In an ideal world, you could create a mobile application, launch it and immediately start earning money. Since the current app ecosystem isn’t an ideal world, you need a monetization strategy to take care of the money aspect.
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If you have an app and you’re looking for a way to monetize it, our free ebook can help you choose the right monetization model.
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What exactly is app monetization?
The short answer would be the process of leveraging an application’s user base and converting their actions and engagement into a stream of revenue. A more detailed answer would be that monetization is a specific framework that defines the exact ways in which a mobile application drives revenue and generates return on investment (ROI) – a framework that enables you to answer these questions:
- What source of income am I pursuing with the application?
- What value will I be providing and at what price?
Mobile app monetization is a way for you to earn income from your mobile application – it enables you to take luck and chance out of the picture, and take control of the aspects that affect the success of your application on the market.
Do you need a monetization strategy?
Even if you have an already existing app or you are just starting, you absolutely need a monetization strategy. You need to be able to understand how to generate money from your mobile application that would be most beneficial for your business, but also your users.
But before you choose the monetization model for your app, here are a few steps you need to take in order to create an optimal monetization strategy.
#01 Consider the type of mobile app you want to create
Some monetization models only work with specific types of applications, so you need to keep that in mind while you’re defining your strategy. For example, if you want your app to be premium, it needs to be superior to free alternatives, but if you’ll offer to your users the same quality app as the one from your free competitors, then maybe premium is not the way to go.
#02 Understand your target persona
This is a tale as old as time – but you need to know who you are making the app for.
If you want your product to be successful on the market, you need to know who is it for, how those customers will use it, what will make them buy it and what they want to get out of it.
#03 Answers the question: ‘why would anyone buy my app’
If your app is to be successful, it needs to provide users with something original, valuable or better than what the competition is currently offering – define that.
#04 Define what else would your users be willing to pay for
To make the income you earn grow together with your application’s user base, you need to define specific elements within the app that could be monetized. For instance, you could offer your app for free, but within the app add elements that need to be paid in order to have a better experience.
#05 See what your competition is doing
Researching the market you are about to enter is extremely important. And the only way to do it is by taking a look at how your competition is doing. Explore their product, their business strategies, the way they do sales, how they speak to customers – try to define what they are doing good and what they are doing bad.
#06 Provide value to your users
A line between providing value while maximizing revenue and being named a cash grab is thin – make sure you’re always on the right side of that line because user trust is difficult to get back. Especially now when they have many options to choose from.
#07 Define your goals with the app
Define your goals with the app the same way you would define goals for any other business plan. By defining specific goals you want to achieve with your mobile application, you’ll always have a guide that will keep you on the right track and help you make decisions.
#08 Be in it for the long run
Establishing a relationship with users is a process that takes time, but users’ engagement with the application is directly connected to revenue, so it’s worth it.
#09 Don’t sacrifice user experience
When choosing the right monetization model, great user experience should be one of your top priorities – great user experience means users will be more likely to spend money.
#10 Keep your eye on monetization trends
With more than 204 billion app downloads in 2019, monetization app trends are always changing. To be relevant, keep an eye on Google and Apple as they are major players in the app space, and their actions can have a big effect on the entire app ecosystem.
#11 Don’t try to reinvent the wheel
The app market is filled with examples of apps successfully using various monetization models and strategies – use those insights to your advantage.
#12 Test, get feedback, iterate, repeat
Just because you defined a monetization strategy that fits your app and your users, that doesn’t mean you’re done with it. Keep developing and upgrading it based on your users’ behavior.
You are now ready to choose the monetization model!
Now that you have your strategy ready and well polished – it is time to choose the monetization model that is right for your app. Check out our other blog post where you can find out what are the top 10 app monetization models. And if you are interested in learning even more about app monetization, download our free ebook!
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