You wake up one day with an idea of a mobile application that could get reach millions of users. Before you contact the best mobile apps design company in Kenya, you must face the big question. Is the investment worth it? How will you make money out of it?
You have two major options; develop a paid app or a free app. You earn from each complete download of a paid app in addition to other paid features or uses. However, by charging for a download, you limit the number of users. Only the people who really need the app will download it.
The alternative is to develop a free app but how do you earn from it. Let us look at some of the ways you make money from the app.
1. In-app purchases
If you are thinking about a mobile app, chances are that you are already selling some products or services on a business website. With the current trends in digital technology, most of your target clients are using apps to buy from your competitors. Encourage the clients to buy products directly from the app.
If you include the right features on the app, clients will prefer the in-app purchases to visiting your store or website. You may need payment integration services to offer different payments methods. For the Kenyan market, Mpesa integration and other mobile money networks are critical for in-app purchases.
Think beyond the consumable products or services. You can still earn from in-app purchases even if you do not have physical products or services to sell. Think about additional functions or features that the users may need after downloading your app. Charge a subscription fee that will unlock those functions.
You can charge a one-time subscription that gives users access to the functions for as long as the app is installed. Alternatively, the subscription can unlock the features for a specific period. Users have to renew their subscription after the period elapses.
2. In-app ads
Most app developers are familiar with this money making strategy. If you have used a free app before, chances are that you had to keep clicking and closing pop-up ads. The strategy started with blogs and websites where you get paid for each click on an ad displayed. Affiliate marketing has extended to mobile apps as well.
You can launch into this field with the sole purpose of earning from affiliate marketing. Some of the plans that will earn you cash under this plan include cost per install, cost per click, and cost per view. The good news is that you have many ad networks to choose from after developing your app.
You have different options for including ads in your app include banners, rich media, interstitial, native ads, and videos. Decide from the start if you want users to utilize your app or click on the ads. Some of the ads can be annoying to the extent that users uninstalled your app. Hence, you need to choose the ad network and the type of ads carefully.
3. Sponsorship
Think about the future of your mobile app even before you contact the best development company. How long do you intend to run the app? Will it be useful to your target users in say 5 or 10 years from now? Remember that technology evolves daily. Hence, chances are that within that period, better solutions will be available for the same function.
The way to make money through sponsorship is to create a generic and simple app that attracts thousands or even millions of users. Once the performance is consistently high in terms of views and downloads, identify a company that may be interested in the app. Offer to update or customize the app to suit the company’s operations.
Sometimes a company may contact you even before you approach one if the app is good enough. When you get a sponsor, you can share the profits or earnings from the app. Alternatively, you may earn a monthly fee from the sponsor as long as they are using the updated version of your app.
4. Freemium
The strategy is slightly from the subscriptions described above. With freemium monetization, you need to create two apps; a paid and a free app. You start advertising the free app and attract as many users as you can. Give the users an option of upgrading to a paid version of the same app with additional features.
The most important thing in this strategy is to ensure that users like or benefit from the free version. Otherwise, they will have no interest in a paid version if the free version does not serve its purpose. One common approach among developers is to offer a free version with ads. If users want to use the app without ads, they can upgrade to the paid version.
Freemium works best when selling music or video content. No one enjoys watching videos with multiple interruptions. Be careful with the features on the free version. The features should be just enough to spark interest in the paid version. Consult a top mobile apps design company in Kenya if unsure about the features to include in both versions.
5. Email marketing
Any marketing expert will list email marketing on top of the list of timeless strategies. If you run a website or blog and understand the power of email marketing, you do everything to get users to leave their email address. The same applies to a mobile app. You can request app users to submit their email address for more information or updates on deals.
Always inform your users how you intend to use their contact information. Constant communication from your end without their consent will push them to uninstall the app. You do not want that to happen because you will lose earnings from other strategies.
Give users an option of leaving your mailing list or opting out of specific types of emails. An easy way to get users’ email address is to give them an option of signing in with their social media accounts such as Facebook.
Whether you have a running business or just exploring the possibilities of mobile app development, these strategies will help you earn extra income. One caution is to use each method or a combination of them carefully. Make the ads as subtle as possible such that users enjoy using the app while you make money.