[Journey] Building an iOS & Android App Empire

[TheEnginner]

Good job. May I know, how much are you spending on ads per day ? What are your main countries ? How much average is your CPI ?

 

[nakamura]

Good job. May I know, how much are you spending on ads per day ? What are your main countries ? How much average is your CPI ?

It really depends. I keep testing different ads, countries and so on. My ads spending is really low $10-20 just for testing purposes. I will start spending the big money once I am sure the app will bring the highest possible ROI. Average CPI also depends on the ad network (as I wrote Facebook is quite shit) and the country. Mostly I target Tier 1 countries. Sometimes I run campaigns that target worldwide traffic, but the ROI is extremely low for Tier 3 countries. Almost none of them is purchasing IAPs.

Got thousands of downloads from Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. and maybe just 2-3 out of 1000 are purchasing anything. From countries like Germany, USA, France, Japan it is like 10 people out of 100.

But once I get more data, I will go through all of this and find out which country: has the best conversion rate, I pay the lowest CPI, brings me the best ROI, etc.

 

[TheStrongest]

You growing man..
How do you come up with ideas/niches for your app?

 

[AllOutAnime]

Interesting journey.
I did not read all the pages so I am sorry if I missed it but did you consider putting code into your Apps that bring you revenue not necessarily by app clicks?
For example the oxylabs library or something like that.

 

[nakamura]

You growing man..
How do you come up with ideas/niches for your app?

Mostly I just follow trends or I also check what games/apps come new into the App Store.

Interesting journey.
I did not read all the pages so I am sorry if I missed it but did you consider putting code into your Apps that bring you revenue not necessarily by app clicks?
For example the oxylabs library or something like that.

What do you mean? I get revenue from Ads and from IAP. I don't use Oxylabs

 

[nakamura]

Update:

I have been quite busy the past two weeks (focused on SEO and some of my websites/blogs) but still managed to reskin one of my iOS apps (not a template, an app that I fully made by myself).

This one app brought me $230 in the past 7 days. All organic traffic (470 downloads). iOS is giving new apps a download boost with organic traffic in the first few days of the release. Also, keep in mind: This app has 0 REVIEWS. This people literally spent money on an app which has 0 reviews, which i personally wouldn't do ever, because I don't really know what I get myself into.

Here is how it looks like:



ARPU (average revenue per user) is around $0.50 per user. This is all from organic traffic.

Here are some more detailed stats:



Of course, the data is still way too less to make a conclusion. Btw. this app has no free trials. Only paid subscriptions and purchases. The most expensive and most popular IAP is a $30 lifetime purchase (exact amount varies for each country/region)

So whats next?

Luckily, I can target some subniches with this app and simply reskin it for different subniches. Also, I want to improve it and add new features. I wrote a whole list of things I want to add.

The goal? To increase the ARPU, so I can successfully run app install campaigns.

btw. before you ask: dashboard of the screenshots is from Appsflyer

 

[nakamura]

Currently I am working on extensively improving my apps. Right now, these apps are bringing me around $100-150 daily in IAP, even tho I am not even ranking for the best keywords.

I think if you guys wanna start out, it is the best to focus on IAP as main income source and just use Ads as a secondary monetization strategy. For example, you can just add a premium version which will remove ads (and of course other main features). It is also the best tactic to monetize Tier 3 countries. If you get a lot of traffic from Tier 3 countries, the eCPM for ads is so low. Just one IAP purchase of $5 (or the higher the better) is worth hundreds of Tier 3 users who are watching ads.

After I updated my app to the best possible version, I want to sell it on Flippa. I am sure I can sell it for 5 figures.

 

[TheStrongest]

For your IAP, do you use like a subscription payment model or a one time payment?

 

[X0t0]

what made you give up on google play and just move to IOS.
i have like more than 30 accouts with Google play good earning but more stress recenntly with opening more account.
i have one app with IOS i can see the difference like a 300 install dailly in Android give me same earninng like a 5 10 install per day app in IOS .
so i'm thinking to move to IOS.
also how you handle multiple account in IOS with one macbook ?

also what platform is this , if you mind sharing :

Here is how it looks like:

 

[DeFiNFT1]

can you give advice for reskinning and decompiling apks

 

[pavxo]

what made you give up on google play and just move to IOS.
i have like more than 30 accouts with Google play good earning but more stress recenntly with opening more account.
i have one app with IOS i can see the difference like a 300 install dailly in Android give me same earninng like a 5 10 install per day app in IOS .
so i'm thinking to move to IOS.
also how you handle multiple account in IOS with one macbook ?

also what platform is this , if you mind sharing :

think you may have answered your own question there

normally iOS users have more money if they can afford apple products especially in tier 2 and tier 3

 

[nakamura]

For your IAP, do you use like a subscription payment model or a one time payment?

Both. I offer the chance of a lifetime purchase and also a weekly and monthly subscription. From my experience, weekly subscriptions can earn you a lot of money. I have users who spent more than $60 already just for a weekly subscription...many people just forget about it. But so far the lifetime purchase earns the most money in total.

what made you give up on google play and just move to IOS.
i have like more than 30 accouts with Google play good earning but more stress recenntly with opening more account.
i have one app with IOS i can see the difference like a 300 install dailly in Android give me same earninng like a 5 10 install per day app in IOS .
so i'm thinking to move to IOS.
also how you handle multiple account in IOS with one macbook ?

also what platform is this , if you mind sharing :

Because Google randomly banks accounts and apps. Apple never does. It is definitely easier and cheaper to get Android installs (because they have more users in total) but it can be quite risky.Yes, I handle two accounts. My own personal account and my company account. The platform is Appsflyer.

think you may have answered your own question there

normally iOS users have more money if they can afford apple products especially in tier 2 and tier 3

Yes, exactly. But the Conversion rate in Tier 3 countries is also extremely low. For example, I didn't make a single sale from India. Conversion rate is 0. While in Netherlands, Germany, USA and France, the conversion rate is between 10-20%.

