To Self Publish or Publish Through a Publisher

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Every once in a while there isn’t really much “good news” out there in terms of things I consider to be insightful.  I mean shoot, if we look at just the last couple days, this whole “Project PRISM” thing and the lay-offs from Zynga and other studios are dominating the headlines.  That, and I guess Apple’s WWDC that’s coming up rather soon.

For the rest of us that are looking for ways to move our business forward in the App and Mobile world, there is still hope.  And, in this article I hope to deliver some value to prove that there are still some of us that care about providing insightful information that can actually help people.  Versus, stressing them out over shit that’s been happening for years and rubbing gloom-and-doom forecasts in our faces.

 

Enough of that.

Let’s talk about something else..

 

Had a fun time chatting this morning with one of my fellow readers, and he asked me a very good question, so good that I actually went back to my book that I considered “Done” and added ONE LAST thing to the: “Questions and Challenges” section in Chapter 9.

The question of course: “Is it better to self-publish or partner with a large Publisher, and have them publish your app?”

My response in short: It really depends on the your overall long-term goals.

In detail: With the above in mind, ask yourself: Do I want to build a business out of making new apps on a consistent basis, or just create one app to ‘see how it goes’?.

 

Here are two scenarios:

(Keep in mind, having a Publisher publish your app will generally mean surrendering 50% or more of your revenues from the get-go.  Although, you are still in full control of your IP (intellectual property))

1)    You’re not certain your own marketing efforts will yield the results you need to make your app a ‘success’.  You then, therefore are willing to give the Publisher 50% or more of your revenues to have them market it through their own network in addition to your own efforts.

a.    The plus side to this: You get immediate access to a network of interested users that will likely want to download your app.

b.    The down side: By having someone else publish your app, you’re giving up 50% of your revenues for something that’s in some cases a pretty temporary benefit.

I.E. If your app goes on to be  a block buster app (which most aren’t mind you – not saying yours wont, but most aren’t) then you’re giving away 50% of the revenues for ‘initial help’.  That could mean some serious $$ if you’re in the top 100, or even top 10 down the line.

Note: Depending on which App Store you publish in will determine the longevity of your rankings and overall strategy. IOS usually counts 3-5 days worth of stats, whereas Google Play is from the time of publishing to forever.

2)    You’re confident that you and your team can and will do everything possible on your own to make sure the launch of your app is a success and you get the downloads you’re after.  Congratulations, you still have 100% of your revenues, although it may be a little harder initially, if your app is a success as described above, then you AND your team will be very happy you held off on having someone else publish your the app on your behalf.

Again, the situation varies on each individual situation and goals.  At the end of the day, YOU have to make the decision on which is best for you depending on what the ‘terms’ are.  If you can negotiate good terms, the sometimes obviously that makes it more worth it. 

 

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