I don’t know about your office, but lunch is pretty important around here. A good lunch can make or break your afternoon, so you want to make the right choice. That’s how I often end up bringing the same food, every time—my infamous chicken and broccoli. But you know, there’s new stuff on the menu at the taco place by the office. Stuff that could be delicious, like pork belly tacos. But I stick with the tried-and-true, even if it sometimes gets old.

Brand advertisers do this all the time (with their strategies, not their lunches… although maybe those too.) These days, perhaps the most delicious opportunity they’re overlooking is mobile in-app advertising. According to eMarketer, advertisers are still spending more on newspaper advertising than on in-app advertising ($20.55 billion vs. $20.27 billion in 2016, respectively), even though consumers spend 80% of their mobile time (a daily average of 2 hours, 25 minutes) in apps.

So why the hesitation? And what can brands, their agencies and game publishers do to move forward?

In January 2018 alone, more than 14,000 new apps were submitted to the iOS App Store—and 21% of those apps were games.

1. Brands don’t fully understand the mobile gaming landscape

The mobile app landscape has exploded so fast, it can be challenging for brands to comprehend. Consider this: in January 2018 alone, more than 14,000 new apps were submitted to the iOS App Store—and 21% of those apps were games. It’s no wonder brands struggle to recognize popular or promising apps unless they are trending or topping the charts—there are too many types and categories of games to keep up with, and each one has its own loyal fan base.

Interested in mobile gaming as an ad format? Download our case study to learn about how Baywatch: Rules of the Bay partnered with Phunware to create a playable ad and drive real results and promote the movie.

DOWNLOAD THE CASE STUDY

2. Brands fail to appreciate the value of mobile gaming audiences

For decades, movies and pop culture told us that gamers were nerdy kids obsessively noodling over their computers and gaming consoles in the family basement. That wasn’t completely true back then—and it’s definitely not true now.

Mobile devices have brought gaming into the mainstream. Suddenly, people who wouldn’t normally think of themselves as gamers have a simple, intuitive gaming platform in their hands nearly all the time. By 2020, eMarketer estimates that 77% of mobile phone users and nearly ⅔ of the overall U.S. population will play games on their phones at least once a month.

Google Play has found that people who play mobile games tend to segment more along their gaming needs and behaviors than their age, gender or other demographics. In fact, most mobile gamers fall between 26 and 45—whether they are passive players, connected enthusiasts or something in between. Most brands are only just beginning to understand mobile gaming audiences, and have yet to wrap their heads around the different types of mobile gamers—let alone how or where to engage with them.

3. Brands don’t quite trust mobile yet (because it hasn’t fully met their needs)

There are three related issues to unpack here: brand safety, metrics and fraud.

• Brand safety: Programmatic buying offers many efficiencies but it leaves brands nearly powerless to know exactly where their ads are running at all times. Most big consumer brands don’t want their ads running alongside pornographic, violent or inflammatory content, which is definitely an issue on the larger web. That said, mobile apps all have to go through app store approval processes, which weeds out the most objectionable content. With in-app advertising brand safety, the issue is more about advertisers assuming that what happens on the internet occurs at the same frequency and intensity across the mobile app landscape—and that’s just not so.
• Metrics: Marketers need to show results for the money they spend. Unfortunately, mobile technologies, tactics and advertising formats are evolving so fast the industry hasn’t settled on standard metrics, best practices or even measurement technologies. Until that happens, brands are going to view any metrics they’re offered (attribution, viewability, fraud, deterministic location, etc.) with a certain amount of skepticism.

  For example, as recently reported by Digiday, “Ad buyers say they receive misleading mobile viewability reports because measurement vendors struggle to integrate into publishers’ apps. In effect, they know the figures reported aren’t true.”

  

• Fraud: Digital advertisers are rightly concerned about fraud, especially as they’ve seen an alarming number of reports about malware, bots and other schemes. Yet, in a recent Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey, brands reported less than 2% fraud in app and mobile web display ad buys. That said, fraudsters will always strive to outsmart the “good guys.” Until the industry settles on and implements consistent safeguards—and continuously improves them—advertisers will likely continue to overestimate the threat and therefore, remain wary.

What’s the antidote to fear? Trusted partnerships.

The reality is that it’s going to take time for brands to catch on to the value of partnering with mobile games beyond the Top 5 titles in the app stores. And though the industry is evolving at a feverish pitch, it’s going to take a while for all the measurement challenges to be addressed.

