How much money can you make with an app?

The mobile app market and mobile app revenue are growing rapidly. This vast industry is expanding daily, and it doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon. Developers are constantly increasing, and so is the number of apps. Undoubtedly, mobile app revenue will break all records. This article will tell you how to increase mobile app revenue. This trend makes many start-up companies and business owners go towards mobile applications and think of publishing their applications to earn more money. But can you make money from mobile apps, and how exactly can you do it? Let's check together.

Market and competitors

Entering the mobile app market has never been easier. Today, if you decide to create and monetize an app, you can get started through online guides, books, and forums for iOS and Android. Hundreds of small companies specialize in small one-off orders for corporate and promotional program development. Such programs are easy to build and can be released quickly, creating a high level of competition. You can't imagine how many companies you have to compete with. What seems like a quick decision doesn't work out as quickly as you'd like. Therefore, it is better to invest in developing a high-quality program. We mean long-term projects with millions of users in different regions. To create such an application, you need coding and UX experts who can provide technical support to your customers and users. Consider these factors when choosing your developer team, and always pay attention to their portfolio. To build a successful and profitable app, you need a team skilled in creating the same solutions.

Mobile app monetization models

Let's say you created a great app that was downloaded by thousands of users in the first month but wait, how will you earn money? Your brilliant idea and the great app won't make you any money, but your monetization strategy probably will. Wondering how much you can earn from your app? It depends on the strategy you want to use. There are two main mobile app monetization models to choose from. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

1. Direct sales

You may have noticed that some apps are unavailable for download before purchase. The only things you can review at first are descriptions, videos, screenshots, and more straightforward stuff. Convincing a user to download a paid app is difficult, so all available content must be beautiful. However, it can be done, and Minecraft Pocket Edition is proof of that. It is the largest mobile app monetization app on Google Play. This game was chosen as the most popular Android game in 2011 at the cost of $6.99.

2. Indirect sales

This model aims to hide payments inside the free app. So users can enjoy some basic features for free while paying for some advanced options. This is a perfectly good strategy because it has a higher chance of converting your users into customers. They have the opportunity to try your solution, see the benefits, and then decide to invest in additional features. Below are the ways to monetize your mobile app:

- Advertising

- Protection

- Push Notification

- In-app purchases

- Fermium incremental plan

- Affiliate links

- Email marketing

- SMS marketing

- Multiple payment options

- Partnership with another successful program

- virtual currency

Top ways to monetize your app

Considering all the app monetization methods we mentioned above and analyzing their effectiveness, we can isolate three main methods that can work for any app. Sometimes it is even better to use a combination of them. So let's see them together:

- Subscription

If you've developed your app, the easiest way to get paid for it is by using a subscription. All users who have purchased it are charged annually or monthly. According to statistics, this is the most popular type of app monetization and allows app owners to earn 50% more per use than any other type of monetization. Financially it's a great business opportunity, but developmentally it's quite a complex task. The thing is, to ensure that users subscribe for a long time, you need to provide more and better information, services, and so on. This means constant changes and updates, and you may need a team of creative people to work more on your app.

- In-app purchases

Creating an app with in-app purchases can be a great option to grow your existing business or even your new business. You've probably heard of many apps that allow users to purchase intangibles that can only be used within the app. This seems like a useless approach, but it works. Many game programs have used this strategy for years and are making huge profits. Even some language learning platforms resorted to such app monetization methods. Let's say you learn languages, and for each level or task completed, you get a certain amount of virtual coins, and you can spend it on something in the app. This is a gamification element that can be a powerful monetization tool. If you can add something nice to your app and make your users buy coins to get that thing, then don't hesitate. This method works.

- Advertising

It is a bit complicated but effective because you need to understand your target audience and deliver relevant ads before using it. It takes time and effort, but it pays off. If you have a music search app, it's a disingenuous and irrelevant suggestion to your users to add extra laundry accessories. But if you start advertising headphones or speakers, you might succeed.

In addition, you may benefit from advertising by partnering with other programs or brands. You can pay them on Click Per Impression (CPI) or Cost Per Click (CPC) or ask them to promote your program on their resources. What's even better is that you can make ads a must-watch in your app. To remove this add-on, you can minimize the amount. But remember that this is a difficult task because somehow you might lose some of your users.

How do you determine the price of a program?

One of the mistakes developers can make is pricing an app incorrectly. If you decide to make your app a paid app, you need to think carefully and act precisely. If someone offered this program to you at a price, would you buy it? Before placing a price tag, ask yourself a few essential questions:

- What features does my app have?

- Will it is used daily? - Which category does my program belong to? - How much do competing programs cost?

- How many times has the competing program been installed?

Only after answering these questions can you decide the value of your program.

Money making programs

The Liftoff company released a report that confirmed games as the leader among all programs, earning about $34.8 billion annually. What games are more popular and interactive?

Of course, gaming is a popular industry, but if your app has a new and exciting idea, it can be very profitable. Below is a list of pre-downloaded programs:

- Personalization apps (launchers, icons, wallpapers for home screen and lock screen, etc.)

- Mobile versions of magazines and newspapers

- Productivity tools

- Shopping applications

- Internet of Things applications

- Sports, fitness, health, and travel apps

- Social Networks

Most of the time spent using the mobile app is on market segments such as social networks and music apps.

How much can a mobile application earn?

A mobile app can be a good business if you do everything right. You may be asking yourself: How much money do programs earn? For example, Supercell, which developed the game "Clash of Clans," earns approximately $1,548,536 daily! King Digital Entertainment, the publisher of "Candy Crash," makes $72,227 daily. Most game apps are free and earn money through in-app purchases or ads. The revenue of Match Group, the maker of Tinder, is expected to be approximately $521 million in 2019.

Choosing the right platform for monetizing your mobile application is very important. Apple and Google have the largest and most popular app markets. InMobi conducted a study and stated that as of 2016, more than 25% of iOS developers were making more than $5,000 in mobile application revenue per month, while only 16% of Android developers did the same.