Gamesville is one of the oldest and trusted online games websites to earn money from your spare time. You will earn GV (Gamesville) points for playing online games. Once you have earned enough GV games points then you may convert your GV points into Cash. You can Earn Cryptocurrency today with our list of the Top 12 Best Games, Apps, and Mining Tools. Many of these I use routinely to accrue various cryptocurrency tokens. Since April 2019 I have been searching for all of the best services to earn cryptocurrency and these are what I’ve found.
Did you know you can earn money playing games in 2021? Yes, best games to earn money online is trending now around the world.
We have found and tested 51 best games to earn money online in India and all other counties. These best games apps 2021 will support both Android and iPhones.
These websites and mobile game applications help you to play a single game to multiple games. Starting from Poker, Rummy, Roulette to Racking games which are completely fun and help you to earn some side income.
Interesting! Let’s learn how to make money by playing games.
The good news is, you do not need to pay registration fees to join a games portal to earn money. All games websites are free to earn money from your mobile phone.
Do you know people are making money by just playing games online?
We knew that money making apps are one of the popular ways to earn money from smartphone app. Making money through online games are very popular now and a fun way to earn money through online games.
Best games to earn money online is suitable for the people who love gaming online. Anyone can earn money by playing games.
Best Games To Earn Money Online in 2021
If you love playing online games and have experience in playing and winning tactics on online games then you can easily make money from online game.
You will enjoy making money from what you enjoy doing.
Do you need to buy any accessories to Earn Money Games Playing Online?
No, you do not need to purchase any tools or accessories to join and play online games.
Even if you do not require Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo or any other gaming tool.
You need a computer with internet connection.
If you have gaming experience then that would be an added advantage to earn money from games.
51 Best Online Games To Earn Money On Website And Android
Let’s learn the best 10 ways to make money playing online games.
1. Swagbucks
The popular website Swagbucks is the best games to earn money online. It’s a genuine website that pays prompt payment to the games playing participants.
Swagbucks offers many tasks to its members like, online survey jobs, watching videos, online shopping, online typing jobs, searching of products and online data entry jobs.
The good part of Swagbucks is, you can earn money by playing online games.
Swagbucks is the number one website who pays high for playing games online.
If you’re a beginner in online games, you can start playing the daily featured promotions related games.
These online games offer you some Swagbucks.
Once you are a master and gain experience with the daily featured promotions games then you may start to make more money from games online.
2. InboxDollars Gaming Website
InboxDollars is a gaming portal where you can earn money online from games.
You can sign up with Inbox Dollars through free registration and start playing games and make money instantly.
The best part of InboxDollars is, there are varieties of games available to make money by playing online.
You may choose your favorite online games to play and earn.
You can easily earn at least $10 as a beginner playing games online.
3. Bingo! Zone
If you love playing Bingo online then you can earn money from Bongo! Zone. Bingo is best games to earn money online and playing wit fun.
The famous gaming website Bingo! Zone offers a variety of Bingo games on a daily basis.
You will start earning $1 and your earning will increase until the winner is declared.
4. Point Club – Earn money playing games
One of the leading game websites is Point Club Games Online. Point club offers many simple tasks like playing games online, small paid surveys and online games.
The best part of the Point club online game is, you will get $5 as a signup bonus.
5. Pogo Online Games
Pogo is a real website to make money from online games. If you are a beginner, you need to view ads for the first 5 days then you will be able to collect the tokens.
Now you can use these games tokens or participation tokens to play online games in Pogo.
The good news from Pogo Online Gaming Website is, you have a chance to win a daily draw of $10,000 prize money.
6. Paid Game Player
This gaming website Paid Game Player offers you great online games along with the opportunity to earn money games.
Once you have done your free registration with these popular online games websites, you will have access for more than 600 online games.
There are varieties of games available on Paid Game Player like, puzzle games, arcade online games and more games.
7. Gamesville
Gamesville is one of the oldest and trusted online games websites to earn money from your spare time.
