Catalog > Money & Life > Business Basics > Make Your Own App: No Coding Required > The Importance Of App Screenshots
Make Your Own App: No Coding Required
The Importance of App Screenshots
Now, screenshots, screenshots have had a huge evolution last few years. I don't remember the way back. When the app store started, screen shots were kind of, you know, an afterthought. It was hard to see them, the description pushing way down, but I think in starting with iowa six, I believe they really start to become a prominent piece of the discovery process, especially on the phone, like you only see the first screenshot that he slide through. It used to be only saw the icon, so we're gonna talk all about screen shots and there's a there's, some really good ways, tio. No, really good tricks that could make a big difference. But not just screenshots right I know that sounds pretty obvious but their presentations a lot of I've seen people who take screenshots of their phone and upload it and they go yeah it's a screenshot that that's it I'm uploading and I mean I'm guilty of that I've done that before it's you know socially back in the day but they are presentations their desire well...
designed showing like they're showing what your app is going to dio screenshots have multiple screen ties is you might remember was you know the iphone six the iphone five or the ipad or the retina multiple screen sizes so your screen shots will just get resized by your designer and get uploaded in itunes this is a big one for successful screenshots you want to tell a story and the reason you want to tell us stories because you want people to actually swiped to the next screenshot like if you just get everything in the first green shot if the first one's really confusing no I I know what this app dies I don't need to see what else it could do that's why you want to talk about things like the benefits and you want to tell a story it's a huge huge difference same with highlighting benefits not just the functions how is his app gonna make your life better? What problems 00:01:57.915 --> 00:02:00. is this going to solve in your life and that's what 00:02:00.4 --> 00:02:02. you should show no we'll do it I'll show you a few 00:02:02.72 --> 00:02:06. examples and really call out the most important moment 00:02:06.09 --> 00:02:08. in your act this is something that a lot of people 00:02:08.04 --> 00:02:11. forget they take screenshots of the home screen or 00:02:11.91 --> 00:02:16. they take screenshots of what the the you know for 00:02:16.48 --> 00:02:18. photo uploading after take a picture of you putting 00:02:18.77 --> 00:02:22. a filter on which is fine but they never put in a 00:02:22.0 --> 00:02:25. picture of how many likes you're getting on your photos 00:02:25.31 --> 00:02:28. because you're using this app now you're not showing 00:02:28.07 --> 00:02:30. how popular you're getting because this app they're 00:02:30.94 --> 00:02:33. just showing you how to use it and if you can show 00:02:33.91 --> 00:02:36. those important moments of your app you'll have a 00:02:36.73 --> 00:02:39. much bigger impact with your screen shots some tools 00:02:39.52 --> 00:02:42. on there some really great free to what they're all 00:02:42.85 --> 00:02:45. free that you can use that will allow you to create 00:02:45.97 --> 00:02:48. those screenshots to have text above or below you 00:02:48.88 --> 00:02:51. can just upload all your screen shots and it'll export 00:02:51.14 --> 00:02:54. everything for you very very easily feel free to go 00:02:54.27 --> 00:02:58. there and check it all out it's great so one example 00:02:58.75 --> 00:03:00. I thought speaking of swiping that I thought was a 00:03:00.92 --> 00:03:05. really good example is tender which if anyone out 00:03:05.02 --> 00:03:08. there doesn't know tenure tinder is a dating app that 00:03:08.86 --> 00:03:13. was that's been pioneering in a lot of ways and essentially 00:03:13.72 --> 00:03:17. you know as you can see when you see this person chloe 00:03:17.1 --> 00:03:20. twenty six year old you there swiped this way if you 00:03:20.41 --> 