iOS 20k Budget - Beginning Development For iOS?

[firewood]

You realise that your app idea had better be totally revolutionary?

Noone has said it in this thread, but it is very rare that an independent
developer makes the kind of money out of an app that would return on $20,000.

A developer doesn't need to make their money back on their first app. They can make $0 on their first 9 apps, and $20k+ on their 10th app, or average a few $100 per app over a few dozen apps, etc. Then start profiting on their 2nd dozen apps. There are also indirect monetary returns (app visibility leading to $$$ consulting contracts & etc.)

Second, an app doesn't need to be revolutionary. It can be just a decent app, but with licensing from a high-profile brand, or associated with a big marketing campaign or a viral hit on youtube, or targeted at some (rich) specialty niche or business which is underserved by all the devs going after the bigger more generic market segments. Etc.

Furthermore, there are a good number of totally revolutionary-looking apps languishing in the bottom of the app store due to lack of any marketing.

 

[0dev]

You realise that your app idea had better be totally revolutionary?

Noone has said it in this thread, but it is very rare that an independent
developer makes the kind of money out of an app that would return on $20,000.
(although it has happened).
I suppose it depends on where the $20,000 is going, but that's your business.

Most independent developers claim to earn little more than it costs to keep up
their membership in the iOS developer program.

If you have $20k to plow into marketing you can expect to make a reasonable return as long as the app is actually decent. As long as you can afford decent marketing, it doesn't have to be super amazing, just something good that people want.

 

[firewood]

If you have $20k to plow into marketing you can expect to make a reasonable return as long as the app is actually decent.

So where would you plow $20k for marketing an existing generic "decent" app, and expect a greater than 1:1 return on the investment?

 

[0dev]

So where would you plow $20k for marketing an existing generic "decent" app, and expect a greater than 1:1 return on the investment?

Google AdWords, ad space on tech sites, paid reviews, etc. Goes a long way and would actually cost a lot less than the full budget. If you put ads in the app you should make profit, especially if the app gets downloaded enough to be in the top 10 - once that happens the downloads just happen by themselves.

 

[1458279]

Google AdWords, ad space on tech sites, paid reviews, etc. Goes a long way and would actually cost a lot less than the full budget. If you put ads in the app you should make profit, especially if the app gets downloaded enough to be in the top 10 - once that happens the downloads just happen by themselves.

Problem 1 is getting into the top 10. Not so easy when you have nearly 1 million apps out there.

Most promos for apps are not worth it. I've seen devs pay for advertising that didn't return 10% of what they paid.

Just using raw numbers, each app has a 1 in a million chance at each download.

Large companies have ties with media to get the attention of the people that can made a difference.

Imagine how many "press releases" for apps go straight into the spam folder. If your app is good, they have a reason to write about it.

Look at all the apps out there, it's a sea of apps all trying to get noticed. If it were really as simple as Google AdWords, ad in tech sites, and paid reviews, wouldn't most of the other apps devs be doing the same thing.

When you have as many app devs and apps as smart phones do, you have a rush of people exploiting every option they can to get some attention to their app.

 

[ohbrilliance]

You're in a great position to have the resources, and I assume time, to pursue this. If I could just press the pause button on the relentless need of earning a salary and supporting my family, I'd go with the following:

1. Fairly speedily digest the legendary C Programming Language book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language
It's well written, concise, and will make you think about how to write code as much as syntax specific to C.

2. Go through one or two of the latest editions of iOS/Objective-C books - see Amazon for these.

3. Go through the most recent Stanford iOS course on iTunes U. These are truly excellent, and dense with material. They may be too challenging, especially with the demanding assignments. There's great value in the course even without completing the assignments.

#2 and #3 cover much of the same material. I'm a firm believer in covering ground from different angles.

Another great resource is the tutorials on Ray Wenderlich's site: http://www.raywenderlich.com/tutorials Have a glance through that list to see the scope of topics covered.

I hope that helps.