You will earn GV (Gamesville) points for playing online games. Once you have earned enough GV games points then you may convert your GV points into Cash.
If you want to earn direct money not GV points then you may ask Gamesville to stop paying through GV points.
Join Gamesville
8. Clip 2Play
This website organizes many online game tournaments for money. Clip2Play has more flash games in it.
Players have to fight each other through online games and the winner will be declared during the end of the day.
The best part of Clip 2Play online game is, you can earn 10 points for every referral you make from your affiliate program.
9. Second Life – Earn Money Playing Games
Today, Second Life is one of the largest online games websites. Along with the online games, Second life offers many ways to make money online.
Second life is Creating and Selling contents, Gadgets selling, Property Trading, Cloth sales, and online Gaming.
10. Mistplay
11. Exodus3000
12. GSN Cash Games
13. PlayAndWin.co.uk
14. PCH Games
15. Bananatic
16. Bingo4Money
17. FreeSlots4U
18. Gameloot
19. Givling App
20. Corporation Master
Paid Game Tester to Earn Money Playing Games
Another way to get paid for playing online games is, become a Game Tester.
The Game Tester job is very simple that you will get hired by the gaming companies to test the games.
The job role for the Games Tester is, play a new game and check all game options.
Once you tested the games, you need to provide the feedback of the games as, quality, issues, glitches and bugs in the game.
There are many websites available to get paid for testing games online.
Find below the top list of Games Test Websites to earn money playing games.
21. Playtest Cloud
22. Indeed
23. Monster
24. Nintendo
25. Upwork
26. Beta Family
27. Rockstar Games
28. BestReviewApp
29. Erli Bird
30. Blizzard Entertainment
Make Money by earn money playing games on Rewards Sites
There are many reward websites that help people to make money by playing games online. You can use your Smartphone Game apps to make money online.
There are many rewards apps and websites that help you to earn money for completing simple tasks called micro jobs. Those sites are,
- Browsing Internet
- Completing Offers
- Shopping Online
- Money Surveys
- Watching Videos
- Playing Games
Most of the reward points websites offer are your point’s rather than cash. Later you can redeem your reward points as cash through PayPal or Gift Cards.
All the rewards websites are free to join and earn money from online games.
Below are the lists of Rewards Websites to earn money online playing games.
31. SwagIQ
32. Cash Crate
33. Perk Scratch & Win
34. Lucktastic
35. Perk Pop Quiz
36. Quiz Rewards
37. Perk Word Search
38. Slingo
39. Perk Pop Quiz
40. SquishyCash
41. QuickRewards.net
42. Prizebucket
43. Loot Palace
44. GetPaidTo
Make Money online by Video Games
You can make some extra money by playing Video Games online. Video games may need some accessories to play.
45. XY Gaming
46. Play Games on YouTube
47. Play Games on Twitch
48. Start a Gaming Blog
49. Long Game Savings
50. Own a Game Server
51. Play Rummy
The website Play Rummy is one the popular and interesting online gaming website. Many people are making money from Play Rummy Online.
If you play rummy well then you can surely give a try with Play Rummy Online Game.
The popular Rummy Gaming Portal is owned, maintained and totally operated by Innopark India Pvt Ltd.
You many download Play Rummy Online Game from Google Play Store / iPhone apps store.
Join Play Rummy Online
13 Best Game Apps to Earn Money Today
Do you know there are best game apps to earn money? Here is the list of top paying games apps to make money.
Wouldn’t it be good if you could earn money while you use your phone?
It’s even much better if you can have fun playing game apps to earn money.
This is the primary reason we’ve listed the best game apps to help you to earn money online.
Please keep in your mind that these game apps never make you rich.
But you can surely make some extra cash through these game apps.
You can make some money through fun ways and keep doing regular small savings through these game apps online.
It’s true that there are many online games that are scam, but we have analyzed many websites and did research and listed the legitimate game apps to make money.