00:03:22. don't like her or you swipe that way if you do like 00:03:22.96 --> 00:03:24. her and if you both like it's a match 00:03:25.72 --> 00:03:28. ten years is a really really good job at telling a 00:03:28.67 --> 00:03:31. story with this shows you interesting people nearby 00:03:32.09 --> 00:03:34. okay she was pretty interesting pretty clever with 00:03:34.13 --> 00:03:37. the whole finger nice job anon sleep or past each 00:03:37.93 --> 00:03:40. person okay I like if someone happens like you back 00:03:40.95 --> 00:03:45. it's a match that is a very drawing like with your 00:03:45.65 --> 00:03:49. eyes and with your on your phone that would be a really 00:03:49.3 --> 00:03:51. good story to tell you what's gonna happen after to 00:03:51.44 --> 00:03:54. match what like what they ended oh you khun message 00:03:54.72 --> 00:03:56. with a person what happens after the message of the 00:03:56.9 --> 00:03:59. person well you can't put that in the absolute right 00:04:00.34 --> 00:04:03. so that they do a really really good job right and 00:04:03.78 --> 00:04:07. they had a good brand because they were the first 00:04:07.56 --> 00:04:09. people to ever really do this and they were able to 00:04:09.56 --> 00:04:12. take their screen shots and just they explain the 00:04:12.18 --> 00:04:15. function they explained how the benefit of what you're 00:04:15.22 --> 00:04:17. going to get from this and then how it's going to 00:04:17.08 --> 00:04:18. make your life better what problem it solves it's 00:04:18.82 --> 00:04:21. really easy to use all that sort of thing so they 00:04:21.45 --> 00:04:22. did a really terrific job 00:04:24.34 --> 00:04:29. another really good screen shot example I thought 00:04:29.35 --> 00:04:32. was zillow because there's a lot of different ways 00:04:32.89 --> 00:04:35. that they could have taken this they could have done 00:04:37.24 --> 00:04:40. here's how many houses we have here is how many listings 00:04:40.24 --> 00:04:43. you know we're doing but instead they talked to me 00:04:44.24 --> 00:04:47. if they find your home and there's a big problem I 00:04:47.26 --> 00:04:50. have I want to find my home still is going to help 00:04:50.12 --> 00:04:51. me all right, well, what is my health that looks like 00:04:51.76 --> 00:04:54. a pretty cool house. Well, it's only two hundred thousand 00:04:54.5 --> 00:04:58. dollars oh, my gosh. You know, I'm in I swiped through 00:04:58.12 --> 00:05:01. and then you see that house again you say oh, and 00:05:01.25 --> 00:05:03. this my favorite home I could say that it's my favorite 00:05:03.92 --> 00:05:06. home now I'm in a favorite search easy to use I'm 00:05:06.95 --> 00:05:09. getting you're excited well, they must be going after 00:05:09.71 --> 00:05:12. parents right? Because parents pull I ask about what 00:05:12.54 --> 00:05:14. where's my house going to be in really do the school 00:05:14.35 --> 00:05:17. district that's really exciting and then you go and 00:05:17.13 --> 00:05:19. you confined realtors they tell a good story but more 00:05:19.42 --> 00:05:22. importantly they call out the benefits so well over 00:05:22.78 --> 00:05:26. just the features that zillow offers right they could 00:05:26.64 --> 00:05:29. have taken so many different ways. I thought that 00:05:29.16 --> 00:05:32. was a really, really good example. Now 00:05:33.97 --> 00:05:37. that was really good to do one or two screenshot audits 00:05:37.98 --> 00:05:42. possible and if there's anyone in here who has an 00:05:42.06 --> 00:05:44. app you would like to do an audit on we could do that 00:05:44.83 --> 00:05:48. I have a meditation timer notation timer 00:05:51.0 --> 00:05:52. we can see what comes up here 00:05:53.64 --> 00:05:55. which one looks good let's pick uh 00:05:58.07 --> 00:06:01. relax melodies that seems relaxed sing I want to be 00:06:01.95 --> 00:06:05. lying in a beautiful meadow watching the sun or the 00:06:05.11 --> 00:06:08. moon come up okay cool so let's check this out 00:06:09.24 --> 00:06:13. relax melodies slim sleep zen sounds and white noise 00:06:13.81 --> 00:06:17. for