My First iPhone App is Complete – iTimeOut
One thing that I have always wanted to do is create an iPhone app for sale on the app store. I have seen some great successes from other bloggers who have ventured into the world of iPhone app creation. I first watched Pat Flynn at the Smart Passive Income blog make some substansial money with his LOLer apps. Pat did invest $5,000 to get one of his apps started, but that very same app wound up more than paying for itself in a short time. My pockets are not as deep as Pats, so I had to start with a less complicated app.
My first iphone app is called iTimeOut and it is a timeout timer for parents. Being a father of two small boys, I know that there are times when children must get suspended from play and be put in timeout. Experts recommend that children receive one minute of timeout for every year of their age. In other words, a two year old should get a 2 minute time out, a five year old should get a 5 minute time out and so on.
iTimeOut allows parents to select a time from a ??spinner? that ranges from 1 to 10 minutes. Once the parents select a designated time, the timer begins the countdown. At the beginning of the timeout session there is an unhappy cartoon child??s face on the display ?? as the time runs out this face slowly turns, well?happy. At the end of the timeout a bell rings and the word ??HUG? is displayed on the screen. This tool is great for both parents and children who are enduring the timeout session. It also gives children a way to gauge exactly how long they will be in timeout for.
This app was created by a freelancer that I have found on elance and his work is amazing. He has very reasonable rates and he completed this entire app for me for only $125. His name is Russ and he even took the time to help me get it uploaded on the app store. His company name is Quality Coding and you can view his elance profile here: Quality Coding. I liked working with Russ so much that I already have another app in the works.
You can view the website for iTimeOut here: iTimeOut (I am still finishing building this site!)
iTimeOut has been submitted to Apple and hopefully it should be live on the iPhone app store shortly. If you too have created an iphone app or are considering doing so, please let us know by commenting below. I especially like to hear people’s earnings results with their iphone apps ?? although I know that many people don??t want to divulge this information. Hopefully my new iphone apps will be just one more source of residual income and a new found way for me to make money online.
Best regards,
Michael-John Wolfe
Tags: make money online, residual income, royalties
32 Comments to “My First iPhone App is Complete – iTimeOut”
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I can see this coming in handy for parents of little kids! The key would be to market it properly.
I have been wanting to dabble with the iPhone Apps and get an app out there. Might be time to invest this summer!
You’ll bet I’ll check out the link for your programmer.
P.S. Do you own an iPhone? Have you tested the app yourself?
Yes, I am going to contact many websites that target parents and see if they would want to write an article on iTimeOut. My programmer is great – I do not own an iPhone, but he took the time to take a video of the working app for me and he emailed me the video. I have a friend with an iPhone and he agreed to test my iPhone app for me as well. This programmer can also convert the app to the Google Andriod platform for me – so I might do that. Let us know if you pursue making an app!
MJ
It was a pleasure working with you Michael! Your adventurous spirit and willingness to try different things is inspiring, to say the least.
It was a lot of fun creating your app and I look forward to future projects with you again!
You too Russ! Can’t wait to make the next one! (I also can’t wait to see a few earnings in my Apple account!) I’ll be in touch soon!
MJ
WOW! Great idea. I think that is going to be a very popular app because regular egg timers are not very popular anymore. I don’t have an Iphone, but would deffinately get this if I did. I don’t have one because my children are small and love to play with my cell phone I hope it goes well because I know a lot of people who don’t have an Iphone because of this. I’ve posted before and you know I work online maybe you should market this as a regular computer download as well and charge a small fee because I think that a lot of mothers or fathers that work online would purchase this product. Just a thought. Good Luck.
Thanks Jess! I never thought of making it a regular download. I’ll have to ask Russ about that! One guy did ask me — what if the kid gets mad and throws the phone? Maybe this would not happen on a computer!
MJ
No problem, I think it would be a great download. I follow your site regularly so let me know if it becomes available for a regular download and I will pass it along to others that might be interested.
This post was very timely for me. I did not realize that developing an iPhone app could be done so cheap and professional. I am also grateful to have a reference for a programmer on elance. I have been a little leery about paying money for a service from someone I have never met, but this reference has pushed me over the edge. I hope to get my ideas for the iPhone app together soon and contact Russ.
Thanks again Michael!
Hi DJ! Keep us posted if you make an iPhone app! Just don’t take up all of Russ’ time — I need him to help me. Haha…just kidding! I can’t stop checking the Apple website to see if my app is live, even though Russ told me it could take 3 to 7 days. Maybe I need to get on the horn with Steve Jobs and tell him to get crackin!
MJ
I have two boys as well, and this is useful for a timeout outside of the house. Sometimes you just don’t have good timers available where you are.
Sweet! That means you’ll be my first download George! Haha…
MJ
Not so sure about iPhone apps but I have a couple of friends who have created apps for Android and have made a fair amount off of it. Think Android is potentially a better market to target than iPhone – the userbase is growing very fast and there are less apps than are available for Apple and so less competition. Finally there is no waiting around for approval from Apple.
