We think that the road ahead will be paved in part, maybe in large part, by HTML5. The idea of creating great apps that feel native and can go anywhere is appealing. It is great for developers–and also for stores and new models based on the app economy. Over the past couple of weeks, as we have prepared to bring HTML5 apps on to appbackr, we have been at HTML5 events from Santa Clara to Barcelona. Some of the subtle challenges, like the great snap that you feel with native apps is being addressed so that HTML5 apps feel like native ones. Companies like ideateca, which put on one of the conferences that we attended, is doing some very creative work.  I was wowed by bevelity and their 3D platform.  The culture around HTML5 is open and broad which is great.  I am excited to see what gets developed.

The Linux Foundation with support from Intel and Samsung among others is getting ready to showcase their Integrated Development Environment (IDE) at The Tizen Conference.  appbackr will be there showcasing some of the best HTML5 apps–and helping with distribution, promotion and funding.  appbackr sees Tizen as a strong platform with great potential for consumers and developers.  We are looking forward to being a key part of Tizen’s development and ecosystem.

Right now we are looking to discover the 100 best HTML5 apps.  We will be showcasing 10 of the best next week.  If you have an app or know an HTML5 developer who has created a great app send it to us at HTML5 [at] appbackr [dot] com.  The best ones will go on to our platform and get a chance for funding and additional distribution.

It should be abundantly clear by now that it’s not enough to just think up a good idea for an app, build and ship it in order to be successful. The question, then, is:

What can you focus on to make sure you’re prioritizing the right goals and tasks in order to make progress on your business on a regular basis?

Simplifying and focusing your approach requires understanding the math behind your app business. When you understand the core drivers of your business, it’s much easier to measure your progress and to identify when you need to make a change in order to achieve your goals.

The app business has a simple equation. Here it is:

The beauty of this equation lies in its simplicity. When making decisions about your work you are able to quickly assess if you’re moving the needle on any of the components. Let’s explore how this works with the installs component, the “start” of the equation.

Installs: 2 common consumer paths

Everyone wants more people to install their apps, but how many people think critically about the path a consumer follows to install your app?

The consumer interaction that leads to the decision to download your app has 2 common paths: discovery and referral. That is, the consumer has either discovered your app in the app store in some way (most common) or someone whose opinion they trust referred them to your app.

Most Mobile App Downloads are the result of Discovery

In order to maximize your installations, it’s important to plan around both of these consumer paths. By regularly focusing on how to improve your referrals and to optimize for consumers in discovery mode developers see very positive impacts on their installations.

The Discovery path: it’s all about ratings & reviews

Most Viewers of Your App's Details Page Do Not Install Your App

Since the vast majority of downloads over time are driven by discovery, it’s very important to maximize the conversion rate of your app’s description page.

What’s that you say? You didn’t think about the conversion rate for your app’s description page? That’s understandable – most developers don’t.

It’s absolutely critical that you understand that the majority of the time, when someone looks at your app’s page in the app store, they’re choosing to NOT INSTALL your app. Based upon the data we have seen at Apptentive for free apps, fewer than 1 in 3 views of the app detail pages result in a download. As you can imagine, the conversion ratio is even worse for paid apps. The reality is this: whether your app is free or not, most people choose to pass on your app.

The good news is that you can meaningfully impact the conversion ratio because consumers decide based upon your overall ratings volume and the most recent reviews you’ve received.  Our app ratings and feedback tools are helping developers really engage with their customers in order to ensure that customers are happy and loving your app.

Ensuring that every potential customer sees that your existing customers love your app results in a meaningful improvement to the conversion ratio. Whether you call it “social proof” or just plain old common sense, consumers care about what existing customers have to say when making decisions. Your app’s ratings and reviews are absolutely critical to increasing your installations.

The Referral path: create evangelists and prosper

The referral component of the app business is often discussed because it’s used to describe why an app like Angry Birds got to be so popular, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. Very few apps are fortunate to become part of mainstream culture. However, many apps are important to a loyal and loving audience. This is where your opportunity lies and why appbackr’s integration with Klout makes so much sense.