There are many simple ways to earn money online, including earn money playing games online, trivia answering, taking online survey jobs and more.
Best Games Apps to Earn Money
There are many legit game apps available online to earn money. It’s very easy to earn money through game apps like just using those gaming apps.
It’s really interesting that games apps are more fun to use.
If you’re a person who is just playing online games then just give a try below said games apps.
You’ll surely earn money playing games online and have fun too.
You can make from pennies to a few dollars based on the game apps you play.
You will find the best Game apps to earn money in this article. Just pick any 2-3 best game apps from the list and find out which one works for you.
1. Swagbucks
There are many ways to earn money from Swagbucks. Making money from playing games is one of the best ways to earn money from the Swagbucks app.
Swagbucks pays rewards which can be redeemed for gift cards, cash, and prizes in the major online retailers like, Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks and more.
The best way to earn money from the Swagbucks game app is, you can play free games like, Swagasaurus Run or Swag Memory.
There is some limitation to earn from each game. You can visit those online games many times to increase your game earnings.
2. MistPlay -Earn money playing games
One of the popular Game apps to earn money from your smartphone is Mist Play. You can discover many new games to earn money or points.
There are many online popular retailers available to redeem your game earnings points like,
- Visa
- Amazon
- Xbox
- Google Play
- Starbucks
- iTunes and more
You can choose your favorite game apps based on your interests, habits and preferences.
You can download MistPlay Game App to earn money from Google Play.
3. Long Game – Earn money playing games
Long Game is one of the favorite game apps to make money using your phone.
Playing long game apps is more fun and helps to make money while playing online games.
To get started to earn money through the Long Game Game app, you need to confirm your identity and link your bank account to the Long Game app.
Once you have configured your Long Game gaming app, you need to set a saving goal in this gaming app.
Mentioning as saving for a new home down payment.
After that you need to decide on how you would like to add in your account each payday.
Whenever you add money in your savings account or game app’s account, you will have an opportunity to earn coins to play games for cash.
All you money you’re saving in your account belongs to you only.
Long Game earnings are under FDIC – insured. It’s an added layer of protection for your money.
4. InboxDollars
If you want to earn money from games apps, InboxDollars is one of the best gaming apps to earn money.
InboxDollars has two options to make money by playing games.
InboxDollars has Free games and Paid games as well to earn money. You can easily redeem all your earnings into actual dollars.
There are more than 30 free games available on InboxDollars to play and earn.
The average game earnings in InboxDollars are ranging from 25Cents to $5. You can easily make decent money from the InboxDollars Game app.
The popular InboxDollars Games are,
- Pool
- Chase
- Sudoku
- Card Games
- Word Search and more
Once you have reached the minimum balance to withdraw, you can easily cashout or transfer to your local bank account.
There are many other ways to earn money from InboxDollars. Those are,
Survey Jobs,
Web Searches
Micro Tasks and more
5. HQ
People who have trivia knowledge should definitely give HQ a try.
HQ is a fun and fast paced trivia game which helps you to win more cash prizes.
HQ is one of the top paying game apps where players have to answer each question (multiple-choice) within 10 seconds.
The HQ game app to earn money is available on Play Store and iTunes App as well.
6. Bananatic
App Games That Can Earn Money Fast
Bananatic is a new launched Game app to earn money from your smartphone.
This game app is being used by the developers to check and test their new games.
Also Bananatic used to get reviews and suggestions and feedback.
Bananatic has a fun community for the players.
All members of this app will meet each other and will discuss the games, bugs and development of the game app.
Members of Bananatic get rewarded for playing games, writing reviews and many other ways.
Bananatic game app members can redeem their earnings as gift cards.
7. Lucktastic
People who are interested in scratch off games can make money from Lucktastic free games.
There is an opportunity to win prizes up to $10,000 real money.
Lucktastic helps its members to redeem their earnings for gift cards and other redeem options.
Most of the cash payouts in Lucktastic are under 25 cents. But you will be having more chances, so you can add up quickly.
