For those who think that app success is reserved for software giants or technical geniuses, think again. The truth is that creating a successful app is not rocket science
Principle #1: Make Apps People Want
The best apps give us more of what makes us happy or less of what doesn’t. These are the apps we tell our friends about. So instead of thinking about features, think about the benefits.
- Success is inversely proportional to the size of the market you target: To discover what your audience wants more of, you have to start small. This keeps your features and designs focused and not watered down by trying to please too many people.
- Constantly entertain us: Whether it’s a calculator or a game, it has to entertain. Give your app a personality which shifts it from being a piece of software into a friend that connects with our human qualities and emotional values. People will be more inclined to share it and more forgiving when it doesn’t work.
- Strategise a world of social interaction: Let your fans market your app for you — engage your audience by creating competitions, rewards for sharing, and incentives to keep coming back.
Principle #2: Make It Easy Peasy
Your app must be so easy to use that anyone can grasp it in less than 15 seconds. Your design can rival a Monet but if it’s confusing or burdensome, people won’t get it.
- Start with pencil and paper: If you can draw basic shapes, arrows, and stick figures, you’re set. Pencil and paper give you artistic freedom design software could never deliver because we get lost in colours and fonts, wasting hours and leading us in the wrong direction.
- Test your designs on real people: Not everyone thinks the same way, test every iteration.
- Make a fantastic first impression: To make that first impression count, you need to understand what makes an app icon notable and the app name memorable – so we can remember it and tell our friends.
Principle #3: Market Your App First
Most app developers don’t start thinking about marketing until the app is developed. As soon as you have a good notion about your app idea, start telling people and build your audience.
- You are a story teller: Don’t just think of yourself as just an app creator; you’re also a storyteller. We all want a good story, so give us one.
- Get to know bloggers & journalists: Post considerate comments on their pages, reply to tweets and slowly get to know them. When you’re ready to launch, compose a personal message so they will actually read it, appreciate it and most importantly, want to talk about your app.
- Share everything: Finally, make your audience come to you because they want to hear what you have to say. Write for other blogs, create videos, write a book, get up and present.
Carla White is author of Idea to iPhone: The essential guide to creating your first app for the iPhone and iPad read our review of the book here.