Your biggest fans are already out there talking about you. You can see it when you’re at dinner with a group of friends and someone pulls out their phone and shows off the latest app they’ve discovered. It’s happening when people are tweeting about your app and how it really impressed them. Every loyal app customer is a potential salesperson for you and your Backrs.

You can create hooks to truly engage on a personal level with your app customers. Making it easy to give feedback and then responding to each customer has an amazing personal impact. Your dialog with them creates an emotional connection, helping them understand that there are people behind the app who care about their opinions and experiences.

The customers you converse with are much more likely to talk about you to their friends and to share your app, because you’ve connected with them and communicated that you care about their experience. Although the referral path is much less predictable, as a developer you can meaningfully influence a portion of your customer base and inspire them to become vocal proponents as the result of simply talking with them.

Conclusion: Know your app math and how to influence it

As you build your apps, recruit Backrs and grow your business, make sure that you’re focused on the math of the app business. Keep the equation we’ve outlined above in mind and always ask yourself which piece of the equation you’re currently working to impact. We’ve outlined the key ways in which you can influence the installs part of the equation. If you’d like to know more about how to impact retention and revenues, download our free PDF on the math of the app business today. Feel free to ping us on Twitter if you have any other questions – we love connecting with developers and Backrs alike to make your app businesses more succesful.

About the author:

Robi Ganguly (@rganguly) is the co-founder and CEO of Apptentive, a company that powers in-app feedback and better app ratings for app developers on iOS, Android and Mac OS X. Robi writes about customer communication and relationship building on the Being Apptentive blog and you can find the Apptentive team on Facebook and Twitter @apptentive.

appbackr agreement to leverage Open Mobile Application Directory to make their developers’ applications more discoverable

March 15, 2012 09:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time

PALO ALTO, Calif.–appbackr, the first app exchange to drive the development, funding and distribution of the best new mobile apps on the market, today announced it is expanding its relationship with Orange Silicon Valley and PeekApp, its app discovery solution. Through this relationship, appbackr will use its proprietary Xchange algorithm to leverage PeekApp’s Open Mobile Application Directory (OMAD) to provide distribution for apps across carriers, OEMs and independent stores.

“We are delighted to be working with a company of global mobile leaders in their efforts to help developers, and to accelerate their global distribution”

Orange Silicon Valley’s PeekApp has recently launched its Open Mobile App Directory to enhance the ecosystem for developers by providing them access to a variety of benefits including discoverability, distribution and analytics.

“Orange Silicon Valley launched Open Mobile Application directory to enable developers to make their applications more discoverable. With this agreement, appbackr and Orange Silicon Valley are taking a big step toward making apps more discoverable,” said Srinivas Chervirala of Orange Silicon Valley. “We are delighted to be working with a company of global mobile leaders in their efforts to help developers, and to accelerate their global distribution,” said Trevor Cornwell, Founder & CEO, appbackr inc.

About appbackr:

appbackr inc. (www.appbackr.com) is the first and only digital market exchange for mobile applications. By connecting mobile developers with financial backers who promote apps through social networks, appbackr solves common funding and distribution problems to drive innovation in the growing app market. With its predictive analytics algorithm, appbackr is able to identify the most promising new apps on the market, and provides additional distribution through the Android bookshelf and other retail channels at www.appbackr.com/xchange. Winner of the PayPal X Developer Challenge and SVASE/Cambridge West Ventures Seed Fund Award, the company was also selected as an OnMobile 2011 Top 100 Company and an AlwaysOn 2011 Global 250 Company. appbackr was founded in 2010 and is based in Palo Alto, CA.

About PeekApp

PeekApp is incubated in Orange Silicon Valley. PeekApp has launched Open Mobile Application Directory (OMAD) during VentureBeat’s DEMO Fall 2011 conference. OMAD is a cross-platform search and discovery solution designed to provide app developers with greater control over the visibility of their apps. This is enabled by a combination of software tools (taxonomy and algorithmic) and community tagging to improve app browsing and to deliver a powerful search experience. In addition a white-label consumer-facing experience allowing greater distribution opportunities for OEMs and operators by covering most mobile device platforms.

