[Journey] Building an iOS & Android App Empire

[olivier]

Good luck.
I did some research and read some feedback on some apps on play store.
What do you think about going into app niche that has only 30 apps on playstore for the specific keyword?

I mean, for specific keyword (pair) there is just 30 apps on Play store.
If we take it roughly: 30 persons.

How you look into this as competion?
Is it worth getting into this?

I got my attention to one app there. It has 100k+ downloads.

Many people ask for specific (same) features, but developer keeps saying im sorry, it will be soon developed etc..
He hasnt done much. And his english is bad.
But he wants some money from this app, thats even crashing and loosing data.

Did I found a good niche?

I would make it better and implement all the features users asked. I guess the basic version should be made first. And then improve it / update often.
The app itself isn't difficult at all, even the GUI.

How I should go with this. Make the 1 app and publish it and see how it goes and only then start making second app etc?
Its really interesting to see if my app even gets any attention and downloads.

How you would go with it?

 

[nakamura]

Good luck.
I did some research and read some feedback on some apps on play store.
What do you think about going into app niche that has only 30 apps on playstore for the specific keyword?

I mean, for specific keyword (pair) there is just 30 apps on Play store.
If we take it roughly: 30 persons.

How you look into this as competion?
Is it worth getting into this?

I got my attention to one app there. It has 100k+ downloads.

Many people ask for specific (same) features, but developer keeps saying im sorry, it will be soon developed etc..
He hasnt done much. And his english is bad.
But he wants some money from this app, thats even crashing and loosing data.

Did I found a good niche?

I would make it better and implement all the features users asked. I guess the basic version should be made first. And then improve it / update often.
The app itself isn't difficult at all, even the GUI.

How I should go with this. Make the 1 app and publish it and see how it goes and only then start making second app etc?
Its really interesting to see if my app even gets any attention and downloads.

How you would go with it?

Depends on the niche itself and the potential.
Just do it and get started, don't overthink.
First I would gather as much as information about the niche as possible, etc.

 

[vin42]

Hey @nakamura how do you hide the api key in apps that use it in AI based apps. I've heard that api shouldn't be placed in any end product and many api's have got stolen.

 

[nakamura]

Hey @nakamura how do you hide the api key in apps that use it in AI based apps. I've heard that api shouldn't be placed in any end product and many api's have got stolen.

Through Firebase/Firestore or also Supabase

 

[nakamura]

Update:

I added countless features to my iOS app and really made it look professional. Basically, I reverse-engineered an app that makes more than $100k per month (only with the help of ChatGPT, didn't spend a single $ on devs).

Heavily optimized it towards revenue. This means, added paywalls, special offers, free trials, and so on. The paywall looks like an expert UI/UX designer made it. Redesigned the screenshots, and translated the screenshots into several different languages. Optimized ASO (title, keywords, subtitle).

This app is in a medium/competitive market. Currently getting around 30-40 organic downloads per day.

Before I optimized all this, I already bought app installs through Apple Search Ads and the conversion rate was pretty decent. Now it should be at least 2x.

But lets see. Still testing some stuff and will finally upload the update probably tonight or tomorrow.

 

[vin42]

Update:

I added countless features to my iOS app and really made it look professional. Basically, I reverse-engineered an app that makes more than $100k per month (only with the help of ChatGPT, didn't spend a single $ on devs).

Heavily optimized it towards revenue. This means, added paywalls, special offers, free trials, and so on. The paywall looks like an expert UI/UX designer made it. Redesigned the screenshots, and translated the screenshots into several different languages. Optimized ASO (title, keywords, subtitle).

This app is in a medium/competitive market. Currently getting around 30-40 organic downloads per day.

Before I optimized all this, I already bought app installs through Apple Search Ads and the conversion rate was pretty decent. Now it should be at least 2x.

But lets see. Still testing some stuff and will finally upload the update probably tonight or tomorrow.

Is it based on the use of the current AI tech such as image manipulation/chatgpt, etc?

 

[nakamura]

Is it based on the use of the current AI tech such as image manipulation/chatgpt, etc?

Yes. That's all I say regarding the niche. I just uploaded the new big update.

I will reskin this app now and target absolute low-difficulty keywords... let's see how many organic downloads it is going to get. These days I tried a new tool for keyword research. Let's see.

 

[vin42]

Yes. That's all I say regarding the niche. I just uploaded the new big update.

I will reskin this app now and target absolute low-difficulty keywords... let's see how many organic downloads it is going to get. These days I tried a new tool for keyword research. Let's see.

ok....since I am just starting out, which is the cheapest inference service around....I am thinking about huggingface spaces as it has a free tier using cpu and later will use gpu as gpus are very expensive....replicate, gcloud, amazon are also very complex to implement and are quite expensive.
Also I am thinking of using low code services like builder.ai for creating applications.

 

[nakamura]

ok....since I am just starting out, which is the cheapest inference service around....I am thinking about huggingface spaces as it has a free tier using cpu and later will use gpu as gpus are very expensive....replicate, gcloud, amazon are also very complex to implement and are quite expensive.
Also I am thinking of using low code services like builder.ai for creating applications.

