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My name is Steven. I'm an independent iOS developer at slidetorock.com.

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Chapters for iPad: The Reviews

I released Chapters for iPad two months ago.  Since then I've sold thousands of copies, heard from hundreds of customers around the world, and released four app updates.

(download)

When Chapters debuted, it quickly appeared in the New and Noteworthy section.  Once it was bumped from that category it went straight into What's Hot, where it remained for a few weeks.  If it ever makes into Staff Favorites it'll have been featured in all three front-page categories. 

I was somewhat giddy seeing the app rank next to (or above) the always-in-the-news titles like Plants vs. Zombies, Words with Friends, and Apple's own Pages.

It's now out on its own, so to speak.  Despite a massive influx of new iPad apps every week, people are still finding it and filling it with the things that are important to them.

Screen_shot_2010-08-14_at_1

My journal is that of me which would else spill over and run to waste. - Thoreau

For me, the app has become something like a traveling gnome (less Travelocity and more Amelie).  I've heard from people documenting their vacations across the US, on a train in Australia, various parts of Europe, and more.  The Dropbox support lets them back up their photos and writing without needing to sync with iTunes.  

Others are busy using it at work to record meeting highlights and progress on projects.  Some people use it as a simple, searchable CRM tool.  Being able to type bullet-point lists and have a word count feature have been popular.

I've heard from people that use the app to take notes in college. I've also heard from two people in their seventies using the app to keep a journal.  Maybe the iPad is magical, after all.

I really like waking up to a full inbox (but not too full; I don't want to be one of those people that has to think about Inbox Zero).  Thankfully, there have been very few issues, so most of the email is suggestions and compliments.  I respond to every message.

I'm happy some people buy the app, make suggestions, and stick around to see their ideas come to life in an app update.

There's more to come.

 

A few reviews of the app since release

Four Writing Apps for the iPad

Tales of Joe and Jane

TUAW's Daily App: Chapters

Chapters for the iPad at Macgasm

iPad Application Reviews

GizmoFusion

TapScape

Filed under  //  app store   apple   ipad   ipad apps   microisv   reviews  
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Posted by Steven Romej 
 

iPhone app sales

At this point, I have 15 iPhone (and 1 iPad) apps available in the App
Store. Sales have been fairly steady since January. The beginning of
the year was great, in fact, due to being mentioned in Bon Appetit
magazine, having a Staff Favorite app, and, presumably, a greater
abundance of iPhone OS devices after Christmas.

I have free apps, educational apps, games, kids apps, business,
finance, and health and fitness apps. A diversified portfolio.

The weekly sales follow a pattern: Sunday and Monday are the best
sales days. Tuesday through Thursday see steady declines. Friday and
Saturday are the worst.

Last Friday, for reasons I can't explain (ie, no holidays, etc), was
about 35% lower than I expected. I was anxious to see how Saturday
would fare. Luckily, Saturday was a bit higher than usual, so it
served to offset the bad Friday.

One reason I like having more than a handful of apps is protection
against big sales swings. When I had five apps I would regularly see
40-70% variations in my sales figures. Sometimes a user would post a
scathing review--usually due to not reading the app description--and
scare off potential buyers. The app developer has little recourse
(oddly I get my most complimentary "reviews" through customer emails,
but only I see those).

Filed under  //  app store   iphone   iphone apps   microisv  
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Posted by Steven Romej 
 

Apple Staff Favorites and App Store Sales

Picture_2

Yesterday Touchcards 2 was featured in the App Store as a Staff Favorite.  Throughout the day it rose in ranking on the charts, and this morning, as you can see above, it's at #47.  Prior to being featured, it had reached #90 or so.  I knew from articles about what getting featured does to sales to expect a bump, and I got one.  But one thing to note about the Staff Favorites section is that it's not actually available from the App Store app on the iPhone itself.  You apparently need to be using iTunes on your computer to see it.  This makes the sales jump a lot less dramatic than those featured in the AppAdvice post.

The staff at the App Store see thousands of new apps each week in a store with over 140,000 apps.  To be hand picked means a lot.  I also thank the customers that take the time to share their "success stories" and creative uses of the app with me.

If you've downloaded Touchcards 2, you can expect an update shortly (it's in the approval queue) to give you better font sizing support.  I have a few other things planned, too.  It's great to have new users more than anything else!

 

Filed under  //  app store   apple   favorites   marketing   microisv   sales  
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Posted by Steven Romej