Contacts

For appbackr inc:
Sarah Chellgren, 650-322-6722
press@appbackr.com
or
For Orange Silicon Valley:
Pascale Diaine, 650-392 5091

We are big fans of Klout here at appbackr.  Their social scoring system measures your influence across social networks like Twitter and Facebook.  Besides measuring your own engagement on these platforms, Klout measures how often–and to what reach–people are liking, favoriting and re-tweeting you.  If you check your score, you’ll probably agree that it does a fair job of measuring your breadth, depth and reach across your friends, fans and followers.

So now Klout Discounts brings a new level of discounting to the appbackr wholesale market

We want to encourage developers on appbackr to find the best backrs.  The best backrs are people with a passion for the app–and an interest in spreading the word.  This promotion makes a big difference in getting the app noticed.  And we want to encourage people who have powerful networks to discover great apps on appbackr.  That is why we are introducing Klout Discounts on appbackr.  If you have a Klout score of 40 or above, you have a chance to receive discounts of 10% to 30% when you back apps on appbackr.  This means that when the app sells on a retail store like iTunes or Android Market, your profit increases.  In exchange the developer benefits every time someone with a high Klout score backs his app and promotes it across her network.  More promotion means more sales and also intangible benefits like exposure to media and other who can get the word out on great new apps.

The developer has to elect to make discounting available, so you won’t see the Klout Discount on all, or even most, apps.  And unless you have a Klout score of at least 40, the discounting won’t be visible to you.

Just the Beginning

This is next step into variable pricing.  Right now the wholesale price of apps is fixed based on the proximity of the app to release.  A concept app that hasn’t been approved for retail sales costs less (and the profit is greater) than an app which is in the store already selling.  We want developers to be able to have the ability to increase profits to make their apps more appealing–and the ability to offer discounts to backrs who offer value to them, either in the amount they purchase or in terms of the amount that they do to promote the app.  We have been testing this with select developers and it has worked well.  We decided to start with the Klout Discount so that we could open the concept of discounting related to influence across the universe of Klout users.  We plan to open up the discounting to other loyal backrs soon.

So we invite 40+ Klout score backrs to give it a try.  Try backing The Untouchables: The Mean Streets of Chicago, an app based on the Paramount(R) classic movie The Untouchables with Kevin Costner and Sean Connery.  This is part of our partnership with Paramount to bring great movie titles to life as great apps.  People with a Klout score of 40 or above will receive a discount of 10% to 30%.

Sign up

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain Thursday March 1, 2012

Appbackr Inc., the wholesale market for apps, announced today a release of its Appbackr Score algorithm, Appbackr StoreScore, that allows Android stores to create custom channels of high performing apps. StoreScore takes the best selling apps on any app platform and quickly gives stores the right apps to sell to maximize revenue and customer satisfaction.

Since April 2011, Appbackr has given every Android app an Appbackr Score, a general marketability metric based on customer reviews, sales and other factors. Appbackr recommends apps like Google makes search results. Google first ranks pages by overall importance, then customizes the results for each user. Similarly, Appbackr assigns an Appbackr Score to each app, then customizes it for each store. The customized result is called the StoreScore. “Our machine learning model for Appbackr Score evolves and adapts to changing conditions, exploiting hidden correlations in the large and complex mobile market” said Ethan Herdrick, Lead Data Scientist at appbackr.

To make a StoreScore for a particular store, Appbackr’s new algorithm uses apps which have succeeded there as examples, and builds a machine learning model to find other apps which will succeed on that store. In the field of machine learning, this problem is known as PUL or “Positive Unlabeled Learning”, a known difficult challenge. “Appbackr’s experience in scoring early stage apps has given us a great insight into how to address this problem for the Android market,” said Herdrick.

