This looks like a great font. I love Inconsolata—I've used it for more than a few months now, and it's extremely good. I've tried Monaco, Monaco Lives, Menlo (I think?) etc. and keep going back to Inconsolata. :-)
As an answer to the actual title of the article, yes, it is hard. It can't be any other way.
The answer to the question here: there could be many reasons for this. The one that stands out is the fact that the market is very crowded and thus, to get traction in the early days, you need a lot of marketing. The method you have adopted (blogs, forums, videos, etc.) sound like a good start.
To make money — and since the app is free, I presume you are looking at ads — you will need traffic. That traffic isn't going to come in a month; it may not come at all. It seems you've had high expectations and are disappointed at not meeting them. So, yes, here are some of the things you did or are doing wrong:
* the market and the offer (as a combination, not separate) — A crowded market and a me-too offering. There has to be something distinct, something that makes you stand out in a market as crowded as this.
* the marketing itself — You need to be a lot more aggressive in marketing, get your app out on a lot more places. Even if a few blogs aren't publishing as quick as you'd like — and there's a reason for that — be persistent. With this kind of an app, it will be difficult. But not impossible. Get traffic in as many ways as you can.
In some ways, as far as the traffic is concerned, you are also limiting yourself. Why advertise on just game related forums? You can go anywhere you think there is a good percentage of Android users and post. Build some reputation and you will drive some traffic. Again, the key is to be persistent. You may not meet your expectations but the traffic will go up.
Great job on getting something out there! You have made some mistakes, and set some really high expectations, but you have something that you can learn from, if nothing else.
Congratulations! Not only are those excellent numbers but the fact that you were able to do more of what you wanted to is wonderful.
Quitting a job isn't for everyone — no matter what anyone says, it requires tremendous discipline and focus so props to you for pulling it off. The key thing you are doing here, something that will hold you in good stead in the future, too, is the diversification of income sources.
I would definitely try it out if something can match Google's spam filters and search.
From a first look, I like the UI however, in my opinion, there's way too much white and it's not intuitive enough. I'd definitely add a little bit of colour, but it looks like a very good start.
You have nailed the visual appeal though. Great job on that!
I would create a (maybe more than one, if I have that kind of time) wordpress plugin/theme (or any other app that has some value) if I have those skills and sell the entire plugin on a site like, say, Flippa. It would be easier and quicker than selling the plugin itself, and you will get the extra $1000-2000 within that time.
That's the simplest way to go about. You can create anything that has a high perceived value—web apps, iOS apps, etc. all count—and sell it. The key is the high perceived value.
I've used Assistly (for about an year) for this, and they are extremely good for all that you have mentioned. I've never used them for live chat (do they even have that function?) so I can't say anything. I loved the UI; it's extremely easy to use.
From the outside, Freshdesk and Zendesk look good too.
I was in the exact same position a few months ago. I wasn't anywhere near 110 WPM though; I think I was 80 WPM for the most part.
I write a lot so all it took me was a conscious decision to use all my ten fingers, even if it made me type a touch slower. I did this for a few weeks, and now I am able to type with all my ten fingers. I still don't use them all the way I'd like to... but I'm certainly better.
I haven't notice a very big change now that I'm using all the other fingers more; I have certainly added a few words per minute but nothing substantial.
I'd try and learn the basics of coding, put together a prototype and get some initial feedback. It will be much better to seek a co-founder at this point, who can help you complete the product and launch it.
It's not easy, and it is going to take time but that's probably the best way to go about it.
I'd also recommend having a few months' expenses with you. With freelancing, it's not very difficult to get a few initial clients but it will take time to get to a sustainable $100,000/year.
Having a few months' expenses saved would be pretty safe. Even better if you can get a few long term projects before jumping in.
Well, you have more than 98% of your links with this anchor text: nexus tablets. Out of 118,824, about 118,100 use that anchor text. (I used ahrefs to get this)
That's a massive flag right there. Many of these are sitewide links (which, again, isn't going to help your case). The only saving grace is that many of these sites are pretty relevant to your site. Even then, it looks like it got hit by the Penguin update or the EMD update (since your domain's an exact match, and just about every link has that as the anchor text). There isn't a need for any manual action... there's a massive footprint as far as your backlinks profile are concerned.
Here's the good thing: It seems you have interlinked a number of your forums from their footer. That accounts for a majority of your links... and because it's in the footer, it's sitewide. Because you own those sites, you can perhaps remove the links.
The sites I have seen recover from Penguin have either removed the "bad" backlinks, or diluted their then backlink profile. In your case, it's a bit easier. If it's hit by the EMD update, I haven't seen any site recover from that yet so can't say anything.
For those who have already invested quite a bit into the Apple ecosystem, bought a lot of apps, etc., I think the iPad Mini sounds like a more logical choice.
I do agree that it's a bit on the expensive side but that's always the case with Apple products. I'd buy it over the Nexus.
I really like the design; kudos on that! Clean and delivers the message just right. The pages also load really fast which is a nice addition.
I also second itsprofitbaron's comment on changing the domain name. I couldn't find it so I'd like to ask: Is there any way I could integrate the reminders with some sort of a calendar, maybe Google Calendar?
I think, for a start, 2Checkout would do the job. I've used them and they are pretty good. They can also give you better rates. There are some discount codes floating around using which you can sign up without the $49 fee.
The folks at http://spreedly.com also seem to be pretty good but I've not used them so can't say anything.