meditation yoga and baby relax ation so this thing 00:06:17.31 --> 00:06:19. does everything just like you know, just just in case 00:06:19.81 --> 00:06:21. you didn't realize that out 00:06:23.06 --> 00:06:24. get the best sleep 00:06:25.36 --> 00:06:29. that's a killer ben I mean that's what I want I mean 00:06:29.54 --> 00:06:32. that's that's awesome benefit create relaxing ambience 00:06:32.39 --> 00:06:35. with sounds okay, that makes sense bam twenty million 00:06:35.47 --> 00:06:38. dollars that's that's impressive so first off the 00:06:38.11 --> 00:06:40. bat their headline is telling me exactly what benefit 00:06:40.51 --> 00:06:44. I'm going to get out of this they tell me a sub headline 00:06:44.06 --> 00:06:47. that shows how it's gonna happen on they start to 00:06:47.96 --> 00:06:50. tease me with like alright there's ocean and winds 00:06:51.7 --> 00:06:55. and at the bottom that to me is the kicker right? 00:06:55.25 --> 00:06:57. Because if I saw this and say all right that's cool 00:06:57.37 --> 00:07:00. that's a pretty big promise to be making but if you're 00:07:00.15 --> 00:07:02. making a big promise and at the bottom of my I scroll 00:07:03.0 --> 00:07:05. it says twenty million downloads that looks like a 00:07:05.31 --> 00:07:07. click here button you better believe I'm going to 00:07:07.55 --> 00:07:10. go over to the next screenshot and say all right what's 00:07:10.94 --> 00:07:15. happening there meditating and think clearly yeah 00:07:15.74 --> 00:07:18. okay. I know that that's a really important one. I 00:07:18.66 --> 00:07:22. personally might not go past this one I would want 00:07:22.76 --> 00:07:26. to see well, you had me in this really good flow here 00:07:27.56 --> 00:07:30. why why am I stopping here what what about the app 00:07:30.26 --> 00:07:32. is going to get me to meditate and think clearly right? 00:07:32.97 --> 00:07:35. Because there's a clear pattern that's going on with 00:07:35.12 --> 00:07:38. my brain and my psychologist saying well this is really 00:07:38.42 --> 00:07:41. good wire twenty million people doing this what function 00:07:41.05 --> 00:07:42. is getting twenty million people that keep coming 00:07:42.83 --> 00:07:47. back so right here just looking close up self esteem 00:07:47.56 --> 00:07:50. better time management limitless motivation spiritually 00:07:50.69 --> 00:07:51. hi 00:07:52.76 --> 00:07:57. abundant creativity guided meditations so those were 00:07:57.04 --> 00:08:01. all you know think when I guess ways too or benefits 00:08:01.56 --> 00:08:03. of meditating and thinking clearly but they're not 00:08:03.83 --> 00:08:06. telling me how it's gonna happen so if I was gonna 00:08:06.33 --> 00:08:10. look at this I would say put in another function call 00:08:10.55 --> 00:08:13. out because you already have the benefit but you called 00:08:13.1 --> 00:08:15. out the functions here and then maybe put in something 00:08:15.67 --> 00:08:19. like twenty six different meditation exercises you 00:08:19.23 --> 00:08:22. can choose from in a different color or maybe even 00:08:22.2 --> 00:08:25. the pink button move me over to concentrate relax 00:08:25.5 --> 00:08:29. and dream and then put in one more function that maybe 00:08:29.49 --> 00:08:31. in there this one says dreamless sleep dreams dream 00:08:31.95 --> 00:08:37. meditation and then what you know fourteen are not 00:08:37.48 --> 00:08:41. a number maybe something like sleep deeper with our 00:08:41.62 --> 00:08:44. patent pending technology sleep patent pending technology 00:08:44.32 --> 00:08:46. or whatever maybe but by the time I get to that last 00:08:46.7 --> 00:08:50. screen shot I'll get to it it's a no brainer right 00:08:50.78 --> 00:08:53. I know exactly what I'm going to get, I know how it's 00:08:53.9 --> 00:08:55. gonna happen, and I know 00:08:56.68 --> 00:08:59. what the new like, what the whole kind of benefit 00:08:59.14 --> 00:09:01. of everything here is. Fall asleep awake on time, 00:09:01.51 --> 00:09:03. same idiot. Discovering new, amazing ambiance is. 00:09:03.7 --> 00:09:05. So I think they started off really strong. I think 00:09:05.68 --> 00:09:08. they've got a lot of really good benefits here, but 00:09:08.88 --> 00:09:11. I think that they could really beef this up, just 00:09:11.14 --> 00:09:14. based on flushing it out with that with that first 00:09:14.21 --> 00:09:14. slide, 00:09:16.41 --> 00:09:19. to make it even more powerful. And you see the apple 00:09:19.27 --> 00:09:22. watch screenshots, just kind of a whole whole different 00:09:23.18 --> 00:09:23. baste. 