“Our goal is to help the best apps get funding, distribution and exposure. Appbackr StoreScore is a great way to allow the Appbackr Score to work for app stores by leveraging great apps that meet the needs and wants of their customers,” said Trevor Cornwell, Chief Executive Officer at appbackr inc. “This is a major breakthrough for developers because Appbackr Score allows discoverability based on quality not just quantity sold. Appbackr StoreScore gives stores a chance to leverage their unique understanding of their customers and deliver consistently high quality apps, often not available in other Android stores. Appbackr is known for creating individual funding and distribution channels. Appbackr Score allows us to broaden our reach to new distribution and funding channels,” Cornwell said.

About appbackr: appbackr inc. is the first wholesale market for apps delivering funding and tools to help the best apps come to market and to reach the right customers. The company is based in Palo Alto, California.

Contact: press@appbackr.com
+1-650-322-6722
@appbackr

About the App

Big Top Ballet is a multi-player game in the tradition of paperdolls, circus and ballet. The game is a kaleidoscope of colors and spinning ballerinas that players dress in their floating costumes.  The app’s soundtrack is custom-composed by award-winning electronic music artist, producer, singer and DJ ill-esha.  The app is scheduled for release late February 2012 in iTunes.

Why They Decided to Run an appbackr Campaign?

After releasing a few apps to Apple’s App Store, it became clear to VectorBloom’s Elizabeth Boylan that an effective pre-release marketing campaign is a significant contributor to the success an app.

“I had been playing with the idea of working with game publishers or finding the right angel investor that believed in what we were trying to achieve as artists. The idea of generating funds up front through appbackr.com allowed us to both generate publicity for the game and commit to the game’s development with an external deadline and promise to backrs to deliver a product for iOS.”

The Campaign

VectorBloom started a campaign to raise funds for Big Top Ballet on Oct. 31, 2011.  The app was still in development so the campaign gave buyers 54% profit on their purchases.  The 3-month campaign raised $4388.

How did you Promote the Campaign?

“Living in the mountains of British Columbia, we’re kind of reclusive introverts but we told everyone we knew or almost ever knew! We shared news about the campaign through blog posts, links on our Social Media pages and posting a video of us talking about the campaign on YouTube last summer. We created social media outlets for the game itself on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. While developing the game, we continued to promote Big Top Ballet through poster art and more recently a game trailer.”

How the Campaign Helped

“A funny thing happened when we actually began to get backrs. After posting the campaign and telling everyone about ‘Big Top Ballet’, I was so stressed and afraid it wouldn’t happen. I felt like a turtle without my shell. My concept for Big Top Ballet was out there and ‘Good luck baby, you’re on your on’. But then a stream of backrs backed our game. The combination of sharing our seed concept for Big Top Ballet and a public accountability to backrs really raised our standards for development, UI design and allowed us to focus.

As an indie game studio, the whole process really brought the best out of our small team and our standards for the art, music and plans for the future growth as a game entertainment brand.

I would add that the process of not getting backrs is a huge value. ‘No’s’ remind us not to take anything for granted and to work at wowing the harshest critics. That adversity helps make your ideas and approach stronger, its a good thing.

Our appbackr campaign helped foster a bench mark for excellence within what we could achieve as a small team working with a phenomenal musician. Ill-esha custom composed ‘Kaleidoscope’ the electronica dubstep track for the game which we are confident will set a new standard for game music.

We’re now waiting for Apple to approve version 1 of Big Top Ballet the game for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and are soon planning to post a second campaign for our concept release of Big Top Ballet for Android.”

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1 million copies of #1 Utility app Flashlight will wholesale on appbackr

FLASHLIGHT, the highly successful iPhone® app from developer i4software®, is launching a new app sale on wholesale marketplace appbackr. FLASHLIGHT’s third campaign will raise $450,000, the largest ever on appbackr.

i4software is running the campaign in part to raise money for a large-scale marketing campaign for FLASHLIGHT.  The overwhelmingly popular app is ad-free and opens faster than any other flashlight app. FLASHLIGHT is able to provide a constant light source that is brighter than most common D-battery flashlights. “When compared to other funding and bank options, we believe in the appbackr wholesale model to be a superior alternative for successful app developers to maintain the momentum of their top apps while also funding further expansion and growth.” – Michael Zaletel, CEO i4software.

