Many of our app makers are making apps in order to make some money from their free Android app business. The reason that many people want to make an Android app is to start a new lifestyle and to stop the 9-5 rat race that they are stuck working in. We think it’s only fair that you make some money from your Android app business, afterall, if you have taken the time and put in the effort to create an Android app from scratch, isn’t worth your while to make money from your free Android app?
Most people are under the impression that they only way you can make money from your Android app business is to charge a small fee in the Android app store for downloading the app, a small amount like $0.99 would surely not stop people from downloading your app as its such a tiny amount, right? Charging such a tiny fee, like $0.99 would be easy to charge and with thousands of downloads, wow, you could soon be earning thousands
So that’s it, go and charge a fee….NO, STOP RIGHT THERE.
When you decide on your plan for monetization you may consider the simple math, $2.99 for your app to be downloaded and you have a potential audience of, let’s be realistic, 200 downloads a day, that is a daily income of $897 from downloads alone. Fantastic, but, yes, there is always a but, will people be willing to pay for an app that they haven’t tested?
Believe it or not, it is a lot more difficult to get people to download an app with even the smallest of fees, if there are other competitors out there not charging a fee your app will very quickly end up at the bottom of the list for downloads. It is not all grey though, you can charge successfully for an app, but you need to plan it properly.
Decide on the right way to market
If you really want to charge for your app we believe that you need to think through your marketing plan, firstly, you need to have a network of free apps available so that your potential app users can see your quality. We also suggest that you have a simple trial version of the app that you are charging for. By offering a free trial version of your app you are throwing in the bait to catch the fish, you are allowing your audience to test the product, risk free, against your competitors apps. Attempting to get even $0.99 from a sale is hard work, in fact, even free downloads is not easy to begin with that is why your marketing is so important.
How else can you make money?
While you are offering your trial version of your app for free you can still generate some income, it is not all grey and doom. You can earn money by using:
• simple banner ads
• full page adds
• push notifications
• affiliate discount links
• affiliate pay-per-call links
• direct advertisement
Important
Throughout your free trial version of your app you need to subtly add links to the download page of your premium version of the app, this allows the user at any point to buy into your business and your brand and become a loyal app user. Users will pay for value and once they understand the quality of your app and will trust that the pro ad free version will be worth the small fee you will begin to get payable downloads.
Let us know what you have decided to to, will you charge or not charge for your free Android app?