How to Build an App and Make Money with It?
App creation and commercialization are the two most crazed things in the tech industry. While the credit for app creation goes to smartphones and their ultra-modern operating systems, the credit for app commercialization goes to those super successful apps that started small, developed a cult following (thanks to their wonderful and unique services) and then made it big.
A classic example is Instagram. When Instagram was launched in 2010, it was merely a photo-sharing app. It’s 2022 and the photo-sharing app will be celebrating its 12th birthday only that it’s way more than just a photo-sharing app now; and while many other similar apps have tried to steal its glory, none of them have even come closer.
Statista’s survey reports forecast that by 2025, Instagram will have almost 1.44 billion monthly active users. The reports also show that as of January 2022, Instagram ranks as the fourth most popular social media platform with Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp being the first, second and third most popular social media platforms.
The massive success of Instagram and several other apps have led to the growing number of apps with investors expecting to earn back double the amount they put into the app development. If you happen to be one of those pursuers, then you’re at the right place as this article provides the fundamental details on how you can get an app built and monetize it to make profits.
Steps to Build an App and Make Money
1. Let’s Start with Planning
Whether you’re a developer (or a team of developers) doing it on your own, or you’re an investor who has hired professionals, the journey to app building starts with sound and strategized planning. This stage is completed in different steps. Let’s look at them.
Realize the Challenges
The first essential step of the planning stage is realizing the challenges that stand in the way of a good app. Most people tend to start on impulse and that either leads to failure of the app or forces them to stop mid-way. So before working on your ideas you need to identify the most basic challenges like cost, resources and infrastructure.
Market Research
Market research plays a decisive role as it gives you valuable information based on which, you can decide how to proceed further. Statista reports that in 2021, the Google Play store had approximately 3.5 million applications and Apple’s App Store had 2.22 million apps. The app stores are already loaded. So there’s a good chance that some people have already turned your ideas into apps.
Thorough market research, therefore, is in due because it can actually save you a lot of money. Sound market research will not only help you to know about your competitors and their success rates but also provide you valuable insights into parameters like:
- the demography that is likely to find the app useful
- monetization methods used by other contenders
- the number of app uninstalls and their reasons
- the service and product ideas of your contenders that make them different
App Conception
The app conception step of the planning stage is all about putting the pieces together. After analyzing all the information from the market research, it is now time to conceptualize your ideas to give them a tangible, functional shape. For app conception, you need to:
- understand the market needs
- work on the non-technical requirements like funding, the team set up, equipment, etc.
- clearly define the app’s purpose
- outline the final features
Prototype Development
Product prototype development is the creation of a simulated version of the actual app with minimum resources, effort and time. Many people tend to skip this part but fail to realize that it is important in ways more than one. First of all, it helps to understand the feasibility of your ideas. Next comes cost estimation followed by user testing.
For investors and clients, all this information can forecast the probable future of the apps. Recently, there has been a surge in the prototype development zone. You can find great apps that make prototyping a hassle-free affair. With the help of avant-garde tools, you can create a professional-looking app prototype.
2. Let’s Build the App
The planning stage covers almost all the important steps of initiation. So now we hop on to the action stage, building the app. Like the planning stage, this too follows a step-wise method.
Get a Partner
If you happen to be an experienced developer then it’s all good. But if you are not, then you will need to find a good partner. App development is a complicated task so the best way to do this is to hire a team of experienced developers. Fortunately, there is a long list of reputed and experienced app development companies where you can find the much-needed help.
Choose a top iOS app development company if you want to go for a native app or hire an Android app developer. Either way, getting a partner is your best bet to get a competitive app. It is so because each app store comes with its own set of guidelines and the developers happen to know all the ins and outs. So they can adhere to those while developing the app for you.
Decide on Technologies
Once you’re done with finding your development partner or building your team, the next step is to decide on technologies. Almost two decades ago, the app development technologies were limited to a few, but today the options are many.
React, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C, the native SDKs and many more — with so many possibilities, it is imperative to select the appropriate frontend and backend technologies. A proper way to do this would be to sit with your team, analyze your needs and then choose the ones that best suit your requirements and your budget.
Get the App Developed
If you’re a developer who is creating his/her own app, then this task will need hard work and rigorous effort from your side. But if you have hired professional help, then all you can do is wait for your app to get completed. A good thing about outsourcing your development is that the outsourcing companies keep you in the loop of the development stages as most companies project transparency as the highlighted point of their services. In the meantime, you can work on the marketing strategies and plan on what to do once the app is up and running.
Test the App
Once the app development is over, the testing phase sets in. With the help of automated and manual testing sessions, testers try to find the syntactical errors, formatting errors, and functional issues and bugs in it. Nowadays, several plug-ins, tools, and testing frameworks are available to make the testing sessions more effective, faster and efficient. Once the problems are found out and fixed, the app is ready for launch.
Launch and Deploy it on the App Store
The next step is to launch and deploy your application on the desired platforms, Google Play and Apple’s App Store being the most common ones. As mentioned above, the app stores have their own criteria and if your app manages to fit them all, then it is all set to make it big. In addition, you will also need proper screenshots, write detailed descriptions and provide the data security details along with the third-party uses (if any). Also, your app needs to be optimized for the stores as it will help with the searches and increase the probability of getting downloads.
Provide Support and Maintenance
The app-building stage doesn’t get over with deployment. Once you put it up in the store, you need to provide ongoing support and maintenance services. Pay attention to its ratings and reviews as that will give you a peek into the problems. You also need to respond to user feedback as that enhances your credibility. Based on the user inputs, you can work on the pain points and come up with better features in the upcoming versions.
3. Let’s Work on App Monetization
Once your app has reached its destination, the next obvious stage is its monetization. But there is a transitional stage between the app deployment and monetization and that is app marketing.
Engage in marketing strategies including social media that will help spread the word and once it starts bringing results, you start working on the most common monetization models that are discussed here.
Paid Versions
This is the most common money-making model. For the start, you can begin with having two versions, a free one and a paid one. Then once you begin to see a considerable increase in downloads, you can lower the availability of features for the free version and keep more in the premium version.
Keep a nominal fee because until and unless your app is too good, users won’t feel generous enough to try it. Another good option is to have more than one paid version. Some apps keep two plans, so users can begin trying the low-cost options. Once your app is popular enough, you can convert it into a paid app, but keep it economical because too high a price will drive your users to other options.
In-app Purchases
For gaming, media and camera apps, in-app purchase is a good monetization model. These apps often develop a loyal following over time and hence increase the chances of your users falling for the in-app features. For gaming apps, it might be extra weapons, building tools or other stuff while for camera apps, it can be new editing features, filters or other special effects.
The point is that in-app purchase is a good money-making model for any application that will function well with additional content.
Subscription-Based Services
Thanks to the media streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime, the subscription-based monetization model has become an absolute hit with users.
If you use Medium, Spotify or The Wall Street Journal, then probably you’re already familiar with it.
You offer the services of your app based on monthly and yearly subscriptions. You can even offer a trial period for a set number of days. This model often works best with end-users as they consider it more budget-friendly and value-based.
In-app Advertising
Facebook and Instagram have set the trend for this monetization model. According to the survey report of Sensor Tower, the revenue generated from the non-game subscription-based applications grew to 34% in 2020 and went up from $9.7 billion in 2019 to $13 billion in 2020. The trick is to get relevant ads because the more the ads are seen, clicked, used and downloaded by users, the more money you are going to make.
Most applications prefer to go along with either of the four models, but some even try to make it work with a combination of the models. Although the choice completely depends on the app owners, it is important that they know the pros and cons of each model and whether their app is good enough to accommodate those.
Conclusion
The whole ordeal of app development can be overwhelming but with meticulous planning and strategies, you can have a great app and can turn it into a profitable venture. Finding the right expertise is crucial though as that will assist you in making the right decisions, especially the technological ones. So choose wisely.
