There’s so much excitement involved with creating an app. Once we’ve understood how to launch an app and have gotten things rolling, we’re eager to get to the next step. As we roll out each new update, we get to make our idea even better and create value in new and exciting ways for our users.
If you want to create value, though, you are going to want a consistent flow of income from your app in order to reinvest in its improvement and drive in more quality users through mobile app promotion. It’s tough to think about having users pay for an app. After all, people are already wary of adding yet another application on their device; so why in the world would they PAY for one?! Actually, there are many reasons why a user would be interested in paying for your app and why monetizing your app should be a part of your marketing strategy. Here are a few ways you can use these to your advantage and start scaling your app beyond what you ever imagined!
How to Monetize in the App Market: #1 Subscription-based platform
This is the most popular monetization model used in the mobile market for apps. Creating a free and premium version of your app allows you to secure high-value, paying users while not alienating your loyal free users. Your free version should do the least amount necessary to provide a basic level of value, and the premium version should provide the complete set of features for the optimal user experience. Make sure to include options to upgrade to premium in as many touchpoints of the users’ journeys as possible.
How to Monetize in the App Market: #2 In-App Advertising
Like any website, an app finds itself in a unique position to be a publisher. Being a publisher means that you have the space for other businesses/apps to share the message to your consumers.  In-app advertising will allow you to monetize your app without selling anything whatsoever. The app market is filled with applications using this strategy. Be sure to have a trusty supply side platform (SSP) in place and follow all of their policies.
Bonus: to optimize the user experience for ad-free usage, you can implement the subscription-based approach.
How to Monetize in the App Market: #3 In-App Purchases
Your app is a journey for users. Using In-App purchases to skip certain parts of the journey or get to the next level will be very enticing to your users. This is a monetization mobile marketing strategy that is often employed by gaming apps which provide users with various opportunities to spend $1-2 on certain exclusive perks only accessible through purchase.
How to Monetize in the App Market: #4 E-Commerce
E Commerce is always a fun way to advertise your app. When in doubt, make t-shirts, hats, towels, etc. Users who love your app will be interested in buying some merchandise. Be sure to include a discount code for your most loyal user base as part of your mobile app promotion!
Conclusion
The goal of all apps is to successfully solve the problems they are set in place to do. More often than not, apps fail to achieve the goals they set forth. Many reasons include lack of effort, lack of time, or in most cases lack of budget. You, as an app creator, will need to put your digital strategist hat on to ensure that you have a solid monetization model set in stone. This way you can continue to improve your app by implementing new features and creating a viral app the world would be lost without.