<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"App appeal is obvious. The barrier to entry? So low! The upshot of producing the next Angry Birds or beer-chug simulator? So high! Heck, with just a small investment of time and cash, it\u2019s not hard for would-be mobile moguls to turn a concept into a steady stream of cash. And thanks to today's app stores, it\u2019s never been easier to try your hand at becoming the next tech tycoon.\nHere\u2019s (almost) everything you need to know before you get started on your own app \u2014 and what I wish I knew before I got into the game. \n1. What Does It Cost to Make an App?\n\u2028If you\u2019re new to the app game, prepare for some sticker shock. Making an app will cost you, at the very minimum, around $10,000. This is for a super-simple program \u2014 none of that fancy enterprise or social networking jibber-jabber. Even still, any app worth its weight in code will likely cost you closer to $20,000. \u2028Unless you have some basic design skills, you\u2019ll need to enlist the help of both a programmer and a designer. And these guys ain\u2019t cheap \u2014 particularly programmers who, thanks to a pronounced shortage of qualified coders, can pretty much name their prices. (A suggestion for those low on funds: Find some creative way to come up with the cash. I funded my app through Airbnb income.)\nYou can try to offload some of your costs by offering your guys equity; on the other hand, everybody tries to get free (or close to free) apps by offering developers equity. So unless you can really sell them on the strength of your idea (or bring something totally rad to the table, such as a celebrity), you better be prepared to pony up some cash. Of course, adding in some equity as a bonus is never a bad idea, so you\u2019ll probably want to dish out some shares too.\nThis basic supply/demand dynamic also means that many developers ask for some pretty insane terms. Some demand deals that involve a huge upfront payment in exchange for a few weeks (or even just days) of work. And if a decent developer isn\u2019t already working full time, it\u2019s not unreasonable to assume he's at least a little commitment-averse. So, if you\u2019re serious about making something beyond a quickie cash grab, find a developer you are sure will stay with the project for updates, and not abandon it the second it hits the store. \nAnd get it all in writing. If you don\u2019t want to hire a lawyer, find a boilerplate contract online or get one from somebody else who\u2019s gone through the process, and just swap in your names and numbers. \n\u2028If you can, you\u2019ll also want to work with people who are local to you \u2014 or at least with people who are willing to join you for regular Skype chats or Google Hangouts. I had weekly beer summits with my coder and designer, which proved super helpful as we continued to fine-tune our app well into its development.\nOne more unavoidable cost: Apple charges $100 per year to hold onto a developer\u2019s account (which you need to publish your app). So be sure to reserve an extra Benjamin for your budget.\n2. What Should You Charge for Your App?\n\nI would consider starting one's app at or near $1.99. It\u2019s premium price, but it\u2019s also immensely satisfying to get more than a buck per download after Apple takes away its 30%. And, as with most things, it\u2019s a lot easier to lower the price later than it is to raise it. \nDuring the holiday period, we briefly played around with a special promotion that dropped our app price to $0.99. Predictably, this spiked our downloads, but it didn\u2019t actually raise our total revenue. Even on Christmas Day \u2014 the single biggest download day for just about everybody \u2014 our revenue was actually higher a week or so later, once we had raised the price back to $1.99. \n\u2028The obvious exception: If your primary business model involves in-app purchases, ads or the like, you\u2019ll probably want to give your app away for free. After all, a quick glance at Apple\u2019s top grossing charts shows a whole bunch of free apps.\n3. When Will You Get Paid?\nApple sends you cash one month at a time, up to 45 days after the month has ended. So, if your app goes live in January, you can expect your first kickback sometime in early March. Oh, and Apple only pays you if your earned amount totals at least $150, so you may have to wait before getting your first payment. Keep in mind, Apple only pays you through direct deposit.\n4. How Do You Write Your iTunes Description?\nDon\u2019t try to rock the boat here. Take a look at a bunch of hit apps, and crib their formats. If it works for them, it\u2019ll work for you. Typically, this involves a quickie intro statement, press blurbs and a list of your key features. Then add some screenshots (the most interesting ones first) and call it a day. \n5. What's the Best Way to Beta Test?\n\nGetting an unreleased app onto your friends\u2019 iPhones isn\u2019t the easiest thing in the world. My developer and I are in total agreement that the best method is a program called TestFlight, which makes it very easy to send build updates to registered devices, over the air. \n6. What Happens When You Get Featured on iTunes?\nGetting featured on iTunes is obviously awesome, but what exactly does it get you? When Apple included our app on its featured lists, we enjoyed a predictable flow of downloads almost identical in volume every single day we were parked there. Especially fascinating, the \u201CNew &amp; Notable\u201D list gave us almost exactly twice as many daily downloads as the \u201CWhat\u2019s Hot\u201D list. I\u2019m assuming this is because, when you tap the \u201CFeatured\u201D tab on the \u201CApp Store\u201D app, \u201CNew &amp; Notable\u201D pops up by default.\n7. How Do You Get Press?\nAs a longtime tech writer, the main advice I can give you in your pursuit for press is that less is more. If you think a site or publication would be into your app, don\u2019t email the entire staff or the big boss \u2014 just find the writer who covers your category, briefly summarize your app in an email, and attach a download code (Apple gives you 50 for every update). Smaller sites may be more responsive than the big guys, and if you build up enough buzz, you can rest assured that the majors will come knocking. \nIf a journalist doesn\u2019t get back to you, move on. And don\u2019t even touch that phone or personal email address (unless that person is a freelancer) \u2014 writers hate nothing more than phone or personal inbox press pitches. \nConsider also producing an embeddable YouTube or Vimeo ad of some sort. Not only does this provide one more avenue for people to stumble upon your app, but it also gives bloggers something alive and colorful to toss into posts, which could increase the chances that they\u2019ll write about you. Keep it simple, and preferably, well under two minutes. And don\u2019t forget to promote over Twitter, Facebook, etc.\n8. How Do You Avoid the Spam?\nWithin days of hitting the App Store, expect whichever email you linked to your iTunes developer\u2019s account to be pounded with spam. Most try to lure you into ponying over money in exchange for positive reviews, under the guise of \u201Cmobile marketing.\u201D Let\u2019s put it this way: If you don\u2019t regularly buy Viagra pills online, then you probably shouldn\u2019t give cash to these guys. Of course, if you\u2019re smart enough to make an app, you\u2019re smart enough to know this already.\nWhat other tips do you have for app development and promotion? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, svariophoto, Flickr, Andres Rueda"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/02/02/how-to-make-app/>