Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Christmas/Updated goals


To all you who are reading this blog, I hope you and your families have a great Christmas.
Stay safe and have a great time.

Meanwhile if you would like something to read briefly, please have a look at my goals, which I have updated on the About me and my Goals page.
I'll catch up with you all very soon.

Mike.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

What's new?

I thought I'd provide an update as to where I am currently in my efforts to make money from Android development.

I am currently working on a new feature for the Pro version of Computer and IT Quiz, which should hopefully entice a few players to move to the Pro version instead of the free version.
That will be my next app update, so it may be a week or two before I get that released, depending on spare time etc.

You may also have noticed that I have now exceeded my original deadline of earning my living by my 30th Birthday (which was on the 13th December 2013), but as I have restructured my goals, it's all good. I will post when any of my goals have been reached.

Lastly, please remember to Like my Facebook page - I only need one more Like and I hit 20!
https://www.facebook.com/spiderdog.spiderdog

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you all have a great Christmas.

Mike.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Another price adjustment...

I've decided to lower the price of the app in US dollars. At first after putting in the price in GB pounds I roughly went with the auto-conversion price, but it does seem a little high, and the last thing I want is to put people off buying the app.
That's pretty much all I have to say today. Off to Blackpool Zoo shortly!
Thanks for reading.
Mike

Saturday, December 7, 2013

November 2013 Profits

I was expecting a low payment for November. This was before I picked up the pace again, and so I only have myself to blame.

The grand total from app sales for November 2013 is:
$5.78 ...wow!
Well, I can't live off that now can I?

I had a grand total of 3 sales of the Computer and IT Quiz Pro app. I have also noticed a drop in total installs of the Computer and IT Quiz Lite app, which I use to promote the Pro app, but I am hoping this will again pick up now I have started work on the app again.

I suppose many people would give up at this point, but I will not give up because I want to reach my goals so much.

Watch this space - I just hope the app price increase I implemented earlier today won't put people off downloading.

Please remember to go over to my Facebook page and give me a 'like', I would really appreciate that.

Thanks for reading,
Mike

Latest app release and price increase

Hi folks.

I've been quite out of tune with how much I am charging for the pro version of the Computer and IT Quiz app.
I took a look this morning and had a good think about raising the price up a bit, and have decided to do so.
I have actually more than doubled the price of the app, and am hoping this will still be low enough for those kind enough to buy the pro app. It's not exactly expensive, but it is quite a bit jump relatively speaking.
I just hope it will help me to earn more money from my apps - in my opinion if someone is willing to pay $1.99 for a decent app, then hopefully they would be willing to pay $4.99 for the same app, if it's good (and of course they can try it and get a refund if they don't like it, or use the free version if they so desire).

We shall see.

Moving on to development, I have been making great use of the morning time I have now, just for adding questions to the quiz, sketching out ideas for new apps, research etc. It's a brilliant time of day to work with very few distractions.
When I do end up working full time as a self employed developer, I may just find myself starting work very early and getting what I can done before everyone else wakes up!

Thank you very much for reading today's post - please check out my Facebook page and hit that 'Like' button.

Cheers, Mike.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Making Money with Android... and Facebook

Good morning,

I have spent more time on my Facebook page, and would love if you could pay a visit and 'Like' it - if you have enjoyed reading this blog, using my apps etc I would really appreciate it.

My goals for Facebook, which I can use to promote app releases etc, are as follows:
20 likes (currently 17)
30 likes
40 likes
50 likes
I will put these on the About Me and My Goals page.

My intention for Facebook is to release new app information, release information, and other information relative to earning a living with Android, and I am hoping the updates will be interesting and fun, as well as great for getting the word out about my apps.

As you can see, I am working harder than ever on my project to earn a living from Android, and only time will tell if I will be successful, but I do need all the help I can get.

Thanks again and the link to my Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/spiderdog.spiderdog

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Latest Release

No real rise in numbers of paid applications since I started updating again, but it will take time.
I have also, today, rolled out another update of the Computer and IT Quiz apps.

I have also spent some time recreating my goals, which can now be found on the 'About Me and My Goals' page for this blog. The goals I had were to spaced out and once I reached a difficult one, I had nothing close to aim for and I think that is part of the reason I stopped working on the project.
I have also added to my Facebook page, so please check that out and give me a 'Like' if you would be so kind - I'd love to get to at lease 50 likes (currently only 16!).

Thanks again for reading and sticking with this blog.

