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Comment by sriramk | Hacker News Reader

Disclaimer - I work for MSFT but my day job isn't related to WP7 in any way.

I had a bit of a minor hit with an app I wrote (see http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/11/windows-phone-micro...). For a couple of weeks, that app was #1 in the paid tools category and #35 across all paid apps.

As someone familiar with the Microsoft stack (C#, .NET, VS, etc), I found the going pretty straight forward. If you're familiar with the Microsoft development stack, you should probably have a fairly easy time getting used to the platform. If you're familiar with Silverlight (which I wasn't), you should find it very easy indeed.

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How much $$$ did you make?

From the article: "Browser Plus has gotten a few thousand downloads so far, he said." Price was 99c. Not sure how much whichever marketplace it was in charges.

Assume 2000 x 70c = $1,400

Not bad for a week/weekends work (honeymoon apparently, go figure?!? :D )

But a bit ... lacking ... when considered as a #1 hit. On the other hand, maybe it hasn't been out there too long. You could say okay the time he and his beta tester put in was worth maybe $20/hour, but that ignores how an app can be a revenue stream that keeps on generating income.

If he 'only' made $1000 per year from that app (as is) every year for the rest of his life that'd be a pretty good ROI for a weeks work.

So don't get too hung up on my estimate, the advantage of an entrepreneur compared to a work for hire salaryman is to keep getting paid long after the work is done.

This analysis is pretty accurate. That Techflash article was after the first week or so - it gives you a sense of how many app downloads I got per day back then. Another thing to factor in was that this was in the first 2 weeks of WP7 launching.

Unfortunately, the popularity took a dive after the first few weeks so my run rate is much lower now. Also, a big part of my app sales was driven by press which you only get when you do new versions, etc. My wife and I working together on a soon-to-be-launched app also meant that I haven't really gotten back to shipping new updates, etc.

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