Idea to iPhone - Introduction

®

The essential guide to creating your first app for the iPhone and iPad

CARLA WHITE

®Idea to iPhone

Introduction

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.—Albert Einstein

In early 2008, when I got my fi rst iPod touch, I knew instantly that I had to create an app for that darling little device. I wasn’t a programmer, had never used a Mac, and had a measly $500 budget. In fact, I didn’t even have an iPhone, just my iPod touch. But none of that was going to stop me. A few months later my app stormed into the top position on the App Store and was hailed in major news publications around the globe.

If you had peered in my window during those few months, you would have seen me huddled at my computer, absorbed in design tools, messaging developers, and fumbling with Xcode—all before going to my day job. I was determined to fi gure out how to create a hit app on a shoestring budget, without learning how to code.

It wasn’t easy, but I managed to teach myself how to do all the designs, outsource the devel-opment, and grab people’s attention—all on a budget that paid for itself by noon on the fi rst day of sales. My apps have since graced the front page of USA Today, been featured on Good Morning America, and been praised in the media from Fargo to France as proof that anyone can create a killer app.

Now I’d like to share everything I learned with you, so you can do it too.

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I D E A T O i P H O N E2

Who Should Read This BookI’m writing this book for people whom I like to call “ideapreneurs”—folks who come up with innovative and breakthrough ideas but don’t know how to design or build them. You might be a business owner, project manager, marketing genius, or the one-person shop doing all the work yourself. Or maybe you’re a developer or a designer who already created an app, but it’s not getting the attention and downloads you hoped for.

Perhaps you attempted to study the technical manuals with computer languages you don’t understand, and discovered that even the most basic books assume some knowledge of pro-gramming. Th en you scoured the Internet for information but still don’t know what to believe or where to begin. You just want a simple and aff ordable way to shift your idea into a top-selling app that appears on iPhones and iPads all over the world.

You might not have created anything artistic since grade school or know the fi rst thing about software development, but you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and make the most of your greatest talents. Step by step, I walk you through the technical jargon, breeze you past the time wasters, and help you jump through Apple’s hoops, making the process as simple as possible. I show you ways to build on the skills you already have by engaging in activities that excite you.

My experience alone isn’t enough of a solution to all the diff erent challenges, so I inter-viewed some of the most successful app developers out there. Th ese incredible folks have apps that blasted the App Store charts, including tap tap tap, Tapbots, Montessorium, Weetaps, and creators of Lose It and Wood Camera, and Letterpress. Th ese people have mentored me over the years and are now sharing their insights, mishaps, and advice with you.

If I Can Do This, So Can YouWhen I started, I owned a fl ip phone, had no programming skills, and worked at a job so remote the building was in the middle of cornfi elds. For the longest time, blogs or books for app developers simply didn’t exist. And because I was fi nancing everything myself, I had to hold down my day job, too.

Th at was quite a few years ago, back when George W. Bush was president and Beijing hosted the Olympics. I create apps full time now, but I’m still not a programmer. I shy away from venture capital and haven’t added a single person to my payroll. I outsource the develop-ment, and everything else I do myself.

Over the years I have witnessed fi rsthand how this industry and the tools to create apps are evolving at an insane pace. App designs continue to get better and the competition fi ercer.


I N T R O D U C T I O N 3

Still, my overall formula for creating apps remains the same. But the formula alone won’t produce successful apps. It also takes drive and courage. While some are dreaming of success, the real winners wake up and work hard to achieve it.

A Glance into the App Development ProcessTo keep things simple, this book is organized to refl ect the main phases of an app project. It aims to shorten development time and keep costs low, with the goal to start earning within a few months.

To do that, there is one important rule to remember: Go for the quick wins.

Break the development process into short phases so you can get things done and move on to the next thing. Th is approach keeps momentum going and keeps your project from fi zzling to a slow death.

Th e process can be broken out into six overlapping and repeating phases. Some phases, such as development and promotion, never truly end. In fact, promotion actually kicks off before anything else, and is part of every phase of the project. Th e illustration on the following pages provides a brief overview of the process that will be discussed in more detail through-out the book.

■ Conceptualize—Idea, Discover & Brainstorm. Decide exactly what your app does and who it’s for. Narrow down your target market and mold your app idea into some-thing they want.

■ Design—Flow & Story, Prototype, Test, Final Designs. Establish a clear blueprint of the features, screen layouts, and navigation. Test your designs and build on the ideas of others, then polish it all off with a design tool.

