There are many app developers and business startups out there who are so focused on their ideas and design development that they forget a very important ingredient for any app-related money-making recipe: developing a solid monetization strategy.
If your main goal is to make money off your app (and even if it isn’t, you have to admit – getting paid for your creativity and good ideas is always a nice plus), you need to come up with a solid and realistic monetization strategy. While the best and cheapest way to increase your revenue is to let your users do it for you, there are a few other effective strategies you can employ. Like offering some special bonus products or services and making use of in-app advertisements. Here are some tips on how to boost your app revenue in 3 steps.
To Charge or Not to Charge?
Consider whether you should charge users to download your app at all. While you might think that the most obvious way to make money off of your app would be to sell it in app stores, the majority of people who browse app stores only look at the apps that are available for free, so this isn’t always the wisest decision. By charging for your app, you could be missing out on a large number of customers who would potentially use and love your app if they didn’t have to pay for it initially. Also, whether you’re selling your app through Google or Apple, they’ll take 30% of your profits.
There are some nice ways to work around this obstacle, though. Many developers have found that the best monetization strategy for their app has been to offer their app for free. And then monetize from within the app through the use of in-app offers, in-app ads and a few other common strategies, which we’ll discuss next.
Offer Something Extra
If you design an app, offer it for free in the app store. And then make it barely usable without in-app purchases. It will most likely turn users off and make them look for a better app that they can do a bit more with for free. However, if you let users see how amazing your app is and make them feel like they need it and could do something important with the in-app purchases on offer, they’ll be more likely to make those in-app purchases.
Use Ads Wisely
Banner ads are those advertisements you see at the top or bottom of an app. Interstitial ads sit at the transition points of an app and might pop up as the app is opened or after a level of a game is completed. Rewards ads offer a reward, like a gift card or discount. Offer walls provide the user to earn something by completing a task, such as signing up for a trial account. Native advertising and notification ads are two of the least popular types of in-app advertising. They are a bit more invasive and tend to slow the speed of the app.