Mike


Saturday, November 30, 2013

Getting Back into Android Development

My recent move out with my Fiancée has relit the drive in me to earn more money and I have decided to rewrite my goals. I will most likely be able to spend 30-60 mins each weekday on Android development, in a bid to earn the money I want and eventually to achieve my ultimate goal of living from the money I earn with my Android apps (and this blog if it starts pulling in some decent money).

I was watching a TV show last night called 'Extreme Cheapskates'. I saw a man who would save coins he found on the floor, and eventually have enough money for a meal, and it reminded me that although I am only earning a small amount of money at present with Android, each time I work on the apps and the blog, that monthly amount increases. Obviously if I'm not working at earning the money, it won't come to me.

I've written some extra questions for the Compuer and IT Quiz this week in my spare time, next week I plan to research getting the app more noticed in social networks, then we can see where that goes. Hopefully it will get me a few more downloads.
I also need to improve my Facebook page, so that is perhaps tells a little of my story. I currently have only 16 likes for Spiderdog Software on Facebook. I need to get more so I can use it to promote my new apps and updates.

Anyway, I have just released a new update so please check out the quiz app with all the new questions!

Thanks
Mike


Friday, November 22, 2013

A General Update

Hi everybody,

I haven't posted in a fair old while now, and I can only apologise to those who have been waiting eagerly for my posts  (there must be someone out there!)

Thank you for sticking with me.

I must say I have spent very little time on my Android projects as of late, for a number of reasons, and I must change my final goal significantly now as it is going to overrun in December.

The idea, as you may remember, was to earn a living from the development on Android apps, or at least be halfway there, by my 30th Birthday. That is next month. I am not, however, disheartened by this. I know my target is now out of reach in this amount of time, as I get so little time to spend on development these days, but the long term goal still remains the same, and I still intend on making a living developing Android apps.

Profits over the last few months have been very low (approx $10 per month), but it's money at the end of the day.

I think I have found a time in the day now where I can actually spend some time working on my apps, and get things rolling again, so I will post again soon.

Thanks again.
Mike

Thursday, July 4, 2013

May 2013 Profits

Hello again!

So, profits for May and June.

Well - my total sales for May for the Computer and IT Quiz Pro app are:
$16.00
...not too bad.

So, I am doubling the effort I am putting into the app now. It has had many changes made to it, but there is still plenty of work for me to carry out to make it the best it can possibly be.
You may be thinking that I am now spending too much time on the app, and that it's time to move on, but working on this app is teaching me a lot and my skills are growing. I have also proved that it can make a reasonable amount of money, and I would like it if I could boost this apps profits to $50 per month.

June's profits will be listed very soon, but Google hasn't finalised the spreadsheet yet, so I'll post that when it's ready.

Thanks again for reading,
Mike.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Computer Quiz - New Version is now on Google Play!


After much work, the newly updated Computer Quiz (both Pro and Lite versions) are now available on the Android Market (you may need to wait a few hours before the updates appear).
This is a completely recoded version, from the ground up, so it now allows me to add much better features, and leaves less room for error when I add questions into the question database.

Thank you to all of my app users who have been waiting patiently for an update :)

Let's see if I start to get a few more downloads now - after all, I am here to try and make a living with my Android apps.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep you all updated with how things are going.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

April 2013 Profits


Hi all!

It's been a while since I posted, I know and I am sorry.
We have been working incredibly hard on the newly updated Computer and IT Quiz app, trying to get that released as soon as possible, to give the app a boost on the market.

The profits for April were quite dismal ($8.61), but they picked up again a bit in May (the sales report isn't available yet for May for so I'm not sure on the numbers).

We are getting towards the end of the work we are doing on the rewrite of the computer quiz, and with it comes a much more maintainable app, which will allow us to expand more that we could have hoped with the old one. I'm sure the time and effort will be worth it.

Keep watching this space, and thanks for sticking with my blog - I am still as determined to reach my goal!

Thanks for reading,
Mike.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

February/March 2013 Profits


Hello - my latest stats are below. Remember, the amount now shown is AFTER Google take their cut, and so are a lot lower than before.

My primary goals are still the same though, the next being to earn $50 in a single month:

February: $23

March: $18

I have placed my goals below again so you can read through if you are interested:

  1. Earn over $1 in a single day. ACHIEVED
  2. Earn $10 dollars in a single month (approx 33c per day) ACHIEVED $16.26 - mostly from sales of Computer and IT Quiz Pro
  3. Earn $30 dollars in a single month ACHIEVED
  4. Earn $50 dollars in a single month.
  5. Earn $100 in a single month.
  6. Earn $500 in a month.
  7. Earn $50 a day/$1500 in a month.
  8. Leave full time employment.