You can even win more points and can be redeemed for prizes through the prize store.
8. Swag IQ
Swag IQ is one of the best thrill games to play and earn money.
You can download this Swag IQ game app to earn money and test your Trivia knowledge and game show.
As a member of the high paying game app, you can earn money for playing mobile games and you will get a big prize if you answer all questions correctly.
In SWAG IQ, you’ll be given Trivia questions with multiple answer options. You will have 10 seconds to answer.
You will earn Swag IQ’s digital currency whenever you answer the correct one.
9. Givling
If you want to earn 4 – 5 digit cash payouts then Givling is the best game app to earn money.
As we had seen above, you will be given 10 seconds to answer.
App Games That Can Earn Money Without
You should not cheat by searching online to provide the correct answer.
10. PCH Games
PCHGames are being run by PCH – Publishers Clearing House.
There are many chances to earn up to $2500 by accessing scratch cards and instant online games.
Most of the games like mahjong, slots, solitaire and more will be available with this PCHGames game app.
As a member, you will earn tokens which can be used to enter your prize drawings.
Lucky people have chances to win up to $1 million.
Also you can withdraw your earnings as gift cards and merchandize as well.
11. Big Time Cash
One of the best games to earn money online is Big Time Cash. There are more than 600 fun games built in it.
When you play Big Time Cash games, you will have chances to earn tickets. You can use those tickets to withdraw cash.
The more tickets you collect, the more chances of winning cash and prizes.
12. Brain Battle Game Apps to Earn Money
It’s a big proof that Brain Battle has already paid tens of thousands of dollars to its players.
They are paying these payout by sharing some part of their advertising revenue.
You need to download the Brain Battle game app to earn money from Google Play Store and iTunes App Store to play the games and collect the tickets.
The more tickets you collect, the more chances of winning prizes.
You will get paid your Brain Battle game earnings through PayPal Money transfer method.
13. Pogo – Earn money playing games
Pogo is a popular game app to earn money by mobile phone and it has both paid and free games.
The Pogo free games will help you to earn money by playing different games.
You can play tournaments and compete for additional prices through Pogo paid games.
Can you become rich by playing online games?
We are sure that you can earn decent money by playing games online through game apps. However, you cannot become a millionaire through online games.
But It’s sure that there are many online game testers who are making huge money from games. As a game tester, you need to test the game by playing and give honest feedback about the game.
Upwork is the best place to earn money from game testing freelance jobs.
If you want to earn money by testing games then you need to improve your gaming skills.
The Bottom Line
If you’re serious about using game apps to earn money then you can download any 2 -3 free game apps to make money using your smartphone.
Each gaming app is different and gives chances to earn money through points, tickets, coins which can be redeemed as gift cards or cash.
If you think, you can spend some time with your mobile then you can play any of these games to earn money.
The earnings from gaming apps will definitely give you more extra money. Also you will have an opportunity to win a grand prize like $1 million by playing games online.
Find and Avoid Scam Games Online like Casinos
As making money through games online is very easy, there are many scam online games are there to cheat the people.
You need to be more careful to avoid scam online jobs or games.
I would strongly suggest you to review many websites before joining any Games online to make money.
Apps make a lot of money. Spending on Google Play and the App Store hit an incredible $39.7 billion during the first half of 2019 according to data from Sensor Tower. This was a 15.4 percent increase on the same period in the previous year.
Additionally, app use is growing. In its most recent “State of Mobile” report, AppAnnie found that between 2016 and 2018, time spent in-app grew by 50 percent, while downloads increased by 35 percent. This suggests there are plenty of opportunities for people looking to create an app and make money.
If you want to try to take a share of the mobile app market, you’re in the right place to learn how. In this article, we’ll first look at how to create an app, and then explore six of the most popular app monetization methods.
Here’s a look at what is in this article.
