Business of Apps Podcast

#136: Creating the best monetization strategies for free apps with Andriy Sambir, CEO of LinkUp Studio

When you think about the Internet, what words come to your mind? Essential, cross-cultural, crucial for governance, and the word free would pop up as well. Yes - we pay for many online services, these days primarily for subscriptions, and mobile apps are a huge part of that.
But on the other hand - there is a free part of the Internet. But what do we mean it’s free? How do you monetize a free mobile app? There is a number of business models to do that but how do you decide on what model to apply to your free app? In this episode, Andriy will tell about how to create the best monetization strategy for your free apps.
Today’s Topics Include:
The landscape of app business models
Building an effective app monetization strategy mindset
Popular free apps monetization strategy examples
Free app monetization strategy - iOS vs. Android
Mobile games and non-games - which ones it's easier to monetize
What Andriy would like to change about the app industry
Android or iOS?
Andriy's first mobile phone
Leaving his smartphone at home, what features would Andriy miss most?
What features Andriy would like to see added to his smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Andriy Sambir on LinkedIn
LinkUp Studio
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Andriy Sambir:
“However, in a case when we look at the application development from an owner standpoint of view and somebody who wants to make money on that, you actually have 9 different ways of getting money out of your app."
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
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#135: Tapping Influencers for your app marketing mix with Marion Balinoff, Influencer Marketing Consultant

Today I’d like to continue the Influencer marketing theme, covering with Marion running an Influencer marketing campaign. Now previously on this podcast, we covered this topic conceptually multiple times, and I bet you read about its pros and cons on blogs, watched presentations, etc but this time I want to focus specifically on launching your own campaign, I want to give you an example of how it should be done so you can avoid costly mistakes. Today’s Topics Include:
What social media platforms does Marion suggest to run ad campaigns for mobile apps?
Strategies for social media platforms that are efficient for app marketing today
Social media marketing campaign testing strategies
Strategies to mitigate issues that may arise with social media campaigns
What Influencers are capable to deliver for a mobile app ad campaign
Takeaways
A single thing Marion would really like to change about Influencer marketing
Android or iOS?
Marion's first mobile phone
Leaving her smartphone at home, what features would Marion miss most?
What features Marion would like to see added to her smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Marion Balinoff on LinkedIn
Marion Balinoff Consulting
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Marion Balinoff: “It starts with understanding the audience that we want to target like with any other acquisition channel. We need to understand where the audience is." “In TikTok you can place the link that it's going to be only in the bio of the influencer, hence you aren't going to get a lot of trackable traffic. On YouTube, on the contrary, you have the link that is directly in the video description, it's right below the content and it's going to be much more accessible " “...that means you need to increase the Conversion Rate. To do so you can have, for example, gift code links that will grant your audience some free goodies.”
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Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#134: What makes Influencer marketing tick in 2023 with Jennifer Sudo, Managing Partner at M&C Saatchi Performance

We’ve just passed the holiday season, perhaps some people are still under the impression from the gifts that they got this Christmas.
Hence my question - how do you decide what to buy?
Of course, your mental journey of making a decision probably starts with “what does she or her like?”, “what does she or he need?” - totally fair. But how do you decide what brand to buy from? Can’t say definitely about you but for many people, the decisive factor is an influencer she or he trusts.
Yes, you’ve guessed it - today we have Jennifer on the show to talk about Influencer marketing.
Today’s Topics Include:
What is Influencer marketing
What influencer marketing techniques were effective in 2022 and what weren't
Examples of recent influencer marketing campaigns for mobile apps
What to expect this year
A single thing Jennifer would really like to change about Influencer marketing
Android or iOS?
Jen's first mobile phone
Leaving her smartphone at home, what features would Jen miss most?
What features Jen would like to see added to her smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Jennifer Sudo on LinkedIn
M&C Saatchi Performance
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Jennifer Sudo:
“Don't just partner with influencers who you think is your target audience, try to deviate outside of that pool"
“The genius of the platform [Tiktok] is that there is two different feeds. One of them is for people you actually follow, and the other is For You page."
“Will probably gonna see more advertisers using them [influencers] as the force for creative production. Not just using influencers but content creators at large to create assets.”
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A message from App Promotion Summit
Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#133: Hardcore and mid-core gaming apps marketing with Kate Lovejoy, COO, Retargeting at Adikteev