In the meantime, what’s a savvy brand marketer or game developer to do? Look for a monetization partner that has:

• Experience and expertise in mobile in general, and mobile gaming in particular. Don’t simply check the platform’s website—call or email and ask questions. (You can’t get roped into anything just for asking questions. It’s their job to explain why you’d want to work with them, in detail.) Ask for real-world examples of successes and failures in mobile. You want a partner who’s been in it for the long haul, with a track record you can build on together.
• Clearly defined standards for games and other apps within its network, with brand safety controls that evolve over time to keep pace with the industry.
• Thought leadership and a commitment to developing and upholding best practices for measuring attribution, viewability, fraud and other metrics important to brand advertisers
• Strong partner services with dedicated account support.

The last point is particularly important. Brands need help understanding the value of mobile gaming and gaming audiences, and they need guidance in matching their target audiences to specific app user bases. At the same time, game developers need help understanding what brands want and need. What’s more, many measurement solutions require collaboration between brands, publishers and mobile platforms—including technology and data integrations across all players. All of that requires trusted relationships, and the right partner can help you broker those relationships and solidify that trust.

Looking for the right firm to work with? Download our info sheet, 6 Smarter Questions to Ask Your Monetization Partners, for insightful questions to ask your potential monetization partners.

DOWNLOAD THE INFO SHEET

At Phunware, we’ve been working in mobile since 2009—when only 17% of the US had smartphones. Because we address all phases of the mobile app lifecycle, from strategy and building through audience building, monetization and beyond, the Phunware team has deep understanding and expertise in what it takes to succeed in mobile today. Our industry-leading Multiscreen as a Service platform helps brands and publishers engage, manage and monetize their audience’s journey over mobile—while ensuring an optimal experience for users, brands and developer partners alike.

Want to learn more? If you’re an agency or brand advertiser, contact audience@127.0.0.1. Game developers and app makers, contact audiencemonetization@127.0.0.1.

The post Why Are Brands Afraid to Advertise in Mobile Games? appeared first on Phunware.

If you’re in another line of work, however, you may only be thinking of mobile as a marketing channel or as a utilitarian tool for things like wayfinding, property management, or simply sharing helpful information. If that’s the case, you’re leaving money on the table.

What Is an App Monetization Strategy?

Simply put, it’s a plan for driving revenue via your mobile app, using one or a combination of different app monetization models. It’s best to consider and plan for monetization during the Strategy phase, so you don’t have to force-fit something later.

Outside of direct mCommerce, there are five basic options:

• Pay-to-download (or “Paid”): Pretty straightforward. These are apps that you pay $X to download.
• Subscription: Users pay a monthly fee via the app stores.
• Free (“Freemium”) with in-app purchases: The app is free to download but the publisher makes money on in-app purchases that provide an enhanced, “premium” experience. In games, these are usually micro-transactions such as special gear, extra lives, weapons, gaming levels, etc. In other types of apps, these could be access to exclusive content behind a paywall.
• Limited Freemium: The app is free to download but is limited in one of two ways—either the user can access full functionality for a short time only OR the free version only offers basic functionality, such as a few game levels. The idea is to entice users to try before they buy, hoping the app experience is compelling enough to convert them to a fully paid or subscription version.
• Free to download, with advertising: In-app advertising is an increasingly common way to monetize all types of apps. Users will welcome ads if they are well-targeted, relevant, interesting and non-disruptive to the user experience. It’s even better if the advertising adds value by connecting users with rewards or exclusive content (as in sponsored gameplay integrations).

According to App Annie’s recent worldwide survey of app professionals, in-app purchases and in-app advertising were the most popular monetization strategies, however many of those surveyed expected subscription and mCommerce to become more popular over time.

Developing a Sound Monetization Strategy

There is no cut-and-dried monetization strategy that works for every industry or every type of app. Ultimately, your team will determine the type(s) of monetization you want to include in your app by carefully evaluating a number of considerations, including:

• Your app experience: User experience (UX) should be your most important consideration. Any monetization strategy you choose should align with the overall experience and preferably enhance it.
• Your audience: Across various demographic categories, people feel differently about paying for an app or making in-app purchases, and their behavior varies accordingly. According to Gartner, people in the 25-34 age bracket spend the most on both paid apps and in-app transactions (thanks, older Millennials!). Those on the younger side of Gen X (35-44) come in second, but they spend more on in-app transactions than paid downloads. In addition, women spend less overall on paid downloads and in-app transactions—but they’re more likely to try a freemium approach.
• Your business goals: Monetization should always complement your overarching business goals, not take away from them.
• What the competition’s doing: Check out other apps in the same category. How are they monetizing? Does their approach complement or detract from their UX?

