How to monetize an Android game so addictive, people won't click on the ads?
8 comments
A few ideas:
- Charge a small subscription for saving scores etc, just take those options away from the free users or segregate it so you have the ghetto public stuff and the awesome subscribers' stuff
- add customization, ad-free and anything else you can think of that users might pay for ... yes there's an on-going cost but if you can get any dollars at all out of your biggest fans that's better than the penny or two they're worth per month right now.. a single $1 purchase a day almost doubles your revenue
- interstitial ads like mailarchis mentioned, find a way to put them in and show them to each user at least once per day
- get a referral system in place so that these people who obviously love your game are motivated to share it
- outsource the backend through companies like http://parse.com/ if you need a full-blown database for your app might be cheaper than your current arrangement, and we (http://playtomic.com/) are debuting our first Android version next week which has free leaderboards that might suit your requirements
- sell the ad space yourself or use it to promote other games of your own
- Charge a small subscription for saving scores etc, just take those options away from the free users or segregate it so you have the ghetto public stuff and the awesome subscribers' stuff
- add customization, ad-free and anything else you can think of that users might pay for ... yes there's an on-going cost but if you can get any dollars at all out of your biggest fans that's better than the penny or two they're worth per month right now.. a single $1 purchase a day almost doubles your revenue
- interstitial ads like mailarchis mentioned, find a way to put them in and show them to each user at least once per day
- get a referral system in place so that these people who obviously love your game are motivated to share it
- outsource the backend through companies like http://parse.com/ if you need a full-blown database for your app might be cheaper than your current arrangement, and we (http://playtomic.com/) are debuting our first Android version next week which has free leaderboards that might suit your requirements
- sell the ad space yourself or use it to promote other games of your own
I like the idea of micro-payments to see your name in the leaderboards.
Backend is currently google appengine. Referral system (facebook/email/etc) is all in place. The app is pretty mature, but like a lot of others, it just needs more users and a way to monetize it.
When I initially did the numbers, I did web searches and it seemed like people were getting $1/1000 ads shown. By the time I launched, the bottom dropped out the market and I am getting under $0.05/1000 ads.
I feel that the problem is my low CTR (Click-through-rate)... low CTR = cheap/nasty ads = low CTR because they get ignored = more bad ads = low revenue... vicious cycle.
Backend is currently google appengine. Referral system (facebook/email/etc) is all in place. The app is pretty mature, but like a lot of others, it just needs more users and a way to monetize it.
When I initially did the numbers, I did web searches and it seemed like people were getting $1/1000 ads shown. By the time I launched, the bottom dropped out the market and I am getting under $0.05/1000 ads.
I feel that the problem is my low CTR (Click-through-rate)... low CTR = cheap/nasty ads = low CTR because they get ignored = more bad ads = low revenue... vicious cycle.
Don't assume that lack of clicks is due to great / addictive gameplay. It also may be that your audience or demographic is not prone to clicking on ads; the ads contextually are not well matched to your audience; etc ...
With your particular challenge, as you hit higher audience levels, maybe think about sponsorships / branding opportunity where you can sell the 'eyeballs'. Since you are currently making nothing from the ads, maybe dump them and play around and give some sponsorships away as a trial to brands that you think are cool and well matched to your audience.
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Second the comments on paying for extended play, but maybe instead of levels (which you say don't exist), pay is for extended time per day. (free 60 minutes cumulative a day, extended no daily limit)
With your particular challenge, as you hit higher audience levels, maybe think about sponsorships / branding opportunity where you can sell the 'eyeballs'. Since you are currently making nothing from the ads, maybe dump them and play around and give some sponsorships away as a trial to brands that you think are cool and well matched to your audience.
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Second the comments on paying for extended play, but maybe instead of levels (which you say don't exist), pay is for extended time per day. (free 60 minutes cumulative a day, extended no daily limit)
Okay, so this is a really good point. While gameplay is addictive (comments like, "omg, 5am, I should be asleep") it does not help when I get bottom-of-the-heap advertising for dating / etc.
Sponsorships/etc are not something I feel the app is ready for. I feel those are something games with 1mil+ impressions/day do.
I have already ditched all of the Mobclix advertisers because of dating/etc ads and will be moving to another advert provider for my 15k impressions/day (and growing) which are currently served through admob. Just not sure who though !
The app in question is a Boggle-type word game with a bunch of extra's thrown to add a element of strategy. We payed a LOT of attention to addiction psychology to ensure the game is really compelling.
Perhaps if I added a "about you" dialog and asked for (optional) sex/age/zip code/etc to better target ads. I don't think anyone has done this before.... actually ask users to help them better target adverts !
Sponsorships/etc are not something I feel the app is ready for. I feel those are something games with 1mil+ impressions/day do.
I have already ditched all of the Mobclix advertisers because of dating/etc ads and will be moving to another advert provider for my 15k impressions/day (and growing) which are currently served through admob. Just not sure who though !
The app in question is a Boggle-type word game with a bunch of extra's thrown to add a element of strategy. We payed a LOT of attention to addiction psychology to ensure the game is really compelling.
Perhaps if I added a "about you" dialog and asked for (optional) sex/age/zip code/etc to better target ads. I don't think anyone has done this before.... actually ask users to help them better target adverts !
Note - I have no experience in building or monetizing mobile games. Still sharing an idea for problem 2
1. Somewhat similar to Wii, after every X minutes of game play, display a popup with a one minute timer asking users to take a break. to play non stop ask them to buy a premium version.
2. Ask users to pay for higher levels of game maybe ?
1. Somewhat similar to Wii, after every X minutes of game play, display a popup with a one minute timer asking users to take a break. to play non stop ask them to buy a premium version.
2. Ask users to pay for higher levels of game maybe ?
I have definitely thought of going the 'interstitial' ad route (show one ad only at the end of every N rounds). But the reason the game is so addictive, is at the end of a round, the scores are shown for all players playing (hence the need for a Cloud connection) and then the next round starts without any user interaction. This is key.
There are no higher game levels. Each round is different.
Can't do a premium version, since there are ongoing server costs. I want those covered by advertising. I don't want to have to fund the servers from now till forever with potentially no future income.
There are no higher game levels. Each round is different.
Can't do a premium version, since there are ongoing server costs. I want those covered by advertising. I don't want to have to fund the servers from now till forever with potentially no future income.
"Can't do a premium version, since there are ongoing server costs."
Care to elaborate why the costs exclude premium version? Why couldn't the paying users cover the costs, while the free play is basically your promotion tool (like Dropbox).
Care to elaborate why the costs exclude premium version? Why couldn't the paying users cover the costs, while the free play is basically your promotion tool (like Dropbox).
Because the premium version is a one-time income, but the costs are monthly & forever.
Ideally, Android needs a micro-payment system (tied to their service provider billing or something).
Ideally, Android needs a micro-payment system (tied to their service provider billing or something).
Problem (2): The app connects to google's appengine for realtime scoring/etc of each round. This costs, so I need to monetise the app. I am currently using banner ads, but the app is so addictive, people won't click on the ads, so my Click-through-rate is too low to get any well paying advertising. Currently I am getting an eCPM of $0.04 with Admob @ 15k impressions/day over 100 users (they play a LOT!). Can anyone share any similar experiences on solving these problems ?