Because apps account for 88% of mobile time, monetizing mobile apps is critical to success. Yes, there are several options, which might be perplexing at times. But only if you understand how each monetization approach works and when to apply it.

This post will teach you everything about the most common strategies to monetize your app without sacrificing the user experience.

app monetization strategies

What Is App Monetization?

I understand what you're wondering once you've designed an app. How can I monetize my app because now maximum apps on playstore are installed for free.

While it is true that 90–95% of most apps in the App Store & Google Play Store are free, there are still numerous ways to monetize the apps.

The best place to start is by learning about various app monetization approaches as well as what works for your application. Some application genres thrive with a single monetization mechanism, whilst others benefit from several monetization tactics.

There might be several ways to commercialize your mobile app, but proceed with caution. You must select the option that will create revenue while not aggravating the user.

All of the efficient app monetization methods listed here will make you money in both the short and long term.

What Is App Monetization

Why is App Monetization Important?

The paying app loses the battle right away. According to studies, just 2% of individuals are prepared to pay for the download. That is why the app revenue model is essential for monetization.

Because the download is itself free, application developers have had to find a means to monetize the program after the download. There are several methods for monetizing an Android app, including in-app purchases, subscriptions, ad monetization, or sponsorships and collaborations.

The goal of all monetization methodologies is to increase app income while maintaining an app user experience.

In-app Purchases

Because most applications are free, and if yours is, in-app payments are a terrific way to make money. This method is particularly popular with smartphone game apps and e-commerce apps.

While you may make the app itself free, you should charge for the features that are locked. Make a virtual currency that people can buy with real money. The customers then unlock the restricted features using virtual cash.

What's important here is to strike a fair balance between free and cheap advantages for the best user experience.

Build An Engaging App For Free

Get Started

Subscription Service Method

This is a common approach to monetization for business applications. You may provide subscription services to users after they download your app for free. As a result, you can provide different experiences to users of the freemium model and users of the premium version.

This does not have to be an all-or-none situation. There may be different pricing levels with varying features. Non-paying users will generate income through advertisements while paying users will generate revenue through subscriptions.

Subscription Service Method

Advertisement monetization

Perhaps the oldest and most prevalent method of monetization. For all free smartphone apps, the advertising app income plan is the holy grail technique. There are other payment options, including cost per action (CPA), cost per impression (CPM), & cost per click (CPC). The most essential thing is to control the advertising so that it complements your brand.

Marketing to users is meaningless if done incorrectly. The app's customer experience would be ruined by the sluggish, irrelevant adverts. But at the other extreme, the study on user behavior reveals that just 22 percent of people worry about the appropriate mobile advertising.

Advertisement monetization

Strong Partnerships and Sponsorship Methods

Nowadays, the value of a brand, or better yet, an app, is determined by the devotion of its clients. That is why sponsorship & collaborations are just so popular in almost every industry, particularly when it comes to monetizing your product.

Celebrity endorsement is another term for this type of app monetization. If your app has a significant customer base and/or is focused on a certain niche, sponsorship or collaboration are options. All that remains is to identify a brand's product or celebrity with a comparable customer base & form a connection with them.

This circumstance has the potential to benefit both sides equally. You can commercialize your app while also providing your consumers with an approachable brand and facilitating their growth. Your partner's role would be to promote your application to their users and boost app development via click-through rate (CTR).

Strong Partnerships and Sponsorship Methods

App Monetization: The Free version Model

The freeware model is rapidly being used by mobile games or streaming applications to expose their products to the general public. Apps can be downloaded for free through app stores, but to get the full set of capabilities, users must upgrade to the premium app version. To do so, users may either expand serious cash on virtual products, or they could subscribe.

To advance in games, players must continuously level up, assault other players, or practice to get prizes. The freemium model, on the other hand, generally incorporates "timers," in which players receive a power-up every several levels or within a certain time frame.

Users can swap real money to accelerate and increase the speed of their progression. Clash of Clans made $1.5 million every day, according to popularity. Pokémon Go, on the other hand, is the first app to generate more than $600 million ever since its release.

Free version Model

Spotify users can choose between free and paid subscriptions. The free edition lets you enjoy your favorite musicians, but there are certain limitations. For starters, advertisements frequently disrupt your audio experience. It's the aggravation that you can't avoid. Additionally, skipping tracks is not a choice you can utilize as frequently as you would want. If you opt to switch to premium, you will receive several perks.

With a subscription, you may listen to just about any track, artist, musician, or playlist in any order and with infinite skips. Ultimately, you may listen to whatever songs you want using either mobile or desktop applications without even any restrictions.

In addition to that, the sound quality will increase, and there won't be any advertisements to interrupt your melodic flow. You may listen to your playlists offline & sync them across numerous devices.

Free version Model

How Can You Increase App Monetization?

We have a few extra tricks up our sleeve if you've already tried all of our current monetization approaches & are looking to enhance even more.

Data monetization- It is an excellent strategy that focuses on active consumers. When a user uses an app, they generate some kind of data behind it. This information may be utilized to acquire a better understanding of user behavior. This allows you to better tailor the software to your typical consumer, improving both the experience for users & external income.

Transaction fees- This is a type of monetization that may be employed on apps that feature a marketplace or function as a middleman in user transactions. In terms of the marketplace app, monetization works by taking a percentage charge when a transaction occurs between users. What causes people to agree on this? In contrast to regular marketplaces, there's no listing cost.

When it comes to the transaction app, it functions similarly to currency conversion. The user converts currency (such as Bitcoin) or trades in stocks or other marketplaces. The app charges a 2% fee after the transaction is completed.

How Can You Increase App Monetization

Which monetization method is best?

It is based on the kind of app as well as the number of active users. We suggest mixed monetization tactics in any scenario. In-app advertising appears to be the most effective monetization approach in most areas.

Pro-Tip- Use a variety of monetization methods

Because each app monetization strategy has advantages and disadvantages, it is advisable to mix many approaches. This will assure the most possible income per user while maintaining a lovely user experience.

You might, for instance, employ incentive adverts & in purchases. This is known as a hybrid app monetization approach, and it is more prevalent than a solitary app monetization method. It is unquestionably more successful than relying just on one type of app revenue.

Blend the various monetization strategies as you see appropriate. Just be careful not to overburden the user. To achieve large-scale financial success, any app must have satisfied users.

Finish up

When deciding on the best application monetization tactics for your app, keep your offers, audience, & possibilities in mind. Several app monetization tactics are simple to adopt. However, you ought to be mindful of additional needs while preparing for application monetization during the early stages of app development.

You must also examine your abilities. If you regard yourself as a classy marketer, implementing an in-app advertising strategy is a wise decision. On the contrary, if you know what to market to your market, in-app purchases will perform wonderfully for you.

Remember to recruit top-tier developers, or to save huge development costs and easily develop your app with Swipecart. Swipecart will not only supply you with rich features but will also provide you with a secured mobile development. Remember to keep a watch out for your competition as well. Carry out extensive competitor research & data collection on how comparable audiences use similar apps.

Having all of the data in place, you'll be able to select an app monetization plan that will provide a constant ROI for your company.