There aren’t many people who can say that they have been both a bin man and a successful app entrepreneur; Rob Shoesmith is one of those few people. As a judge on App Idol, Rob is in an optimum position to tell you what sorts of apps he thinks have what it takes to make it in what is already a very crowded marketplace. We caught up with the MEDL marketing executive and grilled him on the secrets to app success.
iPhoneAppCafe: Hi Rob, thanks for meeting with us; tell us a little bit about your story.
Rob: Hi iPhoneAppcafe! So, in 2009 I was working as a bin man (trash collector) for my local council and stumbled across an iPhone app called the App Incubator. It allows everyday people who lack coding skills the opportunity to pitch ideas for iPhone apps. In exchange for the idea MEDL Mobile (the company behind it) pay the full development cost of the app and give you a percentage of the profits. I sent an ‘agony aunt’ style app called Problem Halved into them which shot up the charts. I was looking for an opportunity to change my life so I arranged and created a huge marketing campaign. The level of media coverage was amazing and I appeared on the Gadget Show, Sky news and the BBC to name but a few.
I was then taken on at MEDL Mobile and now work full time as a marketing and PR Executive, promoting their various apps. It’s been a crazy few years!
iPhoneAppCafe: Fantastic stuff! I hear that you have a book out; how’s it going?
Rob: Yeah it’s called Bin There Done That and available on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks.
The book is essentially about how the app world has completely transformed my life. Before discovering MEDL Mobile, I was in a dark, dark place in my life. I’d suffered with crippling anxiety and depression and had no colour in my life. Nothing excited me! I knew I had a lot to give but wasn’t coping very well.
The world of apps certainly changed that! The book talks about my plight and culminates in a 10-night camp out for the release of the iPhone 4s in London last year. And for the record, it wasn’t just about getting my hands on a new gadget!
iPhoneAppCafe: So, what do you look for when you are commissioning apps for MEDL?
Rob: There are a number of things we look for.
Simplicity is extremely important. There is nothing worse than an app that has been poorly designed in terms of user experience. We tend to benchmark this criteria with a hugely popular app we released back in 2009 called Note To God. It’s such a simple idea and it just works! We also look for very original ideas. We are in a fortunate position where we can cherry pick the very best of the best! However, we do receive lots of ideas that have already been released on the App Store. As a company we strive for originality in every app that we develop.
iPhoneAppCafe: What do you think are the characteristics of a good app? Are there any trends that crop up in each good app launched?
Rob: As I mentioned before, the key is simplicity and originality. Your app stands a better chance of success if you take note of this. Having a fun factor always helps the chances of the app going viral and reaching the tipping point.
iPhoneAppCafe: What type of app would you like to see win App Idol? Are you all about problem solving, or do you like games, etc as well?
Rob: Personally, I love my social networking apps. I have a real passion for twitter (you can follow my tweets @shoesmith81) which, in my view is almost like having a virtual PA who is there 24 hours a day to answer any questions that I may have. I love my gaming as well but prefer simple games such as Flight Plan or Doodle Jump, which both have a huge addict-ability factor!
iPhoneAppCafe: What sort of app do you think is going to be the next big thing? Can there be another Angry Birds?!
Rob: Gaming apps certainly seem to make the most money as they tend to appeal to the largest demographic of people. In terms of another Angry Birds of course there will be someone else who steps it up a level. The problem that many app developers face is one of discoverability. An app can have amazing potential but without a marketing plan it will go nowhere!
Personally I think as technology advances there will be more and more augmented reality apps that achieve great success.
iPhoneAppCafe: Finally, what advice would you give to any app developers that aren’t lucky enough to win our top prize?
Rob: Don’t give up! I must have submitted around 50 ideas to the app incubator and many of them were rejected. In my experience bad ideas can actually end up leading to amazing ideas! Believe in the idea and make it happen. These days there are lots of different routes to having your ideas turned into reality.
iPhoneAppCafe: Thank you for your time Rob, we look forward to your next app coming out, whatever it may be!
The competition lies have closed for App Idol and we will be announcing the semi-finalists in a few days, before our esteemed panel of judges decide on an overall winner that will receive $1,000 and their app developed by Locassa for free plus a generous share of the profits.
