How To Make Money In the Mobile Apps BusinessMobile Monday LansingMarch 26th 2012
Let’s Make Some Assumptions! You will or currently have apps on an
app store Mobile Apps will live on an app store They will be made publically available
for all We will touch on non-app store mobile
app opportunities
Quick Intro – Matt Tubergen 10 Years in Mobile Made ringtones before ringtones were cool Then mobile gaming took off w/THQ Learned that DIY agency life is hard, for
shizzle Mobile freemium gaming investment Back to MI, TechSmith lowers its
acceptance criteria
Quick Overview Market Recap Top Business Models Discovery - Growth Mechanisms Best Practices for Any App Questions/Discussion
How Many Apps? Over 1 million apps in apps stores worldwide 59.6% of the apps are iOS Android is 32.3%, Blackberry 4.4% Est. 1,000 new apps added daily to iOS Est. 1,400 new apps a day added on Android market Top categories include (By volume of apps)
Entertainment - 16.78% Games – 12.36% Lifestyle – 8.02% Utilities – 7.13%
Where is the Demand?
Top Business Models
88% of top 250 grossing iOS apps are freemium Android piracy on the rise, advertising it is!
Paid = PremiumSome Aspects of Premium Apps: Higher retention rates of users Perception of value is controlled by price
and app store collateral Revenue is realized only once Paid apps are costly to promote
Premium – What Can You Control Price Point Icon, Keywords, Description, Screenshots App Content
Premium – What Cant You Control Placement/Features # of installs Rating
Premium Best Practices Lower the barrier to entry, make a free
version to drive visibility Launch with a high price point, never
start with a sale unless you have built in brand awareness
Cross promotion in all existing applications
Sales and Pricing Pricing changes can drive discovery but do so
wisely No more then once every 30 days Reduce price by at lease 50% Off-sale pricing is not static, consider the
market Sales are not a pricing strategy, it’s a
marketing strategy Have a reason for a sale
Tie sales to a change in content
Freemium – Free with StringsAspects of Freemium Barrier to entry is low Lifetime value is revenue measurement Potentially unlimited max revenue from
user Predictable ROI against paid marketing
Freemium – What Can You Control # of Installs Icon, Keywords, Description, Screenshots App Content IAP pricing, ad placements, frequency Retention
Freemium – What Cant You Control Features/Placement Ratings
Freemium – Understanding Lifetime Value Know your relative LTV and increase
levers it to increase revenue LTV is:
Revenue per user by X period multiplied by X periods
In other words Retention * Monetization = Lifetime Value
Freemium Best Practices Never limit how much you will let people
pay Use Metrics to verify your business
Consumption, sources and sinks Incent sharing and activity with virtual
goods/other value
Monetization Streams In App Purchases
Never allow for spending limits Increase source/sinks
Advertising Banner Cross Promotion Incentivized
Branded Experiences Subscriptions
Understand your “Whales”
Ad Revenue Characteristics Standard Banner
$1-$3 eCPM Static Full Screen Interstitial
$2-$10 Video Preload
$4-$25 eCPM
Watch your frequency!!!
Tricks to Retention Incent return behavior/usage Give reasons to re-enter Focus heavily on the first minute of
experience Better to keep people then make them
stay Measure on day, week, month and other
Best Practices for Any App Know your market, focus on fulfilling
and speaking to your app store category Time your launch per marketplace
Launch on Thursdays for iOS
Discovery – Best Practices for Any App Build a checklist before you start Prepare and submit promotional material for
each store Prepare and submit promotional material for
targeted app review sites or relative blogs Build a promotional calendar
Events or holidays to showcase content or price Update icon, imagery, test, keywords
accordingly
Discovery – Best Practices Continued Always cross promote
Leverage in app notifications “Get More Apps” menu
Barter with other apps, companies Use a mediation layer such as adwhirl
What We Did Not Cover Paid apps with IAP’s Subscription Pricing Payment Providers
Non-App Store $$ Work for hire development Mobile ads Consulting/Strategy Enterprise mobility is exploding
Questions?