■ Develop—Code & QA Test. Create an app that is effi cient, bug free, and well tested.

■ Distribute—Submit & Go Live. Send the app to Apple with images and a description for approval. Execute a launch strategy that gets Apple’s and the media’s attention.

■ Promote. Market the heck out of it while you’re building your app as well as after it’s on iTunes.

■ Maintain—Update & Expand. Support your customers as well as your app by work-ing on new releases. Expand to new markets and platforms.



WHO WHAT WHAT

PAPER DIGITAL

HOW

Th is illustration and the fi rst page of each chapter in this book were created by Mike Rohde (http://rohdesign.com/). © 2013 Mike Rohde.



A Few Things You Won’t Find in This BookNot only is this book nontechnical, it also won’t sell you a get-rich-quick scheme in which you quickly create an app and then live in the comforts of your private island, sipping cocktails out of a coconut shell. Creating successful apps takes hard work, and I’m not about to sugarcoat the process. But if you have the drive and passion, the rewards can be phenomenal.

Here are a few other things you won’t fi nd in this book:

■ A one-size-fi ts-all solution—I’ve been creating apps since they fi rst hit the market, and one thing I know is there isn’t a process that fi ts all situations. It’s just not that black and white. You will come across roadblocks that will force you to change course. Technology changes so quickly; what works today may not work tomorrow. I do think, however, that there are some guiding principles that don’t change, and I will do my best to convey them in this book.

■ Facts and fi gures to wow you—If you’re holding this book, you don’t need me to hear a jaw-dropping fi gure about what app developers are earning or how many apps are downloaded each day. Apps are selling like hotcakes, and there is no sign of that slowing down. If anything, the fl ood is just getting started. Some of the best apps are yet to come, and hopefully, from you.

■ Programming languages or jargon—Th is book isn’t another technical manual about iPhone and iPad development. I don’t know any Objective-C or Cocoa Touch because I had to do things a little diff erently. I will share just enough technical details so you can hire and manage your developers, test and submit your app, and understand the limits of the software development kit (SDK).

■ Online app builders—If you have a lot of content that you want to distribute in the form of an app, an online app builder might be all you need. I’ve never used an app builder because my app ideas don’t fi t the mold, so they aren’t discussed as a solution in this book.

■ Half-truths and overselling—I only give straightforward real-world advice. I practice what I preach and honestly tell you everything about my process in terms as basic as I possibly can. Creating apps can be frustrating, confusing, and exhausting. My goal is to make the process simple, straightforward, and most of all, fun.

What I Really Mean to Say Is…Th roughout this book when I refer to the iPhone, I mean both the iPhone and iPod touch. Likewise, when I refer to the iPad, I mean both the iPad and the iPad Mini. My use of these terms is mostly a repetition factor and in no way is a refl ection that the iPod touch or iPad



Mini is less important than the iPhone or iPad. It’s anything but that. Here are a few other word clarifi cations:

■ “Customer” refers to “user.” I purposefully try to avoid the term “user” because it seems degrading to those important people who will be the reason for your success. Th ose guys will be downloading your app, enjoying it, and telling others about it for you.

■ “I” refers to me, the author. Sometimes I speak as the voice of an app developer (such as “I recruited some testers…”), and other times it might be as an app consumer (such as “If I have to log in fi rst…”).

■ “You” refers to you, the reader and app developer. In my view, if you are reading this book, you are an app developer also. You are designing, building, and promoting apps.

■ “We” or “people” refers to everyone who uses apps. Including you, me, and my dear, sweet mom.

As with all rules, I have to occasionally break these, but I hope this list will prevent some confusion.

A Small Book for Such a Big SubjectI did everything I could to keep this book simple and short. My hope is that you can read it in a single rainy afternoon, or fl ying across the continent. I did this for a few reasons.

■ You don’t have the time. Your days are already full with your day jobs or running a business. You’re busy keeping your boss or customers happy, and your family warm and well. You just want some straight answers.

■ You don’t need to know everything. Too many details will bog you down and con-fuse you, creating inertia. I share just enough so that anyone can create an app.

■ It’s a guide. Th is book is designed to walk you through the process of creating your fi rst app. I hope you dog-ear it, highlight it, underline text, and refer back to it often. If we ever meet one day and you have this book with you, nothing would fl atter me more than seeing it has been feverishly used.

App Developers Who Contributed to This BookTh roughout this book you will discover bits of advice from other app developers. Th is is a brief introduction to their backgrounds and apps.



