In the last week of 2011 alone, a record 1.2 billion apps were downloaded. The mobile app business is growing exponentially. CEO and Founder of Raizlabs, Greg Raiz, recently helped present an online mobile marketing seminar at Hubspot, slides from the webinar can be viewed online. Here are some tips and considerations when diving into the business of mobile app development.

1. It Takes More Than a Great Idea- Focus on ideas that will help your core business succeed. Being in a position to execute an idea better than others is more pivotal than coming up with one “great” idea. Ability to excecute your idea is critical. Unique partnerships, original content, better design and stronger brand are a few key areas that will enable you to execute better then your competition.

2. Sales vs. Value- First ask yourself, are you creating an app or starting a business? An app should be part of a business strategy, not THE strategy. Paid app revenue will vary up and down, your business should not.

3. Free vs. Paid- Assess the value in making your app free. What does your business gain. Generally, an app is considered “viral” after five consecutive days of 500+ downloads. The ranking system in the app store is a weighted function of sales over time. If you’re going to be a paid app, are you going to be viral? How about if you’re a free app?

4. Building an App is Half the Battle- Get the message out about your app is the other half. Build up potential energy with newsletters, screenshots, e-mail, telling potential customers, before the app launches. That way when it does launch the app is more likely to be a success.

5. Don’t settle for OK – There are over 500,000 apps in the App Store. You will have a hard time getting noticed for something that is merely Ok.

6. Think beyond the iPhone– Think Mobile.

• Android – While iPhone is the preferred smartphone for many, the Android market is growing. We recommend proving your business on one platform and then considering a second platform.
• HTML5 – Another solution is utilizing HTML 5 as a resource to create apps. This method works across many phones and may be a simpler solution for many sites. The downside is that HTML5 apps are harder to monetize and there is no “app store.” Web apps have some limitations in functionality and performance.
• iPad/Tablet – Lastly, the iPad and tablets are growing in business. They are ideally positioned as a field data collection/field sales tool. For consumers, the device serves as an optimal platform for gaming and an enhanced TV experiences.

About Raizlabs

Founded in 2003 by Gregory Raiz, Raizlabs is a leader in mobile application design and technology. Raizlabs builds awesome solutions and apps for companies worldwide.