Android Drinking Game, DrunkGreenRobots, just released!

Pleased to announce that I now have my third app released to the market. Drunk Green Robots is a drinking game that combines classic high\low and red\black card game with fun dares. Hopefully it will be loads of fun to play with friends.

I'm taking a new approach to generate revenue for this app. Instead of relying solely on ad banners I'm going to try to use unlock-able content that can be purchased with virtual currency. This currency can either be bought via an in app purchase or earned from a tapjoy offerwall.

In my previous apps I never generated enough users and never earned much money. I don't see this app having tons of users and the users I do have won't open the app daily. So I didn't see normal banner ads generating much revenue. I considered a paid version but decided to try this method instead.

Time will tell if this app will generate better revenue or not. Now I just need to do some promotion and get some users.

Promoting Market Comments and Sharing

In an attempt to promote my apps a little this month, I've adding a couple of things to one of my apps. I want to encourage users to rate the app in the market.  I also want to let them easily share the app with others.

Accomplishing this is very simple and only requires a few lines of code.

First the code to open the market page so users can rate and comment:

Intent rateIntent = new Intnet(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
rateIntent.setData(Uri.parse("market://details?id=your.application.package.name"));
startActivity(rateIntent);

I created a place in the settings screen and placed the above code in the onClick. I also show a dialog after a user completes their 3rd activity asking them if they would like to rate the app. I figure by then the users has used the app enough to give helpful feedback.

Next I created a way to let the user share the app with others. I use android's built in ACTION_SEND intent that the user should be familiar with since its the default way of sharing everything in android.

Intent sareIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT,"Check out this app! https://market.android.com/details?id=your.application.package.name");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT,"Check out this app!");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent,:Share..."));

I created a place in the settings screen just like above. I also show a dialog after the user completes the whole 30 day challenge and ask them if they would like to share or rate application.

Maybe this will help the app get more ratings and more downloads. We will see. I will put the same thing in my Bealse Street Music Fest app once I update it for next year's festival.

I'm back

It has been 6 months since I posted and alot has happened since then. I published my second app 30 Day Love Spark to the android market. I began developing my third app, a drinking game called Drunk Green Robots.

So how has experiment into the world of Android programming gone so far? Well, both good and bad.

The good part: I really enjoy writing apps and get a sense of satisfaction from people downloading them and using them. Writing them challenges me and I am learning alot about java programming and about Android.

The bad part: I haven't earned much. I have earned a total of $9.13 in the 6 months that I've had apps published in the android market. So that is about $1.50 a month which is pretty pathetic. To be fair my first app that has been published for 6 months is a cyclical app that is only relevant around may when the music fest is going on here in Memphis. My other app has only been published since the middle of August and has earned around $4.50 this past month. But still five bucks a month will not even buy me a lunch.

So now I have a choice to make. I can do one of three things. I could stop writing apps since they are not generating the little bit of extra income that I hoped they would. I could continue writing them as a hobby but not try to monetize them.  Or I could get serious about this. Explore more revenue streams and buckle down and try to get a few more apps out there in the next few months.  

I'm choosing the third option. I'm going to put some extra effort into this the next few months and see how things go. I like doing this to much to stop and I don't want to give up on the thought that this could provide a little extra income that my family could use to enjoy life more. My first thing to focus on is to get my new app finished and published. I will try making money from in-app purchases or from a paid version of the app, since its become obvious that to make money with ads you either need a really really popular app or a bunch of them.

I'm also going to start sharing details about my progress and earnings. And talk about the things I learn along the way as I try to make money from Android development. I've read a couple of blogs from developers like me trying to earn money. I've learned some good pointers and enjoyed reading their insight. So I figure I will share my experience so that others can learn from it as well. Stay tuned as I start breaking down stats and earnings and download figures in my next post. 

First app is in the market

I decided to go ahead and throw an app together for the Beale Street Music Fest.  It is pretty basic but it does show the bands playing and the schedule of who plays when.  It also has a map of the park where the event is held.  Hopefully somebody will get use out of it.  If not at least I will.  Me and my wife will be going to the 3 day music festival this weekend.  I can't wait, it is going to be a blast.

If you downloaded the app feel free to leave comments or make suggestions in the comment section.

New app idea

I had an idea for a new app today.  I live in Memphis, TN and every year they have a huge concert called the Beale Street Music Festival.  I got tickets for me and my wife today.  This will be the first time either of us has been in many years.  They have 4 or 5 stages that all have concerts at different times so keeping up with who is playing at what time is a chore.  I looked to see if anybody made an app so I could have a schedule on my phone besides just going to the website, but I couldn't find one.

The event is a week and a half away so I think its too late for me to make a decent app for this year.  But I think it would be helpful for fellow memphians or anybody else comming into town for the event.  Maybe next January or Feburary I will work on an app.  Try to make the lineup easy to filter and show who is on what stage at what time.  Maybe a map would be good too.

We are working on our first app!

I am currently working hard on my first app. 30 day love spark is designed to build closeness in a relationship and help spark the flames of love. It is a simple challenge that you take to do something sweet for your significant other every day for 30 days. 

It will suggest a new activity for you to do every day to show them you care. These suggestions are nothing new. You probably already do alot of them every once in a while. The key is however to do something daily for 30 days in a row. Most suggestions are simple and don't require alot of money or alot of planning. If there is one you can't or don't want to do you can always swap it for another activity or add your own custom activity.  It dosen't matter what you do as long as it shows you care and as long as you keep it up for the whole 30 days.

Sounds simple right?  I hope it is.  And I hope this simple app can help motivate you to stick with it.  I hope this will help others strengthen their relationships.


Download the app from Android Market here: 30 Day Love Spark