This is the first episode we record in 2023, so Happy New Year everybody!
It was another turbulent one, to put it mildly, and so let’s talk about something light - like games.
Specifically mobile games.
To be very specific - gaming apps marketing.
People turn to games during holidays as one of the best ways to give their minds a bit of a break and in fact, this is what they tend to do when they commute, sit in an airport and wait for their flight, and on and on.
But given the time constraints and the typical mindset people have in those situations, it’s usually about casual gaming. In a contract, today we want to talk with Kate about marketing for hardcore and mid-core gaming apps, which time-wise have different flavors.
Today’s Topics Include:
Kate spent the last decade between a global media agency, online audio & video media, mobile advertising, and top app re-engagement platform
Hardcore and mid-core mobile games definition
Audience segmentation
Monetization strategy
Hardcore and mid-core KPIs to focus on
Takeaways
Android or iOS? iOS
Kate's  first mobile phone
Leaving her smartphone at home, what features would Kate miss most?
What features Kate would like to see added to her smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Kate Lovejoy on LinkedIn
Adikteev
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Kate Lovejoy:
“Retargeting can help throughout the funnel but really what you want to focus on, primarily and first off, is on targeting your payers.”
“Absolutely and what's who we recommend to go after.  The first strategy I was describing is about creating whales - getting more users to exhibit whale behavior."
“I think what's really most important, when you start out with re-targeting is your foundation. So, who you are targeting, and how you're going to measure the results.”
Brought to you by Business Of Apps
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A message from App Promotion Summit
Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#132: Improving Your App Subscription Funnels with Jeff Grang, Co-founder and CPO at Purchasely

Apple launched subscriptions on the app store back in February 2011. Today, when you think about what apps are powered by this business model, it’s obvious that it’s way more than paying to stream media content on a monthly basis. It’s about gaming, fitness & health, photography, education, and much more.
The reason why Apple introduced this model was to give app developers a new way to generate revenue. Its introduction took place right after Apple launched The Daily app for News Corp and they saw an opportunity for all app developers on the platform to make money in this new way. Btw, the idea with The Daily app didn’t go very well but App Subscriptions stayed and thrive today.
It made absolute sense to give developers an alternative to solely being focused on acquiring more and more users for the apps to power their business. So now they could financially support their app business on a monthly basis with existing customers and be more financially secure to grow their apps’ user base.
Today, we’re talking with Jeff about how to sustain your app subscription business, by improving your app subscription funnels.
Today’s Topics Include:
Jeff's path is from being one of the first 500 beta testers for iOS 2 back in the day to running Purchasely - a no-code paywall builder for in-app subscription maximization
App Subscription Funnel definition
Introduction of the app's users to a paywall
Trials in mobile apps
App users' retention
One thing Jeff would like to change about app marketing
Android or iOS? iOS
Jeff's  first mobile phone was Alcatel
What features would Jeff miss most? The Weather app rain notifications
What’s missing from mobile app technology? Even better, a more flexible iOS Focus mode feature
Links and Resources:
Jeff Grang on LinkedIn
Purchasely
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Jeff Grang:
“I really like to say that subscription starts even before the paywall, it's when you're on the app's page on the app store.”
“It's very important that from the first paywall that you will be showing to your customers to raise their awareness on your business model and to explain your value."
“You can also choose to toggle on and off that trial period or offer trial only in some cases so that you create that fear of missing out.”
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A message from App Promotion Summit
Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#131: What does Augmented Reality have to offer to app marketing with Doddz, the top Augmented Reality artist

