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Want to make money with your mobile app? In today's contributed post, the folks from the web design company ALT Agency discuss how to start generating revenue with your company's mobile app. See other posts by ALT Agency here.

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Getting your new mobile app designed, built and launched is not the only thing that you need to do for your business.  For the moment, the excitement of having your unique mobile app out there and enabling you to interact with your customers may be at the forefront of your mind, but take a step back. Add one new word to the equation:  Money!

You can make your mobile app even better and extremely profitable if you take the time to monetize it.  Not only is it a tool that markets your brand; it can become a serious source of income for your business.

Check out our revenue-generating ideas

Sounds easy doesn’t it?  But in the real world, how can you begin to turn your app into a revenue-generating machine?  It can be done, even if you promote your app for free. Check out some of our ideas below and consider including them in your app development.

Related Articles on How To Make Money With Your Mobile App:

• 7 Reasons You Need A Mobile App
• Here's What You Need To Know About Android & iOS
• Mobile Apps That Make & Save You Money

Add an email subscription to your app

Run it like an email campaign.  Sending regular emails to app users will keep your business in mind and make them more likely to use you.  With emails often having a lifespan of 12 days (compared to a Tweet lasting just a few hours), being proactive by adding an email subscription is the way to go.  Consider tempting users to add their email details by offering an added benefit such as promotional code or access to a must-have blog. Use this the right way and you will attract new users as well as bringing older ones back into the fold.

Add some ads

With people spending up to 90 minutes each day on their phone, setting ads in front of them makes so much sense.  Advertisers know that this is one of the most powerful ways of getting their message across and worth so much more than embedding their ad in a browser or text.  There are mainly five types of ads that can work well:

1. Full screen ads – show between menus and at natural pause points
2. Notification ads – pop up in the status bar and attract attention (can be annoying so use with care)
3. Capture forms – offer a bonus when users enter email address
4. Advanced overlay – a mix of a capture form and full screen ad
5. Banner – located at top or bottom of screen to attract attention (again, may irritate users so add wisely)

When choosing which ads to show, focus on engaging with your app user. The aim is to attract them in a wise way, not to annoy them. Also try and use ads that reflect your brand. Depending upon which advertisers you work with, you could earn a considerable chunk of money in this way.

Partnerships/sponsors

Think about partnering with someone who can add to your user experience, benefiting both your business and your clients. When their apps are used and customers see a link to your business, maybe even with an interactive element associated, there is a good chance of them downloading your app too.  You could even place your own advert with them, directing those that click on it to your app. Used correctly click-through usage can be as high as 12.5%.

Make the most of your code

When your app developer creates your code and others see how successful it is, they may ask if they can adapt it to suit their purpose. Licencing your code to others provides a superb additional way of making money.

In-app purchases

While your app may be free, users can interact with your product or service via the app and purchase from you. Beware of making this the main option available to users though – your developer needs to incorporate plenty of interesting features to keep them hooked.

Marketing via text

In the same way that you may be using email within your app, you can also make use of text prompts.  Send reminders and promotions to users by text, thus driving them back to your app.

Add a premium version

If your app is free, think about creating a more sophisticated option with added features, offering an experience that users will want.  Once they have sampled your wares via the free app and found that they like it, they can move on up to the paid version.  Your developer needs to make the premium version valuable so that it attracts positive reviews and recommendation to others.

Content is king

If you want to attract new users or give more to those who are not using your app sufficiently, beef up your content.  Make new blogs available first to app users and do the same thing with industry news.  This will keep them alert and coming back for more.  This way even non-paying app users are far more likely to become clients. By making your content an irresistible must-have, users will keep on coming back.

Add a subscription service

Users can then choose to be billed in order to receive all of your new prime content, without having to remember to log onto the app to purchase it.

Analyze your data

You have analytics so use them.  Study user behavior and use the insight that you gain, taking heed of it when deciding marketing strategies.  You should be able to see who is spending the most time and money, making these types of users your prime target. Studies have shown that after downloading, 20% of users never use an app again.  Analytics will enable you to see why this is happening, compare their behavior with that of regular customers and tweak the user experience to take account of this.

You need to achieve the best ROI that you can and by knowing which features are the most successful, you can add more of the same or similar.  This way your app will be appreciated far more by users and you will profit from the success that this brings.  Behavioral data can be invaluable so never treat it lightly.

Conclusion

We have shown you just how powerful a mobile app – even a free one – can be when it comes to generating revenue.  Not only can you boost your brand but you can connect with customers that might have otherwise passed you by.  You may even like to think about ‘white labeling’ your app as a way of making additional money.

Which of these ideas will you make use of to improve your app revenue?  Decide which are best suited to your business and include within your mobile app development plan.  Get your app monetized and watch as that revenue continues to rise.