I Wrote an iPhone App and Survived

There’s an app for everything, right?

Well, if you live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have kids, this app’s for you (Does that sound like a beer commercial to anyone else?):

Milwaukee Loves Kids

Milwaukee Loves Kids is an iPhone app that “lives” on iTunes. It’s one of 70 travel-based apps produced by freelance writers in partnership with a company called Sutro Media. Both international and domestic, the apps appeal to a variety of travelers. For instance, if you’re traveling to the Windy City on a dime, you may want to download Frugal Chicago. A bachelor in our nation’s capital, try DC: Where Singles Mingle.

The guides are wacky, practical, helpful and sometimes a combination of the three. Along with Milwaukee Loves Kids, you’ll find family-wanderlust guides for Phoenix; Vancouver, BC; San Francisco; Washington, DC; and Napa and Sonoma Valley. Written by local “gurus” the apps offer an insider’s look into the area.

Guide Books, Today’s Yellow Pages

With 18 of the Sutro Media apps currently ranked in the Top 120 What’s Hot in Travel list recently published by iTunes, here’s why I think you should make the switch from print to electronic guide book.

First of all, the apps are written by people who really know the local turf, the purpose of the guide, and their niche audience. While this concept really doesn’t deviate from a guide book, consider that in electronic form, guides really don’t go “out of print.” Authors schedule regular updates (point releases, so to speak) that are automatically updated through iTunes. Once an app is purchased, updates are free for life. If you (the user) find a correction or want to suggest an idea to the author for a future update, submit a comment from within the application or on iTunes.

Each app entry contains a sideshow of images; a master sideshow best depicting the area and individual sideshows for each entry. Some apps contain over a thousand images. Milwaukee has just over 500 in the first release. Apps are also interactive. By that I mean a person can click the website and phone number for each entry. Using Google maps, the iPhone guides you to each location. App authors manually upload this information to the app and all the “data entry” happens behind the scenes. Deciding how to group neighborhoods, add filters, and listing price range is another aspect of the author’s research.

The applications are relatively inexpensive. Because the ultimate goal of the app is to reach the mainstream (and market-saturation for the iPhone is similar to today and flat-screen TVs), the price point is overall less than a printed guide book. Each author sets the price of his or her app and many considerations come into play. For me, the Milwaukee Loves Kids app offers 70 different suggestions for year-round family-friendly events and activities, so I started at $1.99. Other apps have more entries, photos, and unique information and have been priced accordingly.

Behind the Scenes: Author Drinks Coffee

Alone at my computer, I was not prepared for the complexity of writing the actual text for each entry. Because your reviews are personal and specific to your readers (some places are friendly for teens but not toddlers, some places are less crowded during the week, and so on), extracting or copying text from another source is not possible (not to mention: lame). When I completed a final edit of the compilation Milwaukee Loves Kids copy, I was a little shocked to discover it encompassed over 26 pages in a Word document.

Writing an app, requires discipline and project management skills. I found keeping a spreadsheet of venues, contact names, and other useful information helped me stay organized and set personal goals for the day. I answered a lot of questions on the phone about the app. Quite frankly, I was surprised at the range of reactions to the project. Some businesses were thrilled to make the cut, while others were skeptical (some places didn’t return calls or reply to email, and others asked to be removed from the project all together).

In addition to in-person research, taking photos, writing copy, locating basic information (website, cost, hours), you’ll need a plan to promote your final product. Even with the right keywords and SEO, you’ll still want to make press contacts, cross-promote, and think of creative ways to connect with different markets. If you have any public relations skills from college, it’s time to read some Covey and sharpen that saw. (Dude, why else do you think I’m writing this post at 11:48 PM.)

An App Junkie, Latest Dangerous Travel Writing Addition

Now that I have one app under my electronic “belt,” it makes sense to develop another, complimentary app in nearby Madison, Wisconsin (Madison Loves Kids). The Kid Friendly Madison Facebook page started as a research portal and suddenly (surprisingly) grew to an online community resource. And the @KidFriendlyMad Twitter followers are growing too. What’s one more Twitter handle, right? (DM and I’ll RT on #TravelTuesday and you’ll be my new #FF friend.)

Another Sutro Media app author wrote a blog post about her first iPhone app experience. Thank goodness I found the post before repeating history (although, hindsight is kind of my thing). If you wake up one day and decide to write an iPhone app, I say go for it. After all, all who wander are not lost.

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Tagged as: author of the Milwaukee Loves Kids iPhone app shares her experience in developing and promoting her first iPhone application., Julie Henning, Travel Writing