As an app developer, if your app isn't bringing in revenue, you have a problem. iOS and Android app revenue topped $111 billion in 2020 , and if your app isn't making money, you're missing out on your piece of that very large pie. Even if you are bringing in some revenue with your app, are you actually maximizing your revenue potential? You may not be.

Monetizing an app is a process. There are hundreds of strategies and methods, but the right app monetization strategy that will unlock your full revenue potential depends on your unique content and user base.

The good news is that Playwire is here to help. Our app monetization experts have put together this brief guide on how to monetize your app. For more information, read on or contact Playwire today.

Follow this step-by-step guide for app monetization:

  1. Start by considering monetizing your app with ads:
  2. Consider additional monetization strategies:
  3. Continue to optimize over time

Want to learn everything there is to know about how to monetize an app? Check out The Complete Guide to App Monetization for Publishers.

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App Monetization Guide

Read the guide to learn everything there is to know about monetizing your app

Ads: The No. 1 Way to Monetize an App

While there are plenty of other ways to monetize, in-app advertising is the most popular and most profitable choice for most publishers. But simply offering "ads" as an app monetization method is a huge oversimplification. Ads in mobile apps can take many forms, the most common of which are listed below.

A banner ad is a relatively simple ad embedded in your mobile app. To run banner ads in your app, you have to designate particular places where ad servers can place them. The key consideration to keep in mind with banner ads is delivering ads in places where they will be visible to the user but not detract too much from the user experience (UX).

Interstitial Ads

A popular ad format for mobile game apps, interstitial ads fill the entire screen in between phases of use inside your app. For a game, an interstitial ad could run between levels or after a game ends and before the home screen displays. These mobile in-app ads can be still images, videos or almost any other format.

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Rewarded Ads

To boost ad metrics like video completion rate (and increase your app ad revenue as a result), you need people to watch ads from start to finish. How do you convince your app's users to actually watch an ad instead of just skipping over it? Give them a reward.

That's how rewarded ads work. The reward could be anything relevant to your app. Some common examples include extra lives or items in mobile games and virtual currency in apps that allow purchases.

Native Ads

For app publishers who would like to avoid having traditional ad formats inside their apps, native ads can be an attractive option. These ads are designed to look a lot like the content you would publish on your app, but they're usually marked as an advertisement. For example, if you publish articles on your app, a native ad could look like another article but be about an advertiser's product or service.

Monetizing an App Through Ad Removal

If ads bring in revenue for your mobile app, how can taking ads away also bring in revenue? By allowing you to capitalize on some users' desire to have an ad-free experience inside your app. You can give app users the option to pay a one-time or recurring fee in order to use the app without seeing any ads.

Meanwhile, you can run all the ads you want for those who do not want to pay the opt-out fee. This gives you an additional app revenue stream.

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How to Monetize an App with No Ads

For most publishers, in-app advertising provides the easiest and most lucrative method to boost app revenue. However, if you would like to avoid ads for any reason, you may be wondering how to monetize an app without using ads.

It is possible. Below, we discuss three app monetization methods that don't use any ads at all.

App Subscriptions

If your user base can't easily get the type of content you publish anywhere else, a subscription model could be for you. Under this app monetization model, users pay an annual or monthly fee to use the app. One popular option for publishers is to offer a free version that has in-app ads and a subscription version that does not.

App Monetization Through Data

As people use your app, they generate tons of data points:

  • What kinds of content they interact with
  • What kinds of ads grabbed their attention
  • When they logged on and how long they used the app
  • History of in-app purchase behavior
  • Their location
  • Demographic information like age and gender (in some cases)

These bits of information may look like a pile of nothing to you, but to many advertisers, they look like a pot of gold. You can leverage the first-party data about your user base to sell it to ad partners or advertisers, or you can use the data to increase your CPMs through more precisely targeted ads.

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Browse our library of resources on app monetization.

In-App Purchasing

For apps that sell a product, in-app purchases are an obvious monetization model. This model is usually for apps that are free to download. A free app means you drive users in before asking them to purchase, increasing the number of users your app has.

But you can also monetize your app through in-app purchases even if you don't currently sell a product or service. Consider the following items users could purchase in your app:

  • Items with your app's branding, such as hats and T-shirts
  • In-game currency
  • Other app users' items or services for sale

Of course, adding in-app purchases to monetize your app may require some substantial changes to your offering. But this model can prove to be highly lucrative if you manage to sell something your users actually want.

There is, of course, always the standard "pay to download" strategy as well. In this case you would ask your users to pay a fee in the app store they download the app from (google play or apple).

Boost Your App Revenue with Playwire

Whether you are just starting to consider mobile app monetization or already know how to monetize an app but need to boost your revenue, Playwire is here for you. Our revenue amplification platform can help you earn more from your app's user base. To get started, give Playwire a call at 1-561-206-4621 or contact us online today.

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