Get All Access for $5/mo

5 Ways You Could Monetize Your Mobile Apps If you want to get greater returns on your investment, then you need to know these facts

By Ashwin Vairu

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock

Every business that is online is there to make money. They all try different ways and strategies to get the best ROI. There is a huge difference in the way people do business today. Now it is easier to shop online or get anything done through the apps. You name it and there is an app for it. With mobile apps, it has become easy to make more money. Mobile apps are one of the fastest ways to get to the targeted audience. People make good enough money with Apps they develop.

Customers love apps because they make their life easy and fast. For example; If you want to buy groceries, you don't need to go to the store, you just need an app that allows you to order your groceries, that will be delivered at your doorstep. Here are some tips for you to make money making easy with app development.

Email Lists

Many may not consider this to be the first step, but having an email strategy tie-in with your mobile apps is one great way to increase the engagement with your customers, whose end result will always be a closed and purchased deal, means you make more money.

Surely, you have the question that why use emails in the first place, the answer is very clear people rarely change email addresses. Therefore, the email marketing campaigns you will run will ensure your users are actually seeing your content and engaging with it. You must send regular emails, but do not spam your users. You want them to feel special but you don't want to suffocate them. Through emails, you ensure to make your brand stronger and more popular.

The best way that you can collect email ids is by having an email subscription form added to your app. Subscription forms in the app will boost your app, as it prompts the users to enter their email address, by adding some benefits for them attached to filling the subscription form.

Advertising

Well, ads play a great role in monetization, if you haven't included ads in your apps, then you are missing out on the opportunity to monetize in an easy way. Advertising through mobile apps helps to improve the communication between the advertiser and the app users to a great extent. We all know that people spend a huge amount of the day on the mobile phone and the apps in them.

• Mobile users are spending 87per cent of their time in apps, versus just 13per cent on the web.

There are times when people don't want to pay for the apps despite spending most of their time on those apps. Even if one is tempted to download an app at a particular cost, the moment they see a similar or an alternative app that is free or cheaper they will immediately pick that app.

So, if you want your users to stick to your app, make it FREE and make use of the in-app advertising. There are basically five types of ads that you can use.

• Full-Screen Ads

• Notification Ads

• Capture Form

• Advanced Overlay

• Banner Ads

Your prime focus to use these ads is to increase the engagement with the users. There are many brands who have still not been able to define their main reason to have an app or show ads in it. You need to ensure ads attract the users, not irritate them. so make your ad plans accordingly.

Strong Code

Create strong codes, if you concentrate on developing your code from the beginning, it will surely be successful. There are chances that other brands might approach you to re-skin your apps, this could be either for their benefit or yours. By allowing other developers to use your code then you can gain monetary benefits without hampering the current user's experience.

One more thing that can be done when you are sharing your code is that of considering the end-game of your app. Which means if you have got all that you wanted from the app and you have decided to move to the next level then you can sell the whole thing to a buyer who wants to use your existing code to create an app for his company. After some time you might find many similar apps like yours, but then by that time, you would have already made enough money.

In-app Purchases

Mostly the apps your user's download are unpaid, but this does not mean they will never spend any money inside the app. Having in-app purchases lets you make enough money from your free apps, allowing your customers to directly engage with the product. These are the so-called "Freemium Apps". In Freemium apps users make no payment to download it, but if they want to use the advanced features they need to make payments. But just be careful while developing these kinds of apps, in the race to give free apps, don't forget to give enough features for which users will be willing to pay.

SMS Marketing

When the users register in the apps, they give their numbers. You can make use of these numbers to send them messages like offers, app updates, reminders, etc. This method is not only effective but powerful too as it brings a customer back to the app. It enhances customer engagement and allows you to understand the customer behaviour depending upon their responses and reactions to each message.

• People usually see what messages you send them, it's said that SMS open rates are as high as 98per cent.

• You can start a conversation — As many as 45per cent of people reply to branded text messages they receive.

• A survey said that 73per cent of businesses expect their SMS marketing budgets to rise in the next year.

• 85per cent of customers prefer receiving SMS over a phone call or an email.

If you want to get greater returns on your investment, then you need to know who is your target audience and push your efforts in that direction only. If you focus on your efforts, then your app will prove to be beneficial to the users and they will always recommend it to other colleagues and friends.

Summary

By now, you definitely know the importance of mobile apps for your business and how awesome they are actually. Mobile apps allow you to spread your wings and reach those users you never even imagined of being connected with. You can establish yourself well as a brand and monetize through it. Hence, build an app and take advantage of the above-mentioned strategies to monetize your app.

Ashwin Vairu

Executive Director - Marketing, 9series Solutions Pvt Ltd

I am the Executive Director - Marketing of 9series Solutions Pvt. Ltd. As an engineer and entrepreneur, I assist start-ups, individuals, SMEs and enterprise businesses in their end to end technology needs. I am a strong believer in “Those who are active are young”. I love to write about the developments in technologies and how it will affect the growth of any organization.

 

News and Trends

Ratan Tata Receives 23000% Return From Upstox Investment

Discount stock broker platform Upstox recently said that it has completed a buyback of 5 per cent of former Tata chairman Ratan Tata's holdings in the company.

News and Trends

Rata Tata Turns 86: Some Lesser-Known Facts, Impactful Investments in Startups by Him

Born to Naval Tata and Sooni Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and Tata Trusts Ratan Tata is a skilled pilot and the first Indian to pilot the F-16 Falcon in 2007. Besides this, he is prolific investor in various startups too.

Business News

Melinda French Gates Announces Open Call for $250 Million Fund. Here's Who Can Apply.

The fund is part of French Gates's $1 billion philanthropic plan.

Leadership

Tough Conversations With Clients — We've All Had Them. Here's How to Handle Them More Effectively.

Difficult conversations about performance should not be the norm for any business, but sometimes they are unavoidable. Here's how to navigate them successfully.

News and Trends

Unlocking Growth, Compliance and Wealth Management in India's Corporate Ecosystem

The Entrepreneur India Summit 2024 provided deep insights into how India's business ecosystem is evolving.