5 Ways to Fix Your Mobile App Monetization Problem

Creating a sustainable business model within your mobile app is the most critical step to ensure success with your mobile strategy.

To achieve the type of ROI you’re looking for or if you simply want to learn how to monetize on mobile, we’ve listed five great strategies that may alleviate your mobile monetization problem.

1. Integrate third party ad networks into your app.

If you have a free app with a large number of daily active users, you should be monetizing those users with ads. Third party ad networks such as Admob, Burstly and Tapjoy can help drive additional revenue when users click on banner ads in your app.

If your mobile strategy is an extension of an existing product/service and your app doesn’t monetize through in-app purchases, deploying ads in your app through third party networks is the way to go.

 2. Create an ecosystem incentivizing longer play sessions and recurring visits to your app.

The longer a user spends time in your app due to engaging content, the more likely they are to use your app on a continual basis, make recurring in-app purchases and/or click on ads. Provide users incentives to get them committed to your service and/or product personally, monetarily, and socially.

Offering personalized options such as customizable avatar items, unlockable services that can only be obtained via in-app purchase and exclusive in-app specials are all great ways to retain users.

Be sure to also utilize push notifications as a re-engagement tool to remind users of limited time events happening in your app.

3. Co-branded campaigns

If your app is already driving tons of traffic, leverage your large daily active user base by creating partnerships with other companies who are looking for additional exposure for their product/service within your app.

Areas that you can advertise include the loading screen upon booting up the app, allocating a part of your ad inventory for their product/service, or a branded virtual good/service that users can purchase in-app. Be sure to partner with the right companies to make sure that users don’t get too attached to your partner’s products/service.

4. Affiliate Revenue

If you plan on promoting other apps or products/services that can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon, you need to check out the affiliate app program, Georiot.

Different countries and regions have specific affiliate programs and commission rates, and Georiot helps you manage those programs under one umbrella.

You earn money through Georiot by driving clicks to affiliate links. Georiot claims that its participants have doubled their affiliate revenue through their program. Also, did we mention this service is free?

5. Develop a tight monetization UX design

Many of the top grossing apps on the App Store are games that don’t rely on ads to make money but on a tightly designed UX design that drives impulse and recurring purchases. Help users commit to impulse purchases by creating exciting content and experiences they can grow attached to.

Virtual goods and services you can give away include exclusive content, new services, in-app currency, etc. Also, give users the option to spend as much as they want on your in-app purchases.

If you don’t believe that in-app purchases can help your app’s monetization issue, 73% of iPhone app revenue came from free apps with in-app purchases in the month of February.

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