Pop Apps vs. Niche Apps
After a few months on the App Store shelves, Time Keeper hasn’t gotten a boat load of downloads. Currently the application gets around 10 downloads a week. This is fine though because the application isn’t a “pop app”. Its not intended for a large audience because not everyone will find it useful. The small group of people who have downloaded the application have given a great response for the application. I received emails from people in various situations – a student who runs track in high school uses TK to record his times for events that he competes in, a man who records swimming times for his daughters at competitions. These are the situations I imagined Time Keeper being used for, and they have slowly materialized into reality. For that reason, I find Time Keeper a successful application despite not having a ton of sales. The price of the application also reflects the realization that not everyone will be in the market to purchase the application.
Getting Feedback
Because the application has a higher price than many applications, I wanted to assure users that I’d be able to provide assistance to their problems and listen to their suggestions. A swimmer suggested that times should be recorded to not just the tenth of a second, but to the hundredth of a second. Soon after I implemented this change into the application. I wanted to create an avenue so that users could supply feedback and limited the barrier that might stop a customer from supplying feedback. From day 1, I setup a Get Satisfaction account for the application and allow users to email me feedback directly from the application.
App Store’s Role
Despite the grumblings of the App Store, the way apps are distributed on the iPhone makes it possible for niche apps to get sales. As a developer, I haven’t had to advertise the application or setup my own payment system. Consumers also can trust that when they purchase an application that it has been vetted and they won’t be scammed. Consumers don’t need to hassle with entering their information each time they want to purchase an application. The App Store simply gives niche applications more credibility and exposure.