Monetize Your App

Narsun Studios
6 min readNov 16, 2021

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An idea about developing an app has popped up in your mind. So, what’s next? Stop worrying about engineering and start thinking about your revenue model instead. Think about your monetization strategy and layout a plan for it. There will be plenty of questions to address. Is the app going to be free or paid? Do we need online purchasing tools or will in-app advertising generate enough revenue? Can you handle the software monetization yourself or would it be preferable to delegate funding to a willing sponsor? We’ll show you how to comprehend the most common app monetization tactics in the post below.

How do apps make money?

Let’s get to the most important point. All apps are classified as paid or free in the App Store or Google Play. An average app costs between $0.5–1. Direct user sales are profitable for the owners of such products.

Talking about the free apps, they account for more than 90% of both the App Store and Google Play. Another interesting fact is that, according to Google Play, free apps account for 98.1% of the revenue generated by the owners. Your question is valid about how free apps make money, we will enlighten you

  • Advertisement that includes or excludes referral marketing.
  • Subscriptions that allow you to continue using the app after the free trial period has ended.
  • Sales over the internet
  • According to Forbes, in-app purchases and freemium are the highly profitable ways to generate cash from an app these days.
  • Data on user behavior is being sold.
  • Fees for transactions.
  • Sponsors.

Monetize the Idea of your App first

Planning a marketing strategy for your mobile app is very crucial if you want it to turn into a success and you want to earn from it as well. Monetization of your mobile app is an important aspect of your overall marketing plan. Consider it to be a means to recover your investment and to ensure that your firm remains stable and does not collapse immediately after its release. It is vital that you attempt to define the concept behind the app as thoroughly as possible.

After figuring that out, now you need to focus on who is going to use your app, who will be your target audience. Detail orientation about your target audience is very important at this point. Determine how many individuals you need to focus on and how much they are willing to spend on your application. Keep in mind that each user will cost you money because you have a marketing budget set aside for that purpose. Ascertain that the money generated by a single user exceeds the marketing costs incurred to acquire him or her. With the data in hand, try to decide on a strategy.

How to make money on advertising in-app?

Mobile app advertisements are the cost-effective, easiest, cheapest, and most famous way to monetize your app traffic. According to Business of Apps, 7/10 companies that develop apps are using it currently. The strategy’s primary rule is that the more the users the more the money, the more revenue comes from selling your audience to marketers. Engineering autonomy is a significant benefit of this type of monetization. Without your permission, an ad network provider inserts advertising media blocks into your program. You don’t have to sign contracts with a lot of different sponsors or go out looking for them. Advertisement in the app allows you to make an immediate profit, which is determined by the number of ad units, the times the ad is being viewed, and the click rate, the more the merrier.

Advertisements from third parties may appear in your app in a variety of ways:

  • Advertisements that are native to the site.
  • Pop-ups that take up the entire screen.
  • Banners.
  • Contextual text advertising.
  • The in-app videos are shown as a reward for using the app.

Freemium Model (Free + Premium).

How can free apps generate revenue? Building warm company-client relationships and then asking for money, is a sensible strategy to monetize. Just like Evernote and the YouTube mobile app, pick the most coveted element of your app and provide it to your consumer for a reasonable price, and you will be a winner in no time. Free + Premium is the new way to earn money.

Freemium applications allow you to download it for free and utilize a functionally limited version without having to pay anything for it. If the user loves the software, he /she can pay for the entire bundle of features as well as the ad-free edition. The fee could be charged on a monthly or annual basis as a subscription fee, or it could be a one-time transaction. However, according to Business Insider, only 1.9% of customers pay for additional features or continue to use the app after the free trial time has ended.

It is, however, easier for the proprietor to make a sale in their app’s territory, leading the user into the possibility of a premium version on occasion. As a result, the plan is more likely to succeed than a paid-per-download model. Apps that deal with the game, education, health, professional, communication, and sports all benefit from this method.

In-App Purchases (Paidium)

Because the purchase of an improved version of the app occurs within the app, the In-App Purchases business model called Paidium as well is commonly mistaken with the Freemium Model. In-App Purchases offer a variety of choices. Developers in the gaming business and gaming apps specifically can define a currency.

To “top up the account,” you may be asked to either conduct an action within the app or exchange money for virtual currency. It is not always possible to swap money in the other direction. In-App Purchases might include the sale of educational articles, different types of books, music, and movies. Unlocking game levels, virtual items, and players’ updated skills can all be purchased. Spotify, Line, Netflix, and Tinder had the largest revenue from In-App Purchases of their content in Google Play in 2020.

Paid monetization strategy

According to research conducted by Google, people need to pay on one out of every ten occasions before installing an app. Paid-per-download apps need a solid marketing plan to succeed; otherwise, free alternatives will outperform them. If you’re creating a commercial app, pay attention to marketing and public relations, along with the pricing rules.

The paid app market faces a lower level of competition. Users who are paying for apps are also known to behave more actively, turning into a source of marketing and research. The majority of the paid download apps are well-known games.

Another form of a popular paid app is one that provides customers with exclusive software features and allows them to earn. The industry for these apps is comparable to technology industries and luxury items. If you want to opt for the paid-to-download technique, keep in mind that you should start promoting your product even before you put it on the market.

According to the facts presented by the App Store, the average price of an app in the second half of 2019 was between $0.50 for games and $1 for apps. Minecraft, Angry Birds, and Heads Up are the most popular paid apps in Apple’s history. The top three games on Google Play Store are Minecraft, Torque Pro, and Motor Depot.

In-App Sponsors

By paying any costs to the app’s sponsor, owners don’t have to worry about the app’s profitability. In exchange, the sponsors use that app as an additional marketing tool. Such apps are frequently required to have engaging content and the ability to spread virally. There are numerous ways to get an in-app sponsor:

  • If you already have an idea for an app and are confident that it will be well-received, you can seek sponsorship from a firm whose target demographic is similar to yours.
  • Consider the needs of the audience of the brand whose sponsorship you require if you are initially set up to obtain sponsorship.
  • The sponsorship model is used by the Subway and Marriott brands

Blended Model

Craft your own model to generate revenue through an app. No one is willing to risk everything when it comes to budgeting, software businesses often use a hybrid app monetization strategy which is also known as the blended model. Furthermore, combining tactics improves the product’s financial viability in the ever-changing app development market. The majority of free apps contain integrated adverts, while a paid application can include an in-app purchase mechanism.

The most common cocktail approach in 2021 is a mix of in-app purchases and in-app advertising. We have summed up all these strategies and listed facts with them as well. In summing this up, a blended model is the one to go for when you are thinking about monetizing your app. Narsun Studios can offer expertise in monetizing your business app, with a thorough analysis of which model to implement to generate revenue.

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Narsun Studios
Narsun Studios

Written by Narsun Studios

We excel in crafting AAA games, metaverse environments, AI technologies, digital twins, and immersive AR/VR experiences that captivate audiences worldwide.

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