You’ve got an idea for an app. A great one, even. You’re passionate about the product and you’ve found passionate consumers. That can be a really fun hobby for a while, but at some point money becomes a factor.
Which is why Josh Sitzer, director of sales and marketing at Pinsight Media+, thinks it’s a much better idea to build monetization into the app up front. More and more money is getting poured into mobile advertising, but it’s crucial to integrate those ads within the experience. People aren’t clicking on banner ads, so you have to dig deeper. Interstitials, full ad takeovers of the screen that come at a logical break point, are a good place to start.
At Pinsight, Sitzer sees firsthand how the process for mobile app monetization unfolds. They work with publishers to monetize their apps through an SDK (software developer kit), which he describes as “a chunk of pre-packaged code that’s meant to be lightweight so that a developer can drop it into their own code.” It feeds a network of ads into the app, hopefully providing a steady stream of revenue.
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Before you get started, you’ll want to consider the most basic of options. Will you charge for the app or go freemium? Paid apps are a rare breed these days, with 90 percent of apps now free, according to Sitzer. Most are free with a heavy dose of in-app purchase opportunities. The other option is advertising, but of course the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Start simple
As you’re building out your app, Sitzer says there are a few key questions to ask yourself:
- Where would be the best place for banners?
- Are there some natural break points in the experience for an interstitial? Is there a static point or text screen to be utilized?
- Are there videos already? Can I add pre- and post-roll ads to them?
The key in all of it, he says, is a native experience. Ads should flow out of the content the app is producing and integrate within the broader experience. Native ads have a 60 percent higher conversion rate than non-native ads. Slapping banners anywhere and everyone isn’t driving revenue, but carefully planned options that don’t detract can bring a great return.
What’s your SDK doing for you?
Once you have a grasp for that, it’s time to find SDKs that help you accomplish your goals. There are an endless array of options, so Googling or asking around is the best place to start depending on your app. Another option is conferences such as APPNATION and MobileBeat. Sitzer says vendors are there to talk about how they can help you—you’ll be highly sought after. Once you find some options, he says to ask a few questions:
- How many networks are you connected to?
- Does your solution help me drop banner ads in or include other options you can help me with?
- Do you have a direct sales force out there to get premium campaigns? Is there any access to direct-sale campaigns that can help skyrocket CPMs?
- Who do you work with?
- Any case studies you can show me of successes for apps?
- What is your revenue share?
- How does your reporting work? Is there a portal with a login for real-time tracking?
- Are there humans involved who ensure my apps get optimized at all times and who can help make sure app works with SDK?
Trending up
That should get you started or give you a framework. It’s an exciting time in mobile that will reward those who strike first and connect with users in an engaging way, Sitzer says. More people are reading on mobile than are reading newspapers and almost as many get their news from mobile than get it from TV. The advertising spend is starting to move over to mobile, but still hasn’t caught up to readership. Sitzer says the fact that there aren’t cookies (attribution) currently though apps is a major challenge as it’s hard to pinpoint sales and ROI on any advertising campaign. As he said, figuring that out is “the holy grail for us.”
So even though as of now 86 percent of people say they can’t remember the last ad they saw, according to Pinsight, there’s a major opportunity to pick up those who are in fact clicking and watching interstitials and native ads.
Pinsight Media+ is an SPN partner on events and content.
