5 ways to monetize apps by building engagement.
5 ways to monetize your app by building engagement
Every app developer wants to make money from the app in some way. Introducing an app fee can make you lose the interest of your potential users, instead of gaining it (and making money from it). Only developers confident in their product, with an established position in the mobile app market, can afford to pay a download fee. So how to monetize an app in a different way? CodeFuel bloggers appoint themselves as experts on earning money online and they share with their readers 5 ways to monetize apps.
If you want to know them, we invite you to continue reading.
Without user engagement with the app, there is no way to monetize. And the cure for engagement is not at all to make a good app, ba, even a great one. Sometimes it’s just not enough. It is worth remembering that 80% of mobile apps are downloaded less than a thousand times.
Even brilliant apps can get lost in the clutter of apps on a smartphone, and even more so in the jungle of apps in app stores. So how to remind users about your app and turn it into a profit?
1. Engaging advertising
It’s worth remembering that advertising should be targeted not only to new users, but also – and perhaps most importantly? – to those who already own our app.
It’s worth considering ads that build engagement with existing users. Using the Google Ad Network, app developers can create an ad that only appears to users who have already installed the app, reminding them of its existence. Google is leading the way when it comes to mobile ads to attract both old and new users. As a reminder, Google, won The Smarties 2022 award for native advertising of the Google Maps app.
They have created an app-quiz, in which at the end the user is encouraged to install the app.
2. Social media advertising
Not only Google, but also Facebook has released ads to help keep users engaged with the app. Facebook ads feature a system that allows you to link directly sponsored Facebook posts to the app. Connect the app to Facebook and configure the settings accordingly.
Documentation of this activity is available on the Facebook page. Twitter also recently introduced a similar system of engagement-building ads. The links in the tweets take the user to download the app or the app itself if it is already installed on the mobile device.
3. Push notifications
Push notifications can be annoying, but it depends hugely on how they are used. It’s worth using even then, and even especially when the user has the app installed but does not use it regularly. We suggest trying 2 methods:
- “Hotspots” – when your app is based on geolocation, then it’s worth trying to send users notifications based on their location. The simplest solution is to send e.g. Promotional coupons to stores when the user is near the location of a particular stationary store.
- Regular notifications – through regular messages you can stay in touch with your users, sending them useful or relevant information. A way to take advantage of this method is to send notifications related to the user’s interests or, for example, the following. activities of his friends, such as the following. In the Facebook app.
4. A way to get to know the app better
If your app is a bit more elaborate, there are slim chances that the user, after installation, will want to know all its nooks and crannies right away. Of course, there is such a bunch, but many users will not have the time or inclination to learn all aspects of the app at once. And later he will forget to check some features.
Therefore, it makes sense to use notifications inside the app to gradually introduce the user to more opportunities offered by the app. There are two most popular solutions:
- Tips – displayed via small windows, part of the menu, or as tips displayed in a pop-up as soon as you launch the app.
- Notifications – if you have the user’s email address in the database, you can send them tips or information about new features of the application via email. The push notifications described in the point above can also be used for this purpose.
5. Incentives and motivators
It is worthwhile for you to encourage the user to use the application in all possible ways. You can “motivate” it by offering discounts or discount coupons. You can also bet on incentives inside the app – superpowers in games, perks to unlock or all the other elements of gamification.
Gamification involves adding a competitive element to the app, even if the app is not used to communicate with other users. The examples provided by CodeFuel bloggers are:
