Monetizing Apps
Making Money From Apps
Making money from apps is one thing that most people getting into the business of developing apps want to know. Well, given that mobile device usage is on the rise, it makes sense to think that the app development market is poised to expand further. However, amid all the competition in apps being developed everyday, how do you make sure that your app stands out from the rest, and is making the most amount of money?
The Trick
It's a fact that free apps get the most download numbers compared to paid ones. But how exactly do you leverage the huge free download numbers in order to create a decent revenue stream?
You could decide to price your apps at $0.99 per download. However, believe it or not, you will make less money than if you chose to give them away freely so users can make in-app purchases. Again, when your apps are free, you get nearly 10 times the number of downloads compared to those which cost money to download. People love free things anyway. They want to try it out so they can make a decision of whether to buy or not to buy.
But once you've gotten the numbers, you still have a variety of ways to make money. Therefore, without further ado, lets delve into the world of making money with apps.
Freemium Up-Sell Tactic
In this strategy, you will have two versions of one app. The second one should be a paid version of the other one. This can be labeled as Lite, Regular or HD. The free app will have a link where users can be directed to the download page of iTunes or Google Play stores.
They have to use the free download link so they can get a sense of all you have to offer. Once they like what you're offering, they can purchase the full version that has complete functionality as well as gameplay.
Make Use Of In-App Purchases
In-app purchases let users buy more of something or unlock features to help them achieve a certain objective. They could accumulate coins or precious metals like gold to enable them have access to resources.
In the year 2011, 6 out of 10 of every app that was released in the market was free. But despite this, the app developers were able to make millions of dollars just from in-app purchases alone.
So when you make up your mind to sell your apps this way, you're going to set two options for your users. Either they are going to make a one-time purchase so they will never have to buy again or they will choose the on-going purchase option, i.e. where they can decide to say they want to purchase 25 coins for $0.99.
People tend to prefer the second option (on-going in-app purchases) because it racks revenue quite quickly. However, the problem with this option is that you will have to build an app which justifies the price for which it is being bought for.
Making Use Of Ads
Ads within an app is a love/hate relationship. If you have a decent traffic for your apps, you will quickly make a consistent and stable income. On the flipside, if you don't have good traffic, the results can be disappointing.
The best two ad networks run by Apple and Google respectively are iAds and Admob. But most users say that iAds tend to earn app developers a lot more money compared to Admob. The factors you have to consider here is the cost per thousand impression and the cost per click. The higher the values, the more you'll earn from your ads.
For every 100 app downloads you get, you can pull in $2. This is just a ballpark figure since your earnings can vary based on how many people click on your ads.
It should be noted that the amount of money you'll make a day is dependent on the ads being served to your app and the number of people who are clicking them.
Sponsorship
Make money from apps by sponsorship. The money you're given is upfront, plus you gain more credibility in the eyes of your audience. Typically, you approach a company, and then tell them that you have a great app that can help them, and that you can white-label it for $XXX amount of dollars.
Chances are that the company you're approaching has a great website and social media pages which receive millions of pageviews every month. If they promote your app, the value you get will be priceless. However, for this method to work, you have to find a company that will realize how powerful your app is likely to revolutionize the way they do business.
Conclusion
Making money from apps requires that you have a strategy. And the best strategies for making money have been discussed above. So get the wheels rolling to start making some money with apps.