Tap Your App

Friend of the show, Charles McKeever comes on Tap Your App to discuss his transition from a Corona Geek to THE Corona Geek. He gives us his best tips for connecting with other developers and lets us know how Corona beats the competition. We also discuss the Ktichen Sink or “Why Not” approach to app development and how to tap into your inner 13 year old, or your actual 13 year old if you have one in order to come up with inspiring ideas for app development.  We talk about what it takes for apps to be successful and interesting and we tackle the question “Are things getting easier or harder for app developers?

Our guest on Tap Your App today has some special significance. Andrew Warner's amazing podcast for entrepreneurs is called Mixergy and it was the reason I decided to start a podcast series for Tap for Tap. Andrew Warner lived up to his sterling reputation in one of the best interviews we've had on the show. A proven entrepreneur himself, Andrew has also interviewed close to a 1000 established and successful founders of companies such as Wikipedia, Y Combinator and Groupon. In this dynamic interview we discuss how to be productive, how NOW is the best time to be making apps and how to be direct or "less Canadian." Andrew comes to Tap Your App to spread his gospel and to tell you to "Stop being such a wuss and make some money from your app!" He also distills the best wisdom he's come across as an entrepreneur into three simple words: Find the pain. Andrew's favorite Apps RunKeeper - Turn your phone into a personal trainer Launch Center Pro - Launch actions, not just apps! Bike Route - Find local bike paths and trails Downcast - Andrew's favorite app for podcasts Cobook - Bring all your contact information together Exec - Run your errands with Exe

Mike Amerson, president of WET Productions and indie creator of the very popular My Virtual Girlfriend/Boyfriend apps on iOS and Google Play comes on Tap Your App to discuss his path to success as an indie app developer. My Virtual Girlfriend and My Virtual Boyfriend really took off after Mike worked his butt off to promote the app through grassroots, basic PR tactics and blogger outreach. These efforts proved hugely valuable when they lead to some main stream media sources picking up his app and running with it. When George Lopez, MSNBC and eventually Kotaku picked up stories on his apps, things really started cooking. In this great interview we talk about how marketing your app is truly a moving target, how only a few tactics like Interstitials are on-going winners. We also have some great talks about how localization of your app means so much more than a simple translation.

Judy Dobberpuhl started her career in high finance in California but has re-invented herself by building a successful app empire from the comfort of her home. She came by Tap Your App to talk about her success with Chad Mureta's App Empire, her research methodology, as well as her plans to localize her apps. She is employing some interesting techniques regarding In-App Purchases in her Utility apps and is having some success with Ad Colony, Playhaven and TapJoy. Judy encourages you to reach out to her through Twitter and Facebook. @LoveFunApps http://facebook.com/LoveFunApps

Today Colin Behr from Vungle comes by the show. Vungle earns developers incremental income by integrating high quality 15 second video trailers into their app. We talk about the delicate balance between user experience and monetization that developers must master if they hope to be successful and how video ads can help set and adhere to a user's expectations regarding advertising within content such as apps. There are a few technical difficulties within this interview and I apologize for this. There is still lots of great content here if you can bear a little robot voice..:) Colin and I discuss in-app purchases within our favorite games like Temple Run 2, Subway Surfer and Fun Run.

Cezary Pietrzak, Director of Marketing at Appboy comes by Tap Your App to discuss how to use their service to increase engagement among your users. Broadcast is dead! Long live narrowcasting! . You've worked hard to get them, with services like Appboy, now you can see how they engage your app and you can message them accordingly. Cezary's favorite app: Clear - Life is messy Keep it together with Clear. App Store Best of 2012 Collection. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clear/id493136154?mt=8

In this podcast Eric talks with Mikael Cho from Ooomf about every tip, trick and tool developers need to "own the appstore." Ooomf's goal is to help every app developer out there "compete with the elite," which is something that is harder and harder to do.  We chat about how to get your app in the press. Mikael muses about the future of social media and utility apps, a future that is "filled with technological advancements that are just a little bit creepy" according to Eric. Mikael's Favorite App Twist - Location based texting - tell your friends where you are when you want to https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twist/id449988837?mt=

We're chatting with Rob Brawders of AppBlade today on Tap Your App. AppBlade provides "serious tools for serious mobile development". They offer a suite of pro tools to deploy, test, manage, and secure your apps. Rob explains their service and who they can work with.

Indie Game Girl, AKA Emmy Jonassen, drops by the "Tap Your App" podcast to discuss app marketing, Kickstarter, conversion optimization, and inbound marketing for your app. Emmy's alter ego, Indie Game Girl, helps app developers and indie game companies "Build Adoring Fanbases with Marketing".

This week on Tap Your App Peter Hamilton, Partner and CEO of Has Offers and Mobile App Tracking, stops by to discuss their expansion from an Affiliate Network tracking system to a mobile app tracking service.

Andrew Levy, Co-Founder/Chief Critter, of Crittercism joins us on Tap Your App to discuss those annoying "critters' that crash your app. Crittercism believes that keeping your mobile app crash and bug free should be stupid simple. At Crittercism they tackle this problem and help developers save time and money developing great apps and making consumers happy.

Corey Eadie of AppTumble talks about how he got his start in app development with his first app games and the evolution towards his app discovery app, AppTumble. Corey founded 713 New Media and created the Jewel Attack and Ultimate Drinking Game apps. As an independent app developer he experienced the challenge of marketing apps first hand, which lead to the creation of AppTumble to help users find new apps and help developers get their apps discovered.

Michele Turner of mBlox explains what Smart Mobile Engagement is and how companies in the mobile space can use it to make their apps and business communicate more effectively with users. mBlox helps brands build engagement, loyalty revenue through mobile via SMS and push notifications.

Amit Ginni Patpatia, Founder of FatCow Games, discusses his experience starting an independent game studio and the challenges and successes he's faced along the way. Based in Norway, FatCow is working to master multiplayer games and offering a unique experience through a game portal while working many other projects. FatCow uses an unconventional approach to many problems and tasks, believing strongly in cooperation and partnerships. FatCow admits that they have failed and learned many times, but believes this is part of the path to success

Robi Ganguly, CEO and Co-Founder of Apptentive, talks about how Apptentive helps app developers engage with the people who use their apps. Apptentive aims for better ratings, higher retention, and more customer love for app users by connecting app developers with app customers, enabling a two-way conversation directly with customers, in-app.