How to Build Mobile Applications That Make Money?

The mobile application development market is booming exponentially with a vast capacity to pull in millions of dollars. The total revenue in the App market is projected to reach US$420.70bn in 2022. Also, In-app purchase (IAP) revenue in the App market is projected to reach S$200.60bn in 2022.

However, every software development company does not enjoy the same level of income-generating potential. Because every mobile app may or may not add value to the lives of the customers. For beginners who are venturing into innovative projects to build successful startups, there is always a question at the very first stage. How to build mobile applications that can make money? 

Applications can make a lot of money. Over $39.7 billion was spent in the first half of 2019 on Google Play and the App Store. A sharp 15.4 percent spike as compared to the previous year. The blog here shall help you get a complete insight into the mobile application development basics. Let us head over straight into the details.

How to Make an app?

The very first step to earning money out of apps is to build one. You need a great idea that should be loved by people and they get an urge to download the app. To develop a mobile app with the intention to monetize the entire idea, you need a solid strategy. Consider this as the beginning of the design process.

If you consider ads as your monetization strategy, build enough space to display them while designing your app. If you choose a subscription model, make those features available to all app users that are available only by paying. An in-depth process is enumerated here.

1. Plan your app

Getting an idea needs a lot of brainstorming and thought processes. If you already have one, it would be easier. You need to have a sure idea of what you will do and how you will solve the problems of your target audience. What strategy do you need to appeal to them? 

Take insights from successful apps on how they make money by looking at the competitors and non-competitors. Most of the apps initially offer a free version. This is a struggling phase as you do not earn income. However, this brings a huge success in the future and you too can charge thereafter. 

2. Know how to build your app

Here you get two options in general. One is to go through the whole process of creating graphical interfaces, wireframes, and front-end and back-end testing processes. Second, there are app builders who take care of the entire process. You can choose according to our level of requirement and availability of resources.

3. Understand the wireframing

If you choose to customize the entire mobile application development process, you need to begin with wireframing. This helps you create the app structure. Take help of abundant tools that can help you with wireframing or hire efficient development experts who are skillful in building robust mobile apps as per your requirements. 

4. Design visual elements of your app

Start designing the visuals for your app like the color scheme, your business logo, and graphics with animations to use. By hiring professionals to build your app, you will have hassle-free innovative solutions embedded with the latest technologies. 

5. Build the Front-end and Back-end of Your App

There are software development experts who can help and assist you in building resilient front-end and back-end of your application. There are innumerable designs and UI options for you to choose from for building unique and powerful mobile apps that can really solve the customer’s problem.

6. Put your app through the final tests

In the initial stage of app creation, there are several rounds of testing in terms of checking out the features and their functionalities. The final step in the mobile application development is testing the finished product. Testing your app on different devices will help you get better insights from your target audience and leave a great scope to improve the app’s performance.

How To Build An App That Will Begin Making Money?

Elaborating the top six monetization models such as 

Paid apps

Create a paid app as it gives you higher average revenue per download. Just create it and make money from the people who shall download it. Google Play Store and App Store have simplified the payment options for the users. However, success would not be so easy.

To motivate people to download your paid app, you need to add a lot of value. Either you must have an existing audience or you can promote your app with a budget on various platforms. In addition, you need to put your app on the app market listing to give a fair idea to the people about your product even though they haven’t used it yet.

Further, there are several factors to be considered for pricing the app. Compare the pricing strategies with the competitor apps and use strategy advertising for encouraging the audience to switch over to your app. 

Subscription

When the developers charge the users a recurring fee for using the app, it is termed a subscription-based mobile application. Fees are either monthly, quarterly, or yearly along with stipulated discounts. Various streaming apps such as Netflix, Spotify, and productivity apps like MS Office or Dropbox are live examples.

For app developers, the subscription model works as a hit because they get consistent money from the users. Users can pay monthly fees at affordable options. Such kinds of apps are free to download. It brings in a huge base of users from whom you can earn money. More downloads will also impress Google Play Store and App Store. 

For motivating people to use the subscription model, they need to offer a free trial at an initial stage. This will permit them to use the app for free and get an idea about the app and how it benefits them.

In-app purchases 

This model can be highly lucrative. It is one of the most effective ways to earn money from an app. Here the application is free to use. However, the users will have to pay a specific amount of money for buying a variety of virtual elements from the mobile application. It includes extra lives, game currency, blocking ads, etc. The app Clash of Clan earns around USD 1M per day on in-app purchases. 

So the good thing about in-app purchases is there are no limits to the amount that people can spend. Paid apps have a one-time fee, subscriptions have a recurring fee, and the in-app purchase model has no limit on time and amount of spending money. More often it is used for games, however, it is not only the games that can be effectively used here.  

App Advertising

This is a huge business. Advertising is mostly used for free apps. Also, it is used by other apps that offer in-app purchases or paid versions to monetize non-paying customers. Advertising is a far better way to make money out of your app without the customer having to spend your money.

And the easiest way to begin is via a cost-per-click advertising platform. When you sign up to one of such apps like Google’s AdMob and AOL’s SSP, it will allow you to begin placing ads into your app. Ads come in various forms like banner ads, Interstitial ads, or video ads. 

Banner ads are non-intrusive and uninterrupted. They are easy to ignore. Interstitial ads cover the whole screen and are seen for a certain amount of time until the user clicks the close add button. Video ads are short ads or longer ads that most users can skip after a certain amount of time. 

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is nowadays one of the trendiest and most common types of marketing on the web. The app developer advertises the products on their app and then takes a cut of the sale when a customer makes a purchase. Booking apps are a common example of affiliate marketing. Similarly, a fitness app directs the users to the website of a nutrition shop or exercise equipment store. 

The good thing about making money with this model is the amount of data that your app can gather about various users. 

Mixed monetization methods

Successful apps use a mixed monetization strategy. They do not stick to one forever. A few examples are discussed here for your understanding.

The most common one is asking users to pay to remove ads. An alternative to a paid app model and yet developers still make money. Paid apps charge a fee for the app and offer in-app purchases like Minecraft, the Moment Pro Camera, etc.  Relying on adverts as your monetization strategy is a good idea to experiment with. This will include both affiliate marketing and regular adverts. 

Final Thoughts

Now that you know that apps are making a lot of money, you should also remain updated about what is the future of the mobile application development market. For many years, mobile apps have earned much money and will continue to grow in the coming years as well. Gaming apps make millions every year and simple apps are still crawling slowly and consistently in the same way. AI, VR, and AR technology trends have entered the mobile app development industry. 

Cubet is a global platform for mobile application development across the globe. We take care of every single need of our customers just to leverage our latest technologies and trends in the market. Our developers thrive and innovate to make your a successful profitable model that fetches maximum ROI along with adding value to the customer’s lives.