Hey, folks. First time posting to the forums.
My major side hustle that is accelerating our drive to financial independence is writing genre fiction. It's going quite well, but I am exploring a new avenue for fan connection beyond social and mailing list. I'm looking a mobile app for the business, but I know almost nothing about app development.
App can be pretty damn simple. But we'd be looking for the following in the least:
1. Push notifications for book releases and promotion/price drops with affiliate links out to Amazon and other sellers
2. Other updates that would normally go in the newsletter
3. A Free Novella. Text by chapter. Marks when the reader is through each chapter
4. Possibility of video updates
5. Social sharing from in app
The only higher end possibility down the road would be put the option to purchase and read books in-app if the audience is interested in this. Still working out whether or not we're interested in that.
I'm not sure of the next steps. I've looked at a couple of different template app companies that build it out based on your content, then you update/message through the back end. Something like this:
https://www.appypie.com (Either $25 or $40 a month, plus Apple and Play Fees).
I'd be happy for a lower cost alternative, though this really isn't much in the grand scheme of things. I've thought about looking to see how much to just hire a developer and get it set up, as long as messaging and posting on the app isn't too technical once things are rolling.
What would you all recommend? Pleased to get other companies you recommend.
Cheers,
Chris