Though game developers pioneered it, mobile app monetization is still a developing field. If your team lacks expertise in monetization, consider working with an expert partner. And if in-app advertising may be part of your mix, seek out a monetization partner with not only the requisite experience but also trong brand relationships and robust data sharing. Want to learn more? Download our checklist, 6 Smarter Questions To Ask Your Monetization Partners.

DOWNLOAD THE EBOOK

The post Understanding Monetization Strategies and Why Your App Needs One appeared first on Phunware.

My interesting-but-limited knowledge of my gym buddy is similar to what app developers and game developers understand about their users. Depending on the analytics tools you’re working with, you know some unique things about each user ID associated with your mobile app:

• Device type, operating system (OS) and/or manufacturer
• User location, gender, age and/or language
• Application install, open and registration information
• In-app behavior data related to clicks, session length, levels completed, content viewed, purchases, etc.

This information can help you improve user experience, engagement and acquisition. But it’s also valuable to advertisers—because it reveals things about users that no other source of information can, enabling advertisers to target more effectively and therefore get more bang for their marketing buck.

But it’s nowhere close to the whole picture.

What you don’t know about your users could hurt you with advertisers.

Let’s go back to my gym buddy analogy. In reality, I don’t know that much about her. If I did, our burpee-avoidance techniques and friendly gym banter might be more successful. For example, what if I found out she’s an avid traveler who’s been to Burma, Peru and Iceland in the last three years? What If I discovered she owns a yorkie, too? Or learned that she loves almond butter and is an fan of Master of None? We’d have a lot more to talk about and I’d know what to bribe her with, should I decide to bail on burpees in our next training session.

This is how app developers are missing out when it comes to user data. You don’t have access to what your users are doing when they’re not in your app. Those behaviors, patterns and preferences contribute to a deeper and richer understanding advertisers need to target more accurately.

Let’s say you do know some additional behavioral information—for instance, that 40% of your users are interested in or play puzzle game apps. How do you make this information actionable and compelling for a brand advertiser? If you don’t have access to insights about a brand’s audience and the ability to target them, you’ll have a hard time getting that brand to run its campaigns in your apps.

For example, let’s say retailer Sports Shoe Biz wants to run an ad campaign targeting the device IDs of people who have run a 5K in the last six months, visited a mall at least once per month and fall between ages 24 and 45. The brand’s ad platform looks for apps with audiences that contain any of these highly specific users. But if Sports Shoe Biz has no way of knowing whether any of your app users fit their highly specific target, your app won’t get that campaign.

Putting Your User Data to Work

Only 8% of brands say they have tied together customer data from multiple channels for an omnichannel view of their customer—while a whopping 68% say they still have “a long way to go” to achieve this integrated understanding. It’s still not easy to get a detailed user picture—or to monetize it effectively.

That’s where a monetization partner comes in. Because ad platforms touch multiple apps, they have access to far more data—about what users are doing in other apps as well as location-specific info like “visited an airport” or “ran in a 5K.” Find a monetization partner that can target branded campaigns to your users based on behaviors outside of your app. It improves your fill rate and your revenue if brands can segment your users across more than just your app name and category.

When app developers capture and share anonymized user data with an expert monetization partner, each User ID can be augmented with additional data points that reveal what users are doing in other types of apps—and even in the world outside their mobile phones.

This is a win for advertisers:

• The more specific and unique the available user data, the more precisely targeted ad campaigns can be. Advertisers can use this precise targeting to reach users with more relevant and, hopefully, conversion-driving campaigns.
• They can also use enhanced targeting to boost ROI. For example, instead of spending a huge chunk of budget in the latest “trending” app just because it’s going viral, advertisers can often find the precise users they’re looking for in other apps.

This is a win for advertisers:

• Finely targeted ads can be sold at higher price points, so the revenue potential is greater.
• Precision targeting opens opportunities to emerging apps that have unique and interesting audiences.
• Well targeted ads are usually more relevant to users, helping to protect the user experience.

Wondering how to find a partner who’ll help you derive the most value from your app user data? Download “6 Smarter Questions to Ask Your App Monetization Partners” and, as always, feel free to reach out to the Phunware Monetization team at audiencemonetization@127.0.0.1.

DOWNLOAD THE eBOOK

The post Publishers: How to Get More from Your App User Data appeared first on Phunware.

Drilling down with specific questions can help uncover deeper truths about the extent of your partnership, future growth opportunities and more.

Whether you already have a monetization partner or are on the hunt for a new one, download this handy cheat sheet, 6 Smarter Questions to Ask Your Monetization Partner, to help you make your decision. (We especially like hearing your conversations around Question #3.)

