The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about desktop monetization is advertising and paid purchases. At the same time, we can name other ways to monetize your application.
Most developers today are trying to monetize their product. The vast majority of free apps have in-app purchases, which essentially means purchasing access to unique and advanced features. In this article, we will talk about some of the important aspects of desktop monetization (software monetization). Before deciding to monetize your app, you need to:
- Analyze your audience: who is your target audience? How big is your audience?
- Analyze user needs: The better you understand the needs of your target audience, the better you will be aware of what needs to be added or changed in the product.
The more money you strive to make with your app, the more you will have to advertise it.
Advertising
According to Statista, spending on mobile advertising in 2019 in the world amounted to $190 billion, by 2022 this figure will grow to $280 billion.
In-app advertising is relevant and is one of the main ways to monetize. There are several popular ad formats worth considering in this context.
- Rewarded video format. It is built on gamification – users are motivated to view such ads, as they receive certain bonuses for this. Bonuses can be in-app purchases and more, and according to eMarketer (October 2019), this format has become the most common format among other in-app ad formats.
- Playable format. It assumes that the user is involved in the gameplay while watching the ad. According to eMarketer, this format is named the most effective among American developers.
- Native advertising. It assumes the most unobtrusive presentation of advertising content. It seems to be embedded in the context of the page and does not interfere with the user. According to SmartyAds programmatic platform, 84% of native ads in apps are programmatic ads.
Paid Apps
The paid app is the easiest way to monetize. In this case, users pay for downloading applications.
Freemium
Freemium is a way to monetize apps that provides free access to basic features and charges for additional features or functionality enhancements. This approach allows you to build a user base in a relatively short time. It’s important to strike a balance. If you initially provide access to the most demanded functionality, then the probability of purchasing additional features is minimal. On the other hand, too limited access is unlikely to allow new users to get the right impression of the application’s potential.
Subscription
This method of monetizing a mobile application involves making a small user fee, but it will be charged monthly. It is very convenient for those who want to get acquainted with the application and its functionality, but at the same time not pay a large amount for downloading it.
Subscriptions are becoming more popular every year, and this trend will progress soon.
In-app purchases
This model works well with others, such as freemium, advertising, etc. This is how many developers monetize their content. Statista data shows that in-app purchases generate more than 50% of total app revenue. You can use them in both free and paid projects. In the second case, they will be an excellent additional source of income.
Other
There are other ways to monetize applications, for example, donation (the application is offered to be used for free, but it is possible to express gratitude to the developers in monetary terms).
Practice shows that such an application monetization strategy can work well in one region and show low efficiency in another, which may be due to the peculiarities of the mentality. Now you know that there are all sorts of ways to monetize a mobile app, and even if it’s completely free to download, you can make it make money.
Conclusion
The main monetization model is usually laid down at the design stage. Even if income is not expected at the start of the product, certain functionality will be required later, so it is essential to provide for its presence or absence of restrictions for quick implementation.
It is not at all necessary to be limited to one source of income. You can combine several monetization methods.
To choose the best way to monetize, take into account the characteristics of your target audience. Determine the real purchasing power of the majority of users of the product. How likely is it that they will pay to expand the features, improve the application’s usability, or be limited to free access?
It doesn’t hurt to be careful when choosing advertisers. The direction of the advertisement must be at least compatible with the topic of the application, at the most, be in line with the target audience’s interests. Inappropriate and overly annoying ads will reduce the number of users of the product.
