Mobile app development can be expensive. That is why you want to have as much control over as many elements that could affect your success on the market as you can.

There are a multitude of reasons why defining a monetization strategy, doing user research, defining goals and choosing the right model for a mobile application before even starting any actual development on said application starts is a good idea - from the ability to create a more streamlined production roadmap for your app and structuring a detailed promotion plan, all the way to maximizing the chance of succeeding on the market by focusing on a specific approach.
Now, we’ll assume that you’re reading this post because you’re planning on creating your own mobile application and don’t want some random element to decide if your application will succeed or fail, so we’ll give you a couple of tips for creating a mobile app monetization strategy.

Tip #01: consider the type of mobile app you want to create

Some monetization models only work with specific types of applications, so you need to keep that in mind while you’re defining your strategy.

Tip #02: understand your target persona

If you want your product to be successful on the market, you need to know who is it for, how those customers will use it, what will make them buy it and what do they want to get out of it.

Tip #03: answers the question: ‘why would anyone buy my app’

If your app is to be successful, it needs to provide users with something original, valuable or better than what the competition is currently offering - define that.

Tip #04: define what else would your users be willing to pay for

To make the income you earn grow together with your application’s user base, you need to define specific elements within the app that could be monetized.

Tip #05: see what your competition is doing

Explore their product, their business strategies, the way they do sales, how they speak to customers - try to define what they are doing good and what they are doing bad.

Tip #06: provide value to your users

A line between providing value while maximizing revenue and being named a cash grab is thin - make sure you’re always on the right side of that line because user trust is difficult to get back.

Tip #07: define your goals with the app

By defining specific goals you want to achieve with your mobile application, you’ll always have a guide that will keep you on the right track and help you make decisions.

Tip #08: be in it for the long run

Establishing a relationship with users is a process that takes time, but users’ engagement with the application is directly connected to revenue, so it’s well worth it.

Tip #09: don’t sacrifice user experience

When choosing the right monetization model, great user experience should be one of your top priorities - great user experience means users will be more likely to spend money.

Tip #10: keep your eye on monetization trends

Google and Apple are major players in the app space, and their action can have a big effect on the entire app ecosystem, so you should follow what they’re up to.

Tip #11: don’t try to reinvent the wheel

The app market is filled with examples of apps successfully using various monetization models and strategies - use those insights to your advantage.

Tip #12: test, get feedback, iterate, repeat

Just because you defined a monetization strategy that fits your app and your users, that doesn’t mean you’re done with it.
Keep developing and upgrading it based on your users’ behavior.

If you want to find out more about mobile app monetization, most effective app monetization models and the future of monetization, click here and download our full ebook for free. ##