When I first started this blog, a few of my main goals included using this platform to build accountability for myself as I ventured into the mobile app business world and to be as transparent as possible with readers to show the many failures and successes along the way. Now that I finally have an app in the App Store, I can start sharing with you all something I have been wanting to do for awhile now – monthly app income reports!
Prior to April, it wasn’t something I could do because an income report without any income doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense… Now that the dollars are rolling trickling in, I plan to make this a staple of the blog.
Monthly income reports were first popularized by Pat Flynn of SmartPassiveIncome.com. The level of detail that he shared with his audience on his wins and losses in online business inspired me in immeasurable ways. For one, Pat was completely open and honest about his business: what worked, what didn’t, etc. It showed that even the guys who “made it” continue to have struggles, and that those struggles are to be viewed as learning experiences, not as world-shattering failures that cannot be overcome.
With my monthly income reports, I hope to provide the same kind of insights and inspiration for those of you trying to break into the mobile app business that Pat provided to me and countless other aspiring entrepreneurs.
Within my monthly income reports you will find detailed information on the progress of my mobile app endeavors, including revenue, expenses, downloads and other important metrics. For the moment, the focus of these income reports will focus solely on mobile apps. In addition, I will provide updates on future projects and other items of interest.
This is the first month that I have generated even a single cent from a mobile app, so you will be following this journey from the very beginning. Can I grow this into a viable business? We shall see…
Without further ado, I present April’s income report.
My First App Takes Flight
April marked the launch of my first app Bluebird in Hell.
Yes, it was a ‘Flappy Bird’ clone, and yes, it was a month too late to have any reasonable shot at generating much revenue, but it was an important milestone for me nonetheless.
I got an app in the App Store!
I fulfilled one of my initial goals, took my first step toward becoming a mobile app entrepreneur, and learned a lot along the way. That matters more than any dollar I could earn from it.
I’ve covered a lot about the launch of the app in the post above, as well as some updates on its progress a week after it was launched. There hasn’t been too much positive to report since then. Let’s just say this little birdie’s wings were clipped…
Take a look at this chart that shows the daily downloads for the app since it was launched until today May 5th.
The minor update (represented by the green dot/plus sign) included a few keyword and app title changes and app localization for a few regions. It provided a momentary boost, but the air eventually came out from under its wings and the downloads went into a tailspin. The localization efforts did appear to help increase downloads in Brazil, but it didn’t do much else.
To date, Bluebird in Hell has been downloaded by 863 users. While this is by no means a great number, it is still kind of cool to think that nearly a 1,000 people (who aren’t in any way related to me) have played with something I put out there.
It is important to note that I didn’t do any marketing for this game. I just felt that the market was so saturated with ‘Flappy Bird’ clones by the time this app launched that it wasn’t worth the effort. My game didn’t differentiate itself much from the other clones out there to warrant it, IMO.
Breaking Down the Numbers
Income (April 2014)
- Bluebird in Hell
- AdMob: $8.38
- RevMob: $10.06
- ChartBoost: $26.23
- Gross Total: $44.67
Expenses (April 2014)
- Jurassic Photo Source Code: $39.99
Net Total: $4.66
OK, so maybe I’m not at Scrooge McDuck status yet, but we all have to start somewhere!
Note: I spent $123 on the source code and sound clips to create ‘Bluebird’, so I haven’t even reached the halfway point to break even.
You will notice that I have another source code listed as an expense this month. I haven’t written any posts on it yet, but I will probably write one if and when it gets into the App Store. I submitted the app this past weekend. :fingers crossed:
Next Steps
I have a lot of exciting stuff lined up for the foreseeable future, the most important of which is my new personal challenge to create a completely original app through outsourcing. You can follow along with that journey here.
While I am moving into making my own original apps, I will still dabble in reskinning in order to experiment with ASO techniques, build a larger app portfolio for cross promotion purposes and to generate incremental revenue to support my original app development ventures.
That’s all I got for now. If you have any comments or suggestions for what you would like to see in future monthly income reports, please let me know in the comments!
Janine Toole says
Thanks for sharing! I’m a fan of Pat Flynn as well as an early-state app developer. I’ll be cheering you on 🙂
John says
Just wondering if the app is still bringing in downloads at all. My guess would be somewhere between 5 to 10 a day maybe giving 50 cents a day but maybe less because the market is very saturated with that game