Firstly, and probably the easiest way to make money on your app is by allowing third parties to advertise on it. If you’re not doing this, then you could be missing out on an awesome opportunity.
Digital advertising through mobile applications has drastically improved the communication between consumers and advertisers. The biggest factor that comes into play here is the fact that people spend so much time on their smartphones. Most people spend at least an hour and a half on their phones per day. That’s around 23 straight days per year – it’s a lot.
Most of the time, people simply don’t want to pay for the apps that they spend all their time on. Some people may consider downloading an app that costs R15 or R20 but they will often discard that thought once they find a free alternative to that app.
This is why over 90 percent of all app downloads were unpaid in the year 2013.
So, how do you get around releasing your app for free but still monetising it?
Simple. You use in-app advertising.
Digital advertisers have realised the value that mobile apps have verses ads sent via sms or ones that appear in web browsers.
When advertisers place ads in mobile apps, there are typically five options available to them:
- Full screen ads/ interstitial ads – These ads are typically placed in between screens or menus, during a natural pause phase of the app. These ads are more likely to generate clicks because they do not disrupt the experience of using the app.
- Push notification ads – These will pop up in the notification bar of the mobile device and it makes the user more aware of the ad. These ads aren’t loved by many users and they can damage your apps reputation. Also, even though people are aware of them, they will often just swipe them closed.
- Capture forms – Relying on user opt-ins, these offer incentives (like points or tokens) for users who enter their email addresses. You’ll most often find capture forms in mobile games. Detail capture forms – These rely on users to opt in and they will offer incentives for users that do such as bonus tokens or lives or whatever the case may be.
- Advanced overlay Ads – These ads are similar to interstitial ads in the fact that they appear in natural pause phases but they are more interactive than a simple clickable image. Some will allow you to play a mini game of sorts, for example.
- Banner ads – These are usually found at the top or bottom of the screen and can be somewhat ineffective because they are more distracting than other forms. They can also irritate your users, so think twice before agreeing to incorporate one into your business’s app. These ads will be displayed on either the top or the bottom of the screen. They can be rather ineffective and they are often more distracting than other types of ads. Users also often find them annoying so be careful before allowing corporates to advertise there on your app.
