These days, saying that a mobile app is “free” only means that it’s free to download… but money can (and usually will) still change hands.
But how do free apps make money?
The fact is, most of the highest grossing apps on the market are free up-front, but monetize users in multiple ways on the back-end. Take a look for yourself at the current rankings for iPhone games right now: the vast majority of them are free games turning over enormous revenue.
Don’t miss out on ways to make money with your free app. The tools we looked at (and listed below) offer numerous ways to spin your free app into proverbial gold.
In-App Advertising Monetization Tools For Free Apps
A very effective method to make money on a free app is to use display ads. To do this, however, requires finding an ad network.
There are plenty to choose from, and most of them sort ads according to what your audience would prefer.
Google’s AdMob - powered by Google’s ad technology, this is should be one of the first networks you utilize. Admob allows users to utilize Google Analytics to improve their ads, understand their audience, and acquire more users.
Facebook’s app advertising system allows developers to display Facebook’s advertising inside their apps, which leverages Facebook’s user data. This data means that targeting will be more accurate and potentially better for revenue.
Windows offers their own ad network and tool that sets out to be simple and universal for windows phone app developers.
Not to be outdone, Apple also has their own advertising tool for apps. The main thing Apple does is integrate the ads you want to display in your app and the advertising you want to use to promote your own app abroad into one platform. Basically: you can get money to show ads for other companies and manage your own advertising in one place.
With Appnext, you recommend related apps similar to your own and earn revenue for every download made by users after seeing your advertisement. You can also throw your own app into the mix so other users will promote you, depending on your budget.
Smaato offers a free-to-install mobile first ad server for publishers and app developers. The perks? Smaato claims to be the global leading Real-Time bid exchange connecting over 260 DSP’s and 190 ad networks making global ad inventory quick and affordable.
InMobi focuses on creating better user experiences for app users. Miip, the InMobi discovery platform is a more visually appealing take on standard advertsing platforms. App users are also able to post feedback about advertising in order to show less-disruptive ads and to increase the value of targeting for the advertisers.
Amazon’s ad system seeks to work across all app development platforms and promise high amounts of revenue, since they pay per impression in an age where most networks are pay per click.
URX determines ad content through the context of the page being displayed, not by user data that may be irrelevant at the time the ad is shown. They also display ads down to the product level increasing the relevancy of the ad and in turn increasing the revenue for the publisher.
StartApp prioritizes ads that are already converting well in order to best serve both those who create great ads and those whose apps push conversion. They also pride themselves on more elegant ad engines, which they claim increases click-through rates.
Millennial Media touts a large number of ad display options, allowing advertisers to choose from a wider variety to suit their needs. Recently acquired by AOL, Millennial Media will soon be a powerhouse of an ad network.
Tapjoy is a mobile marketing automation tool. Tapjoy’s predictive analytics allows publishers to organize app users and predict revenue to get the right message out to the right users, and get more revenue in.
Admoda’s angle is that they allow you to self-indentify as a demand-side platform (DSP), supply-side platform (SSP), affiliate network, or ad exchange in order to manage your experience with advertising in their network.
Kiip pushes in-app rewards that may also function as advertising, such as free downloads for your users after beating a certain level or collecting a number of loyalty points.
MobFox is a highly customizable ad network. Ads can be made to fit an exact location they will be shown. You can even set a minimum amount of money you want for any ad you display.
MobPartner allows users to choose pre-built ad structures to display within the app, then optimizes all ads for that build.
MoPub’s website states that they are currently the world’s largest mobile ad exchange.
Mojiva offers a more hands on approach to monetizating your app. Their team will help you setup and optimize your mobile ads to achieve your goals and objectives.
RevMob claims to require only a 5-minute startup time to integrate ads.
Avocarrot has a quick revenue estimator front and center on their app advertising page.
Appsfire’s selling points are that they pay more and they have more attractive ads that blend with your apps design.
Heyzap display ads from multiple networks and lets you decide which ones to run in the future based on cost and performance.
In-App Video Advertising
Specifically using video advertising may suit your app, especially if it reflects the type of content people expect from you. For example, if you display non-advertising videos in the app, or the app has high-demand content, squeezing a strong video ad in might be the best way to generate revenue.
