How does one really makes money from his apps.

Usually one of four ways: 1) Create a Paid App. 2) Sell Advertising in a Free App 3) Sell App Purchases of premium content in a free app. 4) Create an App for hire Each has it's own advantage and disadvantage. Typically I do #2 and #4. Cheers! -- Smug

I usually do #1 and #4. Although with the onslaught of competition over the last couple of years, #4 has dropped significantly. I tried using the free app model with paid advertising, and just couldn't make enough to justify it. 99% of my apps are paid apps now, and they bring in about $300 a month combined, with about 12 apps in the app store.

> they bring in about $300 a month combined, with about 12 apps in the app store. So do you think it is worth it?

Absolutely. It's recurring income from creating the app one time. In my situation, it's about $3,600 annually for no additional work once the app is submitted. Average app takes me about a month (some 3-6 months, some a couple days). The nice thing is it has a snowball effect for each app you submit. Right now it's about $300 a month... if I add another app, it will be about $350 a month... another app would take it to about $400 a month, and so on. If I was paid just for the one month that I released the app, then I'd say no, it probably wouldn't be worth it. But with the income being generated month after month for no additional work, it's great. Of course the income all depends on the subject of your app. I have some apps that do incredibly well, and others not so much, so it all depends on the content. My "Strip Clubs" app has been in the app store since 2008, and has made over $10,000 since launch. If you find you are not getting the desired sales from a particular app, find a different niche market and create an app for that. It's hard to determine what will sell well and what won't, but like they say, throw enough sh*t against the wall, and some of it is bound to stick :)

Do you do any marketing once the app is published or promotions beforehand? Do you relay only on being discovered through the App Store?

I tried a few different marketing approaches when I first started, 2008-2009ish, but found that the time, effort, and sometimes cost didn't really make much difference, so now I don't do any marketing at all, I simply rely on the app store to do all my marketing for me. I know I could increase sales by marketing the apps, but in my case, it doesn't seem to generate enough added sales to make it worth while.