How Do Apps Make Money?

Mobile Apps | 10-08-2022 | Akash Yadav

how do apps make money

The mobile app development services market offers tremendous opportunities to make millions of dollars. However, not all applications generate the same amount of revenue.

In 2019, the market for mobile apps was estimated to be worth more than $154 billion, and by 2026, it is expected to reach more than $407 billion.

Smartphone users around the world are using their devices more frequently than ever. US people spend more than 4 hours per day on internet services, with apps accounting for the great majority of that time.

Startups just starting in the mobile market are now asking themselves questions such as, "How do apps earn money?" and "How can you make money from an app?" — questions we'll answer in this article.

What should you consider for App Monetization:

1. App Purpose:

The app's purpose is crucial when examining how applications generate revenue. A thorough grasp of the issue you are attempting to solve, the software development services your application will provide, the potential market impact, and how the app will help meet the users' needs.

You should choose the best monetization method for your application on the google play store or the App Store once you have a clear idea of its value proposition. Subscription models, for instance, are used in service and multimedia applications.

2. Target audience:

The target audience also significantly affects how much revenue an app makes. It is crucial to choose a monetization approach that won't waste their time when developing a mobile application for business users.

Similar to this, it is a good idea to provide free application services while creating an app focused on the minority population of the society. Before beginning any plan, it is important to evaluate your target audience to properly use app monetization strategies to create an online income.

3. A study of competitors:

Developing a revenue-generating app must involve performing competitor analysis. The insights help understand similar applications' tactics and how much revenue they generate overall.

You can find a sustainable business strategy for your application without difficulty if you conduct a thorough investigation and know your competition.

4. Metrics And Monetization For Your Project:

You must choose the app's monetization approach once you are confident with the data acquired. It's sometimes possible to integrate two or more revenue streams used by free apps. The metrics for measuring the monetization strategy's performance must then be determined.

For instance, Spotify has quite a conversion rate of 26.6%, but other freemium apps only convert at 1%. Choose your app's target market and keep an eye out for its release.

5. User testing & prototyping:

You need an app that consumers like for it to be simple to monetize. Building, prototyping, and testing it with the intended users seems to be the only way to guarantee that. It could take the shape of a sketch shown to a community of participants for input or an app with merely the visual layout. Customers must comprehend what the app provides and how it can help them with their difficulties.

Monetization Models One Can Consider:

In-app advertising:

Even though some apps are available for free download and use, developers still make money when users interact with the ads that are shown inside the apps. This app's income model is carefully examined and determined to be successful.

There are many different types of in-app advertising, including pop-up ads, banner ads, video ads, text ads, and native ads, among others. How much money are app ads making? Depending upon the nature of the advertisement, the average pay per impression might range from $0.10 to $10. Monetization of the app using video ads pays the most.

Freemium model and in-app purchases:

When considering how to monetize an app without ads, freemium is the main option to take into account. The use of this application is unrestricted. But to purchase a wide range of virtual elements via the smartphone application, consumers would need to pay a little fee.

This covers additional lives, ad blocking, in-app purchases for premium content, in-game currency, and more. Using purchases as an example, Clash of Clans generated around $1 million every day.

The "Software-as-a-Service" subscription model:

The subscription model is another method put out as a solution for how to commercialize apps. Users are requested to pay a weekly, monthly, or annual charge in exchange for a certain service offered by the mobile app development firm in this case.

In the context of cloud-based companies, and audio and video content creators, such as Spotify, Google Music, and Netflix, this kind of business and monetization strategy is frequently advised.

Sponsorship:

Another way to profit from a smartphone app is through sponsorship. This technique works well when interacting with firms from the same segment of the market and is typically integrated with applications that already have daily users. To succeed in the market, for instance, the Weather Channel app depends on this commercial and monetization strategy.

Crowdsourcing:

One of the successful ways to monetize apps for free is through crowdfunding, an alternative funding approach to think about this year. Here, you trade your app concept or release an MVP on websites like Kickstarter, crowdfunding, Indiegogo, and Fundable to raise money and take the necessary actions in the marketing sector. As an illustration, in 2017 the Hello Earth game, which featured a well-known cat character, generated USD 148K in revenue.

Wrapping Up

Therefore, it is best to get in touch with app monetization experts and professionals, if you as an app developer or app owner, would like to monetize your smartphone application by placing advertising on it.

Experts are well-versed with various app monetization techniques. They know the running trends, best android app monetization ads services and suggest optimum app monetization tactics as recommendations and resources.

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Author

Akash Yadav

I'm Akash Yadav, an experienced Digital Marketer, and Strategist, been in the IT Industry for the last 5+ Years. Currently working with AppBroda Tech - a mobile advertising platform that helps app publishers and developers reap and optimize ad revenue. Skilled in constructing a Digital Strategy, Growth Hacking, etc.