5 App Monetization Questions Developers Should Consider (mobrulers.com)

If you are a mobile developer the chances are that you have already received tons of free advice on the ‘best’ monetization tools, platforms & strategies. Starting from higher fill rates for ad solutions to in-app purchases – the market is flooded with propositions that entice developers to get on board. The fact is that there is no perfect way to monetize your app property – however, there are some clear questions you should ask to avoid the known pitfalls. Why not learn from established mistakes others already made! Here are the questions to think & analyze deeply about, before charting out your monetization strategy.

App Monetization Question #1  Free Vs Paid             

98% of Google Play revenue and 92% App App store revenue was made from FREE apps – which means all or most of the revenue came from in-app advertising, in-app purchases or Paid upgrades to premium version. The Math is simple: Estimate the Life Time Value combined with the expected volumes for X users based on paid downloads. And then overlap the number with eCPM revenue + In-App Purchases revenue + Expected upgrades. This will be a unique comparison for every audience segment, app category, platform and Geo.

App Monetization Question #2 eCPM vs Cumulative Revenue/Format

First things first, it is strongly recommended to analyze both eCPM and cumulative volumes for each format/ad size. If you have a placement that gives you a lesser eCPM but that generates a higher number of page loads, it may still be a good idea to retain the placement/source. Many a time, all metrics heavily bank on eCPM, sometime overlooking the overall placement revenue.

App Monetization Question#3 In-App Purchases: Value Proposition vs Overdoing

This could be critical for game developers who monetize through in-app purchases and game upgrades. Ensure that the purchase option after a convincingly engaging batch of session and the value is clearly communicated. Try to delight the user with additional bonus in exchange for the purchase. It also would be good to consider the optimum progression strategy suitable for your game that doesn’s qualify as ‘Overdoing’.

App Monetization Question #4 Can Ads Enhance User Experience?

 With tons of ad networks ready to serve ads, the question you have to ask is does an ad always need to be disruptive in terms of user experience. Assuming you decided your placements and events right, can the content be relevant to the user? One easy way to ensure relevance is to pass meta data back to ad networks. Data points like Age, Sex, Location etc that the user has agreed to share with you the developer, can be passed back to an ad network – which helps ad networks improve relevance of ads.

Relevance aside, can you include valuable content and still monetize. Some suggestions: Real life coupons in exchange for a game round (Kiip.com), app recommendations based on apps on the user’s device etc could potentially be both engaging and rewarding.

App Monetization Question #5 Diversify Ad Formats/Sizes & Placements

Have you tried to include all the available ad formats and sizes at various points within your user flow? Diversify the available formats, test out new placements & keep track of your ‘Critical Indicators’ including eCPM and Cumulative Revenue.