sdernley

I did a few quick searches and it seemed to narrow down what I would want pretty well. Good job.

2 things I noticed though:

- If I do a new search for something I've already searched for, it doesn't work, nothing happens (console says 500 error). - You have an about section that is empty, not sure if you meant to remove it.

I'd do another site if it were me for American sports and leave the football as it is since it's doing so well.

Is this something you could fairly easily transfer to other sports? Seems like adding something like basketball or American football could help increase revenue and attract a new market.

Might be easier said that done but wanted to mention in case it was something you hadn't thought of.

Agree with this. At the very least i'd say you need a 'How it works' or something similar on the landing page and to drop the Gmail email as your contact email.

I don't do this as much as I should, but one thing I did that helped a bit was have a wesbite for the app so if people are searching Google they can find out about the app. It doesn't make huge differences in my case, but it has certainly helped add another entry point for people.

I think this is good advice.

Potentially it's possible to monetize it and use it as a playground too though. I've tried both and I think you learn different things from each, both very useful though.

Congratulations on the success of the app!

When i've been in similar situations i've tried to look forward and not back. By that I mean, if it's getting a lot of downloads then let the people who have already downloaded it have it, don't change their experience by adding adverts in or damaging parts of the experience. Charge for new people to get the app. Saying that, I've never had it with as many people already downloaded the app, but i'd like to think i'd still do the same thing.

I have an app that I originally charged for and it got very little downloads, I made it free for a while and didn't pay much attention to the downloads, went back to it at a later time and noticed it had a lot of downloads so I started charging for it just to see what would happen, I expected to make it free again within a week due to no downloads. Downloads obviously dropped a bit, but still kept a pretty consistent level and have done ever since. I make a point of always improving the app though, so maybe that helps too but I just think it comes down to timing and having those previous downloads could help, it seemed to help me.

I'm not sure if you can turn a free Android app into a paid one though, I don't think you used to be able to, so that might all be pointless and you'd have to make a new id for it, but you've proved people definitely want it.

Whatever you do, good luck. I'm sure having a high downloaded app will help you at some point even if you don't manage to do as much as you want with this one. I hope you do.

In my experience, once you get something out there and see even a small number of people enjoying it, it's pretty hard not to be motivated by it!

It's a utility app. I think that if you build something people will get some use out of, and make it look (and be) easy to use then you should get a fairly recurring revenue. A lot of the smaller apps look bad, so i just tried to make mine look a little more like something i'd want to use.

I think it depends on store positioning too, once i got into the top charts for my section then I got more downloads (or maybe i got there because i got more downloads, i guess it's a rolling ball effect).

I plan to do some more utility ones soon, and i'm working on a bit of a bigger one (health based) now that will hopefully provide more value to people.

I'd be happy to tell you more about it and what i did if you want. My email is in my profile.

I have a small iPhone app that generates around 200 a month. Nothing spectacular but not bad for a bit extra.

Also looking forward to seeing it. Interesting and great area to be trying to break in to. Good luck!

I'd definitely be interested in reading a blog post on that. Good work with the release!

Personally, i'd go with Objective C but it doesn't hurt to know both! In the end though, it won't make much difference at this stage, just get your head around the platform with whatever you feel more comfortable with when you take a look. There's more resources for learning Objective C right now. Good luck with whatever you choose.

No problem. Good luck. I'm going to sign up at some point soon and will keep my eye on it.

It's hard to tell with only 20 downloads. Some people will just download it and not use it, it just happens sometimes. Is it a free app or paid for? If it's free then this will happen more often. I'd suggest finding out where they stop, is there a signup screen that stops them or is it something to do with the setup? I imagine you don't have any information for them if no one has started playing it, but if you do, contact them and ask why they stopped. Be friendly to them about it, people will help you out.

Good luck. It's hard, but it can be a rolling ball, getting a few people playing can help things take off slowly.

Agree with allowing browsing before signing up. Looks great though. Well done and good luck!

If you can, do both. If it's just to learn though, i'd do whatever has the lowest barrier to entry for you. Which phone do you have yourself? Make it for that. Good luck!

Definitely worth doing. I've noticed in some of my apps where i haven't had this as an option that people really drop off after downloading, but if people have the option to play without signing up they usually at least give it a try.

Congratulations on making something from start to finish. Hopefully it's the first of many. Since you're rewriting it anyway, i'd consider moving away from Access if I were you.

This is a great idea, i'd more interested reading about someones experience with a similar budget to me that something that might have more (or less) limits that i'll have. In a similar way, mentioning if the trip is an active trip, or a relaxed one might help (if you don't already do that).

Looks really good. I might be missing it, but i think it would be a good idea to have a filter (or search) for region on the main page. I might not be interested in travel in general, but interesting in visiting a particular region so only want to see stories from that area. Just an idea, but i think it will help you lose less people if they land on the site looking for something more specific.

Hope it works out for you!

I have an app that floats around the top 200 in the travel section but it doesn't really bring in much (i'm only using iAD and not charging for the app). I guess the travel section is probably a little easier to crack than some sections though.

Perhaps. I think Parse has done well under Facebook. I hope Flurry does under Yahoo too.

It's implied at first glance that it's for testing your password though.

Most people wouldn't even know the mistake they've made and are probably sending the results link on too.

Sky guide looks great. Hadn't heard of it before but can't wait to download and give it a try tonight. Anyone else using it?

It's tough, but eventually it should pay off and once it does then you should be able to focus your efforts on stopping it happening in the first place.

I've always found it's a good idea to keep in touch from the start at an early stage (not too much though, don't make them regret they signed up in the first place). You won't always get a reply but people will be more open to your emails when it's less out of the blue. Try to make them relevant to the stage they're at though (just signed up, just started using stuff properly). You could probably automate some of the earlier parts too. I find people are usually pretty happy to help when they think they're making a difference.

Hope it works out for you!

Have you spoke to those users that stopped using the site. Seems like they're you're biggest chance to find what's wrong. You can get as many users as you want, but if you can't keep hold of them then you'll still have problems.

Find out why they started, then find out why they stopped. Maybe it wasn't right for them in the first place, in which case you can focus on the people it is right for. Maybe there's something they thought it had which it doesn't, it might be worth adding that in if it's consistent for everyone. Good luck!

It's been mentioned several times but I think the main thing is telling what problem you're solving, as early as possible.

Also, your sign in looks like a modal, but it isn't. Confused me a little bit when i wanted to go back and almost made me stop completely. Probably just me, but might be worth a look.

Try asking the people that love the concept what they think of your sales site. Maybe you explained something to them which caught their attention that you're not saying on the site.