Mobile monetization is nothing but the ways in which the app makes money for itself. You might have wondered how free apps earn for themselves? The most difficult thing for the developer to decide is time and again ‘the mobile monetization strategy’.
There are numerous monetization strategies like offering a free app with in-app purchases, granting a free but subscription-supported application or offering a free app which is an ad-supported one. All these strategies can be grouped under three major divisions. They are free, paid and premium monetization strategies. A clear analysis will help us decide the best monetization strategy.
Need for mobile monetization
First of all, what is the need for an app or a mobile service to be monetized? This question sounds weird but the truth is that developers are not running a service institution where they work with a priceless objective of serving the society with their apps with no profits. App development is indeed a hot business that is earning a huge income. Any app for that matter is developed with an aim of earning more profits by attracting numerous users in the App Store.
Factors deciding the mobile monetization strategy
There are 3 important things to consider before choosing the right monetization strategy for your app. They are to check the frequency and user-engaging capacity of your app/service, readiness of the users to pay for your service /application and the efficiency of the mobile monetization strategies employed by your competitors. Finding the appropriate answers for these concerns will help you arrive at the most suitable mobile monetization strategy.
Free mobile monetization strategy
Users generally tend to try out a service or an application free of charge, especially the ad-supported ones that do not charge anything from their end, for their smartphones and other mobile gadgets. According to Mr. Jonathan Tom, Microsoft’s Group Product Marketing Manager, WA on free ad-supported apps, “The big advantage of ad-supported apps is they are free to users, allowing a developer to maximize user reach and the potential revenue stream. This often translates into more downloads and greater app adoption among consumers. With ad-funded apps, there is a lower barrier to entry, as users are more apt to download and try a free, ad-funded app instead of a paid app”. This method is extremely beneficial to the business as well as the end user as the business earns a lot of money from the advertisers and mobile customers enjoy the service absolutely free of cost.
Paid mobile monetization strategy
This is an upfront strategy where the users are directly charged for availing web services or for downloading an app. The free monetization method does not suit all types of users as there are certain users who prefer paying for branded or reputed services, mainly to enjoy the services without any advertisements.
Premium mobile monetization strategy
This method is also known as the subscription business strategy where the users are required to pay a fixed amount as a premium or subscription for a fixed period like weekly, monthly or annual subscription. Mostly free and premium monetization strategies are combined where the general services are freely accessible by users but premium services, like the services offered by matrimonial portals, are charged.
Instead of choosing any specific mobile monetization strategy, one can try a combined or mix and match approach by creating free and paid versions of their apps or by engaging users with interactive and subjective advertisements leading to the paid services or free services with in-app purchases.
Author Bio
Brian Taylor, a Business Development Manager of Forix Mobile have expertise in mobile app development Phoenix on various platform like Android, iPhone and iPad. Our services includes android developer Portland , iPhone app development and iPad app development.