Table of Contents
- 1 How to Create an App
- 2 How to Create an App and Make Money
- 3 Six Ways to Monetize an App
How to Create an App
The first step towards making money from an app is to go ahead and build one. This means you’ll need a good idea that people will find useful and want to download. If you don’t have a specific idea for an app, you can always think about a problem you have and a way to solve it.
Alternatively, are there any popular apps that you like but think could be improved? If so, why don’t you release an app with the improvement?
The founders of Instagram released the app in part because they loved the filters of Instamatic but thought it would be better if it was easier to share photos. It’s now one of the most downloaded apps ever.
If you are planning to monetize your app, you should consider this at the start of the design process. For example, if you choose to monetize your app using ads, you’ll need to build in space to display banners while designing your app.
Likewise, if you want to run a subscription, you’ll need to consider the features that will be available to all users, as well as those will only be available to those who pay.
We have an in-depth article on how to build your own mobile app that you can read here. In the article, we broke the process down into several steps:
First, You Need to Plan Your App.
If you already have an idea, this could be the easiest part of the process. If not, the most difficult. You can check out these 12 ways to generate app ideas if you are struggling.
When planning your app, you’ll need to have an exact idea about what it will do and the problem it will solve. You should also think about the target audience and what will appeal to them. You can get good ideas about the type of app that is successful by looking at competitors or non-competing apps with the same target audience.
This is also a good way to choose a monetization strategy. If you notice most apps like the one you want to create are free, you will probably struggle to be successful if you want to charge for your app. On the other hand, this could suggest the kind of app you want to make can be monetized through adverts.
Next, Choose How You Will Build Your App.
Once you have planned your app, you need to start building it. You have two options here. The first is to go through the whole process of creating wireframes, graphical interfaces, and testing the front and back end processes yourself. Alternatively, you can use an app builder to take care of the process for you.
While the first option provides more customization, the second option is easier for those without experience in developing apps.
If You Choose to go it Alone, You’ll Need to Start by Wireframing.
If you choose the custom route, you’ll have to start by wireframing. This will help you create the structure of your app. There are plenty of tools that can help with wireframing, including Microsoft’s Visio and Axure. Be sure to test out these wireframes extensively.
Then Design the Visual Elements of Your App.
At this point, you can begin designing the visual elements of your app, including your logo, color scheme, and any graphics or animations you choose to use.
You’ll need to do this whether you choose to build it yourself or use a DIY app builder. If you don’t have the expertise required, you can always hire a professional to take care of the process for you. Sites like Upwork are great for this.
Sort Out Your App’s Back End and Front End
The next step is where things get complicated. First, you’ll need to build the back end of your app. Getting this right will ensure your app works as it should. If you have limited software development experience, this is where using an app builder can save you a lot of time and stress.
Following this, you can design the front end, which is the interface the user will see.
Finally, Put Your App Through Final Tests
While you need to test your app out as you are making it, the final step is to test the finished product.
You should test the app on numerous devices and give it to different people who fit your target audience. This will allow you to collect a variety of opinions about what works and what doesn’t.
If you notice there are any problems, be sure to fix them before releasing your app.
How to Create an App and Make Money
Now you know how to create an app, we will look at how to monetize it. In this article, we’ve split monetization methods into six categories. These are:
- Paid apps
- Subscription
- In-app purchases
- Advertising
- Affiliate marketing
- Mixed monetization methods
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65711470/acastro_190723_1777_tiktok_0002.0.0.jpg "App Games That Can Earn Money")
The best way to create an app and make money will depend on the type of app you create. Games often do well with in-app purchases. On the other hand, many software as a service apps earn a lot of money through subscription programs. It’s also possible to use adverts to monetize your app.
The good news is, there are plenty of examples of successful apps no matter what monetization method you choose.
Before We Start: What Cut Do App Markets Take?
When setting the price of your app, a major factor to consider is how much the app marketplace you choose to distribute your app on takes. Both Google Play and the App Store have a very similar pricing structure. Here is a look at them.
