Over 90% of all apps listed on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store are FREE. However, the mobile app industry is projected to be a $6.3 trillion dollar industry by the end of 2021. 

The question is: How are these apps generating so much money if they’re free to download? 

The answer can be found in their monetization strategy.

There are a ton of different monetization strategies you can use to generate a good amount of income from your app even if it’s free. 

If you want to learn some simple app monetization strategies, today I’m sharing 5 of my favorites with you!

1. Push notifications

Push notifications are notifications from your app that pop up directly on your users’ phones. Push notifications have extremely high open rates and therefore better conversion rates than other forms of marketing.

You can utilize push notifications to showcase your new products or services, announce a new course or program, and/or remind users to sign up for your masterclass or webinar. If you use push notifications correctly, they can help boost sales and engagement with your app in a way that social media and email marketing could never do.

2. In-App Ads

In-app advertisements make up about 31% of app monetization and it’s one of the easiest ways to make money while also keeping your app free to use. 

Advertisers clearly see the shift people are making from desktop browsing to using mobile devices and apps. They are willing to pay lots of money to get their advertisements shown on apps where their target audience is hanging out.

The best part about these ads is their customizability. You can display ads on your app in many different formats – pop-up, full screen, banner, etc. and customize the ads on your app to your niche to better fit your users’ interests.

3. Memberships and subscriptions

App memberships and subscriptions are a great way to generate recurring monthly revenue from your app. With memberships and subscriptions, you can give users access to an exclusive area in your app that provides valuable content to them. Memberships and subscriptions are also a great way to build a community within your app that helps users connect with one another.

You can tease some of the exclusive content you provide in your memberships and subscriptions throughout your app as a way to encourage users to join.

This monetization strategy is a very effective way to grow a loyal and engaged following through your app. Having a loyal and engaged following is not only important monetization-wise but also essential to building a successful business.

4. Courses

With an app, you can house all your courses in one place, which makes it easy for your users to access their courses wherever they go. Additionally, making your courses more easily accessible to your users through your app creates a great selling point when marketing your courses.

5. Partnerships and sponsors

Finally, the last monetization strategy I have for you today is teaming up with brands in your niche to share useful products with your users. This can either be through affiliate links where you get a commission on every sale you refer to the brand or a partnership where a brand pays you a one-time payment upfront to promote their products on your app.

This monetization strategy is a win-win. You get to help out your users by providing them with useful products and services you know they would enjoy and you get paid for it!

As I said, there are a ton of different ways you can monetize your app to generate a lot of extra income each month (even if your app is free). If you combine a few or even all of these strategies, you will be able to monetize your app easily and effectively!