Creation and promotion of Symbian-hit. Part 2 Money
The first part of our story dealt with the development of the Magic Brush - one of the most successful domestic products for sensory Symbian devices. Now we will talk about how to make a high-quality mobile application to make a profit in this ecosystem.
About three years before our acquaintance with Artem, I, like him, started developing applications for Symbian OS. This allowed me to implement my own (and not the employer) ideas, and also earn good money. More and more I was drawn into the process of selling my own software and gradually learned the basics of marketing and promoting mobile applications. I have already described my adventures in this field, so I will not repeat. I note only that the main discovery for me was that in the chain “the beginning of development - the sale of an application to an end user”, the development process itself, including design, takes up a maximum of 10% of the time. The rest of the time is spent on its promotion, which is necessary for the program to be sold and allow it to become self-sufficient.
')
Over time, I became so accustomed to marketing that I decided to start publishing and third-party products. So I met Artem, who by that moment had already finished his Magic Brush.
Magic Brush perfectly complemented our portfolio. At first glance, I liked that the program is very easy to use and allows you to create very interesting drawings without requiring artistic abilities. At the same time, it was the only case in my practice when the application came to me almost ready. Usually, before publishing, I have to carry out substantial work with the developer on changing the functional and UI. A good product should be consumer-oriented, but developers often complicate it because they write “for themselves”. In the case of Magic Brush, it was only necessary to integrate the marketing functionality.
To increase the sales of the application, it was decided to release the program in two versions - Lite (free) and Full (paid). Try & Buy on the Ovi Store is not yet supported. The free option was different because it did not allow to save the picture. This approach provided an opportunity to get acquainted with the product before purchasing the full version, as well as a significant expansion of the audience. As you know, one of the rules of a mobile software developer is that if you cannot sell an application to a user, then let him use it for free. In addition to direct sales to the developer, it is also interesting to increase the audience, which, as you know, is converted into money over time.
The first release was published in most of the leading app stores for Nokia (Ovi Store, MobiHand, Handango, camera apprs, etc.). Unfortunately, the publication took place at a time when the Ovi Store has not yet gained its current sales, but has already significantly reduced them in all other stores. Therefore, we did not achieve significant results immediately, and the first 2-3 months sales were not particularly impressive (at about the level of average sales of a mobile application in the Android Market).
On the other hand, this period coincided with the internal structural changes in Nokia itself: the company acquired local structures to work with developers, including in Moscow. We were quick to take advantage of this by offering Nokia special conditions for selling our content exclusively for the Ovi Store (free full versions for some models, exclusive reduced prices for the Ovi Store, etc.) in exchange for its marketing support.
In the fall of 2010, Nokia conducted enhanced PR campaigns to promote both the Ovi Store and its new Nokia N8 model, and therefore was interested in good content. We offered to give Nokia N8 users a free full version of our Ting product ! exclusively in the Ovi Store, thereby supporting both PR campaigns. In response, Nokia held a local promo Magic Brush in her Store, temporarily placing the application in the “Featured” section. It looked like the screenshot on the left.
The results of local promo were very good. Moreover, a statistical explosion at the local level was noticed by the global structures of the corporation, with the result that we got into the global promo - in the Recommended section and on the premium posting on the store's website:
During the global promotional campaign, downloads of the Lite version soared to the level of 20K per day, which, of course, is far from a record for the Ovi Store, but could provide us with steady sales of the full version, which we already considered significant at that time. In general, it can be said that during global promotions at the Ovi Store, the number of downloads of the free version increases by about an order of magnitude, reaching 30K, as a result of which it quickly falls into the top popular applications, providing a stable flow of 6–6 8K per day. As for paid applications, the promo increases the number of purchases by 5–10 times depending on various circumstances.
Of course, we enjoyed such cooperation. We were lucky to realize very quickly that the promotion of the application in the Nokia store is our task, not Nokia. Therefore, instead of sitting and waiting until Nokia comes to us with a proposal to promote us, as most domestic developers do, we ourselves began to work in this direction, inventing and proposing publishing options for our content that are interesting for Nokia.
Many developers who recently came to the Nokia platform complain that they cannot find the necessary contact in the corporation, and for some reason she does not seek to contact them herself. From the side it looks like a self-justification, hiding its own laziness and ignorance of the ecosystem. Just look at the list of speakers and topics of any Nokia developer event in Russia to find the right contact. All emails are in web-based presentations. All local forums of Russian developers are periodically visited by specialists of the company, at least in order to give advice on programming. In the end, send a message through the feedback form on the site http://developer.nokia.com/ru and get to the address. The world of domestic mobile developers is pretty small.
In addition, hit and hold positions in the tops of the store - not the only way to raise sales. We try to lead other marketing activities that draw attention to both the product and Tarasov Mobile as a company. In particular, thanks to Nokia, we held a contest in Nokia official groups on VKontakte and Facebook :
Its essence is that Magic Brush users could win the Nokia device, displaying their creative abilities. An album with pictures of participants is available here: http://vk.com/album-19391365_127709331 .