Replicate is good and also Dalle 2 (OpenAI). Costs of your own server will be extremely high.

But also some kind advice: This has become a competitive niche. You better optimize your app in the best possible way. As I said, I just optimized my app for revenue, literally squeezing the orange. I have three different paywalls. 7 different IAPs. I am very excited to see how it will perform.

 

[vin42]

Replicate is good and also Dalle 2 (OpenAI). Costs of your own server will be extremely high.

But also some kind advice: This has become a competitive niche. You better optimize your app in the best possible way. As I said, I just optimized my app for revenue, literally squeezing the orange. I have three different paywalls. 7 different IAPs. I am very excited to see how it will perform.

Can you explain how iap works...do we add weekly, monthly subscription or do we add something like buy credits. Since if users buy weekly/monthly subs then they will get unlimited runs. I don't want to offer unlimited runs as don't have server resources....I want to limit it to a certain number of credits, is that possible?

 

[nakamura]

Can you explain how iap works...do we add weekly, monthly subscription or do we add something like buy credits. Since if users buy weekly/monthly subs then they will get unlimited runs. I don't want to offer unlimited runs as don't have server resources....I want to limit it to a certain number of credits, is that possible?

This really depends on your app, niche, and functionality. Sure, you can add a number of credits. In fact, I did the same. But I also offer unlimited runs.

Here is the thing: Even if people have a weekly subscription for let's say $5 per week, they won't generate thousands of images. Most users generate less than 50 images. These are like normal users, who do not care if they spend $5 to test a product.

 

[nakamura]

Update:

The new update for one of my apps is online since last night and so far three person purchased subscriptions. I am excited to see how it goes but need more data/users to see the conversion rate.

The IAPs are like this:

Weekly sub - $4.99
Monthly sub - $12.99
Annual sub - $29.99 + 3 Days Free Trial

And then I have a Lifetime subscription, which shows up after three days the users have opened the app, offering a lifetime purchase for $24.99. Of course, premium users who subscribed won't see this special offer.

Additionally, I offer different credit packages starting from $1.99 to $9.99.

And addition to this I have integrated Rewarded Ads and Interstitial Ads.

What's also important: I track everything in this app. I track every click, every screen they visit.

Also, I was very careful with the wording. The wording is extremely important. For example, on a Paywall screen, don't use the word "Skip" if they want to continue without buying. Instead, use something like "Continue without premium benefits" or "Continue with limited access". Also, I avoid words like "Purchase" or "Buy". Instead I write "Start Subscription Plan" or "Start Free Trial". Everything to get a higher CR.

Soon I will publish another update and change the title of the app, pushing the people to rate the app more often, etc. From the revenue optimization perspective, I did well I think.

In total, I made this app more aggressive toward generating revenue. Normally I don't wanna be this guy, but I am just interested to see how it converts.

 

[olivier]

Is the app business your primary income or you do it as "hobby" after your main job?

 

[nakamura]

Is the app business your primary income or you do it as "hobby" after your main job?

I have a lot of income streams and the app business makes around 30% of it. I also do SEO (CPA, affiliate, and e-commerce). The thing with SEO is, it takes time. Ranking a website takes a couple of months. So I usually make websites (once in a while publish new content, build backlinks a couple of times) and in the meantime I am developing apps.

For the app business, I can see the potential and it is actually really easy to make money, but only if you are operating on a professional and high standard level. By this I mean: Your apps should fulfill a purpose, clean and neat UI, good UX, and most importantly: Should be monetized in a smart way. There are apps out there that have been published a few months ago and they are making 6 figures per month.

 

[olivier]

Are these 6 figure apps old reskinned ones or fresh ideas?
Have you checked them?

 

[nakamura]

Are these 6 figure apps old reskinned ones or fresh ideas?
Have you checked them?

Fresh.

 

[NamelessRenegade]

Following you. FAN now is quite hard for blackhat apps and 4.1 policy rejection and Admob limit so it's hard to work normally as we used to do

hello sir what you mean by blackhat apps?
I am new to this field and want to make some money
Can you please tell me what it means? and what are the alternatives bcz I also got admob limit since september 2022 and now using unity ads

 

[nakamura]

hello sir what you mean by blackhat apps?
I am new to this field and want to make some money
Can you please tell me what it means? and what are the alternatives bcz I also got admob limit since september 2022 and now using unity ads

Apps that are against the developer policies, using trademarked words, etc.

 

[NamelessRenegade]

Apps that are against the developer policies, using trademarked words, etc.

ok got it btw I bought your book using that 70$ off coupon very excited to read it
Thank you for making such a book
It really inspire other new developers like me
I am new to this thread is there any rules bcz I have to ask lots of questions
Am I allow to do that here?

 

[NamelessRenegade]

For Making good money should you go with apps or games
As I am a game developer since 2017 and worked for a local company now doing freelancing but want to make money with publishing apps
can you recommend something