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Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

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Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#21

Post by IgorPartola »

I made a budget app with some unique features (multiple users with synced budgets, no bullshit UI). I use AdMob and it brings me $10/month. That is not much at all. Not even enough to cover hosting and Apple publishing fees. I feel that it's too niche to be a subscription model, though I do sell the ad-free version for $10 one time. So my answer is "meh, make games with IAP is probably the only way to make non-coffee money".

Edit: not promoting, but I like it when people show links to what they monetize in these discussions so I am going to follow my own advice: https://family-fortune.ridgebit.com

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#22

Post by simon_weber »

I sell productivity tools - Chrome Extensions and a SaaS - that solve my own problems in a niche. I've avoided ads: they wouldn't be worth it with such small install numbers.

For business-focused products I usually do a free time-limited full-access trial + paid subscription. For consumer-focused products I usually do freemium (limited version for indefinite use + paid subscription to remove limits).

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#23

Post by hashmal »

- up-front payment: one of the most simplest and sane things you can do, which allow you to keep focused on your core product and customers (if you have ads, your customers are the advertisers)

- free download with unlock IAP: just a hack to provide a "try it" demo. really a derivative of up-front payment

- subscription based: most sustainable model, but difficult to push depending on the niche. it is, however, the most sustainable model. an app requires ongoing work, so at some point up-front single payment model caps your revenue unless you manage to grow your customer base forever

these are the only strategies I consider seriously. I regularly think about IAP (consumables for games, sounds for music apps, etc…) but it's not clear yet how/if I can do that effectively and without compromising my integrity.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#24

Post by alc90 »

ericlamb89 wrote: post #7

I'm not too familiar with Admob or other mobile ad platforms, but don't they let you sell inventory directly already? I think the reason this is less desirable for both publishers and advertisers is the amount of work involved in direct sales efforts. As an app publisher, you may not have time to go out and sell direct spots on your network (which will be necessary if you don't already have the kind of data about you…

AdMob has some sort of direct sales feature but the billing is not handled by them so I guess there's no interest for them there.

I think that for app publishers being featured on the TinyAds network will increase your exposure to advertisers and help you find new monetisation opportunities.

Also - the advertisers can get access to a loyal and passionate audience that this high-quality apps have. I think it's easier to target this type of audience since you know exactly on what app your ads are running.

Running an ad on Facebook or Google is too opaque to know exactly where your ad was displayed and if it's of any relevance for your product.

I don't think that a big number of users is the only answer for advertisers.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#25

Post by jt2190 »

alc90 wrote: post #18
w1ntermute wrote: post #4

Do contract work and let others deal with monetization. The problem with creating a mobile ad network is that you're competing with Facebook and Google[0,1]: > • Facebook and Google have the most inventory and are still growing in terms of both users and ad-load; there is no temporal limitation that works to the benefit of other properties (and Facebook in particular is ramping up efforts to advertise using Facebook…

And do you think that having this ...more human approach..when selling/buying ads is obsolete? I think that high-quality apps have a loyal and passionate audiences - a smaller one for sure - but advertisers can rest assured they have access to the best audience money can buy. I've never thought in terms of Facebook or Google's scale and I actually want to take a more anti-Facebook/Google approach where the amount of…

> [D]o you think that having this... more human approach... when selling/buying ads is obsolete?

My understanding is that larger companies with bigger ad spend don't have time to hand-pick each app or web page. (Using human labor to pick apps and pages can significantly raise the cost I presume.) Perhaps there is a marketplace for smaller advertisers here.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#26

Post by sidlls »

codr4life wrote: post #6

What happened to building great software, providing great service and letting the rest flow from there? Monetization strategy; what is that, really? How is that ever going to lead anywhere that matters? Not that I don't have the same issues, I too am trying hard to find a way to survive in this mess of a world; but I'm convinced it all starts with doing the right thing, which rules out advertisement bullshit for me.

The large quantity of very profitable and very poorly done software is a counter to your last sentiment.

Here's the thing: most consumers don't know enough about what "great software" means to care much about it. They just want software that works to solve a problem they have. They don't care if it never crashes or is written in language X or written by a process with rigorous QA and design, etc.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#27

Post by avaer »

alc90 wrote: post #16
avaer wrote: post #3

> That's why I've started working on an ad network for mobile apps - where the advertisers buys directly from the app publisher the ad spot - and the publisher has full control over which ad is displayed and when. I like the idea in concept, but as an advertiser this intuitively tastes like a strictly worse product. Doesn't this model mean I now have to vet the inventory (users) of the app -- another cost, as well as…

It may be my simplest way of thinking but I've found that having a high-quality, curated app network enables you as an advertiser to target a high-quality and a more relevant audience. Also it's simpler to find the apps you want to target since we've already vetted all the apps in the network to make sure we keep a high-quality standard. Also - I don't see the publisher's willingness a risk factor if the product, ser…

So are you vetting apps, or are you giving the publishers full control? You can't eat both sides of this cake.

If you're curating for your idea of quality, you're controlling which ads publishers can display where. This isn't a bad thing; it's how virtually every ad network operates. But then what's different about this approach?

The risk factor is that with a traditional ad network, I know I'm buying a certain number of impressions in a certain period of time, with analytics. But if inventory is doled out whenever my publisher partner (or their algorithm) feels like it, then my holiday promo campaign is a crapshoot and I might have wasted both money and (worse) time. I'd pay a premium to get rid of this risk.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#28

Post by hashmal »

w1ntermute wrote: post #4

Do contract work and let others deal with monetization. The problem with creating a mobile ad network is that you're competing with Facebook and Google[0,1]: > • Facebook and Google have the most inventory and are still growing in terms of both users and ad-load; there is no temporal limitation that works to the benefit of other properties (and Facebook in particular is ramping up efforts to advertise using Facebook…

contract work and publishing your own apps are different things. I think most people publishing their own apps do that specifically because they do not want to do contract work.

contract work is not a monetization strategy, it's a different job.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#29

Post by alc90 »

hashmal wrote: post #23

- up-front payment: one of the most simplest and sane things you can do, which allow you to keep focused on your core product and customers (if you have ads, your customers are the advertisers) - free download with unlock IAP: just a hack to provide a "try it" demo. really a derivative of up-front payment - subscription based: most sustainable model, but difficult to push depending on the niche. it is, however, the m…

I agree also - and I would point out also that the ads approach or having a freemium app are the only two viable solutions for mobile apps.

The subscription based model is definitely the Holy Grail of app monetisation but it's also the hardest to achieve especially for mobile apps.

Re: Ask HN: What are your app monetisation strategies?

#30

Post by aman-pro »

vbsteven wrote: post #11

A couple years ago I had a niche Android app that I could sell for 10EUR/USD. It made around 1500/month which was pretty decent for an app with no backend and almost no maintenance work. After one year a competitor showed up at less than half the price and the party was over. My strategy: find a niche app so you can charge a lot more

What was your app?
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