choices. My suggestion is that if not a large company can launch multiple platform development at the same time, the general small team is best to do a good job in the development of a platform, and then transplant the successful experience to another platform. Of course, today's porting platform technology will also make the transplant faster.

Good luck to all of you!

Source: http://www.ifanr.com/49360