DOWNLOAD THE CHEAT SHEET

The post Free Download: 6 Smarter Questions to Ask Your Monetization Partners appeared first on Phunware.

The reality is, most airports need both. A web presence on the is table stakes for any large organization today. Websites are a great way to get basic airport information out there to passengers and the local community. But keep in mind, the average American adult spent 2 hours and 25 minutes per day in mobile apps in 2016—versus less than half an hour browsing the mobile web (eMarketer).

By taking advantage of built-in smartphone technologies that a website simply can’t leverage, an airport mobile app can do a lot to improve the passenger experience at your airport. It can also help boost non-aeronautical revenue, which comprises roughly 46% of total operating revenue at U.S. airports, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data from 2017. Let’s look at five ways a mobile app can help drive this revenue while improving the in-terminal experience for passengers.

1. Airport apps streamline the passenger experience

What keeps passengers from spending money at your airport? Airports are challenging environments that can be frustrating and stressful. With an app, you can automatically send push notifications to passengers, informing them of gate changes or the shortest security line—reducing stress, saving time and keeping traffic flow smooth throughout the terminal. Passengers who aren’t stressed or rushed can then turn their attention to airport shops, restaurants and services.

2. Airport apps provide personalized turn-by-turn navigation

Navigating by smartphone has become a mainstream experience. Why wouldn’t you provide an app that enables turn-by-turn navigation through your airport? Navigation offers another way to streamline the passenger experience, but it also helps passengers uncover compelling, satisfying interactions with your airport brand. Your app could help passengers find open parking, discover a great restaurant, locate an electronics store or identify the perfect place for a quick manicure.

3. Airport apps enable real-time promotions.

We all window-shop airport stores as we walk through the terminal. What if you received a personalized coupon code on your phone, right when you approached the bookstore? What if you got a heads up about a meal deal at the closest café, just before you arrived at your gate? With technologies like beacons, your shops, stores, restaurants and other vendors can pay you to promote their businesses. More store sales + additional promotional fees = more revenue for your airport.

4. Airport apps can be monetized.

Thanks to the targeted audience segments that come through your airport (think business travelers, vacationing families, etc.), in-app advertising can also add to your non-aeronautical revenue. Many brands would salivate at the ability to reach such a clear, targeted audience—and would be happy to purchase some of your app’s real estate for advertising. You’d be paid for selling in-app ad space just as you’d be paid for selling space on billboards or digital signage.

LEARN MORE

5. Mobile data can improve revenue strategies and operations.

As your app users travel through your airport—and everywhere they go in their daily lives—they carry their smartphones or tablets with them. This generates a daily digital trail that can tell you a lot about what they do, when, why and how.

You can use this information to continually test and refine your non-aeronautical revenue strategies, understand traffic flow in the airport better, streamline security lines and much more. This kind of contextual mobile data isn’t available to you without a mobile app and, in the long run, it can make your strategies smarter and help make operations run smoother. And that means more revenue throughout the terminal.

Download our eBook to learn more about how you can turn mobile data into actionable insights and successful strategies.

DOWNLOAD THE eBOOK

An innovative, well-designed mobile app builds positive brand associations and loyalty.

When passengers feel good about an airport they frequent—and when they feel that airport is cutting-edge, well-run, and invested in passengers’ well-being—that builds and sustains a strong brand. It helps attract conventions and other business travel. It increases loyalty among heavy travelers. And it makes your airport a place people want to spend their time and money, not just a place to pass through on their way to another destination.

Download our eBook to see how Phunware’s mobile solution for Fort Lauderdale Airport boosts revenue and streamlines the passenger experience.

DOWNLOAD THE eBOOK

At Phunware, we have deep experience building and optimizing airport apps throughout the app lifecycle. Our flexible mobile platform offers a wide range of advanced features you can use to enhance the passenger experience and drive non-aeronautical revenue at the same time. Intrigued? Learn more about our aviation solutions or contact a mobile specialist at info@127.0.0.1.

The post 5 Ways an Airport App Can Boost Non-Aeronautical Revenue appeared first on Phunware.

If you’ve been following our series, you know that we’ve been working to help you understand the best ways to make money from your app. Of course, you’ll use a lot of strategies and tactics to boost your revenue. One of these tactics—possibly the most important—is advertising. In our last post, we talked about advertising at some length. It’s true, especially in a world of freemium apps, that advertising is an essential tool for generating revenue.

It’s also true that it’s easy to get mobile advertising wrong. So here are three suggestions for picking the right kinds of in-app advertising.

