There's No Silver Bullet Strategy For Monetizing Apps, But There Are Lots Of Options To Compare
from the many-ways-to-make-a-buck dept
As part of our sponsorship program with the Application Developers Alliance, we’re highlighting some of the content on DevsBuild.It, their new resource website, that we think will be most interesting to Techdirt readers.
In the sidebar widget featuring DevsBuild.It content, many of the most-read links have been those dealing with business models for apps, such as the developer who explained how their first game made $28,623 (the most popular post over the past month). For those of you following these kinds of stories, we’re highlighting a few new additions to DevsBuild.It that aim to help developers with the task of monetizing an app.
First, there’s a comparison tool that helps sort through all the different ad networks and other monetization platforms, filtering them by various criteria to help developers put together a smart business model:
To accompany the tool, there’s also a free white paper on app monetization [pdf link] which compares different app stores (including the less-mainstream ones) and breaks the core monetization models down into categories.
Finally, an early announcement: the Application Developers Alliance is hosting a series of events on app monetization, in San Francisco on August 2nd, New York on September 26th and LA on October 18th. More details are on the way.
(In related news: our readers may be interested in checking out the ADA’s amicus brief in the Google/Oracle appeal, which urges the court to uphold the ruling that APIs are not copyrightable.)
This post is sponsored by the Application Developers Alliance. Find more info on patents and other issues that affect developers at DevsBuild.It
Filed Under: apps, monetization, sponsored post, white paper
Comments on “There's No Silver Bullet Strategy For Monetizing Apps, But There Are Lots Of Options To Compare”
Shotgunning
The other point to be made is that none of these monetization strategies are mutually exclusive. Developers can (and should) take a multipath approach to monetization.
Have both a “free” ad-based version as well as a for-pay, ad-free version. Put them in multiple app stores simultaneously, and sell them directly to your customers from your own web page at the same time.
Monetization by Method
There should be greater, more market-specific methodologies applied to monetize apps. The ‘one size fits all’ approach rarely works unless the product is a killer app.
Interesting
My App
Wanted to say that I was thinking of developing an app for the Kenyan market specifically targeting people in the auto industry. The issue is that i am not an app developer so that would be one of the constraints i will have to deal with.
The other issue was to monetise it. I had thought of using admob. Will bookmark this page and probably when the time is right i can refer to the links you have provided.
Gerald