5 Hacks to Find App Ideas Absolutely Easy Last update: 2016-07-28

It’s tricky to get started with your next app. You know you want to create something, either just for learning a language or because you want to build some side income (or for thousand other reasons). But what to do if you just can’t find any good idea to get started, how to find app ideas if you need them?

In this article I will show you my 5 simple hacks to find app ideas absolutely easy. They won’t always be the next big thing - but sometimes you just want ANY idea to get started and feel the flow and energy of working on a side project again.

1. Look through App Store Ratings

This is one of my favorite tactics to find good, sometimes even awesome app ideas. And you can do it simply everyday on your couch while watching TV.

Let’s say you have some broad area you would like to create an app for. Don’t worry if you don’t have it right now, just give yourself a few minutes to think about a broad field you would create something for.

So for example some weeks ago I wanted to create an app in the productivity field, just because I love everything in that field from ToDo apps to time planners and tracking tools. I also recently came across the Eisenhower Method, which seemed kinda interesting to me.

That’s when I started my journey on the App Store. You don’t need to have such a specific idea for now, a bit broader approach at that point is fine as well.

For example on the iOS App Store go to Discover, try to narrow down your topic with the categories they have and start reading. Skip through all the entries, if something looks good check it out, see what the Developer or the company behind the app has also published.

Many of these not so prominent apps are maybe not a success for the company, but they might be something that potentially could be improved.

Just look for ideas!

Why?

First of all, this gives you all kinds of views on the field you want to create something for. Second, you will see a lot of developers that might have 1 successful app, and a lot of failures before. Which is very typical for just try & error.

You get a sense for what is working, what is interesting and what gets people engaged. But this is just the first half of the process.

While doing this first part, you might encounter some apps that grab your attention. Maybe they share the same functions, or have the same purpose in that field.

This is now the point where you have a more specific topic (like mine was Eisenhower Method), which you can then again use for searching apps.

At this point you can leave the discover section and actively search for a term or word related to that broad idea or functionality. Now you have a list of quite specific apps to the topic you want to create an app for.

Why should I create an app if there are already 100 apps that look the same?

Hold on my friend, that is not what I want you to do. This wouldn’t be called a hack if there was no trick about that you need to apply!

Now you go through the ratings of those apps and look for 1-3 star ratings. These are the people who are not satisfied with the actual app. Most of the time you might only find a few negative comments, some not really helpful.

But once you get a list of negative points people are mentioning, you know you have found gold!

So when you are that far, you almost know what a better version of an app looks like. This could be “better UI”, “less functionality” or a feature many people wish for. Why don’t you give it to them?

By following this approach you not only get ideas really quick, but you also already know which areas need improvement and special care.

2. Listen to friends, customers, everyone

Listen. Listen. Listen.

This can often be the key to finding awesome ideas everywhere at every time. You have to develop some kind of passive filter for conversations that gets triggered once people talk about problems. Sometimes they even talk about the solution!

If you have some kind of business, listening to your customers can be extremely important, because they have real problems that they want to fix. And if you can offer them a solution, they will be more than happy to even pay you for your services. Often, they won’t be the only persons in business that will have that problem!

If you are not in business, maybe you still study, you can apply the same rules to your friends.

Do you remember how they talked about all the problems they have at the last party?

A good hack is to always carry a little notebook (I use this) to make some scribbles in those situations. Because all of those ideas will be lost the next morning after a party for sure. We have gone through this often enough.

So the next time someone talks about their daily problems and says “Why isn’t there an app for this?” I hope you grab a pen or your phone and jot down the next free idea someone just gave to you!

3. Read on Quora

If you are not going to parties, not having any business partners or talking to any other human being (however you manage that), you can still find ideas and inspirations online!

A site I learned to love is Quora. People simply ask questions and other people answer them.

The classic game of mankind.

But it’s actually not that boring as it might sound. Those questions are not dumb useless questions, but most of the time really interesting or even quite technical questions!

If you already have a specific area in mind, you could filter the questions for that category and look what people are asking.

Is there a pattern or type of question that gets asked over and over again?

Make sure to stay up to date there and check for new questions every now and then if you currently can’t find anything that brings you forward (you could definitely waste hours of your time there, just because it’s interesting.) So in case nothing here for you yet, go to the next point.

4. Scan Online App Wishlists

There are pages online where people simply wish for apps. Have you heard of them before?

In places like ideaswatch, Reddit or even on a special Github project people can add their ideas for new apps.

Also, if you want direct feedback for an idea you have you can submit it to PreApps and see what others think. Plus you can scan their archive for interesting topics.

Most of the time we just need some inspiration if we are completely out of good ideas for a realistic and profitable next app.

Although all of these places might contain a lot of ideas that are either impossible to create as an app or just a dumb idea at all, these ”unrealistic” approaches might be exactly what gets us out of our old thought patterns.

Most of the time if we think to hard about a problem or just ”I can’t find any good idea” we get into a zone from where we only see a limited horizon. And the first step to be productive and creative again is to leave that point and come back to a more open, dreaming mind.

5. Think about yourself

If nothing of the before has worked for you, we are back at ground zero.

We are on our own to find the next killer app idea.

How can we find app ideas alone?

Well, everyday you live and encounter problems (I hope not to many, but there will be some anyway). And always when you hit a problem in your life you should ask yourself:

Why is there no solution to this problem yet?

Many times the problem is just too small or a good solution is unrealistic. But whenever that’s not the case, you have to think if you could somehow solve this problem.

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” ― Albert Einstein

You might not know how to create the solution for a problem yet, but maybe just because you have thought about the problem with the same patterns that created it in the first place. As Einstein said, we need to think different to fix those problems.

Find app ideas everywhere

These are just 5 simple Hacks to find app ideas, and there are many more great ways to come up with ideas out there.

So what’s the baseline?

Leaving old thought patterns!

If you are desperately hoping and searching for the holy grail idea for your next app, you are in a zone that does not really support creativity and an open mind. Look around you for inspiration and ideas, combine different thoughts and within no time you will find something that works for you.

Are you currently working on a cool app? Share your thoughts and how you came up with it below, I would love to hear your stories!

Happy Coding, Simon