[OT] Mobile App - Should it be Paid or Free?

[Randy Hengst]

Hi Tom,

My sense of things matches yours… however, with mass mailings it's pretty easy to know how much each mailing cost… how do you determine the "value/cost" of something that is free? … especially if it's always been free…

be well,
randy
-----
On Apr 4, 2013, at 8:58 AM, Thomas McGrath III wrote:

> I am not a tax consultant so be warned! I was thinking marketing expenses like mass mailings that drive business to your business sounds about the same as an app that was paid for/developed to do the same thing??? maybe not…
> 
> Tom
> -- Tom McGrath III
> http://lazyriver.on-rev.com
> mcgrath3 at mac.com
> 
> On Apr 4, 2013, at 8:54 AM, Randy Hengst <iowahengst at mac.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm just catching up on this strand… a related question.
>> 
>> Given that it's tax season in the US, for folks who sell and give away apps… do the free apps count somewhere as a business expense?
>> 
>> be well,
>> randy
>> ------
>> On Apr 3, 2013, at 1:36 PM, Scott Rossi wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Ender:
>>> 
>>> One popular approach at the moment is "freemium" -- make the app free but
>>> include additional content that can be purchased/downloaded in-app.  Maybe
>>> this is a possibility for you.
>>> 
>>> Depending on how much content you have, you might be able to produce
>>> "light" and "full" versions of a book app, so potential customers can
>>> preview before they buy.
>>> 
>>> I also think your "scenario 1" is reasonable.  It's useful to have
>>> different paid and free apps -- you can use a free app to drive downloads
>>> of a paid app.
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> 
>>> Scott Rossi
>>> Creative Director
>>> Tactile Media, UX/UI Design
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 4/3/13 10:05 AM, "Ender Nafi Elekçioğlu" <endernafi at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hello all,
>>>> 
>>>> I marked the question as [OT] since it's not a technical one.
>>>> Recently, we've finished an app, it's ready to be published
>>>> but we're uncertain to sell or give it for free.
>>>> Up to now, we were building business apps for corporates,
>>>> so it wasn't an issue for us to sell or give free.
>>>> 
>>>> So, this ground is new to us.
>>>> 
>>>> A little detail:
>>>> Two months ago we published an app for pre-school children much like an
>>>> audiobook,
>>>> pages with static pictures were flipping while a voice-over's speaking
>>>> the story.
>>>> And it was free.
>>>> 
>>>> It's downloaded ~2000 copies in 7 weeks.
>>>> {I know that this is low but our market is very small for now, as our app
>>>> is in Turkish.
>>>> Soon, we'll publish it in English, too.}
>>>> 
>>>> Now, we finished the second one in this genre.
>>>> This one has two significant enhancements compared to first one.
>>>> * The eyes and mouths of the shapes {it's a birthday party for the
>>>> geometrical shapes like circle, square, etc.}
>>>> are blinking and opening / closing while they're talking.
>>>> At the party, there are flying notes by the music and swinging stars on
>>>> the branches of trees.
>>>> So, it's more live, kinda like a cartoon.
>>>> * It has a color book for the children to color the shapes which they've
>>>> met in the story.
>>>> You can find the base and not-fancy version of this drawing page here
>>>> (http://cloud.keehuna.com/2J1a1n0B4035), if you want.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> ~
>>>> Scenario 1 as an answer:
>>>> Don't sell it, give this one and succeeding 3 ~ 4 apps for free.
>>>> Build a trust-relationship between you and your customers.
>>>> Get experience with animations and stories and sounds etc.
>>>> Maybe after a year or so and a couple of apps, you can start to sell the
>>>> new ones.
>>>> 
>>>> ~
>>>> 
>>>> Scenario 2 as an answer:
>>>> Time is money, sell this one; it's a cool app and worth a buck.
>>>> Otherwise, people will get used to obtain them free;
>>>> then they won't want to pay for new ones.
>>>> Besides, there's a saying as *I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things*.
>>>> People value expensive things.
>>>> Giving it free will depreciate this app.
>>>> Sell this one, then give another one or two free, then sell another one,
>>>> keep going like that...
>>>> ~
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Which way seems right to you, could you give any advice?
>>>> Any insights much appreciated…
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Best,
>>>> 
>>>> ~ Ender Nafi
>>>> 
>>>> ~… together, we're smarter …~
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>>> 
>>> 
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