How to Create and Market Your Own iPhone Application

Do you have a great idea for an iPhone App? Would your proposed iPhone App solve a specific problem or serve a defined niche? Alternately, is the App humorous, or highly interactive? If so, you can be on your way to making your proposed App a reality. The following are 5 steps that you should follow in order to make your intended iPhone App a successful reality.

1. Do Some Market Research

First, go to the Apple App Store and browse the apps that are similar to the one you wish to create. Read user comments and take note of each app's User Interface (UI), features and graphics. Download the 10 most popular apps in your intended app category and play with them in order to find out which functionalities you would like to include in your own App. Be aware of product features such as screen-to-screen navigation, organization of information, and the extent of information presented. Find out how well the other apps take advantage of iPhone features such as its accelerometer, or its pinch, expand, and rotate functions.

Once you are finished analyzing the competition, see if you can answer the following questions about your proposed App:

Does the App solve a problem?

Does the App perform a unique function or task?

If the App performs the same function or task as another App, does it do so in a better way?

Who would your App's customers likely be?

2. Sketch the App

Take out a pen and some grid paper and start sketching your App. Draw the menu screen, the elements, and the graphics. Figure out what information each screen will present to the user, and also how the user will transition from screen to screen. If several elements are to appear on a single screen, how should they be proportioned to one another? Also, will individual elements be large enough to be tap-able? If you do not have enough experience with all the iPhone App features, you may wish to purchase an iPhone Stencil Kit in order to better sketch out iPhone UI prototypes. If you need more help visualizing how your App would look in digital format, try using the iPlotz prototype and mockup creator. The iPlotz application is also useful for when you are ready to take your proposed App into the programming stage.

3. Program the App

Xcode is the integrated development environment (IDE) upon which Mac and iPhone apps are built. Objective-C source code and the programming model Cocoa are most often used for building Mac and iPhone apps. However, if you are not a programmer and/or have not even heard of Xcode and its ilk, don't worry. Programmers and developers can be hired through eLance, iPhoneFreelancer, or Odesk. Online forums such as the Apple Dev Forum, iPhone SDK, iPhoneDev Forum, and iPhoneSB will also provide information on finding good iPhone App developers. Be sure to have your hired developer sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement first before sharing any App ideas with him or her. If you do decide to start programming your own App, you will probably need to join the Apple iPhone Developer Program ($99/year).

4. Submit the App

Once your App is built, you will need to submit it to the Apple Store. Be sure to follow all submission guidelines, including those related to the UI and content. Also, be aware that Apple has begun cracking down on some (though not all) pornographic Apps.

When submitting your App, choose your submission keywords with care. Apple provides 100 characters in which you can enter keyword information about your App. By using Google's keyword tool, you can input keywords that will enable customers to find your App with ease.

5. Market the App

Once your App is submitted, it must fight for its place amongst 170,000 other apps in order to get noticed and downloaded by customers. You can help your App start garnering attention by using social media to market it. If you already have a user group on Facebook or Twitter, you can announce the App to them. Alternately, you can set up a fan page on Facebook and build that functionality into the App. Prior to the launch of your App, try creating a small user buzz by advertising your App on a network like AdMob.

Pricing an App at $0.99 per download may not be the best approach to earning an income from your efforts. Many potential customers will shy away from paying money for your App when there are so many free ones from which to choose. You may be better off making marketing deals with advertisers, thus generating a commission from every download of your App. You may also consider incorporating ads into your App. Such ads would make you money every time someone clicked on them, much in the same way that Google AdSense ads operate.