1. Think through your in-app advertising objectives.

Part of mobile development strategy is getting clear on your objectives: what do you want your app to do for your brand? How does it fit into your revenue plan? You should know, for example, how many users you need and how much revenue you need per user. You should have goals and milestones laid out as part of your overall mobile strategy, and your advertising approach has to dovetail with your overall objectives.

2. Pick the right kinds of ads for your brand.

There are many different kinds of mobile ads. Some developers have brand guidelines or a feel for their audience that influences the kinds of ads they’ll run. Some prefer banner ads, others interstitials, others video or rich media. Do you have any insight into your audience’s needs that will influence the types of ads you run?

Some brands will want to try new strategies—for example, location-based advertising or push notifications, while others will want to stick with traditional mobile ads. Determine the right strategies and mix for your brand to connect with your audience.

Learn more about the different ad formats: read “An In-App Advertising Format Glossary for Mobile Developers”

READ THE BLOG

3. Think through your timing and expenses.

You may have a very large budget for advertising or no budget at all. You may have a creative team to develop ads, or you may rely on a freelancer with limited expertise and resources. You may have months to develop your ads, or mere days.

Different ad types have different levels of cost and complexity. For example, banner ads are easy to develop, easy to tweak and easy to roll out. Video ads are more complicated, take more time, cost more money and are harder to edit or change. You have to choose the kinds of ads that are realistic for you to create with the budget, resources and time you have.

Next Steps

Hopefully, you’ve learned enough to demystify some of the complexities of in-app advertising for revenue generation. If you already have a monetization partner or are on the hunt for a new one, make sure you download our cheat sheet to help you drill down specific questions can help uncover deeper truths about the extent of your partnership, future growth opportunities and more.

DOWNLOAD THE CHEAT SHEET

The post How to Monetize Your App: Pick the Right In-App Ad Types appeared first on Phunware.

You probably want to make money with your app. But if you’ve dabbled in charging for an app, you may have already learned that the most effective tactics are not always the most obvious ones.

Consider pricing.

Most products and services have a cost. You go to the store to buy bread; it has a cost. You go to the dentist for a filling; that service has a cost. So it’s logical to assume that your mobile app ought to have a cost—in other words, for users to download your app, they should pay you.

That’s a logical assumption—but it’s not necessarily correct. For many brands, the best tactic is to have a freemium app.

What’s freemium? Successful publishers increasingly choose freemium business models, in which the application download is free, but there are ways to make money when users engage with the app. One approach to freemium is to make items available for purchase within the application itself. These could be extra features and functionality, virtual purchases, upgrades, etc. Another approach is to make the free app limited in some way—a small number of game levels or locked functionality, for example. A third approach is to make full functionality available for a limited period of time, say thirty days. After the time limit expires, a user pays a fee to gain full functionality.

Why Freemium Works

Freemium seems counterproductive, doesn’t it?

After all, in many situations, free is almost synonymous with poor quality. Think of the free tchotchkes you pick up at a tradeshow that are made of cheap plastic—the ones you throw out almost immediately when you get home.

But in this case, freemium apps = free distribution + a long-term revenue stream.

As we talked about in the first article from this series, to have a successful app, you have to think about acquisition, engagement and retention. In other words, your first step is to acquire new users. Freemium enables new user acquisition because it removes a major barrier to trying your app.

Imagine going to your favorite app marketplace and seeing two unfamiliar games, with similar features and functionality. One is free, and one costs $5.99. Which are you more likely to download?

Freemium is a friction-free download model. It lets you turn samplers into committed, engaged users by letting them experience your app, become interested in it, and start spending money.

For you, it’s great because you end up with a long-term revenue stream. Users will make purchases for weeks or months to come—and you can boost that stream by offering new purchases over time.

And freemium is a proven approach. Freemium apps have become the dominant monetization strategies for apps, accounting for 95% of Apple App Store revenue and 98% of Google Play Store revenue.

Interested in in-app advertising instead? Read “App Monetization: Advertising and More.”
READ THE BLOG

Exploring Your Options

Maybe you’re still worried about giving your app away. If that’s the case, don’t take our word that freemium is an effective pricing model. There are always ways to explore your options.

1. Consider launching your freemium app for a limited time, and then converting it to paid. That approach can let you drive rapid download growth while still giving you an opportunity to make money from paid downloads.
2. Create two versions of your app—a freemium and a paid version.
3. Look at your competition. Are they using freemium, or are they launching paid apps?
4. Take a look at the most successful apps out there to see whether freemium works for them—and then decide if it’s going to work for you.