Two previous campaigns on the marketplace sold a combined 255,000 copies, paying 27% and 16% profit respectively to its buyers.  I4software used the money to boost App Store sales.

Buyers who purchase wholesale copies of the app on appbackr will make money as the app sells in the App Store.  Buyers’ profit will be tiered so that buyers later in the campaign will benefit as much as early buyers.  The first group of buyers will make a profit of 9%, the next groups will profit 13%, 17%, 20% and 24%.

As the app is downloaded in the App Store, and Apple remits payment, appbackr will distribute profits to buyers sequentially. When all of the wholesaled copies have sold, the i4software reverts to the normal distribution method.

Appbackr will send out an email to its users when the campaign starts at 9 am PST Feb. 13, 2012. As new tiers are reached, appbackr will alert their followers on Twitter @appbackr and on the site’s Facebook page.

FLASHLIGHT App Store Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flashlight/id379745980?mt=8

About i4software

i4software, a division of i4sites® established in 1999, is focused on the development of simple, yet powerful mobile applications for iOS, Samsung® bada™ and Android™ platforms. The i4software development team is comprised of uniquely skilled individuals with solid backgrounds in producing successful apps and games for worldwide distribution. i4sites also operates over 700 destination travel websites under the i4® brand name such as i4vegas.com, i4newyork.com and i4hawaii.com.

About appbackr

appbackr Inc. is a privately funded startup based in Palo Alto, CA. The first wholesale marketplace for apps, appbackr’s approach revolutionizes the mobile industry by solving common funding and distribution problems. Appbackr enables app developers to raise cash without giving up equity in the company or product.  Winner of the PayPal X Developer Challenge and SVASE/Cambridge West Ventures Seed Fund Award, the company was also selected as an AlwaysOn Global 250 Company.

# # #

CONTACT:

Sarah Cornwell

appbackr

316 High Street Palo Alto, CA 94301

650-260-3890

sarah@appbackr.com

www.appbackr.com

Twitter: @appbackr

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/appbackr

About the App

Card Drop is a great combination of Solitare and Tetris. It’s an easy, fun game to pick up for a little distraction during the day. The app was released in 2009 and updated in December 2011, to great reviews.

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id327074969

Why They Decided to Run an appbackr Campaign?

Kuyi Mobile was releasing a huge update for Card Drop when Erick Garayblas, Owner/Chief Techology Officer read an article about appbackr. In Erick’s words, “I figured it won’t hurt to get some funding so that I can prepare a huge launch.”

“Card Drop was in the the App Store top charts when it first came out and I figured that with the huge update and proper backing, I can revive the game (after being available in the App Store for more than 2 years now).”

The Campaign

Kuyi Mobile started a campaign to raise funds for the app on Oct. 31, 2011. Card Drop was already in iTunes so the campaign gave buyers 27% profit on their purchases. The 1-month campaign raised $1620 the app.

What was the Money Used For?

“A huge part of the funding was spent on advertising and marketing–ads on game-related sites, press releases and social media marketing. A small portion was used to improve parts of the game like the music and sound effects.”

How the Campaign Helped

“Getting crowd-funding/sourcing was a new experience to me and I never realized that a lot of people are supportive with little projects like Card Drop. While I did not get the sales I was hoping for after using the funds for ads and marketing, the experience was well worth it and knowing that a lot of people can believe in what you’re doing is something I can never forget.”

“A dollar can definitely go a long way when combined with other backers so if you have a cool iOS project and you’re short on funds, I suggest you give appbackr a try! Not to mention that the guys behind appbackr are a breeze to talk to and they will guide you along the way.”

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These campaigns are ending this week on appbackr. Check them out before they’re gone!

BeUppy App
www..appbackr.com/app/BeUppy-App

Multiplying Acorns HD – Tasty Math Facts
www.appbackr.com/app/Multiplying-Acorns-HD—Tasty-Math-Fact

snapFIT
www.appbackr.com/app/snapFIT

Final Freeway 2: Retro
www.appbackr.com/app/Final-Freeway-2:-Retro

Farm Mess Pro – No Ads
www.appbackr.com/app/Farm-Mess-Pro—No-Ads