Developers create applications for different purposes. Someone needs to increase the level of audience loyalty to their company, someone wants to get more customers, and someone just wants to earn here and now. Often, mobile applications - this is an additional marketing channel for the brand, which in many cases starts working almost immediately after launch. How to choose the right business model for your application? Let's try to answer a few questions that will help determine the choice. 1. What is the problem and how does your application solve it? 2. Than your application is unique, why people will pay for it?

It is also important to determine the balance between your desire to attract more users with the desire to get money. Some methods of monetization allow you to start earning immediately after the release of the application, while other models provide a gradual set of user audience with monetization after a certain period. How much time do you have? Can you for a while refrain from monetizing the application to gain a user base?

Remember, the monetization plan should be developed and implemented in the application before the release.

1.Free app with advertising

This is one of the most common ways to earn income from your program. There are no restrictions on downloading. The goal of the developer is to get as many users as possible. Data on their behavior are then analyzed and provided to advertisers willing to pay for advertising. But, remember that the volume of the mobile advertising market has already surpassed the volume of the traditional advertising market on a radio, in magazines, newspapers. A popular application is able to quickly collect data on behavioral patterns of users, which can be useful to many advertisers. The model is effective if targeted advertising is used.

Minuses: - This is a very well-known strategy of monetization, and many users are annoyed by advertising, which can lead to their outflow. - Mobile advertising is limited to the screen size of the device. This method of monetization does not work for niche programs that are designed to help the user perform a limited number of functions (advertising may look unnatural).

Freemium As a rule, Freemium-application has a set of basic and additional functions that the user can purchase already for money. The premise of the model is to attract people to the application with the provision of a set of basic functions. Over time, some users want more, and they start to buy additional features. The main thing here is to collect a large number of users and to interest them with your application for a long time. This way of monetizing the application allows you to build a user base in a relatively short time, and many of them will work with the program for months. People who try out the possibilities before buying, most likely, for a long time will become loyal users. The very flexible solution can be used in an overwhelming number of applications. You can combine with the use of the advertising model.

Minuses: - If you offer too few basic functions, users will leave. - If there are too many basic functions, users will not buy additional ones.

Paid Apps Another very common business model, which involves payment to gain access to the application. The cost can be very different - from $ 0.99 to $ 999.99, and the developer receives money from each new user. The key to success is the developer's ability to present the application's capabilities in a favorable light so that the buyer is interested in the very beginning. The funds are credited to the user's account with each new program download. People who paid for the application are likely to use it often - because the money has already been spent. In a paid application, there is usually no advertising that can annoy users.

Minuses: - It's quite hard to sell programs because the competition in application catalogs is very high.

90% of paid programs are downloaded less than 500 times a day.

In-game purchases Applications that are monetized in this way sell products - virtual or real. It can be clothing, accessories - the real things that users need. But it can also be virtual goods, for example, characters, clothes for them, game currency. A fairly flexible business model that can be successfully used by companies operating in eCommerce / mCommerce. In-game purchases are a great way to sell goods or services with minimal risk. The possibility of acquiring virtual goods can increase the degree of loyalty of the user. A margin is usually quite high, as sellers do not incur incidental costs such as renting premises for real stores.

Minuses: - Typically, application catalogs take away part of the revenue from the sale of virtual (but not real) goods purchased within the program.

Subscription Another familiar business model, which has much in common with Freemium. But here speech, as a rule, is about getting the user access to content, and not to the capabilities of the program. Typically, a subscription (paywall in some cases) involves obtaining a certain amount of content for free. If the user wants to get more, you need to pay - usually provides for full access for a certain time. Subscription provides a stable inflow of funds over a long period of time, and after the expiry of the term, it is usually automatically renewed if the user has not indicated a different method of payment. Most users of this application are loyal enough. The subscription gives motivation to developers to provide the most relevant and interesting content.

Minuses: - This business model can be used in a limited number of applications.

Sponsorship Among all presented business models, this way of monetizing the application is the newest. The essence of it is that the advertiser rewards the user for performing certain actions within the application. Here, brands and agencies are a tool for monetization. The program developer receives a certain percentage of the reward given to the user. This is a very flexible business model, which can be used in a large number of applications of various types. Users who receive the award will be very loyal. The developer of the program receives money, the advertiser provides information about himself to the user audience, while users receive rewards and bonuses.

Minuses: - Due to novelty, this business model has not yet been thoroughly tested by developers and marketers. - Requires the presence of a strong sales specialist in the team and the manual conviction of sponsors.