Freelancing: Mobile Dev
IMM, Sheridan College
Christina Moulton, Teak Mobile Inc.
What'll We Talk About?
About me
Mobile app dev freelancing
What I get to do & What I have to do
Working with clients & others
Making a viable mobile app
Paid apps
Free & "Free" apps
So Who Are You?
Solo
Freelance
iOS
Developer
Sailor, foodie, speaker, dog lover, ...
How Did I Get Here?
C64, Amiga
UW Systems Design Engineering
Maps & Math
Emissions Modelling GIS
Websites & Spinal Ligaments
Moonlighting, agency work
Solo freelance iPhone & iPad app developer
What I Get To Do
Programming (of course)
User Experience Design
User Interface Design (just a lil)
Live in tiny mobile app bubble
Help people figure out what they actually need
Run a business
R2D2 robot controller
Picture This
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Facebook / Twitter integration
Daily challenges
Likes & comments
Custom UI / UX
Consulting
NDAs :(
Healthcare, Fantasy hockey pools, music generation, car racing, sales intelligence, chat client, roadkill tracker, hearing test, weather, daily deals, ...
Indie Projects
Freelancing means:
Finding work: Networking, speaking, online, feast & famine
Contracts, pricing, negotiations
Bookkeeping, invoicing, taxes, cash flow
Business structure
No boss, lots of bosses
(Usually) being an equal with clients
Working With Clients
It's not about the code
Communication: Lots and at least weekly
Empathy: Why are they building the app?
Context: Rescue projects, staff augmentation, "pure" projects
Ideal Process
Clear concept & target customers
Wireframes, refine UX
Prototype technical risks & UX options
Graphic design & UI
Weekly builds
Alpha - Beta - App Store
Measure - Evaluate - Refine
Reality
Agile to "here's the spec, go build it" (but they'll change it anyway)
Better with more communication
Will get hung up on UI
Will randomly ask for features
Learn to say No (or it'll cost $X more) or build it in to your billing (weekly?)
Personal Psychology
Everyone is different
I can't do open-ended hourly billing
I like fixed bid
Easy to let work become your whole life
Learn to say No
Hobby goals help
Working With Others
Client's employees
Other freelancers / agencies / service providers
Assembling a team
Designers
Be flexible but professional
What if you don't want to work for someone else?
Can An Indie Make a Living?
Maybe, but many don't
Great stuff gets ignored
Toss stuff at the wall and see what sticks
Build one great game and go out of business
Marketing + database + social + in app purchasing + UI + UX ...
Cost to Develop
$10,000 - $100,000+
2-6 months
Expect $100+/hour in North America
DIY: $99 Apple, servers, marketing, analytics, graphics?, music?
So Why All The Free Apps?
Honestly, we don't know what we're doing
First Apple wanted to sell more hardware
Following trends in the hope it'll pay off or we won't get left behind
Lots of psych research applied and taken to extremes
Paid or "Free"
Paid: Niche markets, obvious value
"Free": Mass market, entertainment, non-obvious value, gotta monetize
Free dominates app charts but some paid apps do very well
IAP & privacy backlashes
Kinds of "Free" Apps
Ad supported: Content or supplement
App is an ad
Upsell to service / sales leads
In App Purchase / Freemium
Add on for physical good, desktop/web software
Really free
Ad supported
Flappy Bird
App is an Ad
Chipotle Scarecrow
Sales Lead / Upsell
In App Purchase
Plants vs. Zombies 2
Freemium
DropBox
Add On
Really Free
Hobby
Portfolio
Acquisition dreams
Testing for later monetization
Social good
Kinds of "Free" Apps
Ad supported: Content or supplement
App is an ad
Upsell to service / sales leads
In App Purchase / Freemium
Add on for physical good, desktop/web software
Really free: Hobby, portfolio, acquisition dreams, social good, testing for later monetization
Numbers: Breeze Real Estate Flyer Maker (iPad)
Free with IAPs
1 free template
$5.99/template or $12.99 for all 3
1400 downloads
$140 since Oct 28, 2013 (after Apple's 30% cut)
Numbers: MAFOR Marine Forecast Decoder (iPhone)
Paid: $3.99
26 downloads
$67.50 since Aug 5, 2013 (after Apple's 30% cut)
Numbers: Scurvy Math (BB10)
Free with IAPs
Addition free
$1.99 for subtraction or multiplication
3500 downloads
$53 since Mar 3, 2013 (after BB's 30% cut)
Numbers: Platform Averages
Questions?
Christina Moulton, Teak Mobile Inc.
cmoulton.github.io/MobileFreelancing
HTML Slides: Reveal.js