In addition, Nokia dedicated the Magic Brush to one of the commercials that are broadcast at Nokia's retail chain in Russia:
Naturally, we were not limited to the mere promotion of the application through Nokia channels. There are several more significant alternative application stores, with each of which we work in the same way - we are trying to interest partners, for example, by providing conditions unique for the site. It is important to understand that when you sell software, then each of the appstores is your partner, who has his own interests, which you can satisfy and have your own.
In addition to working with partners along the way, you have to solve a lot of organizational issues, both related to development and promotion (preparation of schedules, special promotions, seasonal discounts, etc.) and unrelated (support of a legal entity, receiving money, certification etc.). Software sales and promotion have the same attributes as any business. That is why the scheme, when the developer concentrates on the development, and entrusts all the fuss with the promotion to the person who is full-time only doing this, is most effective. Moreover, it is important to understand that this approach is equally effective regardless of the platform. Software promotion methods for different platforms differ only in details, but the essence is the same everywhere.
At the moment, Magic Brush is one of the most popular applications in the Ovi Store and provides a steady income for me and Artem. In good times, the number of sales of the application only in the Ovi Store reaches nearly 4,000 pieces per month. At the moment, the lite version has been downloaded about 1,700,000 times. In general, it can be said that it took about 4–5 months to launch an application and bring it to the top applications, which is a normal term for Symbian applications and is compensated for by the long lifespan of the products.
Our experience shows that you can achieve results if you treat the sale of software as a full-fledged business, and not a hobby - to fully engage in promotion and work with partners. As for Magic Brush specifically, the key role in the success of the product was played by the support of Nokia, which, despite the trolls surrounding it, is a completely reliable partner with whom it is pleasant to deal with.
At the moment, Artyom is working on porting the Magic Brush to other platforms (primarily on WP7), as well as on the integration of new functionality. Tarasov Mobile as a whole is currently following the path of developing multiplatform services aimed at operating not only on the Nokia platform, but also on all the major modern mobile platforms (including iOS, Android and WP7). The main reason why we go to work with several platforms is that at the moment for us the top of marketing activity is getting into the top of the store or to the premium placement in the same place. In the case of support for all other platforms, interesting opportunities for offline promotion of applications open up, which gives more significant results than advances in appstores (a detailed description of this approach can be found here: http://msug.vn.ua/Posts/Details / 4434 ).
Preamble
About three years before our acquaintance with Artem, I, like him, started developing applications for Symbian OS. This allowed me to implement my own (and not the employer) ideas, and also earn good money. More and more I was drawn into the process of selling my own software and gradually learned the basics of marketing and promoting mobile applications. I have already described my adventures in this field, so I will not repeat. I note only that the main discovery for me was that in the chain “the beginning of development - the sale of an application to an end user”, the development process itself, including design, takes up a maximum of 10% of the time. The rest of the time is spent on its promotion, which is necessary for the program to be sold and allow it to become self-sufficient.
')
Over time, I became so accustomed to marketing that I decided to start publishing and third-party products. So I met Artem, who by that moment had already finished his Magic Brush.Magic Brush perfectly complemented our portfolio. At first glance, I liked that the program is very easy to use and allows you to create very interesting drawings without requiring artistic abilities. At the same time, it was the only case in my practice when the application came to me almost ready. Usually, before publishing, I have to carry out substantial work with the developer on changing the functional and UI. A good product should be consumer-oriented, but developers often complicate it because they write “for themselves”. In the case of Magic Brush, it was only necessary to integrate the marketing functionality.
The first steps
To increase the sales of the application, it was decided to release the program in two versions - Lite (free) and Full (paid). Try & Buy on the Ovi Store is not yet supported. The free option was different because it did not allow to save the picture. This approach provided an opportunity to get acquainted with the product before purchasing the full version, as well as a significant expansion of the audience. As you know, one of the rules of a mobile software developer is that if you cannot sell an application to a user, then let him use it for free. In addition to direct sales to the developer, it is also interesting to increase the audience, which, as you know, is converted into money over time.
The first release was published in most of the leading app stores for Nokia (Ovi Store, MobiHand, Handango, camera apprs, etc.). Unfortunately, the publication took place at a time when the Ovi Store has not yet gained its current sales, but has already significantly reduced them in all other stores. Therefore, we did not achieve significant results immediately, and the first 2-3 months sales were not particularly impressive (at about the level of average sales of a mobile application in the Android Market).
On the other hand, this period coincided with the internal structural changes in Nokia itself: the company acquired local structures to work with developers, including in Moscow. We were quick to take advantage of this by offering Nokia special conditions for selling our content exclusively for the Ovi Store (free full versions for some models, exclusive reduced prices for the Ovi Store, etc.) in exchange for its marketing support.