For more information on other types of app monetization strategies, read “Understanding Monetization Strategies and Why Your App Needs One”.
READ THE BLOG

In our next article, we’ll talk about the next step in the app monetization process: picking the right in-app ad types for your app.

The post How to Monetize Your App—Paid or Freemium? appeared first on Phunware.

Having money comes in handy. For the most part, the days of barter have come and gone, leaving us with cold, hard cash as our basic tool for getting things done.

That’s why it’s a good thing that each of us has a strategy for making money. Most of us went to school with the aim of getting qualifications that led to jobs. Our hard work, intelligence, and creativity paid off over the long term. We got better and better at making money so we can do more things and avoid starvation.

So why do many app developers fail to make money with their mobile apps? Gartner predicts that by 2018, 99 percent of apps will lose money. That’s a depressing statistic no app developer wants to see.

Are you going to be in that huge pool of money-losing developers? No?

Fortunately, it’s not impossible to monetize your app. In an earlier post, we talked about 11 ways to monetize your app. Let’s go deeper this time, and explore the first step to monetization: building your strategy.

Your strategy consists of three parts.

• Make it matter.
• Analyze the competition.
• Define success.

Make It Matter.

Here’s the first step to your strategy. When you went to school or took online courses, why did you do it? If your answer is, “so I could get a job,” that really translates to, “so I could develop skills that matter in the marketplace.”

The same idea has to be true of your app. Before you even start to code, you need to understand why your app is going to matter.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What will my app be?
• What will my app do?
• Who will download my app?
• Why will those people download my app?
• What will be the essential features of my app?
• What will be the essential benefits of my app? (Yes, features and benefits are not the same)
• How could I make my app better for my users?
• How will I attract users?
• How will I engage and retain users?

If you want to make money, you have to create an app that will attract attention, engage users, and keep them happy for the long term. You must focus in on who will use your app, why they’ll use it, and why they’ll stick with it. Answering these questions will help you create an app that matters in the marketplace.

Learn more about defining your project objectives and scope. Read: Mobile Strategy – App Fundamentals.
READ THE BLOG

Analyze the Competition.

Most app developers have a hard time finding a niche that isn’t already occupied. So, whether you like it or not, you’re going to have some competition. Ask yourself these questions:

• Who are my competitors?
• Is my competition successful?
• How many downloads have they generated?
• How are they making money?
• What are they doing well? What are they doing badly?
• How will my app be better than the competition?

If you’re feeling worried after you’ve answered these questions, don’t be—you WANT competitors. Competitors are a good sign that you’ve found a successful idea for an app.

But your app has to stand out! You have to find ways to distinguish your app from the competition. Creating another cloned game or trying to rip off an established coupon app isn’t going to work. You must be different and better in ways that matter to your audience.

Define Success.

Finally, you have to start defining your idea of success. Explore these ideas:

• How will my app make money?
• Can my app make money differently than the competition? Should it?
• What could get in the way of making money with this app?
• What’s my break-even point?
• What does financial success look like?
• What’s my timeline?

These questions help you explore your framework for financial success—and the possibilities go way beyond charging users to download your app. In other articles we’ll explore the tools you’ll use to make money, but at this point you’re simply trying to determine how successful your app could be and the scope of what you can accomplish in a realistic timeline.

So What’s Next?

Finally, you’ll want to mull all this over. It’s not uncommon for a developer to see new opportunities or challenges after thinking through their app strategy. You may have to go back to the first step and rework it, which could make your second and third steps obsolete. But once you’re done, you’ll have a very good idea of what it will take to make your app a success—and what success even looks like.

In our next article, we’ll start exploring tactics and tools for making your strategy a reality.

Read the ebook, Mobile First: Harnessing the App Lifecycle for Transformative Business Success to see how to ensure app success from start to launch.
DOWNLOAD THE eBOOK

The post How to Monetize Your App: Start with Strategy appeared first on Phunware.

Well, they are, and in-app mobile advertising revenues are exploding. They’ve quadrupled since 2011, and they’re forecast to be over $76B worldwide in 2017.¹ That’s because click-through rates on in-app ads are much higher than the 0.1% rate for desktop web ads.² They’re proven tools for driving success through app monetization.

That’s good news, isn’t it? After all, in-app advertising is easy. All you need is a bunch of banner ads, and suddenly you’re bringing in money every single minute. Everyone taps banner ads, don’t they?

So Many Ad Types!

If you’re done chuckling, you understand a basic problem. In-app advertising isn’t as simple as rolling out a bunch of banner ads. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a proliferation of different ad formats. There’s a complex arms race for mobile advertising dollars, with many tested and emerging ad formats to help you reach your business goals.

