Monetization Questions Every App Developer Should Ask

Monetization Questions Every App Developer Should Ask

By Amy Vale

We live in a fast-paced world; no one has time to grab breakfast these days let alone leisurely read a physical newspaper or even sit at our computers reading about the news. Like so many people around the world, I too rely on my smartphone and tablet to scour through national and international news  while on-the-go. It looks like I’m not alone here.

A recent study released by Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and The Economist Group revealed that nearly three times as many tablet owners and twice as many smartphone users access news primary through browsers than apps. 60% of tablet news readers and 61% of smartphone news readers in the survey said they get most of their news through web browsers on those devices. 23% of tablet news readers and 28% of smartphone news readers claimed they use apps, while 16% and 11%, respectively, said they use apps and web browsers equally. For many news publishers such as Hearst and The Economist Group, mobile traffic is booming. That’s a fact; now how can they monetize those huge mobile traffic numbers? Here are three questions every app developer should ask themselves to monetize effectively.

How willing are people to pay up-front for my app?

Arguments can be made on both sides for the freemium and paid app model. The monetization advantages of the paid app model have a lot to do with the type of content and category of the app itself. Does your app’s user base prefer not to have the overall user experience disturbed by ads? If you answer yes to this question, the paid app model, whereby users pay a one-time fee to download an app, is one way to ensure that your app is monetizing.

Is the user experience engaging, relevant and informative?

Don’t be in a rush to get your app launched and in the marketplace. Make sure the user experience is strong, relevant to the needs of the audience and, most importantly, that it won’t be a trick pony and will drive consistent clicks and revenue.

Will my user base be receptive to view, and click on, in-app ads?

No matter what category your app falls into, I can’t stress enough the importance of having a mobile-specific strategy, creative collaboration and testing what works and doesn’t work. Know what your users are doing, where they are and where they’re going. Know the type of content that will resonate with them, even with the ads being served in apps. For example, mobile users reading news on The Economist Group tablet app will likely be more receptive to viewing a streaming video ad. Leveraging these insights will put you one step closer to effective monetization.