How to make money with free apps was a question I came across when researching about making money with apps. There has been a lot of buzz lately about how to make money with apps, whether it’s Android apps, iPhon apps or what have you. And that’s why I wrote How to Make Money with Apps in the first place.
However, not every app you make is going to be worth buying to users. They may be willing to install it if it’s free, but they may not be willing to pay for it. Or it could be simply that you’ve decided to make your app available to everyone for free, but you still like to make some money with it to at least cover the cost of development and your time spent on it. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways for making money with free apps:
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Making money from free apps!
Ads
Advertising is a great option when it comes to monetizing a free app. You can use mobile ad networks like InMobi, AdMob or apple’s own network iAd to earn money with in-app advertising. They incorporate ads in your app and every time someone clicks those ads, you get paid. It’s as simple as that. Some app owners have reported making more money with free apps that utilize advertising than apps they have been selling for up to $10.
Promote your paid apps
If you have other paid apps, you can use your free app to promote them. It will help generate a lot of sale for your paid apps, especially if your free apps is one that people like, they will be more likely to buy your paid apps.
Promote your blog/Website
Are you a blogger or a webmaster as well?… Well, why not use your free app as a way to promote your site and drive traffic to it! Imagine how much traffic you can generate to your site, especially if your app becomes a big hit. And the best part is that some of those visitors will spend money on product and services you provide on your site.
Use sponsorship
Another highly profitable way of making money with free apps is through sponsorship. It’s almost like advertising, but in a much more focused way, in that you only advertise one (or a few) brands on your app. Depending on you app and what it does, you can find companies that their product and services are somehow relevant to the function of your app.
These are only a few good ways to make money with free apps. As more and more people start using and demanding new applications, there will be more opportunities. Apps are becoming increasingly popular and developers are creating new ones left and right. The app market is just getting started and it will only get bigger.
Don’t miss the boat! Take advantage of this new and emerging market and start thinking about and developing new and interesting apps that consumers will love. You can either create paid apps and make money selling them or make money by giving them away for free, now that you know how to make money with free apps.
If you have to only sign up for one paid survey site to make money with, I recommend Ipsos-iSay. Ipsos is the most fun and well-paying panel. Give it a try to see how you like it. It is free anyway!