It’s also worth mentioning that the old days of static advertising are fading away. Static ads are being augmented with various kinds of attention-getting media, including animation, video and rich media (in-app games, for example). These opportunities for distinctive advertising boost complexity as well.

Since the in-app advertising format landscape is a little complicated, let’s clarify matters by covering the most common ad formats. Here the pros and cons for each ad type, including average click-through rates (CTR):

Pros, Cons and Click-Through Rates of Mobile Ad Types

Native. With native ads, advertising content fits seamlessly in your app’s layout and user experience. Brand messaging or app downloads are delivered in a non-intrusive way, leading to a better user experience and a CTR of around 1.37 percent.³ But there’s a downside; development costs are higher than banner ads.

Partial-Page Interstitial Ad

Interstitial. These full-page ads appear between content pages, and are commonly used on games as content “interruptions” between app levels. Since they’re much larger than banner ads, they contain more content and can present more calls to action, resulting in a 5.70 percent average CTR. They’re also commonly used for branding. However, they’re more expensive than banner ads and typically take longer to develop. Despite those cons, interstitials are becoming the ad format most developers prefer.⁴

Exit Ads. Unlike banners, native ads and interstitials, which occur within an app, exit ads occur when a user taps the back button or home button. The user can either tap on the ad to engage with it further or tap on the X icon (or home soft key) to come back to the home screen. Available for branding or app downloads, exit ads can be an effective tool if you’re trying to avoid disrupting the user experience within your app.

Splash Ads. Splash ads are like interstitials or exit ads in that they’re full-page ad formats that stand apart from application functionality. Splash ads occur as an app is launched but before it fully loads, and can be used for branding, lead generation or app downloads.

App Lists. An app list ad format looks exactly like it sounds. Advertised apps appear in a list format for users to scroll through. With many apps in the list, odds are good that users will download something. One network observes a 7.14 percent CTR, which ought to make you take notice.

Panels. Panels are very successful ads, with a 12.60 percent CTR on one ad network. What is a panel? It’s akin to a list ad, but unlike list ads, which display limited advertiser information, panel ads reserve more real estate for each advertiser’s ad. Fewer ads means more opportunity for advertisers to promote themselves distinctively. It’s an attractive ad format, but since it can’t display as many advertisers as the list, it has its limits.

Slider. This format is a rising star, not very common as of yet, but becoming more popular because it offers a distinct user experience. An overlay unit on the bottom of a page mirrors touchscreen habits. If a user slides across the overlay, an entire ad page appears, unveiling a full brand experience.

Banners. Finally, the humble banner. Banners are common, cheap and easy to create, enabling massive reach. A wide variety of advertisers use them for lead generation, retargeting, brand building or app download. But they’re probably one of the least effective ways to drive revenue because click-through rates are relatively low, often around 0.20 percent, and they’re susceptible to accidental taps as well.

As a developer, you have many different opportunities to drive your success with mobile advertising—and with other monetization techniques. By connecting with a trusted partner, you can find the right mix of ad formats, content, frequency and reach to help you achieve your basic business goals.

¹Statista
²Forbes.com
³MarketingCharts
⁴Statista

The post An In-App Advertising Format Glossary for Mobile Developers appeared first on Phunware.

At one point, that’s the amount of money Clash of Clans (a combat strategy game) made…in a day. That success led Supercell, the game’s developer, to a $3 billion valuation.¹

That’s a lot of money. You’d probably be okay with a fraction of that success.

To get there, it’s up to you to create a compelling app that attracts a large, engaged audience. But it’s also your responsibility to use tactics and strategies that will allow your app to produce ongoing revenue.

Monetization is more than just making money with your application. It comprises an evolving, complex set of opportunities to boost your profitability. Advertising is the primary component of monetization, but not the only one. Let’s take a look at how to turn your app into a consistent revenue stream with a comprehensive range of monetization tactics.

