Part-time apps developers getting rich

Seth Weintraub
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July 31, 2008
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Now that Apple is letting Apps developers know how many downloads their Apps are receiving, some successful coders are getting quite the positive "shell shock".  Part-time developers who didn't know if they were making the monthly minimum($250) or not are finding out they have huge paychecks coming their way.

Eliza Block, our favorite crossword puzzle developer, found out she's almost hitting $2000/day lately - which, according to her, was totally unexpected. 

Hey Seth,

So yes: they've provided us with download #s by region for the past 3 days (28th-30th). I did *way* better than I had expected, and am a little shell-shocked.

Here's a screenshot from the report for yesterday:

But, she deserves it...her app is the best of the breed, filling a need that many people want.  The amazing thing is that Apple has taken care of everything from the development environment to the transaction services to the distribution to the marketing.   You can be a great software developer on your own without having a huge company to back you up.  This is truly a game changing play for Apple and the development community.

If you ever needed a motivation to get into the iPhone development world, *ahem take a look at the golden goose below....(full size)

 

 

Time to crack open those Objective C books...Maybe you'll come up with something as good as 2Across...

Buy 2Across (iTunes App Store Link)

Update: Here's July 31st's report.  It isn't a fluke...it continues to grow...

Comments (9)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | July 31, 2008 - 8:38pm

Humm... weres can i get me's some objective C bookz? hum? lol

haha
i need to learn

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | July 31, 2008 - 9:09pm

Please show a larger version of the screenshot - it's too small to read.

Thank you.

admin | July 31, 2008 - 9:32pm

Who loves you?  Inserted a link to the full size image...

JoshieTuna (not verified) | July 31, 2008 - 9:56pm

she kinda hit the sweet spot because:
1) it's a game people know and love
2) there is content readily available
3) re: 1 you don't have to educate people as to what they're getting
4) it's the perfect demographic

camillo (not verified) | August 01, 2008 - 2:44am

She should be writing a book! Here's the titles:

- App Store Bought me a Two Story home

- Dear Stevie, thanks for that Hybrid Car

- Thank you so much, Arthur Wynne

- 2 Across: billions in.

Anyway she's doing great and I'm happy for her! Go Eliza! :-)

badweasel (not verified) | August 01, 2008 - 1:19pm

She can't write a book because of Apple NDA. There's not a lot of info out there on the net about how to do this stuff. I've been trying to figure it out completely on my own.

Good for her!

MacMan (not verified) | August 01, 2008 - 4:50am

For a paltry 99.00 per year and a good idea, and some coding, you can make some coin. There are tons of simple applications and utilities that if sold for even a buck has the potential to generate a lot of cash for someone.

This is a much better model than the shareware one for part time coders. With this one, you just wait for the money to roll in if your app is good enough. The trick is finding the right app and building a good version at the right price. Same as starting a business.

A

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 01, 2008 - 9:55am

It just goes to prove that if you have a good idea it pays off in the end.

What is really unfortunate with the App Store is that there is no method of trying programs out first before you decide to buy.

RG (not verified) | August 01, 2008 - 1:08pm

While you're correct that there isn't a specific trial period for apps, a number of developers make lite versions for people to try for free.