Chasing the dream - making a living with Android App profits

For some time now I have been working towards my dream of earning enough money, with my Android apps, to live off the profits (or at least drastically reduce my working hours, and get out of the rat race).

I am still working (very hard) to reach this goal, spending as much time as possible developing my skills and also working on the apps that I am hoping will make my dream a reality.

I do have a date by which I would like to reach (or get close to) my goal... December this year (2013). As I stated in one of my first posts, I wanted to be earning some decent money by the time I turned thirty. It is now April, so I still have eight months left to reach my goal. I reckon it's very possible.

I am trying to develop myself in as many ways possible in my spare time (when I'm not developing the apps!), particularly topping up my knowledge of Java, the foundation of Android development. Continuing to learn like this improves my coding efficiency and maintainability (it stops me using workarounds which cause problems in the future!), and it's always great to learn extra things you miss out the first time you learn a new skill.

A little advice I can offer to anyone who has the same goals as me, and is worried about motivation:

  • Never think you can't do it - everyone has it in them to earn money creating apps.
  • Have patience - sometime results take a long time to show - keep working away and eventually you will be rewarded.
  • Do the best you can do - don't give up and release something worse because you couldn't be bothered doing it better.
  • Test everything thoroughly. Test it again. Then get someone else to test it :)
  • Keep developing your apps, and your own skills.


So, keep up the good work, or if you haven't started yet, I wish you the best of luck with your ideas.

Mike

Friday, April 5, 2013

The costs of Android development for a full time career

You most likely landed on this page as you are trying to achieve a similar goal to me; a full time career, from home, working for yourself, developing Android apps. Or perhaps you are just playing with the idea. Either way, you should find this post of interest.
I want to share with you some data on the amount of time I myself put into development at present on the way to achieving that elusive dream.
Consider this - I work full time in a job that is an hours drive away from home, and I have a fiancee whom I spend four or five nights a week with (as well as my days off). After getting home from work on the days I am alone, I eat my tea and am usually done by 6:30 or so. I don't like to work too late as I squeeze in a morning walk so am up at 5:30 in the morning, so on average I have four hours on my free days to spend worming towards my goal. Usually I have two free evenings per week, summing 8 hours of development time per week.
Not a lot really is it? OK, it does soak up my spare time like a dry sponge, but my hopes of leaving the rat race are too high, and I am happy to spend my time learning and programming, and I am determined that I will reach my goal.
I'm sure others have a much more packed development schedule that mine - please comment and let us know!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Next Steps


Hi all,

Sorry - not much to report at present - sales are a little slow as we have nothing to release at present (the next update to Computer Quiz is a major one, and we are working very hard to get this out as soon as possible).

I have put other Android projects on hold for now whilst working on the quiz, but once this is done and released, we have lots of cool ideas for other apps.

This year will be a very interesting one in terms of my Android development career - it is this year I planned on reaching (or being very close) to earning a living with Android.

Thank you for your continued interest and support in my project - I will be posting again soon!

Mike.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Computer and IT Quiz - Latest Release

Information on the latest release of Computer and IT Quiz:

We have been working on a new user interface (for both lite and pro versions of the app), which has now been fully implemented and released. Additional quiz questions have been added too.

Please let us know what you think of the new interface!

Monday, February 11, 2013

January 2013 Profits

Hello all.

App sales went very well in January this year. I am getting within sights of my next goal.
I am going to introduce a change, however, into how I list the profits I earn with Android apps.

In the past, I have always listed my profits as the total amount paid into Google Play, rather than the actual amount I receive (don't ask me why - I don't know!) I don't normally show the chunk Google takes out. From now on, any profits will be shown as the actual amount I receive (before tax) - i.e.  the amount that goes into my bank account.

So, for example, my total earnings for this month were $49 (very close to my target of $50 in a month!), but from now on, I am going to post profits after this deduction has been taken out. It just makes things simpler for my calculations, and also gives readers a better picture of the money I am earning.

So, total profits for this month, after Google's deduction: $31.15. I am very pleased with this - it's my highest earning month ever.