■ John Casasanta, Co-Founder of Tap tap tap—Th e Tap tap tap (www.taptaptap.com) team is comprised of the guys from the popular MacHeist, the leading Mac soft-ware promotion site, so they’re no strangers to Mac development or promotion. Th ey were one of the fi rst developer teams to break the mold of app design and continue to top the iTunes charts today. Th is team has sold millions of downloads and nearly every app they created has been featured on iTunes or an Apple ad. Today they have seven apps on iTunes, include the number one Camera +, Classic, Voices 2, and Faces.

■ Mark Jardine, Co-Founder and Designer at TapBots—Chances are you have a TapBots (http://www.tapbots.com) app, and you probably downloaded it simply because it’s so incredibly beautiful. Starting with their fi rst app, Weightbot, the sim-plicity and functionality of their apps have set them apart. Th is team of two, Paul Haddad and Mark Jardine, has been awarded best design app and has apps featured in iTune’s Hall of Fame. TapBots’ apps are a great example of how a slick design can take a simple concept and turn it into a bestselling app. Th ere are other weight apps avail-able, but none enjoyed as much success as Weightbot. TapBots also has three other top selling apps: ConvertBot, PasteBot, and TweetBot.

■ Loren Brichter, Founder of atebits 2.0—Design prodigy Loren Brichter is the founder of atebits 2.0 (www.atebits.com) and creator of the Letterpress, the 2012 run-ner up of game of the year. You might be familiar with some of Loren’s earlier work, including the popular Tweetie iPhone app which won a 2009 Apple Design Award.

■ Bobby George, Founder of Montessorium—Husband and wife team Bobby and June George began Montessorium (www.montessorium.com) one day when they were talking about how they could off er the unique methods of Montessori on a grand scale. Th ey went on to create four top selling apps, all of which have been featured either on the App Store or in an Apple ad. In Chapter 1 you’ll read how Steve Jobs wrote to them personally. Th eir apps include Intro to Letters, Intro to Math, Intro to Geography, and AlphaWriter.

■ Andy Skirvin, Founder of Blimp Pilots—Koi Pond was the fi rst app I ever purchased and was the most downloaded app in 2008. It has rested nicely in the App Store’s top 50 for years after its release, and became the second most downloaded app of all time. Th e creators, Blimp Pilots (www.theblimppilots.com), have since released two other apps: Distant Shores and Name in Lights. Th ey also released an iPad version of Koi Pond.

■ Patrick Wetherille, VP Product Marketing at Lose It!—Th e weight tracking app, Lose It! (www.loseit.com), was another app that I fi rst downloaded back in 2008. Th e app has graced the number one spot on the App Store Health & Fitness category for years and continues to be featured by Apple. Th eir app has helped people lose over 15 million pounds (and counting).



■ Alain Hufkens and Paddy Donnelly, Co-Founders of WeeTaps—WeeTaps (www.weetaps.com) is a joint venture that is rather new to the app scene. I discovered their app WeeRocket after noticing the icon on design forum, and am thrilled with the sim-plicity and style of the app. Using the same formula they had for their fi rst app, they created a second one called WeeSubs, and it’s just as marvelous.

■ Christopher Taylor, Co-Founder of Playtend—My son for introduced me to Playtend’s ingenious apps (www.playtend.com). Before he was even two he was count-ing in four languages thanks to their clever Counting Ants app. Focusing solely on education apps for children, this partnership of Christopher Taylor and Victor Johnson has created nearly 40 apps, some of which have been featured by Apple as well as praised by major publications and blogs.

■ Shelby Meinzer, Founder of MindTapp—I fi rst met Shelby Meinzer shortly after the launch of his app, PhotoNest. Shelby and Dan Martin founded MindTapp, a design-based company that focuses on simple aesthetically pleasing tools for the iOS platform, in 2010. Neither Shelby nor Dan were developers but they had an idea and knew that they could make it work. Th ey teamed up with the developers at Clever Coding and brought PhotoNest to life. While MindTapp has been idle for some time now, you can expect PhotoNest to make a return as a totally free app as well as a new off ering from MindTapp at the beginning of 2014.

Reach OutAs you’ll soon learn from this book, I encourage you to reach out to other app developers and share ideas. I hang out on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/carlawhite.happytapper) a lot and would love to hear about your project. You can also contact me through my personal website at happytapper.com, my blog carlakaywhite.com, or on Twitter at twitter.com/carlawhite. I not only look forward to hearing from you, but also using your marvelous app one day.


Idea to iPhone - Introduction

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