In the world of app development, monetization is not just a way to earn revenue but also to sustain ongoing improvements and cost recovery, and ensure the long-term sustainability of an application. Having a reliable and consistent source of income is important for mobile developers and businesses because it enables them to continue working on the mobile app and keep expanding it.
Beyond the traditional in-app ads, developers must implement advanced monetization strategies to optimize revenue, ensure app growth, and add new features to the app. Although there are various monetization strategies that one could use in a mobile app, here we have discussed four effective monetization strategies for mobile apps below.
Freemium Model
The first effective monetization strategy for developers these days is the freemium model or freemium strategy. As of now, the freemium model is quite prevalent in mobile apps around the world because of how effective it is in generating revenue for developers. This monetization strategy involves offering a download free app with some optional paid features or content that can be unlocked only after the users pay for them.
This approach is quite an effective one in generating revenue for developers, but developers must have to ensure that they provide a smooth transition between the free and premium versions, and the premium version offers the users something that compels them to pay for it.
Subscription-Based Model
The subscription-based model has also gained a lot of popularity over the years, as it allows developers to have a sustained stream of income. This model involves the developers offering exclusive access to premium features and content in exchange for a monthly or annual billed fee. For applications that offer continuous benefits such as fitness apps, streaming services, or productivity tools, this model is quite effective in generating revenue.
The only thing that the developers need to take care of is that they must implement a secure and seamless system that ensures secure payment gateways and manages different subscription levels.
In-App Purchases
For many developers, the most favored monetization strategy or model is the In-app purchases (IAPs) one. It is highly favored by developers from around the world and involves the developers offering additional content, features, and services within the app. This monetization model is particularly popular in mobile games and consists of consumable purchases, non-consumable purchases, unlockable content, and subscriptions.
For this model to be effective, developers must adopt such an approach with the in-game features and content that compels the users to buy the IAPs. The benefit of this model is that some in-app resources like consumables or subscriptions allow developers to generate ongoing income but the developers must strike a balance between free and paid content to avoid alienating users.
In-App Advertising
The in-app advertising model is applicable to almost all types of mobile apps and involves app developers displaying ads within their applications and generating revenue through it. This model leverages the app’s user bases to attract advertisers so that they can reach the app’s audience. There are various types of in-app ads including banner ads, rewarded video ads, interstitial ads, playable ads, native ads, etc.
The main benefit of this monetization strategy is that developers can generate revenue from the app while keeping it completely free and at the same time, they can combine this model with other monetization strategies, as it can be seamlessly integrated with other monetization models.