First I wrote about it when it launched… mostly taking a shot at the iPhone users (I’m on the Blackberry team).
Then I found out it was Joel Comm’s creation and it was burning up the iStore.
Now it’s the #1 paid application in the Apple iStore. How insane is that?!
The real lesson in this app is the story…
IT’S THE STORY AND THE MARKETING. I can’t make that clear or loud enough (no pun intended) .
Now I noticed Joel is giving away $5,000 on iFartmobile where people submit their videos … of … guess what… to YouTube and they can win 5,000 or a Apple Laptop or an iPod touch….
Absolutely brilliant!
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2415 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
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{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice. Just goes to show that you just never know and don’t let others bring your idea down lol – or some people DO know…:)
Thats a helluva prize giveaway!!! wow!!
I have to agree with you, I always see alot of negative commentators on new innovations, ideas, etc. but you never know where you might end up being.
When something catches on, no matter how stupid it may seem, there will always be people that will hate and wish they came up with the idea first!!! Such is life though right??
Really smart lol.
It’s one of the best success stories around. Who isn’t going to pay a dollar for an app that everyone has. Everyone is picking this one up.
Props to Joel for yet another successful ad campaign ans getting the viral buzz he needed to push it to #1!
Yep, I picked this app too! Perfect marketing strategy from Joel Comm
Its tough to make sales unless you know really well to market a product.
I bought the ifart was quiet cheap wasnt that impressive lol…guitar hero is better =)
Joel Comm is a genius.
he know what he want and do it perfect !
Awesome idea – its amazing to see an idea that looks kind of dumb just take off and go “why didn’t I think of that”
I am surprised you being a big Apple fan, you are not discussing Steve Jobs instead of some immature Ifarts deal. I guess you have to remain true to your type of audience though.
Is Steve Jobs taking a leave of absence just another brilliant marketing tactic?
Discuss.
Yes, I’m sure he lost all that weight to look like he has cancer as a marketing ploy only to return in July all nice and healthy looking.
Anything it takes in a recession to move product.
I’m sure that’s what is going on.
I am not sure he would go that far…
Sarcasm
It’s not called the iStore
Joel is a smart man.
the key is not just being smart but marketing smart which he does 
I heard one said this, it is not about the product, it is how you market the product.
I guess Joel make it because of his reputation and of course the marketing strategy. Good post J
Is this the Stepford Wives?
I hope his contest gets alot of submissions. Greg Ellison
Crude = viral and many people before him have benefited from this very same principle.
Yes, crude is big online. Now go check out my muffy.
Oh, nice kitty…looks like a hairless I see
A lot to be learned from this. The simplest ideas seem to get huge returns.
By the way are any of you going to submit? Or know anyone that is?
Great Contest Idea! …
That guy is definitely a genius. He is making bank from farting, something every guy wishes they can do.
He’s totally one of the best viral marketers!
hey thats really a solid and great contest idea. surprisingly its amazing that somebody can make money from farting.
I appreciate the comments, but I would like to add one of my own.
iFart didn’t become popular because of my name. I may be known in Internet and affiliate marketing, but the people in the mac community had no idea who I was.
This was primarily guerilla marketing. At some point in the future, I may document the entire process. But for now, the story is still being written.
You can always count on great information on Shomoney’s blog!
Thats a pretty nice contest cant wait to get my Iphone Unlocked this weekend so i card start using it as well as my BLACKBERRY =)
Great marketing strategy, plus I just love the name. iFart! LMFAO!
this is really awesome and I think the contest will really boom
Next application, iSmell.
he must be raking in the bucks with that app, i wonder if he has any plans for more “off the cuff” apps?Your Message
The man is a GD GENIUS. That is all I have to say.
Hi Jeremy,
Oh yeah, it’s definitely about the story and the marketing… if there’s a buzz going on right now, I’d say that the Best Job in the World by Tourism Queensland is something to look at!
There’s lots of great marketing they’re doing – worth observing for sure~
Asher
I thought paying for crap was bad enough but paying for the sound of crap is just genius. It surprising what people will pay for during an economic downturn.
wow! 5K? that’s a helluva prize.
I beleive -”A good beginning makes a good ending”-congrats for the contest.
Very smart.
This is just too funny
cool, i like it
iFart is marketing genius…from what I understand, he had a really hard time getting it actually on the iTunes app store. He is laughing all the way to the bank now as users laugh at their friends!
Creating laughter and amusement is a great thing to accomplish.
amazing giveaway! really great prizze! could probably use that for my car insurance
This guy is obsessed with farting, LOL. I suggest we should also make our own iphone applications, such as iShit, coz the iPhone is shitty indeed. Sorry for being to frank.
Well anyone can sell fart apps for money.
oh.. dats gr8..
he’s kinda one good example of a good marketer… and his will power seemed to be awesome to push up his sales dat much!!
First, I thought it is funny and it is cool to make fun with friends… Never thought it can be selling like hot cake..
Joel have perfect marketing strategy
I’ve got a lot of respect for Joel. He know’s his shit. I think a lot of his success has a lot to do with the blogosphere picking him up and embracing the story of the application. Your story here I’m sure was one of many that attributed to it’s success. Oh, and BlackBerry FTW.
iFart’s not so brilliant, they just copied the Grossinator contest launched days before, heres the Grossinator PR from PRMAC to prove it, check the date http://prmac.com/release-id-4011.htm Kind of bothered me at first, but i guess copying an idea is the sincerest form of flattery.
I think you miss my point… the app is not genius its the marketing that is genius
Sorry to disappoint you Dimitri, but I’ve never heard of your app.
And here it my tweet that predates your press release.
http://twitter.com/joelcomm/statuses/1109450257
No need to be bothered. We thought of this on our own.
Dimtri, saw your post on our reviews.. you obviously didn’t see Joel Comm’s Tweet on December 17th. http://twitter.com/joelcomm/statuses/1064480297 We’ve been planning the contest for well over a month. Care to change your review?
Yeah..whats so interesting about this application?
People just love to annoy others with fart / pooping sounds.
Joel Comm is a brilliant fella. He knows what he’s doing, especially the marketing angle. Yes, Jeremy, you are right. The app might not be genius but the marketing is indeed genius,
I think the application became popular only after the news rather than before the news.
So Joel Comm has finally done something “legitimate enough” that it will pass the wickedfire litmus test? (Which is a subjective test about what a “real” to sell is.)
marketing genius for sure, all the press including this post helps a great deal, the price point is a major factor, and the simple fact that fart sounds are funny sometimes. I’d say he got an excellent ROI on that app.
The world is a strange place…
No matter how much time I spend trying to figure out the angles, there is always something more to learn.
who in the world would’ve ever thought you could win bigtime by selling farts? If only phones would be able to produce a scent of your choice, i think iDung or iSh!t would go next to this product.
There is a lot of buzz about some independent developers and newbies who have made between $100,000 to $500,000 by simply creating their first iPhone application and putting it up for sale on the online Apple Store.
Steve Demeter made a simple puzzle game called Trism, and in 2 months he earned $250,000. Last December the app called iFart became the number one app on the App Store. It stayed on the top and raked in $9200 each day in profit after Apple’s cut. Then, Ethan Nicholas, developer of the now famous iShoot game, earns $21,000 per day selling his iPhone app. Ethan quit his day job to work full time on the iPhone and he did not even know how to write Objective-C code before he made iShoot.
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