00:09:24.68 --> 00:09:27. We have some people who are in google play cool. Are 00:09:27.67 --> 00:09:30. we able t jump onto the google play store to look 00:09:30.56 --> 00:09:36. at some, all right, cool, go back to the browser possible. 00:09:37.28 --> 00:09:39. Yeah, let's, get the browser pulled up, and we will 00:09:39.63 --> 00:09:44. look at some google play aps cats here. So go teo. 00:09:49.65 --> 00:09:51. This is great said we've got a variety of people in 00:09:51.81 --> 00:09:54. the chat room some people on itunes but a lot of people 00:09:54.54 --> 00:09:58. developing android aps go a couple here that people 00:09:58.58 --> 00:09:59. have suggested 00:10:01.4 --> 00:10:01. cool 00:10:03.18 --> 00:10:06. all right well let's take a look at our first one 00:10:06.06 --> 00:10:10. here this one is called fruit crush fund fruit 00:10:11.58 --> 00:10:12. rush 00:10:13.3 --> 00:10:15. that sounds like it's going teo time yeah yeah I'm 00:10:15.97 --> 00:10:20. slowing guy named b j is the one who uh is it aps 00:10:20.55 --> 00:10:23. for work and play it is that first one yes abs for 00:10:23.51 --> 00:10:25. working playing awesome so this is that 00:10:27.2 --> 00:10:31. okay great so we've got a few different screwed so 00:10:31.15 --> 00:10:31. this is 00:10:33.6 --> 00:10:37. I saw it first of all when you click on a screen shot 00:10:37.35 --> 00:10:40. in google play you could see it zooms in so that's 00:10:40.85 --> 00:10:44. something think about too so you can have the smaller 00:10:44.06 --> 00:10:47. text sometimes on google play if someone is viewing 00:10:47.91 --> 00:10:50. it from on the desktop is opposed to on their device 00:10:50.65 --> 00:10:53. things like that whereas on the itunes you can see 00:10:53.47 --> 00:10:56. everything all at once so jay one thing I would think 00:10:56.4 --> 00:11:01. about is not not doing the horizontal breaks because 00:11:01.84 --> 00:11:04. this looks almost like a grid which 00:11:05.33 --> 00:11:07. you get a lot in there but you're not focusing on 00:11:07.66 --> 00:11:11. one thing right like what is the one benefit that 00:11:11.62 --> 00:11:15. you are trying to get these people to portray if I 00:11:15.83 --> 00:11:19. had to guess it was going to be that fruit crush fun 00:11:20.23 --> 00:11:22. it's going to change your life, you know, on a boring 00:11:22.93 --> 00:11:25. sunday afternoon when your kids are rolling around 00:11:25.74 --> 00:11:28. in your house, and what I would want to see is, you 00:11:28.96 --> 00:11:31. know, pick one of these, maybe one lifestyle. She 00:11:31.53 --> 00:11:34. photos with the screen shot on there and then put 00:11:34.36 --> 00:11:37. a headline on top of it that says without without 00:11:37.31 --> 00:11:40. knowing what the ap does, I'm assuming this is a match 00:11:40.41 --> 00:11:43. three, which is kind of candy crush, saga game I would 00:11:43.97 --> 00:11:47. show the person playing the game at a moment where 00:11:47.4 --> 00:11:49. they're winning, they're getting huge bonus and then 00:11:49.76 --> 00:11:52. doing calling call out and says, you know, 00:11:54.6 --> 00:11:55. I don't know 00:11:56.68 --> 00:11:58. the ultimate time killer on your sunday afternoon 00:11:58.85 --> 00:12:00. or something like that if that's the benefit of going 00:12:00.76 --> 00:12:04. for or if you go for the gameplay, you say, you know, 00:12:04.13 --> 00:12:05. fruit never tasted this good, 00:12:06.45 --> 00:12:08. I don't know it could be anything like that, but the 00:12:08.49 --> 00:12:11. biggest thing is you really need to consolidate and 00:12:11.08 --> 