 

[nakamura]

Update:

Of course, I continue to make apps. In the last 7 days, I improved two of my apps by adding many different features. The goal? To increase the ARPU / Conversion rate. Now I am working on 5 other iOS apps.

Here is a screenshot from RevenueCat of last month (October). It is only IAP:



These days I focus more on iOS apps and IAP. I think it's by far the easiest way to make money through apps. The best: You do not need to worry about getting randomly banned by Google Play or Google AdMob.

And this is how it should be normally, right? I am just focusing on scaling and improving the app. Not wasting time on bullshit. Imagine spending weeks building an app, doing marketing, and spending money on ads, just to get the app removed for a bullshit reason. Or even worse: To get all the revenue stolen by AdMob. This won't happen with Apple.

 

[ezeqGuadeP37]

Best Of Luck On Your Journey

 

[BigPollock]

Good luck on your journey , happy to see you are updating it constantly , will be following !

 

[sisusisu]

It would be very helpful if you could mind sharing the following that are currently active
1) How many iOS accounts :
2) How many Android accounts :
3) Total how many iOS apps :
4) Total how many Android apps :

 

[coubobs]

My plan is to make apps for Android and iOS in different niches. Later on I will give it a try with mobile games. I want to provide the users with the best possible quality, also in order to get a high retention. I am not going to make easy apps like Wallpaper downloads or something, but something more useful and meaningful.

My main motivation is NOT money. It is to build something sustainable. However, there is A LOT of money to make in the mobile/mobile gaming industry, it is not a secret. Some guys would say it is saturated, but I don't believe so. I just have to be better than the competition. I am willing to go this extra mile.

About me making apps so far:

I started from scratch on February 2020. I had no coding skills and was totally overhelmed with all the knowledge, coding stuff, etc. However, I managed to get the basics and improved step by step. Always learned something new on the way. It was all about getting into this mobile app industry, testing and making experience.

So far I made and monetized around 5 apps so far. I tested the limits, how far I can go until the apps get removed, and also how far I can go with the advertising. There are so many things to consider when making apps. Also, so far I made around $5k or more with apps.

What I got:

- Marketing skills
- iOS and Android developer account
- Ad network accounts
- Knowledge about the market, what I can do and what I shouldn't do (also in regards of Google and their policies)

How will you monetize the apps?

Through ads only so far. I don't plan to implement in-app purchases at this moment.

What ad networks are you going to use?

Admob (has the best eCPM from my experience), Facebook Audience Network/FAN and for some apps Appodeal mediation.

How will you make the apps?

With Swift, Java and for some I will use Flutter.

How will you drive traffic?

Through ads, SEO, social media, in-app ads and ASO

Will you use or do any Blackhat techniques/apps?

No, everything will be whitehat. I found Google has this "zero tolerance" approach on Apps and also on Adsense/Admob. They will directly delete/suspend your account/apps without any chance of reinstating. Basically they don't give a fuck. I don't wanna give them any chance to delete or suspend my account, therefore everything is going to be legit.

Please keep in mind: I don't want to make any apps or my niches public on here. I know many guys (especially in the app business) are copying, using some blackhat techniques or trying to damage/report each other. I want to prevent this from happening.

hi i own several memepages on instagramn with 500k followers in total. ive promoted apps like kingsthrone before and generated over $100.000 in affiliate comissions. adult games work the best for me. are you interested in cooperatring?

 

[nakamura]

Just published another iOS app and working on the next one right now. Once you get in the flow, it is really simple. Especially when using ChatGPT. SwiftUI is actually pretty easy.

The app I am publishing right now is in a quite trendy niche. So I am actually excited to see how uch money it is going to make. Also, whenever a niche is trending, the CPI is quite low, because people are more likely to download the app.

I didn't focus too much on Admob these days. Focusing on IAP is way more effective and also way more reliable.

 

[foshima949]

Just published another iOS app and working on the next one right now. Once you get in the flow, it is really simple. Especially when using ChatGPT. SwiftUI is actually pretty easy.

The app I am publishing right now is in a quite trendy niche. So I am actually excited to see how uch money it is going to make. Also, whenever a niche is trending, the CPI is quite low, because people are more likely to download the app.

I didn't focus too much on Admob these days. Focusing on IAP is way more effective and also way more reliable.

Good Job, keep It. It could be nice if you make a video making 1 app from zero step by step to the first 1000$. #from1to1k #iosapps

 

[TheStrongest]

Just published another iOS app and working on the next one right now. Once you get in the flow, it is really simple. Especially when using ChatGPT. SwiftUI is actually pretty easy.

The app I am publishing right now is in a quite trendy niche. So I am actually excited to see how uch money it is going to make. Also, whenever a niche is trending, the CPI is quite low, because people are more likely to download the app.

I didn't focus too much on Admob these days. Focusing on IAP is way more effective and also way more reliable.

It seems like you've abandoned Android app development.