The App Icon: A Determining Factor in Your Mobile App’s Success

By John Houghton on January 18, 2014

Creating an outstanding app icon does a lot to drive app downloads.  Many of the people who call my company wanting to develop an app are not aware of the importance of the app icon, and that’s why I decided to write this article.  I’ve seen a lot of app releases, and that has given me a sense of what the numbers of downloads should be.  I’ve been surprised to see some releases do well and generate purchases and installs without advertising, and the success of those apps was propelled by an excellent app icon.  If you’re going to invest anywhere in the marketing success of your newly built app, invest first in your app […]

5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Hosting a Mobile Video Interview Program

By John Houghton on January 17, 2014

I’ve been in the mobile content business since 2005, and I’ve learned a lot about what works and doesn’t work in a video interview program.  I’d like to share the top 5 pitfalls to be aware of when hosting a video program that is delivered via new media, such as in an app.  Now, the context and attitudes that someone brings when their using their mobile phone are different from what they would be if they were sitting in front of their computer watching a video, or watching TV in their living room.  The mobile screen is smaller, so the content needs to be more engaging and dynamic (since the competition is higher on a […]

5 Tips for Successful Mobile Video Content Marketing

By John Houghton on January 16, 2014

A lot of companies are catching on to the power of putting videos into their mobile apps.  I’d like to tell you about how to be successful in publishing Content Marketing videos in your mobile apps using the interview format.  Content Marketing has become one of the most recent and hottest trends, since it has proven to be so effective (if you don’t know what content marketing is, please read Tap Into Riches with Mobile Content Marketing).  One of the hardest things about content marketing is doing the required research to assemble content that presents new and useful information.  With the interview format, you don’t have to do nearly as much research.  Instead, your work […]

How to Drive Revenue with Mobile Content Marketing

By John Houghton on January 15, 2014

In 2005, I founded MobileCast Media in order to focus on mobile content marketing.  We’ve developed a lot of expertise on the subject since then, and I’d like to share some of it with you.  What can you expect from a content marketing app?  If the app and content are done properly, you can expect a lot of buzz.  If you’re the one publishing, you can also expect to become a thought leader, which will also carry over to your organization’s brand.  A lot of companies are blogging these days, and that’s a good use of time since it increases search rankings, builds followers, and demonstrates your expertise.  But since everyone is doing it, blogging […]

Tap Into Riches with Mobile Content Marketing

By John Houghton on January 14, 2014

Before I get into how apps can be used for content marketing, many of you might not know what Content Marketing is, so let me first touch on that.  I like the way Wikipedia sums it up:

“Content marketing is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers. This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, infographics, case studies, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc.  Content marketing is focused not on selling, but on simply communicating with customers and prospects. The idea is to inspire business and loyalty from buyers by delivering consistent, ongoing valuable […]

The Product Requirements Document (PRD): The Swiss Army Knife of App Development

By John Houghton on January 13, 2014

The Product Requirements Document (PRD) is the Swiss army knife for getting software built, and that includes mobile apps.  It’s a basic software design document.  I remember working with a billionaire software investor.  He always wanted a good Product Manager because they could write a PRD, and a PRD is all you needed to hand to a developer to get your software built.  He was pretty much right.  If you have a PRD, you have the roadmap that a developer can use to develop your software for you.  See my previous article on, The role of the Product Manager on a Mobile App Development Team.

At a big company where there is time for a lot […]

The Role of the Product Manager on a Mobile App Development Team

By John Houghton on January 11, 2014

Mobile app development has pulled in many people from outside the software industry, and one role that outsider CEOs, investors, and stakeholders frequently don’t understand is that of the Product Manager. 

In this article I explain what a Product Manager does and why they’re important to a mobile app development team’s success.  In software and app development, the Product Manager is the product owner.  They are the CEO of the product. 

At a single app company the CEO is sometimes also the Product Manager.  You could say that the main job of the Product Manager is planning, specifically, planning the next release of software and bringing together all of the elements to make sure it is well […]

4 Tips for Releasing High Quality Mobile Apps

By John Houghton on January 10, 2014

Now that we have non-software industry CEOs / VPs / Directors / Managers heading up app development projects, I’m seeing many apps that release with a lot of bugs.  Let me share with you the tips I’ve learned from top software companies about quality assurance, and apply them to mobile app development.  These are the most important tips that I feel are often overlooked in mobile app development, and if followed would make a big difference toward releasing higher quality software.

I cut my teeth at Oracle, which is known for its expertise in quickly developing high-quality, inexpensive software.  They have good processes.  I was responsible for Product Management for one of Oracle’s all-time fastest growing […]

How to Get Your iPhone App Approved by the iTunes Store

By John Houghton on January 8, 2014

One of the most vexing parts of publishing an iPhone app is getting it approved by the iTunes store.  It can take a week or longer, and many first-time or unprepared developers get their apps rejected.  My collective team and I have submitted and received approval for dozens of iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod) apps, and we would like to tell you about our experiences.  The Apple approval process is actually good for you and your users.  For you to successfully get your app through this process means that you get Apple’s seal of approval, and have permission to sit with what is right now the world’s top brand.  Here are the most important tips for getting into […]

Tale of a Costly Offshore Mobile App Development Experience

By John Houghton on January 7, 2014

As you may have read from previous blog posts, my company did an extensive search of many countries for mobile developer talent, both for iOS and Android.  Read my article, 12 Countries for Recruiting Mobile App Developers.  We sent out hundreds of solicitations via LinkedIn, got good responses, screened them, and it seemed that we’d found the perfect candidate.  We’ll refer to him here as Lukas.  While the name of the developer has been changed, the timelines and figures presented here have not been changed.  Lukas said he had made over 50 apps, had a Master’s Degree in Computer Science, and we were able to verify one app of his on the iTunes store.  It […]