00:12:14. focus on one part of this second thing is, if you're 00:12:14.01 --> 00:12:16. going to do the lifestyle shots, do the lifestyle 00:12:16.53 --> 00:12:20. shots, right? Do this one do that one, do this one, 00:12:20.87 --> 00:12:26. but don't go lifestyle, screenshot, lifestyle, screenshots, 00:12:26.06 --> 00:12:28. stick, toe one format it's going to confuse people 00:12:28.33 --> 00:12:29. if they do too much 00:12:31.33 --> 00:12:32. and then 00:12:35.65 --> 00:12:37. I think that's it. Yeah, then finally, 00:12:38.92 --> 00:12:40. if you are going to do is use a screen shot like that 00:12:40.99 --> 00:12:43. specifically on the game. Pick something more exciting 00:12:43.49 --> 00:12:47. than this, right? This is this is either a home screen 00:12:47.27 --> 00:12:49. or a game over screen or something like that, which 00:12:49.43 --> 00:12:54. is fine. But, I mean, I got to imagine fruit crush 00:12:54.1 --> 00:12:58. front has got a lot more going on, then a plane out 00:12:58.09 --> 00:13:01. on options. But so I think you should tell the highlight 00:13:01.06 --> 00:13:03. that I think when you get going on that. 00:13:05.35 --> 00:13:07. You don't look a lot. It'll look a lot better if you 00:13:07.08 --> 00:13:09. cleaned up for sure, but thanks. This looks awesome. 00:13:09.96 --> 00:13:12. I'm gonna well, check this out when I get back. 00:13:13.18 --> 00:13:13. Great, 00:13:14.72 --> 00:13:16. anybody else have? Ah, whether they want to show, 00:13:17.52 --> 00:13:20. uh, actually, one my friend made it's called next 00:13:20.5 --> 00:13:24. keyboard. Well, next keyboard, yeah, on I was all 00:13:24.93 --> 00:13:26. right, great let's, pop open. 00:13:28.46 --> 00:13:29. Itunes. 00:13:30.32 --> 00:13:33. Bam! Amazing how it just that it's like it's. Great, 00:13:33.66 --> 00:13:36. you guys got everything here. Next keyboard, 00:13:37.52 --> 00:13:43. next keyboard, it's like that mtv show. Next, I was 00:13:43.16 --> 00:13:46. a great show. Now, the first right, this one bank, 00:13:46.8 --> 00:13:47. right? 00:13:49.65 --> 00:13:54. Okay cool so next keyboard it's beautiful themes new 00:13:54.05 --> 00:13:58. emojis and stickers cool all right type faster love 00:13:58.62 --> 00:14:01. that that's a big one right um 00:14:02.61 --> 00:14:07. with next word predictions and auto correct okay so the first thing I would think of if I was going to say type faster next word predictions and auto correct two things one I would think about putting that above the screen shot because as soon as I say next word predictions and autocorrect think about where your mind goes think about the vision you have you think about seeing apple auto correcting something over a piece of text right what I would want to see is tacos for luo and then put lunch tomorrow as an auto correct bubble so that that visual in your brain automatically oh I know exactly what they're talking about now and that is faster because apple would never do that whole auto correct right there that's that's one thing and like I said flip those moves to the top second beautiful themes let's get you some of those great let's use some house some of those gray is in the color I like that it means the tongue and cheek is good I think it would be good to include a feature call out our I'm sorry eh? Out a number off colors you have call out beautiful themes let's get you out of those grays and into one of our twenty six colored keyboards. Well, you've twenty six I think I've used twenty six too much today, something about twenty six today into our x number of keyboards. Something like that, we say. All right, well, now I know how many this is a big out there's. A lot of value behind this it's only two dollars, right? Ok, this makes sense. As opposed to saying, like, well, this is gray and there's two color keyboards there. So when I really getting and it quickly move the cursor with a swipe of the space bar, okay, so if you swipe this, it moves that see that's really cool. I would actually think about moving that maybe to the first or the second cause that's really unique. I don't think I