Nobody is buying your app. Now what?

Survey after survey confirms what any Android developer already knows: android users aren’t currently buying apps at the same rate that iOS users are.  Beyond the cold, hard facts, user comments like these are not exactly encouraging:

Doesn’t matter what platform. If I can get what I want for free, I’m not going to pay for it.

Besides, the amazon app store has a free app every day that you would normally have to pay for. I usually take advantage of it, but end up deleting the app because it isn’t any good. Why pay for something I’m going to delete?

Never bought an app, probably never will. What’s the point? I don’t live on my phone and I play games and only use stuff I need (Google Maps especially for driving around for work). Why pay for something when you don’t have to? Now THAT’S the American way.

It’s partly because Apple forces you to set up an account tied to a credit card. I’ve bought a few apps for my iPad because they were $1 and my card was on the account. The Angry Birds Rio that Apple makes me pay for is free on my Thunderbolt. What do I need to buy?

Blame for this discrepancy has been heaped on everything from low quality apps and cheapskate Android users, to Google and even the open source nature of the OS. Is anyone making money off the platform? Let’s look at a few test cases after the jump.

ADWLauncher EX, a highly customizable home replacement by AnderWeb, debuted on the market in December, 2010. Selling for a bit more than $3, the app has crossed the 100,000 downloads mark. After accounting for canceled transactions, refunds, taxes, and Google’s 30% the 30% Google takes to pay for processing fees , I would say that $100,00 in revenue is a healthy estimate after Google takes their 30%. AnderWeb was able to do this in part by focusing on the product. A free version was available on the market for months before the paid version came out, ensuring massive amounts of testing and refining. By the time AnderWeb was ready to charge money for expanded features, people knew it was a quality product and that they had to have the paid version.

CarLocater does exactly what you’d expect; it helps you find your car. Developer Edward Kim deploys a stricter freemium model that helps addicted users justify buying the app. Instead of having a set of free functions with an option to upgrade, you 10 free tries and then you have to pay $3.99. As he prepares to cross the 50,000 download mark, he can confirm that people are willing and ready to pay for apps if you give them the right incentives. CarLocater is also successful because it does one thing really well instead of adding a ton of less useful features.

RoboDefense, by Lupis Labs Software, has had over 500,000 downloads at around $3, which makes them one of the few Android Millionaires (before taxes and Google’s cut). There are a ton of tower defense games on the market, so why are people flocking to Robo Defense? For one, it’s a great game. It’s smooth and the graphics are fantastic. Don’t take my word for it, check out the reviews: 5 stars with 54,902 ratings. Here again, the freemium model has been successful. Owners of the full version get more maps, reward upgrades, and difficult levels, making the paid version a completely different, more immersive experience that leaves users addicted.

Clearly, it’s possible to make money so don’t give up! Unfortunately, there’s no clear cut path to profitability. All we can offer you are some tips to get your brain moving in the right direction:

1. Doing one thing really well is better than doing a lot of things sufficiently. Focus your efforts on finding an indispensable feature users can’t live without.

2. Don’t count on the kindness of strangers: As much as users love your app, they may neglect to upgrade to the paid version. Why buy the milk when you can get the cow for free? Make sure that you hold some features back from your free/ad supported versions. Or in the case of CarLocater, give someone a limited number of trials.

3. Add a social engagement layer like OpenFeint, or Socialize. These services can help counteract post-launch download fatigue by reminding users of the apps they have hidden in their drawer.

4. Give away your premium version to a few influential customers through. Hold a contest, or search Twitter to see who is talking about your app. These users already like your app, and giving them a free version will only make them love the app more.

5. Consider your app’s name and description. Does it say what you think it says? For as little $50, you can test out names with AdMob.

6. Get outside your head. You’ve spent countless hours developing your app, but your customers may never have heard of you. Ask non-industry friends to take a spin on your app, then ask them if they would buy it.

Let us know in the comments if you have had success making money from your efforts. We’d love to share.

Update: Commenter Seung Soo, Ha points out that, for what it’s worth, Google doesn’t take 30% of the revenue.

”Starting in early Q1, developers will also be able to distribute paid apps in addition to free apps. Developers will get 70% of the revenue from each purchase; the remaining amount goes to carriers and billing settlement fees—Google does not take a percentage. We believe this revenue model creates a fair and positive experience for users, developers, and carriers.

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