Indie developers face more challenges when it comes to funding and creating software. One obstacle involves revenue generation: marketing your product and boosting conversion. You might not have the funds to launch extravagant promotions and ads.
Thus, you hope your efforts will yield positive results (people downloading, using, or paying for your product). Your chosen monetization method must be inviting to users to have the highest chance of earning. This article introduces the different ways your software can generate money for you.
Evaluate the market
Each software product is different. It has a unique target audience, and your potential users have been accustomed to particular monetization. For example, streaming services operate with subscription models, establishing long-term client relationships.
This is an industry-standard, meaning users expect it, and companies regard it as the most profitable. However, subscription models are rare for games or utility software applications. Thus, while one app monetization platform or method works for some tools, it’s not a one-fits-all solution. You must address the industry trends and examine your competitors’ efforts.
Introducing monetization options
Indie developers have a broad selection when it comes to monetization.
Freemium: paying to get more
Freemium means that an application has two versions: one is free, and the other is premium. The latter typically refers to people purchasing a subscription or performing a one-time payment. This option works well. People can use the app to an extent and get familiar with it. They can commit to premium plans when they feel ready, or the free version becomes limiting.
One crucial note is that you should pay close attention to the features available in the free version. You want to motivate people to upgrade without drastically limiting the options for free users.
Free: no payments needed
Free apps do surprisingly well in generating you money. Since anyone can download them, convincing potential users is much easier. Additionally, you have a wide selection of monetization strategies that don’t require users to open their wallets:
- Getting paid to display ads within your app.
- Including in-app purchases within the app.
- Users can share their unused internet bandwidth in exchange for premium features.
- Donation buttons that let people support your work.
- Collaborating with other brands and accepting deals.
Of course, you might wonder how much developers can make from such strategies. Let’s take ads as an example. Banner ads have the lowest earning potential, while rewarded video ones generate the most. Rewarded means the user gets something in exchange for watching a video ad while using the app.
You can earn thousands of dollars if you have enough users, say, 100,000 watching ads daily. Monetizing your app can mean using multiple options: ads, internet sharing, and in-app purchases. Altogether, these strategies can generate more than subscription plans!
One-time payments
While one-time payments are less common nowadays, they’re still a solid strategy. Yet, it works best with free trials or money-back guarantees. Then, users can test the application and be sure they are eligible for refunds.
Conclusion
Earning money from your application takes time and patience. In most cases, you’ll need to find ways to attract and convince users that using/purchasing your app is worthwhile.