don't see that very often. And, you know, instead of saying and it quickly maybe think of a pain point, right? Like, uh, never never miss your place again or think, you know, I'm trying to think of some some example when you're typing and you need to go back and edit and it's ah, it's a pain for you to do so right? Like, maybe your typing one handed and you want to communicate to somebody, but I think something like that would be really powerful in this situation, because you've got a benefit. Ah, lot of really good value. And then you want to hit on something that's, like a a pain point for somebody. I got this going. I'm never gonna have to deal with that again at this whole new keyboard, and thereafter deliver all these awful key roared problems that are ruining my life and causing me to have all these life problems, right? So, that's, what I would say, but, yeah, it looks good. I would definitely think of think about putting those on top just because. I mean, it's, hard of the keyboard, but I think it's it. It makes it when you see the actual text and the pictures in place, it's, because putting more context as about the supposed toe, seeing it reading it, I'm going and seeing it again, it's. More of a one two punch. Yeah, and I like the third screen. Large text, then the first to me, comptel. You know, here, yeah, just actually seen what you're saying, like filling in the rest of the words, just a little totally. This is cooler. I think. I think this is ah, screw awesome emojis. I would think about on all the best emoji. Aps. This is a good example of that. But try to do something like really creative right here. You know how it is sometimes emoji artworks that people can make those kill it on the emoji, screenshots, playful stickers. Cool. I think that this is great. I think that I would definitely mess around with this slide, potentially in first, because test the conversion, and we'll talk about that conversion in in a few minutes. But I think the back we really powerful.
You don't need technical experience to start making apps! Learn about app making, app marketing, the app business, and everything in between in Make Your Own App: No Coding Required with Carter Thomas.
Carter Thomas has helped thousands get their start in app development and in this beginner-friendly class he'll demystify the entire process and show you the ropes for starting an app business – no coding experience required!
You'll learn about:
Getting started in the app biz
Hiring a developer
Getting an app into the app store (iOS and Android)
Internal and external marketing
Monetizing your apps
Carter will explain every step in the app-making process and detail an achievable path to app success.You'll learn about the complete range of options for getting app ideas off the ground and what to do once your app is ready. Carter will also offer tips for getting downloads, making money, and growing an app business.
Apps are a great way to generate passive income, replace a full-time salary, or indulge a hobbyist-level interest. Get your start in Make Your Own App: No Coding Required with Carter Thomas.
Introduction to Workshop
App Store Overview
The Different Business Models of Apps
App Case Studies That Work
App Market Research
Developer Overview
Hiring vs. Developing Yourself
iOS vs. Android
Finding Your Developer
Writing Your Job Description
Job Description Hot Seat
Developer Expectations & Relationships
App Publishing Overview
Getting Started With Your Developer Account
iTunes Connect & Google Play Developer Console
Write Your App Description
Picking Keywords & Titles
App Pre-Launch Strategies
App Post-Launch Strategies
App Marketing Overview
Your App's Unique Selling Proposition
Internal App Marketing
External App Marketing (with special guest Steve Young)
Paid Traffic, Advertising, & Social Media
Measure Results
App Monetization Overview
App Advertising Strategies
Sponsorships & B2B Apps
lauritadr21
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cucharina
Lots and lots of information, I can't wait to listen to it again, so it can really sink in. Wow what a great course.