Jonathan Simon Proven Strategies To Market And Monetize Your App

I have been working for startups as digital marketing for over 15 years. I would need to know more about your business to give a proper answer but depending on the product / service maybe you need to engage in sales or biz dev.

In order to scale, you need to either add more offerings, get your current customers to buy additional products or see idea or expand your current customer base.

I use ad monetization tactics to drive revenue for global mobile game brands. (Phase 10, Skip-Bo, Scattergories, etc.)

Finding a way to monetize your users with ads without pushing them away is definitely a delicate balance. Answering your questions depends on 4 main factors: 1) Type of App 2) Number of daily impressions 3) Location 4) Revenue Goals.

There are a number of ways to display ads in your app. Some include; banners, static interstitials, video interstitials, rewarded video and native ads. The most acceptable way to display ads in your app will depend on the factors I stated above.

Are you trying to design your own solution or are you looking to partner with different ad networks (there are hundreds)? It is important to understand the types of partners and what types of ads are right for your App.

I would recommend using an ad network mediation layer when you build your solution so you can 1) increase your fill rate 2) diversify your ad offering 3) simplify your reporting 4) maximize your revenue.

If you would like more specifics just let me know, I would be happy to help you out.

First of all great job on the traffic, 20,000 DAUs is really good. I have a lot of experience in the mobile game industry, specifically in Word, Card, and Casual titles. My answer is based on that experience.

I have a few ideas on how you can monetize your website. I will put them in order of what I think would be most effective for revenue and retaining users.

1) Incentized Ads - This is a great way to use ads without turning your site into an "ad kingdom." An example of this would be to ask the user to watch a video ad in exchange for playing the game. For example they enter your site and start playing the game and when they are done you ask them to watch a short video to play again. The advertisers will pay you for every video play and the user takes the action.

2) Subscription - This model is best used by Netflix. Get them to play the game for a trial basis and if they want to continue they pay a small subscription free.

3) Donate - This is the least lucrative. Wikipedia uses this model and asks users to pay to keep the service going.

If you need more details please let me know.

Take Care,

Jonathan

I would suggest different tools since there are different types of metrics you need to capture and there isn't an analytics tool out there that will capture all the date you need.

I would suggest using a combination of the tools role to start.

1) Google Analytics
2) Flurry
3) Game Analytics

I hope this helps.

Jonathan

I guess the best answer is, it depends. What kind of mobile game are you marketing? Who are you targeting? For what platform? (iOS, Android?)

Different ad networks work better than others depending on the type of game. A good place to start would be MoPub, MDotM, Manage, and Insight.

Users don't really care if an element in the game looks more "Apple" but Apple cares. If you make a fun game users will play the game and tell them friends about it. If you incorporate features that Apple wants showcased and graphically build the game to fit in with iOS7 you have a better chance to get featured by Apple which will get your game more visible.

You need to decide which features you are implementing for the user and what you are implementing for the OEM. Also, Apple will care more about your game if you incorporate and Apple iOS feature more than the design and look.