I Am Finley

App Store

Selah Chords, Ads, and Europe


I removed the ads from Selah Chords. As I developed Selah Chords, I knew I needed to try something new with the purchase strategy. Where Web Tools is a pro app for iPad, Selah Chords is targeted at a crowd with many free— albeit not great— options. So I baked in ads and a "Remove Ads" in-app purchase.

And it bombed. In a month and a half of availability, I have made 75 cents on ads and had just 2% of users pay to remove ads.

Here's the thing. You must annoy the shit out of your users to get them to see the value of removing ads. Think of any game you have played recently. You are mid-game and POPPPPP! A full-screen, full-volume, full-video ad. For 30 seconds you must wait to play again. And after the umpteenth time, you buy the in-app purchase to stop that shit.

That's called a "dark pattern" in the UX world. And I hate it. So I just had a simple ad at the bottom of the app. And it didn't annoy anyone. So why pay to remove it.

So I have removed the ads from Selah Chords.


Don't get me started on the small-government train here, but GDPR prevented me from launching in Europe. Why? Because the laws are unclear and very threatening for an indie shop. If I screw up even a little, I could be fined for potentially millions. So instead of trying and failing to follow a new law in Europe, I blocked Europe.


Selah Chords is now available for Europe! Because I removed ads. So now— as I have no server-side API use, no tracking, no privacy-invading anything— I don't have to worry about GDPR.

Free, but an IAP

Selah Chords is still free to download and use, but beyond the launch features— the best, most easy to use chord finder, with guitar, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and dulcimer support— you will need to pay to unlock the full app. Right now, that means Custom Tunings. Next up is additional chords. And other features are in the pipeline.

If you wish to support further development, please buy the IAP for $5. That's a coffee.


Pro Software for iOS and Making Money on the App Store


An Idea

In November I had an idea for an app. For some time I, like many people, have been looking at iOS, namely iPad, and asking if it’s time for me to use it professionally yet. What can it do? What can it not do? What are my real requirements for work? As I explored those questions, I found an area of functionality that no app had satisfied yet that front-end developers require daily: the web inspector.

Finding an area unexplored by other apps can be rare and usually means a lack of API support or a huge time investment would be required to build. Neither ended up true. With about two weeks of development (moonlighting-with-a-baby weeks), I had built the first version of Web Tools. Feeling like I had something special, I got a few betas out via TestFlight and launched it in mid-December.

Launch week was met with an article on MacStories and a boom in traffic. In December Web Tools earned me around $1400.

Pro Software for iOS

November marked the release of the iPad Pro, the new addition to the iPad family, differentiated by its much higher memory, storage, and processing power. But what makes it “Pro”? Software. With iOS 9’s new multitasking split-screen and slide-over functionality, it’s starting to feel like you can really get things done on these devices. With better and better API’s for developers to communicate and share data between apps, we can do more and more with the platform. So where’s the software?

As a million articles have covered, the old structure of selling software included two major features: offering a trial and having upgrade pricing. The first allowed one to charge a reasonable price while not scaring off possible customers that couldn’t try before buying, and the second allowed one to make money from current customers. The App Store offers neither of these. Because of this, it’s hard to charge more than $9.99 (or $2.99, really) for an app and actually make sales. Sure, advertising and word-of-mouth can help spread the word that your app is worth it, but that’s an uphill battle. On top of that, there is an expectation among App Store customers that you will continue to pump out updates, bug fixes, and more for years, all for free.

For smaller apps that require less investment of time or can sell large numbers, this can work. $0.99 multiplied by a million is good money. But pro software targets niche markets. There are not millions of potential customers. So high price goes with higher development investment and higher risk.

Making Money on the App Store

How does this work for the App Store, then? The first version of Web Tools had just two features: a scalable web browser and a web inspector. People are already using it every day because nothing like it exists on the platform. As I completed the first version, I realized that much more could be added to this if the market exists. While I could rise the price of the app with every new feature, I would end up with a high priced app that no one will take a risk on because of the lack of trials and I wouldn’t get additional money from my current customers that I’ve worked so hard to get.

So my strategy is in-app purchases. While many games have given them a really bad reputation, they can be used very well too. I have seen many apps use them for try-first methods, such as only giving read access until you upgrade with an IAP.

The structure of Web Tools allows for IAPs to be implemented very easily, as the tool box (that started with just an inspector) is a series of panels and each major panel will come with an in-app purchase, starting with the JavaScript Console coming this month.

But unlike some games, I don’t intend to nickel and dime my customers. The core app will continue to get feature enhancements for free and the Console will continue to get feature enhancements for free to those that buy that panel. I won’t be charging $0.99 for the ability to edit inner HTML in the Inspector. Nope, that one’s on the house.

A Suitable Path Forward

For software to be maintained, the developer must make money. If your business plan misses that step, your app will slowly die as you lack reason for investing time into it. So this is part of my strategy to keep this app alive. If you wish for the app to continue getting updates, please consider supporting it by purchasing the upcoming Console.


Paddox — a Simple Line Game


Find a friend and pass your iPhone or iPad as you play this highly addicting game of dots and lines!

Download today on the App Store

Launching today is the game I built during the Super Bowl. It is a pass-and-play game. Super simple. Draw lines, pass device, make boxes. Once no more lines can be drawn, the one with the most boxes wins. Go download it now for $1.99!


Best Way to Manipulate App Store Rankings


I still believe that the best way to “manipulate” any App Store rankings is to have a great product and a strategy of getting the word out. I think most people would agree with the former but few are able to do the latter.

John Saddington



Pay Once & Play


Apple has started promoting games that don't have any In-App Purchases on the front page of the App Store. Currently featured in the UK App Store and likely expanding to the U.S. store later today as part of the App Store's weekly refresh, the section is called 'Pay Once & Play' and it showcases “great games” that don't require users to pay for extra content through IAPs.


Interesting addition by Apple. Games with IAPs have long been a complaint of users. Personally, I’d prefer to pay $10 for a game and have full access than download it for free and not be able to continue without paying a ton of money or only opening the game every few days.