Reskinning can 2x or 3x your income

If you have ever been in the app business, you’ve probably heard of reskinning. If you haven’t, it’s a very simple concept. Take one app, copy it, make some changes and tweaks, and release it as a whole new app.

That is what I did when I built my app business from $1,500 to over $30,000 a month.

I took the games and apps I had, bought source code for new ones, and reskinned them like crazy. That tactic I used was somewhat spammy. In some instances, no changes were made other than the theme, this mostly worked for games and not utility apps.

Sometimes I would make changes or add things to make them better but it was mostly theme changes. At one point I had over 200 apps and I estimate that in total, I’ve had well over 300.

What made this work so well? When you had a base app, such as a game, and it was popular for the core function of it, and then you reskin it for a different niche, you’ve broadened your market.

For example, I created a very simple block stacking game, you’ve probably played them before where the block swings and you drop it to stack it on another. The original had no specific theme, just blocks. It did well so I reskinned it with an 8-bit/Minecraft theme, it blew up and was making 5 figures a month on it’s own. I believe $15,000 a month was the highest month.

I spent $750 having it made, the original made a few hundred a month, then reskinned it for free, and made thousands.

Another way I did it was with trivia apps. I bought the initial app, one that was already live in the store making money, and then I found half a dozen niches, created questions, updated the app, and launched. This was another easy way to leverage my work.

And finally, I also did it with fitness apps. I would build a simple fitness style app that had a base system, like, workout, sets, reps, images, etc. Then, I would just create different types and change the variable information to fit other programs.

I wasn’t the only one doing this, big companies like King, who makes Candy Crush Saga, or basically any casino app developer does the same thing. They take one app or game, then make small tweaks, even if it’s just images, and pumps it out more and more.

This is something can be even done outside the app world, any type of software has the potential. For example, you could have a CRM and niche it down. One version might be for car dealers and then you make another version for landscapers.

Another example would be if you built a freelance platform similar to Upwork but made it more niche. One version could be all about finding blog content writers. Another version could be for graphic designers or Bubble developers.

This “reskin” method is a great way for solopreneurs to grow their income sources without having to create completely new businesses. You build the main product once and then “reskin” it to maintain a very niche market.