Google Play
- Google Play takes a 30 percent cut of the cost of all apps and in-app products.
- It takes 30 percent of all subscriptions for the first 12 months of a customer’s subscription. After this, it only takes 15 percent.
- Developers have to pay a one-off $25 fee to create a Google Play developer account.
Apple App Store
- Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all apps and in-app purchases.
- Like Google, this reduces to 15 percent after a customer has subscribed for 12 months.
- Developers have to pay a fee of $99 per year to release apps on the App Store.
Six Ways to Monetize an App
Here is a look at six methods you can use to monetize your app.
Sell Your App
Creating a paid app is perhaps the simplest way to make money from your app. All you have to is create an app and make money from people who download it. Both Google Play and the App Store make it easy for users to pay for apps, so you have a ready-made audience.
However, being successful can be difficult.
If you want to encourage people to download your paid app, you will have to offer a lot of value. It can help if you have an existing audience, you can market your app to or if you have a budget you can spend on promoting your app.
You’ll also have to put a lot of effort into your app market listing as you’ll need to give people a good idea about your product without them actually being able to experience your app.
When pricing your app, there are plenty of things you should consider.
Take a look at the average price of competitor apps to see how much you can charge. If you want to use advertising to encourage people to buy your app, you’ll have to consider how much it will cost you to get one person to download the app.
As you can see from this screenshot, most paid apps are cheap. On the current list of top paid apps in the U.K., must are under £5 with only two in the top 21 costing over £10. Those are Site Audit Pro and FL Studio Mobile.
Things to Consider
While paid apps can be a good way to earn money from your app, it can be limiting. First, there is no way for people to try out your service. This can act as a barrier that stops them from downloading your product. This is even more likely to be the case if your brand is unknown, and you may struggle to convince people to pay for your app.
A slight workaround could be to offer your app to download for free and then offer customers the option to pay a onetime fee to unlock the whole app. Although, on both Google Play and the App Store, this counts as an in-app purchase as the user isn’t paying to download the app.
Overall, you may find that other methods of monetization are more effective. According to AppAnnie, the highest-grossing paid app on July 3 in the U.S. was Minecraft. However, it was only the 29th highest-grossing app overall. The second highest-grossing paid app is Heads Up, which isn’t even in the top 50.
If you are looking for a way to maximize app revenue, using a subscription or in-app purchases could be a better option than charging users to download your app.
Use a Subscription to Get Repeat Payments
Subscription is when developers charge users a recurring fee to use the app. The fee is usually monthly, although developers can give users the option to pay for a longer-term—for example yearly or quarterly—upfront for a discount.
This is a type of monetization is common with software as a service apps or apps that provide access to media. Think about streaming apps such as Spotify or Netflix, or productivity apps like Microsoft Office or Dropbox.
Subscriptions are great for app developers as they can get a consistent recurring income from the people using their apps. It works for users, too, as the monthly fee is often modest.
Unlike paid apps, subscription apps are usually free to download. This can be a good way for developers to gain a base of users. Having a larger number of downloads will also look good on the App Store and Google Play.
To encourage people to use the service, it is common for developers to offer a free trial. This will allow them to get an idea of what the app is about and how it can benefit them. Alternatively, apps that use a subscription model can offer a basic tier that provides some functionality for free, and then a paid tier that provides the full-service.
A good example of an app that does that is Medium, which offers users a limited number of premium articles per month, as well as access to the site’s free articles. If users want full access to the service, they have to pay a fee of $5 per month or $50 per year.
This can be a good way to keep people interested who maybe don’t want to sign up for the subscription now, but perhaps could be persuaded to do so in the future.
Beyond this, it is even possible to offer multiple layers of pricing. For example, there could be a free layer, a low-cost layer with some added features, and a premium layer that contains everything.
Productivity app Airtable allows users to use the app for free. However, there is also a Plus version for $10 per month, a Pro version for $20 per month, and an enterprise version with custom pricing.
