4 Proven Ways To Make Money From Your Mobile Apps In 2020

Let’s face it, people in this technological era hardly build mobile apps for fun. Developing & marketing mobile apps has become more of a business nowadays and individuals & companies are earning a lot of money out of it. Currently, 2.7 billion people are using smartphones which indicates that the mobile app industry is growing at a rapid pace without showcasing any sign of slowing down in the foreseeable future.

Annual app downloads in Billions

In this digitally influenced world, the competition in the mobile industry is increasing with each passing day. Every entrepreneur is trying different methods to make money from mobile apps. If you are new to the market or looking to enter the mobile industry, then there are a few intriguing questions that would definitely strike your mind: “Can you make money from a mobile app?” , “Which tactic you should adopt from the multitude of monetization options available?”, “Should you develop a paid app or a free one?”, etc.

After ensuring a truly engaging mobile app, choosing the right monetization strategy is the key step that can either make or break your business revenue. So, without moving any further, let’s have a look at some most effective ways to make money from mobile apps.

In-app purchases: When it comes to monetization, in-app purchase is one of the most popular options for money generation. The primary idea behind this technique is to provide your users with a free basic version of your app with limited features. In-app purchases are most commonly used in entertainment and gaming apps where you can offer a plethora of engaging items to your users such as game cash, character outfits, coupon codes, etc. A free app or game along with in-app purchases removes the money as a barrier for people who want to download the app. Apart from that, it also provides an opportunity for developers to prove the value of their product. This technique helps users to not only keep their app free to download on the app store but also earn money from it.

Subscription system: Subscription economy is constantly on the rise from the past couple of years and is considered one of the best monetization techniques to generate a steady stream of revenue. If you want to make money using a subscription system, then make sure your app is suitable for a subscription model. Building an app that offers entertaining and latest content month after month could help you make money from your subscribers. Creating and sharing the latest content allows your subscribers to access it before your free users do. You could also charge a subscription fee once your users get hooked and find your app valuable. Instead, you could offer coupons, discounts, campaigns, etc. for a small fee.    

In-app advertisements: This monetization method is one of the most successful strategies for making money through mobile apps. You can use services like Google AdSense or Google AdMob to place the most suitable and relevant ads on your mobile app. Using AdSense will help you decide the number of ad slots on your app pages and play a crucial role in increasing your app revenue. You will get paid every time your ad receives a single click. It is recommended to avoid placing gigantic ads as it could detract your users and create a bad impression of your app. You could offer rewards and coupons to your users to get them to consume your ad happily. Your app clicks and revenue will automatically increase once it gets popular among users.

Sponsorships– It is a lucrative model of app monetization that could turn out to be an actual revenue booster for your mobile app. If your app has a humongous user base and a high level of user engagement, then you could implement the sponsorship model which is based on this philosophy: how other companies can benefit from offering their services to your audience and conversely, how it will impact your users too in a positive way. In order to implement this monetization model, you need to create a great app that gains a large amount of traction and offer it to a potential funder who would, in turn, design the app to match the sponsor’s brand. For paychecks, you could either split the revenue with the sponsor brand or opt for a monthly subscription fee.

Final Thoughts

While these were some monetization strategies that could turn your mobile app into a regular stream of income, there are many more such as affiliate marketing, email marketing, freemium upsell, ad revenue, etc. With so many monetization models available for making money, it’s important to know that every method has its own benefits and limitations. However, trying out these methods and analyzing what competitors are doing is a relevant and good starting point.

Mobile apps in the present scenario are turning out to be one of the greatest modes of revenue generation. As per the recent reports by Statista, mobile apps are expected to generate $189 billion in revenue by 2020. Since the demand for mobile app development is moving up, it’s a perfect time for people to understand their importance and use them to generate business revenue.