I also have some more interesting news - I am now working on my Computer and IT Quiz as well as some other projects with my friend Janos, who took interest in working with me after playing the quiz. We are currently developing apps together and both have the same goal - to earn enough money to work from home, so I hope we can produce some great apps together.

Thanks for reading,
Mike.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Some encouraging numbers - I am making money with Android

Making money with Android... again.

I have also reached my third primary goal! Awesome.

As you will know if you have read my earlier posts, my income for Android has been like a rollercoaster - up and down constantly. For a few days I get plenty of downloads, and then all of a sudden, they stop.

Well, at present, I am getting one or more a day, and have now reached my third primary goal of $30 (USD) in a single month. Each time I reach one of my goals, I know I am one step closer to the big dream of working full time from home.

My next target it $50 in a single month, and I can't wait to reach that one.

I don't say this often enough, but if anyone out there is doing, or trying to do, the same thing as me - I wish you the very best of luck. Write those apps, get them published on the market, and let me know how you do!

Thanks for reading again,
Mike.


Primary Goals
  1. Earn over $1 in a single day. ACHIEVED
  2. Earn $10 dollars in a single month (approx 33c per day) ACHIEVED $16.26 - mostly from sales of Computer and IT Quiz Pro
  3. Earn $30 dollars in a single month (approx $1 per day) ACHIEVED ($31.91 - and it's not the end of the month yet!)
  4. Earn $50 dollars in a single month.
  5. Earn $100 in a single month.
  6. Earn $500 in a month.
  7. Earn $50 a day/$1500 in a month.
  8. Leave full time employment

Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Final Push for my App

Time to blog and develop

Good morning.

I do hope you are all well and thank you for continuing reading my blog, and checking my apps out.

I am currently off work with a stomach bug, so what better chance to catch up with my AndroidMakeMoney blog, and some development!

As I published my goals and achievments yesterday, I wont to this again today, but I can give out some other information. I have got a few things to share with you today:

Android App updates and improvements

Computer and IT Quiz Pro had another feature added to it today - a Sudden Death mode whereby the player must answer 100 questions in a row, without getting any wrong. I tried it myself. It's mega tough.
I placed the button for this in the free version, and when clicked, the user is prompted to download the pro version.
I think this will be one of the last major updates to this app (I may improve the Facebook and twitter interaction though). I have spent a lot of time on this app and it is not producing amazing results. I will, of course, still maintain the app and continue to add questions, but I won't be spending hours at a time adding new features. **I've changed my mind on this and will continue working on this app - I believe it has not yet reached it's full potential!**

Stop Binge Eating - This is a perfectly good app, but downloads have been extremely slow. OK, the app doesn't really do an awful lot - it contains some information about binge eating and a link to a support forum I put together especially for the app, but it is very useful all the same, so I gave it a bit of a makeover.
I changed the icon, put the icon in the app itself, and just generally tidied things up again.
I also changed all ads displayed in this app to point to Blou Simple Calorie Counter, and vice versa, so the two can promote each other for free!

Blou Simple Calorie Counter - Yep, new name and icon, and tidied up the appearance a little. I am also pointing all ads displayed in 'Blou' to the 'Stop Binge Eating' app, and vice versa, so they promote each other.

Making Money with Android Apps...

As you probably know, downloads of Computer and IT Quiz Pro have suffered almost a complete halt.
Yesterday, after updating only the Play Store description slightly (trying to get some sympathy downloads of the pro version!), I got 3 downloads.
OK, I know, 3 sounds really low, but for me it's really cool. It may be a sign that things are about to kick off again. We will see.

Graphs, charts, numbers... Active Device Installs

I have included some charts below of things that may interest you (I haven't shown all my apps - some of the graphs are steady and quite uninteresting in this way. That's not to say that I don't like a nice steady increase of installs mind!) Here are the active device installs for some apps:

Computer and IT Quiz Free

This is my favourite. From around March 2012 onwards (see my panic stricken blog posts from around that time),  I had a dramatic decrease in active installs of this app. It was crazy, and I still don't know what happened, but as you can see from the sudden climb a few months later, things are better than ever now. I often wonder if the stats were wrong at Google's end.

Blou Simple Calorie Counter

Blou seems to be doing rather well at the moment - I am putting it down to new years weight loss resolutions and new gym memberships.

What's next?

I am currently working on my next quiz, which isn't too far off being complete (it takes a long time to come up with all those questions!).

I won't give away the theme, but I am enjoying creating it. After that, I am going to go for an app with a wider target area and try to earn some decent money through ad revenue. I have loads of ideas up my sleeve.

