App Success
Dissecting The Success Of Slither.io
Slither has been lighting up the charts lately and Mobile Action has put up a good post examining why the app has been successful. As a side note, if you search for 'Slither' on the App Store, you will find a ridiculous number of extremely similar knock-off apps. A good example of what happens if you have a little success.
Mobile Actions Findings?
- Do It Better, Not First
- Simple Onboarding & Controls
- Listened to & Communicated With Their Users
What Slither.io Has Done Right to Dominate the Top Charts by the mobile action team
Sponsored
The Swift Algorithms Book (New Discount Pricing)
Written for students and professionals, The Swift Algorithms Book blends modern code, illustrations and computer science to help you pass the interview or build your next app. Perfect for the classroom or the office, the book takes a fresh approach to explain concepts that power search engines, databases and social networks. While quantities last, order the printed book for $18.95 or the get the complete package (printed book & digital formats) for $24.95!
Indie DevStock - A New Developer Conference
Indie DevStock is a new developer conference being held in Nashville, Tennessee September 16-17, 2016.
But it’s not just for indie developers. If you want to learn more about iOS, Apple Watch, Apple TV or Mac development you’re welcome — and encouraged — to attend. While we do have some code-focused tech talks, Indie DevStock focuses on more than just code. It’s a great opportunity to meet new friends, inspire creativity and share new ideas.
Why Indie DevStock?
At Indie DevStock, you’ll have the opportunity to meet some great people with whom you share common interests. You’ll enjoy fantastic food, excellent music and experience the finest in Southern hospitality. And who knows? Perhaps new ideas and epic partnerships will form.
Indie DevStock; organized by women — created for everyone!
Marketing
Apple App Analytics: What You May Be Missing
We've been without valuable analytics in iTunes Connect for so long it's easy to forget the wealth of information now available from Apple. This is a good guide on what's in there, what you might have missed, and how to use data like you App Store conversion rate to experiment with different marketing ideas.
"By monitoring your App Store Views closely, you can learn a great deal about ASO and what worked and what didn’t work."
9 Great Ways To Grow Your App
Though I'm not fond of using the word 'hack' for everything you try (is it really a life hack to drink more water?), I like this summary of the many different techniques you can use to drive downloads of your app.
9 Growth Hacks That Will Spark An App Download Frenzy by Ron Medlin of Zapporoo
Please Rate My App Prompt = 1 Star!
Too many 1 star reviews can kill your app. If you don't bother the user for a review, you won't get reviews. That can kill your app too. Amy sees both sides of this problem well and is experimenting with something less obtrusive in her app, UK Transport.
Xcode
Save Time By Automating Output Of Your Assets
Very cool new tool to output all your assets to the correct size, placing them directly into Assets.xcassets in Xcode. Save yourself tons of time dragging images around with this tool.
Resources
Sample Code With Video Every Day
Every day y mizusima uploads a new video showing something achieved in Xcode, along with the sample code. That's a lot of content and it's definitely worth checking out. The videos are short, sometimes just a few seconds to show the functionality, so you can quickly pick and choose what you want to explore and implement.
Today's iOS Sample by y mizusima
Monetization
How To Make A $29.99 App Feel Like a Steal
Great dissection of how to charge $29.99 for an app and make it work. Pay close attention to the onboard technique that Joe Allan uses to make his users happy that his app is only $29.99.
Frameworks
Nice Animation In This Onboarding Framework
This is a nice onboarding framework you can drop in your app. The animation really gives it a nice touch.
Paper Onboarding from Ramotion
Code
Why You Must Learn Error Handling In Swift 2.0
In Swift 2.0, you cannot opt out of error handling. Juan Pablo Claude explains what this means to developers who haven't implemented error handling much and now must conform.
Tools
What Tools Do You Use To Develop On Your Mac?
I was most interested in the second part of this survey, showing what different developers use to get stuff done on their Macs. From services to tools, find out if you're missing something others are using. I didn't realize just how popular Trello is!
Mac Dev Survey 2016 from Tower
Welcome! A bit of a quiet week, but I was still able to find quite a few interesting links for you. I haven't mentioned it in a few weeks, but our iOS Slack group has grown to over 500 developers and has turned into a great resource for me and many other members. Sign up for an invite if you'd like to network with app founders and some great developers.
If you are considering a going to a new iOS conference this year, consider Indie DevStock. I'll be there and would love to meet you! You can learn more in their sponsorship below. On to the links! - @cdbeshore