We’re excited to announce the top 3 AppBank creators for 2009!  Congratulations go to Phillip, Beverly, Alyssa for earning top dollars with their awesome apps!

Beverly is a working mom of four and after her husband was recently laid off, she was searching for supplemental streams of income. With AppBank, she has the flexibility to create an app at any hour and the money she’s earned has helped her family get by during these rough times.  Check out Beverly’s intriguing apps:

What does your spirit guide want you to know?
Who were you in a past life?
What does 2010 have in store for you?

Alyssa is a full-time college student and a nanny for a family of four kids.  She was drawn to AppBank because it gave her a means to be on Facebook and make money at the same time.  Her parents pay for half her tuition and she’s using her AppBank earnings to help pay a portion of the rest.  Alyssa has attracted users with these top pop culture apps:

Which Movie Couple Are You and Your Significant Other?
Which Movie Would You Play the Lead Role In?
What Type of Drunk Are You?

Phillip works full time as a computer repair technician and he used his AppBank earnings to make this year’s Christmas extra special for his kids.  See why Philip was so successful with his popular holiday apps:

Sexy Santa Helpers
Sexy Public Servants
Adorable Christmas Babies

Inspired by these three?  We are!  If you’re new and want to create AppBank apps too, learn more here.

In addition to tools and templates, we’ll continue to pass along advice for developing apps that rock.  On that note, since you may be working on a few apps before the end of the year, here are 10 things to consider which are based on some of our most popular Facebook apps.

Tip #1- Set your app apart with a unique but relevant application logo.  Use a larger image that “pops” and be sure to upload your app logo to the Facebook Application Directory when prompted.

Tip #2- Engage Facebook users with great images that tie in well with the app topic(s).  Gather image files first, so you can simply plug them in as you build the app.  Be sure to avoid copyright infringements by searching for “royalty free images”, “free photos” or “free clipart”.

Tip #3- Take the time to ensure that all grammar and spelling are correct, this helps establish credibility and of course, displays professionalism.

Tip #4- Encourage app users with praise in the form of images with captions for various score levels. This may inspire them to post app results on their Facebook Wall, making it more virally popular and equating to more money in your AppBank account!

Tip #5- Research apps by performing a directory search.  If an app on the same category exists, determine if building one similar is worth the time.  Remember that originality, creativity and topics with a broad appeal are keys to good exposure on Facebook.

Tip #6- Put yourself in a user’s shoes and take your app for a test drive before you share it with the world. Review every step, grammar, spelling, image placement and scoring for accuracy.

Tip #7- Optimize your app by adding “Like” and “Comment” features on the Facebook Wall to attract feedback, more exposure, and most importantly drive your app to the forefront of reputable apps (Facebook places a certain level of value and importance on user comments).

Tip #8- Cross promote other apps you’ve created by posting links on the “About” page for each app, so users can see a list of all your apps.  Anything you post on your “About” page will immediately appear on the News Feed of all subscribed fans.  If users really enjoy your app, they’ll likely be interested to see the others you post as well.

Tip #9- Make your app more robust by creating an app with more questions and results. Since final results are calculated by totaling the sum of all answers, more questions and results increase the accuracy of the scoring process.

Tip #10- Find creative inspiration for developing your own apps and quizzes on these 3 sites: www.quizrocket.com, www.quizilla.com and www.cosmopolitan.com.

Happy app creating to each of you!

Welcome to the AppBank blog! In this blog, I’ll be discussing various topics ranging from how people can make money to running a business in a down economy. Hopefully, you’ll find the postings helpful and engaging.

First off, I’d like to share my background with you and why I started AppBank. In 2000, I co-founded a domain management company called Oversee.net and grew the company to over $200M in revenues. In 2007, we took private equity money in a $150M round, and since then I moved from LA with my wife to create this startup. The idea arrived over the holidays in 2008 over Thanksgiving dinner when our niece, who’s in college, was telling us about how she was creating cool Facebook quizzes and polls for her peers. In the next breath, she started complaining about how she had no extra money to go shopping or eat out. My wife and I thought about this and thought, “Why shouldn’t she get paid for all the people she’s reaching on Facebook with her application?” After that night, we got started on creating AppBank and the company was officially formed in April 2009.

Fast forward 9 months and here we are in the midst of the 2009 holiday season.

We’re still dealing with a recessionary economy so money is pretty tight for a lot of people and coming up with extra cash can be difficult. To address this, people are looking for fun, creative ways to bring in a few extra dollars so that they can give a bit more to their friends, family members, and favorite charities. At AppBank, everyone from college students to stay-at-home moms are using our service to make up to $2,500 a month in their spare time through AppBank’s innovative ad-share model. If you’re interested in making some extra cash during this holiday season, check out www.appbank.com. Also, if you want to hear what others are saying about AppBank, be sure to take a look at some of our most recent coverage in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and PC World. Over 30,000 are currently using the service to make money for the holidays – shouldn’t you be one of them?