Here is a list of video advertising networks we’ve compiled to help you monetize your free app.
Vungle claims to have the only SDK that works on iOS, Android, and Windows.
Adcolony uses their proprietary Instant Play HD technology along with buffer-free video playback to engage and monetize app users.
Vdopia’s Chocolate, a global programmatic buying and selling platform, coupled with their patent pending . VDO video display method aims to deliver best video mobile advertising solution to their clients.
Inneractive A combination of INNEX (a sophisticated automated mobile ad marketplace), innovative ad units, and excellent reporting and analytics allows Interactive to help developers to monetize their apps without sacrificing user experience.
Beachfront Media is a mobile-first video ad network that works across all devices.
YuMe uses PQI, a proprietary real-time inventory grading algorithm so that campaigns get the best inventory possible. Publishers with a hi PQI rating automatically attract better ads from brand names helping them to maximize the user perception of the quality of content and of the publisher.
In-App Advertising for Game Apps
With games being such a popular app category, some advertisers work specifically with them.
NativeX was ranked amongst Facebook and Google as a “Top 10 User Acquisition & Monetization provider” by Venture Beat. Delivers gorgeous no lag video along with some pretty creative ad units for successful game app monetization and user acquisition.
Unity is so focused on games that it only targets ads for gamers, and displays differently based on in-game player behavior. Unity allows game apps to monetize their entire player base including the 97% that will never make an in-app purchase.
Chartboost is built specifically for mobile app developers. Not only are they the largest mobile games-only ad network, they also offer free cross sales along with a Direct Deals Marketplace making Chartboost one of the most attractive options for mobile game apps.
PlayHaven goes even deeper than some other game advertisers, segmenting the mobile games audience into such specific categories that it expects to vastly increase ad impact.
Freemium (Gated Features)
Rather than using advertising, you can also allow users to improve their own app experience in exchange for money. Get users to enjoy the app for free and you may lead them to feeling comfortable spending money within your app later on. Simply gate some of the features and then charge a price for users to move through.
If you already developed your app but don’t have a digital storefront integrated into your code, you’ll want to check out these tools.
Swarm is a simple digital storefront tool that you can customize to allow in-app purchases that unlock additional app features not available on initial free downloaded version.
AdWorkMedia combines advertising methods with gated freemium tools in one system. Implement content lockers, product lockers, offer walls, and mulitple other monetization tools at your disposal.
For Android developers, Android offers their own solution to freemium. Native Android Developers can create free app downloads with limited features for a limited time which can be unlocked to the full, unlimited version through Androids In-App Billing tool.
Apple’s native digital purchase system allows users to buy your in-app content or subscriptions, and treats it just like a software download from the app store, taking 30% of your revenue but managing the transaction for you.
Amazon’s tool uses the actual Amazon purchase system to work as a digital storefront for your app. Users will even be able to make 1-click purchases when logged in, just as they would with the Amazon.com browser website.
M-commerce Purchases
If your goal is to make real-world money outside of your free app, here are a few tools to get you on the road to success.
Shopify makes it easy to add ecommerce to your native app. With this tool, people can buy actual items from within your app.
MobiCart’s tool lets your app work just like any website where visitors can buy and sell goods. It even allows you to link in with an existing website storefront, creating a better experience for both buyers and seller.
How Will You Monetize Your App?
How will your app make money? Based on the abundance of options, it’s pretty clear that it’s not whether you can monetize your app, but how you’re planning to do it.
The first step is to determine how your app will make money. Once you’ve locked in on your monetization strategy, use this guide to choose the tool or tools to make it happen. Finally, use a tool like Localytics to help you understand your audience and keep them engaged. These are the keys to building a successful app monetization plan.
The only other thing to remember is that, whatever tools you choose to use, make sure your ads don’t interrupt the user experience. Be tactful and aware of your end user, and they’ll reward you with continued loyalty.
What tools are you using to monetize your apps? We want to hear from you, leave us a comment below and share your favorite monetization tools and tricks.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Addison Blu Williams is a writer for Zapporoo, a mobile app development company in Atlanta, GA. Addison loves writing about the points where technology and marketing intersect. Check out our blog where we share tips and tricks on how to market your apps successfully.