I've said this many times here before but I'll say it again - the way to make money on the app store is to build apps on contract for other people.
If building and selling your own products is your goal then there are other platforms and distribution channels that are much less hostile to the small indie dev.
Actually all platforms that have enough volume to support products with customer live time values above $.99.
Otherwise you can't put meaningful money into customer acquisition.
It's very product specific. For example, I'm interested in music-making software so I'm looking at VST plugins. A web-based SAAS app might make more sense for other people, etc.
If building and selling your own products is your goal then there are other platforms and distribution channels that are much less hostile to the small indie dev.