In every technology, and mobile is not exception, there are transitional moments when a new tech comes in that drastically change the game.
For mobile Augmented Reality is that technology and by now it is way more than Pokemon GO - admit when you’ve heard the term, it was what popped up in your mind. Today AR is about education, shopping, navigation and more.
To me the best application for Augmented Reality so far is what Google Translate AR does - when you can just point your phone somewhere on a subway station in China and quickly figure out where you should go or why the train is not on schedule.
But today Doddz will tell us about the AR potential for digital advertising and app marketing in particular.
Today’s Topics Include:
Dodds's path - an artist becomes a top Augmented Reality visual designer
What is actually Augmented Reality
How does the cutting edge of AR in digital advertising look like
How does Augmented Reality work for a mobile app marketing
AR vs VR and Meta
What Doddz would like to change in AR today?
Android or iOS? iOS all the way
Doddz’s  first mobile phone was a Samsung D500
What features would Dodds's miss most? Notes-taking apps – can’t live without it.
What’s missing from mobile app technology? Better battery life and creating AR experience with iPhone's camera on-the-go
Links and Resources:
Doddz on LinkedIn
Dodds's website
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Doddz:
“AR is the ability to add a digital layer on what is a physical environment in real time”
“One of the stats digital marketing agencies love is the dwell time. For social media an average time on digital content these days isless than a second. The average time on Meta effect of Facebook and Instagram is 75 seconds. "
“I think there are need to be a point where the experiences [AR experiences], the use cases for wearing headsets are better than whatever we're doing at the moment."
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Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#130: Mobile App vs. Web3 ads with Andre Kempe, Founder at Admiral Media & Admiral Studio

Something tells me that among people who listen to this show there are some who do remember how a dial-up modem should sound like when you’re connecting to the Internet. These people witnessed the fight for dominance between the Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft and the one from the Mozilla Foundation.
Now, I’m not sure people are that familiar with terminology like Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0, let alone with Web3 Ads. But today we have Andre to introduce us to web3 advertising.
Today’s Topics Include:
the current state of the in-app advertising
what is web 3.0
what is web3 advertising
what's coming for web3 ads
What bugs Andre about the app industry
Links and Resources:
Andre Kempe on LinkedIn
Admiral Media
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Andre Kempe:
“On the mobile phone our behavior very often changes, we do the same things (as on a desktop), emails - what not but we start using games, we start using social media, we surf on Twitter to check what Elon does lately.”
“Web 1.o was when big media companies were showing us something, web 2. 0 enabled us basically starting to create content, become part of the Internet, start blogging, becoming an influencer, Web 3 is an enhancement of that - it enables creators to start monetizing and control licensing."
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Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
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London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#129: Creating a profitable growth strategy for Subscription Apps with Alexander Guerra, Head of Monetization from baz SuperApp

Back in the day, when app developers made money selling copies of their apps, a growth strategy was important, then in-purchases came along and the necessity to retain app users, by having a solid strategy, became even more important. Today, when app subscriptions are the name of the game, it is absolutely crucial to have a robust app growth strategy to build a profitable app business.
Chances are you listening to this episode as you’re on your Uber ride and so who else not a former member of Uber’s marketing team should be on this episode to talk about a profitable growth strategy for subscription apps, so we’ve got Alex.
Today’s Topics Include:
The landscape of challenges app marketers face today
7-step strategy to build a profitable growth subscription strategy for apps
#1 - External Validation
#2 - Internal Validation
#3 - Conceptual Packaging
#4 - Monetization Goals
#5 - Pricing Structure & Simulation
#6 - Experimentation & Roll out
#7 - Feedback Loops
What bugs Alex about the app industry
Android or iOS? iOS
Alex's  first mobile phone was an iPhone
What features would Alex miss most? Communication apps
Links and Resources:
Alex Guerra on LinkedIn
baz Superapp
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Alex Guerra:
“The first step is about external validation, external assessment. These basically imply making sure that your customers are perceiving your value proposition in a way that makes you identify these key success factors and which are relevant for them.”
“The second step is Internal Analysis and this normally works the best for companies that already have a subscription plan or any sort of pricing model that they want to revisit."
“I think there is a need to be more focused on monetization.”
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Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
https://apppromotionsummit.com/
 