So with that, I am off for a bath and then back to work on the new Quiz.

Thanks for reading this post!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Another Quick Update - ALL Secondary Goals Achieved!

Another Quick Update


Hi again,
Just another recap as I have met another one of my secondary goals - my Simple Calorie Tracker has not reached over 500 active users, after hovering around 270 for a long time.

I only noticed this as I was working on the interface and decided to check the stats. The active installs have nearly doubled this month (Jan 2013) - I guess it's all those new years resolutions to lose weight!

I have also moved one of my secondary goals (to leave full time employment) over to my primary goals, as it is the whole purpose of all my efforts! This means I have actually achieved all my secondary goals. Hurah!

Oh, one more note, I did switch back to paid ads for my Computer and IT Quiz (Free), but I have gone back to promoting my Pro version. Just in case you are interested.


Primary Goals
  1. Earn over $1 in a single day. ACHIEVED
  2. Earn $10 dollars in a single month (approx 33c per day) ACHIEVED $16.26 - mostly from sales of Computer and IT Quiz Pro
  3. Earn $30 dollars in a single month (approx $1 per day) (got close - $26.95)
  4. Earn $50 dollars in a single month.
  5. Earn $100 in a single month.
  6. Earn $500 in a month.
  7. Earn $50 a day/$1500 in a month.
  8. Leave full time employment
Secondary Goals - ALL ACHIEVED!
  • To earn $5 in a single month - ACHIEVED $16.26 - mostly from sales of Computer and IT Quiz Pro
  • To achieve more than 1000 ad impressions in a single day. ACHIEVED 1629.
  • To achieve 500 active installs for Simple Calorie Tracker/Counter (currently 590).
  • To achieve 2000 active installs for Computer and IT Quiz (currently 5016). ACHIEVED
  • Create my first graphical game. ACHIEVED
Thanks again for reading. Keep checking back for further updates.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Year - Android Development Career

New Year - What's going on now? Has my Android development career taken off?

Not yet.

Hello and welcome back to my blog. Hope you have enjoyed any holidays, relaxing and general time away from work you have had (if any!) over the last couple of weeks.

I am once again in an odd situation with my Android Career - my paid version of Computer and IT Quiz Pro for Android all but stopped getting any downloads (after getting approx 1 per day for a couple of months).
This is very frustrating as I still haven't got to the bottom of it - the free version has continued to increase in downloads, and most of my sales for the pro version came from the ads in the free version, which were still running. There are no major bugs in the pro version and my pricing has been lowered a couple of times since this started, making no difference! I also added a bunch of different ads (all pointing to the pro version, but with a variety of ad text), but this has not helped.

I do, however, remain optimistic that my time will come.

If you have read this blog from the start, you will know that I would like to be at, or close to, leaving full time employment by the time I turn 30. Well, in December 2012, I turned 29. I have less than a year to boost by earnings dramatically.

I have, for now, switched to third party ads in the free version of Computer and IT Quiz, simply as a test (perhaps users had started to ignore the ads for the pro version as they are always there?).

I am going to spend some time this evening investigating the lack of sales for the pro version of the app - I really want to get back to were I was a couple of months ago, having met a couple of my goals. I did, however, meet another of my secondary goals this month (after placing third party ads back in my free version of the Computer Quiz)... I achieved more that 1000 ad impressions in a single day.

Primary Goals
  1. Earn over $1 in a single day. ACHIEVED
  2. Earn $10 dollars in a single month (approx 33c per day) ACHIEVED $16.26 - mostly from sales of Computer and IT Quiz Pro
  3. Earn $30 dollars in a single month (approx $1 per day) (got close - $26.95)
  4. Earn $50 dollars in a single month.
  5. Earn $100 in a single month.
  6. Earn $500 in a month.
  7. Earn $50 a day/$1500 in a month.
Secondary Goals
  • To earn $5 in a single month - ACHIEVED $16.26 - mostly from sales of Computer and IT Quiz Pro
  • To achieve more than 1000 ad impressions in a single day. ACHIEVED 1629.
  • To achieve 500 active installs for Simple Calorie Tracker/Counter (currently 267).
  • To achieve 2000 active installs for Computer and IT Quiz (currently 5016). ACHIEVED
  • Create my first graphical game. ACHIEVED
  • Leave full time employment.

Thanks again for reading - please wish me luck with reaching more of my goals!