One of my mates sells his app (one off source of income) and the other has adverts (no up front income but constant source of income). Both have apps which will be used repeatedly and the one who has adverts has been more successful financially and is still earning money from the first downloads – true residual income!
As soon as I read your post I contacted my iPhone app designer about changing my app to Andriod as well. That is smart about the apps with advertisements – can you find out the name of the ad network he or she uses? I would really appreciate it!
Thanks!
MJ
Michael, The app looks like it turned out great, I’ll be anxious to check out the video, to see the user interaction.
It’s always great when you find cool people through the web! Keep up the entrepreneurial spirit, one of these creations is going to take off! Like Russ said, it is definitely inspiring.
Take Care,
-Tony-
Thanks Tony – I appreciate your input! I hope something takes off soon! My friend Matt told me “You keep hitting singles, eventually your going to hit a homerun” — I hope he’s right!
MJ
I’ll see if I can pull some strings and get Steve Jobs to push through your iPhone App….although he might be a tad busy with the iPad coming out and all….I’ll call my people!
do you really think anyone will pay for this app, sorry but I just don’t see it, i think you will have to give it away for free
You may be right – I am starting it as a paid app for .99 cents. If sales are terrible, I can always change it to a free app and add the paid advertisements. My only goal is to make back the initial $125 I spent to make this app. After that, everything is profit. After the app pays for itself, whether I make $50 a month or $500 a month from iTimeOut – I’d be happy.
MJ
Hey MJ Wolfe!
I’m SOOOO Excited that you have an app in review with Apple, and that I helped inspire you a little bit to do so. It sounds like you landed on a quality developer, especially one who was able to help you out and charge you only $125. That’s awesome!
Keep up updated on your progress, and I wish you the best of luck with it!
As far as ad networks, look into AdMobs, which was bought by Google. Also, you could check out QuattroMobile, which was bought by Apple. Hehe.
You’ll have a lot more downloads with free apps, so if at $0.99 it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, you can always go into iTunes Connect and change it up. You will need to have your developer recode to ad the ads though…
Anyways, I could talk for hours about this. Wishing you all the best! Good luck!
Thanks Pat! I can’t wait for it to go live. I am still in “review” mode – hopefully any day now. My developer is making it into an Andriod app as well and he should have the Andriod version completed by Monday. The best part is, there is no wait for the Andriod store – your app goes live immediatley. I will give it a month or two and see how things go and if I have to, I will change it to a free app. How much do you typically get paid each time an ad is viewed?
MJ
[...] MJ Wolfe, another SPI reader over at ResidulandRoyalties.com, is awaiting his first outsourced app to be approved (which was done for only [...]
Thanks Michael for the post. I’ve been posturing about entering the apps world for awhile, but with you and Pat’s inspiration, the time is now! I enjoy your site and look forward to more Passive Income Ideas…
Go for it Randy! Once your apps are live and published — come back to this posting and let us know about them. Best of luck!
MJ
I’d have to agree with Pat – if you don’t have any luck selling the app at .99 I would suggest switching it over to free.
Hi Chris. I am thinking of doing a comparison posting. I will let iTimeOut go for one month as a paid .99 cent app on both the Apple Market and the Android Market. Then I will place the ads on both versions and let that go for one month. Then we can compare the results side by side. Look for this comparison post in the future!
MJ
MJ, thats a great idea the comparison post, looking forward to it!
MJ, I’m going to create an App too. I think it’s great residual income. I may contact your developer. Do I have to sign up with Apple as a developer to get access or does he handle all of that and the upload?
Good luck, man!
Hi Rick – you do have to pay $100 to sign up with Apple as a developer. If you want an Android version, signing up as a Google developer is $25. You should drop Russ an email through elance with your questions. He is great to work with! Come back and let us know if you create an app. Best of luck!
MJ
Hi MJ,
I am a follower of Pat Flynn and dropped to read more about your luck with apps for the iphone. Looks like Russ is going to be busy with all the people calling him up LOL!
I like your site and will be adding it to my RSS feed.
I have an idea for an iphone app too(courtesy Pat for the inspiration). Great pointers and tips and best of luck on your app. Hope you don’t mind if I ask you questions as I trudge along this path.
Hi Malini! Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to ask whatever you’d like. Early indications show that I won’t be making a fortune off iTimeOut, but Russ and I already have a second app in the works. By looking at what has worked for Pat, I have a much better feeling about this new venture. I can now see what type of apps make the most money. You should see an announcement on the Residuals and Royalties blog next month when the new app is live. I won’t give up! Once one of my apps takes off…IT’S ON! When that happens, I’ll be making a bunch more apps!
MJ
Hey MJ,
Nothing ever makes money the first time. Keeping at it is more important. I know the feeling. Best of luck on your future projects. I will be following along.
Ciao!
Malini
Hi. Sorry I took so long to reply. As has already been mentioned Admob is the company to go with at the moment but the new Apple ad network iAd may be better in the long run on the iPhone!