3 replies to this topic

[esse2therescue]

Hey everyone,

First post! New to the forums, but no – I’m not a bot nor will I link you to any company website! (whew!)
I had a question regarding the needs/wants of all you indie developers out there! One day I’d like to start a business helping indie developers (specifically Chinese developers who want to break into the US/global market, but perhaps any developer too) sell, market, license, produce or finish their work. But I really want to hear from you guys who are the heart and soul of a product. I have about 7 questions and would REALLY appreciate if you guys would take time to answer them (feel free to answer as many as you feel comfortable!).

- What’s the worst part about working with a marketing/publishing agency?
- Do they charge too much (or is the percent profit share too much)?
- What would a fair or ideal contract look like for an app?
- What would the ideal partner look like?
- What’s the hardest part about getting your app out to users?
- With new publishing platforms (like Apple App store, Google app store, Amazon app store, Windows app store, etc.) and marketing tools like social media and word of mouth – is there a real need to use a marketing agency in first place? Don’t ‘middle men’ always get cut out eventually.
- Is their a need and future for app marketing agencies?

I know it’s a bunch of questions but for any of you that answer any of those questions I’d really, really appreciate it! Thanks!

Cheers,
-Ike

[esse2therescue]

Any responses would be appreciated - Would love to hear from the indie developers here!

cheers

[Stainless]

The thing that always annoys me in a publishing contract is in the clauses about payment,

There is always a clause about removing "marketing costs" before the profit split is calculated.

These marketing costs are an easy and often used fraud point.

Marketing companies may still have a role to play, after all the easy path to market we now enjoy means there are more products out there. Making an app stand out is a problem.

[esse2therescue]

Thanks stainless for the reply - appreciate the feedback! All great stuff.