The number of mobile app downloads is rapidly growing. It was 178 billion in 2017, reached 205 billion in 2018, and is estimated to be over 350 billion by 2021.
These figures show the growing interest in mobile apps and why more investors are putting money on mobile app development.
However, more than half of the apps on app stores are hardly downloaded, if at all. Publishing your app on platforms is not enough to guarantee it will be downloaded and profitable.
The most important thing to increase an app’s visibility is to apply App Store optimization best practices rigorously.
Then once the app is visible and downloaded, it must be profitable and provide a return on investment.
But how?
How to make money with a mobile app ?
There are several ways to monetize a mobile app.
Paid apps
Asking the user to pay for the app remains the most direct way to generate revenue.
With this method, you can set a price on each app store that will be automatically converted into different currencies. But don’t forget that Google and Apple charge a 30% commission.
That being said, in recent years, it turns out that offering a free app tends to be the most successful approach.
So how do you make money then?
Once you’ve convinced the user of the value of the app thanks to a successful onboarding, here are some ways to monetize your mobile app:
Integrate a payment processor
It’s possible to integrate a payment processor inside your app to increase its profitability.
For example, this is what Stripe and Braintree offer through their API, which includes intuitive options and commands that are great for in-app payments.
The various tools offered by integrated payment processors will save you a lot of time for everything related to payments, refunds, and subscription management.
It also allows you to free yourself from the 30% commission retained by Apple and Google.
That said, for iOS users, keep in mind that Apple tends to refuse more external payment processors on iOS apps in recent years, hence their public fight Epic Games. So it might not an option if you’re on the Apple Store.
In-app purchases
Most app developers prefer the in-app purchase option because it uses native iOs and Google functions and often requires less development.
This method can allow mobile users of a free app to access paid content or premium features (Freemium model).
For mobile games, for example, mobile gamers can easily unlock access to new levels to play by paying. This method has allowed the publisher of Candy Crush to generate hundreds of millions of euros.
Newspapers also use apps with in-app purchases. Le Monde, Le Point, and other large publications have adopted this system by limiting the access of an article to just a few lines and asking users to pay in the app to read the rest of it.
If you want to continue reading, you have to do what is called a micro-payment or pay for a subscription.
Advertising
Advertising is now one of the most common solutions to monetize your app, even if it’s not the most profitable one.
Several solutions exist to place ads in your app :
AdMob
AdMob is Google’s advertising solution to monetize your mobile app effectively. Joining the program is simple; you only have to apply through its dedicated platform and link your app to AdMob.
Once approved, you are allowed to display relevant banner ads inside your app that will generate revenue.
That being said, keep in mind that AdMob uses cost-per-click (CPC). So to make money with Google, your need to have a lot of users clicking on the ads.
AdMob also has a double click feature, so users need to click twice on an ad to be redirected to the advertiser. It’s great for the advertiser who doesn’t have to pay for click-through errors, but it makes it harder for you to generate more revenue.
But the most significant advantage of AdMob remains its accessibility and ease of use for everyone (developers, advertisers, users).
Taboola and retargeting ads
Taboola, on the other hand, will place a widget on items in your mobile app. This widget displays articles that are related to those viewed by the user by using retargeting.
It is important to know that the links shared by Taboola can be either internal to the app – which will generate more views, and therefore money – or external.
In the latter case, when a user clicks on an external link, you earn money with CPC.
As with Ligatus, this solution is only available to publishers that Taboola and Outbrain choose. And note that you need a minimum of notoriety and traffic to have access to their widgets.
AdColony, exclusive access to premium content
In some mobile games, you need to purchase the app or in-app features to access special features.
However, some apps offer an alternative to in-app purchases or subscriptions: watching a commercial video. This is what AdColony offers.
This is a great alternative to monetize an app and happen to be really profitable. It’s a good way to generate money from users who won’t pay for in-app items or subscriptions.
MobPartner, gaming affiliate network
Another way to monetize your mobile app is through video game affiliation.
With MobPartner, you can easily integrate the most famous games of the moment, such as Candy Crush and FarmVille, into your app.
In this case, ads are banners that are displayed as soon as the user opens the app. Depending on the game, you can earn between $1 and $2 each time the app is installed, quickly becoming very profitable.
Enjoy the benefits of partnerships
If you adopt a positioning that is both clear and effective, you will gather a minimum of traffic and gain notoriety.
This will make it easier for you to enter into partnerships. Indeed, partnerships can represent a substantial source of income for your mobile app.
Working with advertisers will give you more visibility, which will inevitably lead to more views and clicks, and if your monetization strategy is effective, help generate more revenue from your app.