London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#128: Building user research based app monetization strategy with Jenny Kay Pollock, Lead Subscription Monetization Manager at Together Labs

I remember a few years ago there was an app industry-wide research conducted with tens of thousands of app developers to reveal what it was like for them to be a part of the mobile app ecosystem.
One of the findings was that there was only a very small number of them for whom developing apps was a hobby. The bulk of people went into mobile app development to make a living.
How to grow my app user base? How to increase my app revenue? How to increase it sustainably? What to do about that huge app users churn that I have? All these nagging questions cross-app developers’ mind day in, and day out.
In this episode, Jenny will tell you about how to conduct user research to help you to build the right app monetization strategy.
Today’s Topics Include:
App developers' mindset to generate more app installs
Getting feedback from people to build your app's feature set
Processing collected data
How to get creative to make the most of the collected data
How to build a roadmap for the app's development
Android or iOS? iOS on her beloved iPhone 13 mini white
Jenny's  first mobile phone was Droid X 2
What features would Jenny miss most? Google Maps
What’s missing from mobile app technology? Further development of smartphone usage control features
Links and Resources:
Jenny Kay Pollock on LinkedIn
Together Labs
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Jenny Kay Pollock:
“You've built something out there, you've worked value proposition number one and you think "hey, this is what the users want. As you're talking to the users, as you're getting users' feedback, you see app reviews that, it really makes sense to iterate on what you're offering.”
“If you're trying to figure out if people are aware of the feature you offer, don't start by asking questions about that. You're going want to be very mindful of the order of the survey."
“What you need to do is to work with your internal teams to get their support. So I recommend to starting with maybe three people who will be excited about the feature you're suggesting.”
Brought to you by Business Of Apps
App industry marketplace
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App Data
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A message from App Promotion Summit
Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
https://apppromotionsummit.com/
 
London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024

#127: SKAdNetwork 4.0 and Privacy Sandbox: what do subscription apps need to know with Alex Bauer, Head of Product & Market Strategy at Branch

Every industry has these moments - everybody is chugging along, no drastic changes are on the horizon, and then all of a sudden boom - rules of the game are changed significantly.
For the app industry that change was the introduction of the SKAdNetwork by Apple a couple of years ago. For some that was the moment of shock and terror, for some folks who kind of saw it was coming, it was just the moment when it became reality.
Today Alex will tell us about SKAdNetwork 4.0 from Apple, Privacy Sandbox from Google, and what subscription app owners should do about it.
Today’s Topics Include:
The state of the app industry app user privacy wise
SKAdNetwork. 1.0 - 4.0 history recap
SKAdNetwork 4.0 special features
Google's Privacy Sandbox for Android
Privacy Sandbox highlights
What's coming for both SKAdNetwork and Privacy Sandbox
One thing that gets Alex the most
Android or iOS? Both
Alex's  first mobile phone was a small flip-phone
What features would Alex miss most? Notes-taking apps - can't live without it.
What’s missing from mobile app technology? More features to make a smartphone a utility device
Links and Resources:
Alex Bauer on LinkedIn
Branch
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Alex Bauer:
“We need strong user privacy protection laws - this is not in a debate by anyone.”
“It's really difficult to balance those two extreme objectives [privacy and targeted ads] and the act of trying to find the balance I think is good to drive a lot of innovation.”
“I think it solves a few of the key ones that were so significant that they were really blocking even basic implementation of an ad monetization.”
Brought to you by Business Of Apps
App industry marketplace
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App Growth videos
App Data
App Events
A message from App Promotion Summit
Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits
https://apppromotionsummit.com/
 
London - 25 Apr 2024
NYC - 27 Jun 2024
San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024
Berlin - 5 Dec 2024