The Droid app market is currently bursting past the quarter million mark with no end in sight. With aDroid user base expansion that has been in the works for years, this means that there is no better time for all mobile developers to reevaluate their work their apps.
What are more developers than ever discovering today? That building a fan base of loyal paying customers is the key to success in this very competitive arena.
The first step of this process is simply deciding that it is time to make the leap from free apps to paid apps. This may be a daunting transition, but the jump in revenue can be worth it.
There will always remain a time and place for free apps though. Any developers looking to gauge the market’s interest in their apps may try free beta versions. This is also a great time to begin rewarding key business connections and customers with handouts and incentives to garner interest.
For a paid app to bring in revenue, advertising is a must, and there is no better advertising medium than the customers themselves. It is easier than ever to reward the avid fan who is willing to spread the word for the developers about their next great project.
Developers must search out those parties who are spreading the word through social networks and other media and then reward them. This can achieved through offering the paid version for free, a simple ‘thank you’, or personally contacting them to see how the product can be improved.
Word of mouth, Twitter, and Facebook are all free forms of advertisement that can be easily integrated into any app, but it is going to have to be very solid program for people to take an interest in it. Instead of going for the ‘catch all’ app, many developers find it is more profitable to keep apps to a single task. Apps that perform one task very well, instead of doing many things merely sufficiently, can be some of the biggest moneymakers.
It is also important to think outside of the box when it comes to payment. Instead of simply offering paid and free versions, developers have come up with a wide array of unique ways to garner interest before pushing for payment.
This may include limited usage until payment, charging for expanded features, or offering a reduced price for parties that bring in more customers. iOS may have higher sales per customer for apps, but the aggressive expansion of the networks carrying Droid apps means that there is still a huge market for paid app developers. It may be time for Droid app developers to forgo the ad revenue and begin a stronger push towards quality paid apps.