Another type of subscription you could consider is non-renewing subscriptions. These subscriptions provide access to content for a limited amount of time. For example, an app could provide access to seasonal content during a global event.
What to Consider When Monetizing Your App with Subscriptions
Subscriptions are a great way to earn consistent income from an app. However, your product has to offer enough value to make users willing to pay for it.
Unlike with advertising-based monetization methods, you won’t create an app and make money from people who use your service for free. Although, it is possible to display ads on the free version of your product and then take them away when the user signs up to a subscription.
In-app Purchases Can be Highly Lucrative
In-app purchases are one of the most effective ways to monetize an app. According to Apple, there are four types of in-purchase:
- Consumables are items such as in-game points or currencies that can be used within the app. These are common in games, and they can be used by players to buy new items or access new levels. As the name suggests, these items can only be used once.
A game that has been highly successful at using consumables is Pokemon Go. In the game, users buy Pokecoins, which can then be used to buy various in-game items. Reports from earlier this year suggest Niantic has earned a total of $2.3 billion from the game.
- Non-consumable items are those that do not expire once a consumer has bought them. Examples of this include extra options in a photo editing app. Once a user has bought these items, they can use them for as long as they own the app.
- The final two types of in-app purchase are auto-renewable and non-renewing subscriptions. As we covered subscriptions above, we won’t go into detail on these here.
The good thing about in-app purchases is there is essentially no limit to the amount people can spend. Paid apps which have a one-time fee, or even subscriptions with a recurring fee are highly limited in the total amount they can earn per user.
Games that use in-app purchases can be incredibly lucrative. In games, in-app purchases are often used to let users buy items to make their gaming experience better. This has led to free games like PUBG, Clash of Clans and Pokemon Go consistently being ranked among the highest-grossing apps.
However, it isn’t only games that can effectively use in-app purchases. Other types of apps that successfully offer in-app purchases include photo editor apps offering additional options or filters or messaging apps offering users the chance to buy emoticons or gifts.
For example, the messaging app Kakao Talk is one of the highest-grossing apps globally. While it is free to use, one of the ways it earns money is by selling emoticons that people can use within their chats.
What to Consider When Monetizing Your App with In-app Purchases
The most important thing to consider is whether or not your app can offer something enticing enough as an in-app purchase. If you can’t, it is unlikely that anyone will buy what you are offering. In general, games have a lot of success with in-app purchases
Another major consideration comes with the controversy around loot boxes. Look boxes are products users can buy that provide them with a random selection of in-game items. While these are an effective monetization tool, many countries are debating whether they are a form of gambling.
Because of this, loot boxes are heavily regulated and even illegal in some countries. You should be sure to check out the regulations of the country you plan to operate in if you want to offer this kind of item.
Use an advertising-based model
Mobile advertising is a huge business. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently said that in 2018, 65 percent of all digital advertising revenue came via mobile platforms. This includes browsers and text messages, as well as apps.
Advertising is commonly used by apps that offer content to users for free. For example, news apps or games. It can also be used by apps that also offer in-app purchases or paid versions as a way to monetize non-paying customers.
The best thing about advertising is that it’s a good way to earn money from your app without your customer having to spend any money.
The easiest way to get started is through a cost-per-click advertising platform. Some of these include Google’s AdMob or AOL’s SSP. Signing up to one of these will allow you to start placing ads into your app.
Most ads come in the form of banner ads, interstitial ads, or videos.
- Banner ads are interspersed around your content. They are fairly non-intrusive; this has the advantage of not interrupting the user experience, but they are easy to ignore.
In the screenshot below, you can see how podcast app BeyondPod uses a banner add within the user’s podcast feed. It is almost too unobtrusive, and it is easy to ignore.
On the other hand, YouTube shows much larger banner ads that fit in well with the content the user is already watching. If it wasn’t for the “Ad” marking in the bottom corner, it would be hard to work out if the recommendation was an advert or not.