Steps to Mobile App Monetization

1. Start with strategy.
   Without a monetization strategy, driving business success isn’t likely. Application development and monetization need to be part of the same overall strategic plan. Your plan must fit your target audience and overall objectives. What are your revenue goals? Which audience segments do you want to target? Do you want to increase your reach into certain demographics?
2. Consider freemium.
   Many publishers today use a freemium model, in which the application download is free and there are items available for purchase within the application itself (extra features and functionality, virtual purchases, etc.). This friction-free download model lets you turn samplers into committed, engaged users.From 2012 to 2013, freemium saw 211 percent revenue growth, while paid and paidmium (in which users pay for the app and in-app purchases) declined. Once you have an audience’s attention, there are many ways to monetize it, including mobile advertising, in-app purchases and subscription models.
3. Find the right monetization partner.
   Advertising within your mobile app is a common monetization strategy, with click-through rates that exceed 12.5% in some cases.² Since mobile app developers aren’t advertising experts, it’s critical to find a partner that understands both app development and advertising.Are you going to devote some of your app’s real estate to advertising? Are you going to purchase mobile ad space in other apps? The right mobile ad network will be able to help you with both strategies, and will offer features like:
   • A brand-safe publisher network to make sure your ads don’t appear anywhere you wouldn’t want them to.
   • Deep data sets that enable predictive mobile ad targeting for the highest ROI.
   • Stateside account managers who are available when you need them.
4. Pick the right kind of in-app ads to fit your preferences and goals.
   For mobile advertising, one size doesn’t fit all. Maybe you don’t want your app to display banner ads, but you do want to use cutting-edge video ads. There are many kinds of mobile advertising, and each has its own benefits and drawbacks. Some come with higher development costs than others, but may drive higher click-through rates. You’ll have to find the right mix of ad types to hit your objectives. You may also want to consider native advertising options, where in-line or other native ad types mesh more seamlessly with your application experience.
5. Don’t let advertising wreck your app.
   If the ads displayed in your app are relevant, attractive, appropriate for your customer profile, and they don’t block basic usability, many of your app’s users may end up tapping on them. But if ads pop up too often in your app, are ugly, block app functionality, or don’t align with your customer profiles, they may actually work against you. Your choice of ad network can play a role here, too: The right partner will help you make sure that your mobile ads are as successful as possible.
6. Localize your advertising.
   Relevance is the core of successful advertising. Some mobile advertising partners can localize (or hyper-localize) your advertising to make it more relevant using technologies like beacons, Wi-Fi, and GPS. This technology allows real-time mobile ad targeting that connects to real-world customer experiences.Think about it: Would you be more likely to respond to a mobile ad containing a coupon for a certain store if you saw the ad when you were in the parking lot of the shopping center, rather than sitting at home in your bathrobe? Of course you would. And so would your users. In fact, 63 percent of smartphone owners say they are more likely to click on a mobile ad that offers a coupon to a nearby store.²
7. Consider advertising outside your application to grow your audience and increase revenue opportunities.
   Look into CPI (cost-per-install) advertising, where you pay to promote your app in other applications, leading the audience to install your app. Since the cost of CPI depends on the number of installations the ad generates, the ad network has skin in the game. In other words, it’s in the best interest of the ad network to place your ads where they will be successful—the network only gets paid when someone installs your app.
8. Push relevant information outside the app.
   Push notifications don’t necessarily generate immediate revenue, but they do improve long-term engagement with your app, giving advertising more time to work. Users who enable push have 88 percent higher engagement and nearly three times higher retention than those who disable it.³
9. Explore in-app purchases and mCommerce.
   You can encourage users to spend money within your app. This approach works better for some apps than others. If you play mobile games, you know all about upgrades, consumables and in-app currency.Maybe your app isn’t a game, but think deeply for a moment about what you could sell through your app. Examples include extra functionality and tools, enhanced features and deeper content. Aside from their revenue potential, in-app purchases are also great for giving you insight into what interests your users—so you can do more of it.
10. Look into offbeat monetization tactics.
    Consider some unusual ways to make money. For example, traditional media relies on subscriptions. Could you create a premium subscription model for your app that provides behind-the-scenes information or strategies, unlocks codes, or gives access to hidden levels? Could you develop auxiliary apps that attract new users and drive cross-promotion? Could you “white label” your code (license it to developers who use it as the core of their apps)? Are there opportunities to sell the data your app collects to marketers?
11. Optimize your efforts.
    It’s much easier to optimize and track your efforts with robust analytics, and a data-driven strategy gives you better results and a better ROI. Learn which efforts are most successful with your audience, pursue those, and your margins will increase accordingly.

Finally, there’s one major consideration to keep in mind. Mobile monetization is an evolving space, with lots of innovation and evidence to help you tune your efforts. You need to keep in touch with trusted advisors who can help you stay attuned to emerging capabilities. There’s no reason your app can’t turn into a dependable revenue generator.

For tips on marketing your app to increase your mobile ROI, download our eBook, App Marketing 101: 12 Ways to Help Users Discover Your Mobile App.

Download eBook Here

¹Yahoo! Finance
²eWeek
³Localytics

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