First successes: experience with the monster
In the fall of 2010, Nokia conducted enhanced PR campaigns to promote both the Ovi Store and its new Nokia N8 model, and therefore was interested in good content. We offered to give Nokia N8 users a free full version of our Ting product ! exclusively in the Ovi Store, thereby supporting both PR campaigns. In response, Nokia held a local promo Magic Brush in her Store, temporarily placing the application in the “Featured” section. It looked like the screenshot on the left.The results of local promo were very good. Moreover, a statistical explosion at the local level was noticed by the global structures of the corporation, with the result that we got into the global promo - in the Recommended section and on the premium posting on the store's website:
During the global promotional campaign, downloads of the Lite version soared to the level of 20K per day, which, of course, is far from a record for the Ovi Store, but could provide us with steady sales of the full version, which we already considered significant at that time. In general, it can be said that during global promotions at the Ovi Store, the number of downloads of the free version increases by about an order of magnitude, reaching 30K, as a result of which it quickly falls into the top popular applications, providing a stable flow of 6–6 8K per day. As for paid applications, the promo increases the number of purchases by 5–10 times depending on various circumstances.
Of course, we enjoyed such cooperation. We were lucky to realize very quickly that the promotion of the application in the Nokia store is our task, not Nokia. Therefore, instead of sitting and waiting until Nokia comes to us with a proposal to promote us, as most domestic developers do, we ourselves began to work in this direction, inventing and proposing publishing options for our content that are interesting for Nokia.
Many developers who recently came to the Nokia platform complain that they cannot find the necessary contact in the corporation, and for some reason she does not seek to contact them herself. From the side it looks like a self-justification, hiding its own laziness and ignorance of the ecosystem. Just look at the list of speakers and topics of any Nokia developer event in Russia to find the right contact. All emails are in web-based presentations. All local forums of Russian developers are periodically visited by specialists of the company, at least in order to give advice on programming. In the end, send a message through the feedback form on the site http://developer.nokia.com/ru and get to the address. The world of domestic mobile developers is pretty small.
In addition, hit and hold positions in the tops of the store - not the only way to raise sales. We try to lead other marketing activities that draw attention to both the product and Tarasov Mobile as a company. In particular, thanks to Nokia, we held a contest in Nokia official groups on VKontakte and Facebook :
Its essence is that Magic Brush users could win the Nokia device, displaying their creative abilities. An album with pictures of participants is available here: http://vk.com/album-19391365_127709331 .
In addition, Nokia dedicated the Magic Brush to one of the commercials that are broadcast at Nokia's retail chain in Russia:
Squeezing the maximum out of the market
Naturally, we were not limited to the mere promotion of the application through Nokia channels. There are several more significant alternative application stores, with each of which we work in the same way - we are trying to interest partners, for example, by providing conditions unique for the site. It is important to understand that when you sell software, then each of the appstores is your partner, who has his own interests, which you can satisfy and have your own.
In addition to working with partners along the way, you have to solve a lot of organizational issues, both related to development and promotion (preparation of schedules, special promotions, seasonal discounts, etc.) and unrelated (support of a legal entity, receiving money, certification etc.). Software sales and promotion have the same attributes as any business. That is why the scheme, when the developer concentrates on the development, and entrusts all the fuss with the promotion to the person who is full-time only doing this, is most effective. Moreover, it is important to understand that this approach is equally effective regardless of the platform. Software promotion methods for different platforms differ only in details, but the essence is the same everywhere.
results
At the moment, Magic Brush is one of the most popular applications in the Ovi Store and provides a steady income for me and Artem. In good times, the number of sales of the application only in the Ovi Store reaches nearly 4,000 pieces per month. At the moment, the lite version has been downloaded about 1,700,000 times. In general, it can be said that it took about 4–5 months to launch an application and bring it to the top applications, which is a normal term for Symbian applications and is compensated for by the long lifespan of the products.Conclusions and future plans
Our experience shows that you can achieve results if you treat the sale of software as a full-fledged business, and not a hobby - to fully engage in promotion and work with partners. As for Magic Brush specifically, the key role in the success of the product was played by the support of Nokia, which, despite the trolls surrounding it, is a completely reliable partner with whom it is pleasant to deal with.
At the moment, Artyom is working on porting the Magic Brush to other platforms (primarily on WP7), as well as on the integration of new functionality. Tarasov Mobile as a whole is currently following the path of developing multiplatform services aimed at operating not only on the Nokia platform, but also on all the major modern mobile platforms (including iOS, Android and WP7). The main reason why we go to work with several platforms is that at the moment for us the top of marketing activity is getting into the top of the store or to the premium placement in the same place. In the case of support for all other platforms, interesting opportunities for offline promotion of applications open up, which gives more significant results than advances in appstores (a detailed description of this approach can be found here: http://msug.vn.ua/Posts/Details / 4434 ).
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/127268/
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