Today we will talk about how you can make money on desktop apps. So, ready? Let’s dive into it.
Think about monetizing your software in advance
The first thing we would like to tell you is the advice from Josef Mandelbaum. The recommendation is to think about monetizing your products at the very beginning. “Although many software and mobile application developers often set themselves the goal of making money from their products, often the monetization strategy is secondary for them, while the product itself is at the forefront, which, in general, is correct. The strategy of monetization plays a key role in the financial success of a software product, so you should think about it from the very beginning,” the expert notes.
There are various ways to monetize your software, which we will talk about. They can be combined or changed, so you can choose the method that best suits the goals and objectives and software product.
Freemium model
Freemium is a business model, the key feature of which is the coexistence of the free version of the product and its fully functional paid version.
Typically, this model is used when the entry threshold for using an application must be as low as possible. At the same time, as a rule, the percentage of paying users is quite small.
One of the most successful examples of the freemium business model is Evernote. According to Rodion Nasakin, development manager at Evernote, only half a percent of people pay for a premium subscription in the first months. Still, by the second year of use, every twentieth user starts paying.
When using the freemium model, it is necessary to take into account the costs of maintaining “freeloaders” and not allow too many of them.
Pay per install
A PPI (Pay-Per-Install) scheme is when you are paid money for someone downloading and installing a program through you. This scheme works only if the end-user has installed the program. Otherwise, if the program is downloaded but not installed, the distributor does not receive payment.
In-app ads
In-app ads are among the most popular ways to monetize, both in mobile apps and desktop software monetization. It’s pretty easy to monetize desktop software with the help of this method. Advertisements are placed somewhere on the program’s main screen or shown to the user when switching from one screen to another (advertising inserts).
Usually, such advertising brings some income for every thousand views or for every click on the banner. The amount of this income can vary greatly depending on which ad network is connected, what type of ad is shown to users, and its target audience. Of course, for such advertising to bring any real money, the number of users viewing it must be very large.
As many experts note, desktop monetization occurs in many ways. For example, it can be shown during loading or before launching an application; an advertising banner can be placed on the side of the interface, in the top or bottom panel, depending on the type of program and its design. The main thing is that the ads should be as relevant as possible and annoy users as little as possible.
Paid software
Selling your program or application for a small fixed amount with all the built-in functionality without any restrictions is another obvious, simple, and quite a popular way of software monetization.
However, according to many experienced programmers, this method is gradually losing ground compared to the rest. The fact is that with the appearance in the public domain of a vast number of free applications and programs, fewer users are ready to purchase their paid counterparts.
The software makers lament that consumers who willingly spend five dollars on coffee often refuse to spend as little as one dollar on an app. This is not surprising; if almost any application or program has a free competitor, then why pay?
Therefore, it is advised to distribute software on an exclusively paid model either to companies with a confident position in the market and extensive resources for marketing or to developers of niche products with no analogs.