- Interstitial ads take up the whole screen. They will usually be shown for a certain amount of time or until the user clicks to close the ad. These ads are effective as the user is guaranteed to see it.
The downside here is that they are very intrusive. Because of this, you should think carefully about when you place an interstitial ad. Good times could be when the user has finished editing a photo or when they are about to start a new level in a game.
An excellent example of this is the advert below from the video editing app PowerDirector. When the user clicks to leave the app, a pop-up appears showing an advert. The advert is almost impossible to ignore as the user has to perform another step to leave the app.
However, it isn’t too annoying because it only appears when the user is leaving the app, not mid-way through a project.
- Video ads are often either short ads or longer ads that the user can skip after a certain amount of time. Clicking on the add will take the user to the advertiser’s product. Video ads are useful for advertisers as they are a good way to get across the message of the product.
Video ads are often shown while another video is loading, or before a level in a game. Perhaps the app most well known for video adverts is YouTube, which shows an advert before many videos on the service.
Things to Consider When Monetizing Your App with Advertising
While it is easy to get started with mobile ads, there are some downsides. The most obvious one is that to make good revenues, you will need to have a lot of users.
According to Businessofapps.com, the average CPM (the amount an advertiser pays per one thousand people who see its advertisement) for banner ads is $1, interstitial ads is $3.5, and video ads is $3.
This means it is hard to create an app and make money unless your app has a lot of regular users.
Another thing to consider is that whenever a user clicks on an advert on your app, they will be taken away from your app. This will reduce the amount of time they spend on your app and could even introduce them to a direct competitor.
Earn Through Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a common type of marketing on the web, although perhaps less commonly found in apps. With affiliate marketing, the app developer will advertise products on their app and then take a cut of the sale when a customer makes a purchase.
Booking or comparison apps are a common type of affiliate marketing. For example, Skyscanner makes it easy for people who want to buy a flight to check prices from a range of providers.
The company gets a percentage of the cost of the flight whenever a user books a journey after being redirected to the booking website through Skyscanner. You can see how it works in the screenshot below.
Another example of how this could work would be a fitness app directing users to the website of a nutrition shop or exercise equipment store and then taking a cut of any sales made. Or a financial planning app that suggests financial products to its users.
The good thing about monetizing apps in this way is the amount of data apps have about users. For example, in the above example of a financial planning app, the app developers can offer the exact type of product that the user will find useful based on the data they have about the user.
Things to Consider When Monetizing Your App with Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing suffers from many of the same issues as advertisements – you’ll need a lot of users before you can make money.
It can also help if the product you are affiliated with is an expensive one or one that offers a large cut of the total cost of the purchase. While receiving ten percent of a £1,000 flight will get you a nice payday, receiving 3 percent of a pair of £50 running shoes is less impressive.
Use a Mixed Strategy
Many of the most successful apps use a variety of monetization methods. This way, developers don’t have to rely on one strategy. Here are some examples of how mixed monetization strategies could work in practice.
- A common mixed monetization strategy is to ask users to pay to remove ads. This is good as an alternative to a paid app. It means app developers are still able to monetize free users, while also offering a more lucrative option to those who can pay. To make the paid option more appealing, you can even choose to add in some extras for those that pay. This could work for both one-off payments and subscriptions.
- Some paid apps, especially games, charge a fee for the app, and then offer in-app purchases on top of the price of the game. Minecraft, NBA 2K19, and the Moment Pro Camera are all apps that have successfully used this strategy.
- If you plan to rely on adverts as your monetization strategy, it could be a good idea to experiment with both affiliate marketing and regular adverts. If you do this, you can see which type of advertising is most lucrative and then focus on that.
Wrapping Up
This is the end of our guide on how to create an app and make money. Hopefully, you found it useful.
As you can see, there are plenty of methods you can use to monetize your app. In-app purchases and subscriptions can be incredibly lucrative due to the potential for recurring income. However, many apps can successfully use other monetization methods such as advertising or charging the user upfront.