While the focus on app news is often about the blockbuster hits like Draw Something or Angry Birds Space, it’s apparently quite easy to get lost among the crowded field of more than 600,000 apps in the App Store. Application marketing firm App Promo’s “First Annual Developer Survey” indicates that 59 percent of developers don’t generate enough revenue to break even. In line with what the company offers, it says that the chief reason is spending on marketing to stand out from the crowd.
To stand out, App Promo says companies and development firms need to spend to succeed. The survey said that only 12 percent of apps earned $50,000 or more and that this “top earner” subset spent an average of 14 percent of their time on marketing. On the side of app developers who weren’t able to break even, 52 percent of app developers set aside $0 and less than 5 percent of their time promoting their apps. That certainly makes the case that apps need at least some marketing to see any real returns.