Is your app ready to make money? Release Notes 2016

Is your app ready to make money?

By Ariel Michaeli Co-Founder + CEO of appFigures


1. Build an amazing app

2. Put it on the App Store 🎉3. 🤔😬😶4. $$$


What most people think making apps is like:

• Started my first company in 2002 • Studied marketing in college but

programming since high school • Built several web companies (most SaaS) • Launched two iOS games early • @appFigures since 2009


👋

• Business analytics for

app makers • No SDK required • Beautiful, Powerful,

Simple • Started early 2009 • Most strict privacy policy • Very affordable



The App Store is a busy place

* Data source: Explorer, September 2016

2,249,475 iOS apps

2.3 New apps/min.

• There are more mobile devices than ever

(thanks, China!)

• And 💰💰💰billions paid out to developers




A great app is a good starting point for making money


The other most important thing is…


Incorporate making money into your app’s design before starting to build it.


IMPORTANT

1. Build an amazing app

2. Put it on the App Store 🎉3. 😀😀😀4. $$$


0. Figure out your monetization

What making apps should look like:

1. Identify your user - what do they need, and what

will they pay for it?

2. Understand your own economics - what do you

need to build and maintain this app?

3. Choose a monetization model - one that fits your

user and you.

4. Experiment and iterate - Most of your users

won’t mind. I promise.


Four (easy) steps


Identify your user


1. What kind of app do they need?

2. Is there anything comparable now?

3. What do they charge?

4. What can this user pay?


Identify your user


5. What will this user pay?

6. How much money/time will you be saving

them?

7. how much does the user want this app?

8. how much does the user need this app?

Identify your user


Understand your economics


1. What will the app cost to make?

2. How much to maintain?

3. Can you produce your own content, or

license it?

4. Are there ongoing fees?





5. How often would you need to update?

6. Can you do it all alone or do you need to

hire help?

7. What do you need to make to keep the

lights on?

8. What do you need to grow?


• Legal (especially if you work with others) • Accounting • Support • Insurance (thanks, Dave) • One-off costs (Black, or Jet Black?)

Gotchas


Select the most appropriate

monetization strategy

• Consider all of your answers • Select a strategy that the user will be happy

with and wouldn’t consider unrealistic • But also would allow you to keep the lights on


Select the most appropriate monetization strategy


Monetization strategies

• Free with In-app Purchases • Free with Ads • Paid • Subscriptions • Hybrid


Free with In-App PurchasesThe good - low perceived risk to users

• Free == Easy for users to get started • Very flexible and easy to optimize • Used by 75% of Top Grossing apps • Tiered pricing improves mass appeal • Easy to experiment with


Free with In-App PurchasesThe bad - could get complex

• Free == Higher support burden • Requires constant optimization • Need to design the app around use-cases and

have enough features • Requires lots of free users in order to make

money


Free with AdsThe good - users never have to pay

• Very easy to implement • Lots of providers who need you more than you

need them • Users never have to pay for your app • Fairly predictable revenue • Easy to experiment with


Free with AdsThe bad - requires a large active audience

• Higher support burden • Requires lots of active users to make money • Fraction of a penny for 1,000 views (in most

cases) • Changes the user experience


Paid

• Simple model that’s very predictable • Less support burden - Users who pay know

what they’re getting into • Doesn’t require changes to the app • Easy to experiment with

The good - very simple


Paid

• Only 2 paid apps in Top Grossing • Only 19% of all iOS apps are paid • 42% of paid apps cost $0.99 • Increases perceived risk for mass market

customers

The bad - hard to make money


Subscriptions

• 23% of the Top 100 Grossing apps already use

subscriptions • Predictable revenue stream • Easy to experiment with

The good - sustainable


Subscriptions

• Requires ongoing content additions • Requires a back-end that provides additional

value (syncing, backup, sharing, etc.) • Requires users to make a commitment -

Increases perceived risk.

The bad - requires a service, not a product.


Subscriptions

Warning



Mixing and matching

• Combining could reduce risk for users while

increasing revenue • Most common is ads + IAPs • Worth considering • Harder to maintain


Let’s give this a trySay we have an app that:

1. Is used to take notes

2. Can work on a single device without a back-end

3. Can sync to multiple devices with a back-end

Two questions:

1. Who’s the user

2. What are our economics


Who’s the user

• Anyone that needs to take notes • Especially users with multiple devices • Possibly on multiple platforms • That want something better than the stock

Notes app


What are our economics

• Large upfront cost for creating apps • Ongoing cost to maintain an scale a back-end • Minimal cost to maintain apps


SubscriptionsIf you said

You’d be right!

😀😭


Experiment and iterate


Experiment and iterate• Every strategy is easy to experiment with • One size doesn’t fit all • Once you selected a strategy - try out

different prices or tiers • Set goals and measure everything • (Most) users won’t mind • I know from experience


1. Appropriate monetization strategy is key to

success on the App Store

2. It needs to fit your users

3. But also requires that you understand your own

economics

4. It’s ok to experiment and iterate

5. And important that you track your success

Let’s review

That’s it, for now. Come say 👋 and let’s 🍻


Ariel Michaeli Co-Founder + CEO of appFigures


Track all of your apps @ appfigures.com

@arielmichaeli

https://arielmichaeli.com

[email protected]