I decided to start a newsletter about app acquisitions.
I spend a lot of time exploring the App Store and marketplaces like Flippa & MicroAcquire. This morning I woke up and decided to write about it.
I feel there's a lack of content around "micro-acquisitions" for iOS/Mac apps specifically and want to try and fill that void, while building more of a writing habit. I recently acquired a Mac app and have sold some apps in the past, so I have some experience, but I'm mostly just going to learn as I go, and see if there's any interest.
I have other projects, so I don't plan on aggressively marketing this. Has anyone else here taken the approach of writing a newsletter primarily for habit and skill rather than audience? If you have I'm curious to hear your experience.
Always open to feedback.
Cheers!
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It would be really interesting if you bought some of the Apps you are covering and documented the process of owning/running iOS apps too. Like what if you see an amazing deal? Are you going to pass it up?
I’ve recently acquired an app and plan on discussing my strategy for it in a future issue.
If I see another deal that meets my criteria, I certainly would love to acquire it and write about it!
I think the base of any newsletter should be passion, fun but.. in order to make something of it, you need to dive into it. Newsletter is a commitment. I've created the Morning Dough newsletter (https://www.morningdough.com) 15 months ago and we mail 5 days a week, all in :)
Good luck to you Alexander
Thank you!
Good. I am also looking forward to this. I quite like the content around buying micro saas /content website. Alternative Assets sometimes write about it and it is quite good and detailed info.
All the very best for your newsletter.
PS- the link you mentioned is broken. Can you check.
Thanks, glad to have you as a reader! The link should be working now, the newsletter host was down for quite some time.
Cool idea, look forward to following it!
Thanks! Anything in particular you're looking forward to?
Honestly just learning more about this world. While I've been in the consumer app space for a bit, I never explored app marketplaces.
Question I have are:
I'm sure many of these questions are answered out there, but this is what came to mind.
Great questions! I'll make sure to address some of these questions in depth in future issues of my newsletter, but briefly:
(1) Absolutely, there's a huge community of folks who do this with websites/web apps/saas businesses etc
(2) However, I haven't been able to find a community of folks doing this with iOS apps. I know it happens, because they are bought and sold on many of these marketplaces, but the buys and sellers are not starting conversations/writing about these transactions as much. That's a big reason why I'm starting to write about it.
(3) The process for taking over an iOS/Mac app is both easier and more complicated than a web app/ android app/ etc. Apple has made it really easy to transfer apps to another developer. It's just hitting a few buttons in your Developer account. However, there are certain stipulations and requirements that an app must meet to be transferable. Many things, such as iCloud-support, make an app non-transferable. There is a workaround for this, but it complicates the process. The new Apple Small Business Program has also complicated the transfer process, a great example of this is the app I've discussed in the first issue of the newsletter.
(4) On the public marketplaces, I'd say there're under 500 apps for sale at any given time, but a good chunk of those you'd never want to touch as they're terrible quality or have zero revenue. The real number is probably under 50, but that's just an estimate.
The marketplaces vary greatly. On some, things happen very fast when the app is high quality and generating more than pocket change. Others have listings more than a few years old and basically not worth checking.
I have a tool I've partially built that aggregates listings across the different marketplaces and brokerages, because it's really quite fragmented.
Awesome appreciate the insights. Look forward to future issues of the newsletter!
I love this idea so I will be reading it. This kind of stuff interests me.
Thanks, glad to have you as a reader! Have you subscribed, or do you follow along via RSS?
Would love to know what questions you might have after reading some of the issues.