Author Topic: Beyond microstock - iOS AppStore (Read 4228 times)

araminta · « **on:** February 05, 2011, 08:29 »

Hi all,

Let me start by a disclaimer: this post is self-promotion, but hey, Yuri did it for a monopod, so why not me

I think however it may interest some microstockers.

As you may know, many are experiencing difficult times for about a year now, and I'm no exception. I thought about it a few months ago and I have decided to try another market to sell my images: I have decided to create my own iPhone / iPad wallpaper app (I'm a software engineer... it helps).

Obviously, the purpose is not to sell stock images, but more aesthetic one: it is a good way to get some money from my best macro shots which do not sell on microstock sites.

The app is free, but access to the best images require purchasing a premium access as in-app purchase: I think "freemium" business model is the best way to do it.

If you are interested at looking, the app is here: Araminta Wallpapers. It is free to download and it is a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

The app is available on the AppStore for a few days only, but I can already tell you that should sales stay the same, it would already bring me as much money as all microstock sites (but I'm not Yuri). I'm not sure however how sales are going to evolve in the future, the main difficulty being that you quickly get lost in the crowd if you do not reach some Top Ranking: sounds like a known problem to all microstockers

If you are interested, I will give you some feedback concerning sales: why not trying to create you own app?

Thanks for reading and sorry for those who are not interested.

elvinstar · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2011, 10:05 »

Do you have any plans to offer photos from other photogs? It sounds like you could make some real money if you did!

araminta · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2011, 10:53 »

Well, I've thought about it indeed, but it would imply a LOT more work and hassle for me and as I do it still as a hobby, I'm not sure I would be able to do it correctly. I think I prefer first see how the business evolve for me and later, maybe...

But the next step for me will probably be to sell high res images for prints from within the app.

Karimala · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2011, 14:26 »

Is it possible for you to sell a customizable app to other photographers? I'm no software guru, so creating my own app isn't a possibility, but I would definitely be interested in purchasing a copy that would allow me to add my own photos, etc.

nruboc · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2011, 14:48 »

Any version for the Droid? Would never get an iPhone.

araminta · « **Reply #5 on:** February 05, 2011, 15:22 »

Quote from: Karimala on February 05, 2011, 14:26

Is it possible for you to sell a customizable app to other photographers? I'm no software guru, so creating my own app isn't a possibility, but I would definitely be interested in purchasing a copy that would allow me to add my own photos, etc.

Well, selling the app would be as selling your RAW files of your whole portfolio

As I have written above, I've thought about this possibility (not selling the app, but offering it as a paid service, the app being completely managed by myself), but currently it would be too much work for me and many issue would have to be solved before. Now I want to concentrate at building my own portfolio which is what interest me the most: this is a hobby for me and as I am a software engineer, I prefer not to do the same kind of work as a hobby

Quote from: nruboc on February 05, 2011, 14:48

Any version for the Droid? Would never get an iPhone.

The app is a native Objective-C application and I would have to develop it again for Android in Java: too much work for me. The iOS market is big enough for me: if I am successful here I will earn enough and if I am not successful, I won't be successful on Android either.

helix7 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 05, 2011, 22:12 »

Looks like you're having a problem with customer reviews.

araminta · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2011, 05:43 »

Quote from: helix7 on February 05, 2011, 22:12

Looks like you're having a problem with customer reviews.

I've read only 3 comments until now and I know they are bad, but I was expecting that.

Why? Because you need to pay to get some images and many people hate to pay for anything.

I will mostly concentrate on downloads numbers and sales and I will not worry too much about such reviews even if they may impact sales indeed, but many applications have the same problem.

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2011, 09:48 »

Quote from: araminta on February 05, 2011, 15:22

Well, selling the app would be as selling your RAW files of your whole portfolio

Well, not actually: I would compare code to raws, but if you'd only sell executables...
(I'm speaking in Windows terms, not sure if it applies to apps)

araminta · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2011, 11:00 »

Quote from: microstockphoto.co.uk on February 06, 2011, 09:48

Quote from: araminta on February 05, 2011, 15:22
Well, selling the app would be as selling your RAW files of your whole portfolio

Well, not actually: I would compare code to raws, but if you'd only sell executables...
(I'm speaking in Windows terms, not sure if it applies to apps)

Yes it applies indeed, but each executable would have to be customized somehow and I would have to handle myself bug fixes or updates for each custom version which could become a nightmare. Moreover, you need the development environment to publish applications and you need a developer certificate linked to a developer account: all money is sent to this account.

This is probably possible, but it is a business per se and not really the one that interests me the most

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #10 on:** February 06, 2011, 11:28 »

Quote from: araminta on February 06, 2011, 11:00

Quote from: microstockphoto.co.uk on February 06, 2011, 09:48
Quote from: araminta on February 05, 2011, 15:22
Well, selling the app would be as selling your RAW files of your whole portfolio

Well, not actually: I would compare code to raws, but if you'd only sell executables...
(I'm speaking in Windows terms, not sure if it applies to apps)
Yes it applies indeed, but each executable would have to be customized somehow and I would have to handle myself bug fixes or updates for each custom version which could become a nightmare. Moreover, you need the development environment to publish applications and you need a developer certificate linked to a developer account: all money is sent to this account.

This is probably possible, but it is a business per se and not really the one that interests me the most

OK. Very clear. Thanks

Pixart · « **Reply #11 on:** February 06, 2011, 11:38 »

Wasn't it Photoshow who was doing something with Iphone aps a couple years ago - did anyone follow him on that? I think it was either here or over on SS forums where he brought it up.