Monetizing non-gaming apps is commonly seen as a problem. Some say that there’s no straightforward option to work in adverts, others say that there’s an excessive amount of reliance on subscription fashions, and sure entrepreneurs state that discovering a stability between person expertise and income era is a big drain on sources. These are legitimate considerations that may be a battle to stability alongside all the opposite tasks non-gaming entrepreneurs need to take care of.
In Liftoff Intelligence’s latest Advert Monetization Myths in Non-Gaming Apps Webinar, Natalie Kenyon, Account Government at Liftoff Monetize, was joined by Sandra Amir, Senior Director of Development Partnerships at Unity, Božo Janković, Head of Advert Monetization at GameBiz, and Dave Macli, CEO of Audiomack. Collectively, they mentioned the myths round advert monetization in non-gaming apps and the way entrepreneurs can navigate the true monetization challenges they face.
Didn’t get the possibility to affix the webinar? You possibly can catch the total video on demand right here or learn by the weblog put up under, the place we undergo all the important thing findings—together with the right way to take advantage of completely different advert codecs and techniques to maintain customers engaged.
Delusion #1: Non-gaming apps can’t generate as a lot advert income as gaming apps
It’s a frequent false impression that non-gaming apps are overly reliant on subscription fashions and that they’ll’t generate as a lot advert income as their gaming counterparts. The truth is, non-gaming apps require various income sources in the event that they’re to achieve success. Advert monetization is among the most necessary elements to think about. David Macli, CEO of Audiomack, famous that in his expertise, customers usually spend six to 9 months utilizing apps on ad-supported tiers earlier than subscribing.
Božo Janković, Head of Advert Monetization at GameBiz, discovered that over 95% of customers in most apps is not going to make any purchases until they’re prompted to take action, emphasizing the significance of in-app promoting. Nonetheless, Janković notes that whereas it tends to be comparatively straightforward to establish appropriate locations to combine adverts into gaming apps—corresponding to pure breaks in gameplay when gamers end a degree—inserting adverts into non-gaming apps can typically disrupt the person expertise as there’s no apparent entry level.
However simply because one thing is difficult doesn’t imply it’s not possible. Some non-gaming apps have begun testing methods to creatively use adverts to profit the person moderately than really feel intrusive. For instance, Netflix lately launched ad-supported tiers with decrease subscription costs, Duolingo makes use of rewarded apps for gamers to achieve extra lives or foreign money, and PocketFM has invested in constructing an in-app foreign money to make its apps really feel extra worthwhile.
Delusion #2: Advert format diversification isn’t important for non-gaming apps
One other frequent false impression is that focusing solely on one advert kind in non-gaming apps and attempting to good it’s a good technique. Božo Janković suggested in opposition to this, because the outcomes probably aren’t going to be definitely worth the prices.
“We frequently see builders attempting to squeeze each final drop from the advert codecs they’re already utilizing,” Janković says. “They go into tiny little particulars, taking a look at what they’ll do to optimize campaigns additional. That takes quite a lot of effort, growth time, sources, and A/B testing. And in spite of everything that, that can solely improve their income by perhaps two, three, or 5 p.c.”
As an alternative, diversifying the kinds of adverts utilized in non-gaming apps is a greater technique of accelerating advert income. When it comes to which advert codecs are appropriate, there aren’t actually any restrictions—interstitial movies, banner adverts, native adverts, and app open adverts, now obtainable with the Vungle SDK, are all completely high-quality selections. Nonetheless, what’s going to work greatest for every app will probably fluctuate, so it’s necessary to take a step again and take a look at completely different combos to see probably the most important influence on income with out impacting the person expertise.
In some circumstances, implementing new advert codecs in additional cohesive methods may even enhance the person expertise. Dave Macli skilled this first-hand whereas engaged on AudioMack. Regardless of rising the variety of adverts operating, Macli acquired fewer complaints about adverts. Macli discovered that utilizing a wide range of codecs opened up pure methods to work adverts into the person expertise with fewer disruptions.
“We began taking a look at person contact factors, like the place perhaps the person needs to obtain one thing or get a premium function simply behind the paywall. We discovered that that may be a good alternative to run a rewarded advert,” Macli says. “So, we’ve got these completely different worth exchanges. If you happen to open the app to avoid wasting one thing to your library, that’s an app open advert. If you wish to begin a brand new listening session, that’s interstitial. After which if you wish to do one thing like save one thing to your telephone, that may be a rewarded alternative.”
As customers have been usually happier after they encountered strategically positioned adverts, outcomes confirmed they have been more likely to interact with them—which in the end resulted in a income increase.
Delusion #3: Gaming adverts don’t convert nicely on non-gaming app visitors
Diversifying adverts in non-gaming apps isn’t simply concerning the codecs. It’s additionally concerning the content material of the advert. Božo Janković shares that whereas exhibiting gaming adverts in non-gaming apps could appear counterintuitive, roughly 70% of smartphone customers play at the very least one sport on their machine, so there’s loads of crossover.
Sandra Amir, Senior Director of Development Partnerships at Unity, additionally suggests utilizing networks to establish appropriate adverts that concentrate on the proper audiences. She means that fewer restrictions, corresponding to not eliminating gaming adverts in non-gaming apps, will enable networks to optimize their algorithms and present related adverts.
Amir says: “We need to present adverts which can be related for customers as a result of we could have larger eCPMs and better income for each impression. Then again, for the community, it’s the identical. They need these conversions. They need that spotlight from customers. In order that they have the identical curiosity as us, exhibiting probably the most related adverts to probably the most acceptable person.”
Delusion #4: It’s too troublesome to stability adverts with person expertise in non-gaming apps
Balancing adverts with person expertise is usually simpler in gaming apps than non-gaming apps. Gaming apps have clear breaks in gameplay, foreign money, and level-based rewards, which naturally work nicely with rewarded adverts. As non-gaming apps have a really completely different person expertise, there’s much more to think about when deciding how and when to indicate adverts to customers, significantly in terms of interstitial adverts.
To get round this, Dave Macli suggests contemplating which premium options customers would contemplate worthwhile sufficient to observe rewarded adverts for. For instance, in his app Audiomack, you possibly can watch lyrics or enter the sleep timer. Macli additionally recommends isolating factors when customers are wanting on the display screen and usually tend to acknowledge an advert offered to them. In Audiomack, that is when customers are choosing songs or looking for new music. They’re wanting instantly on the display screen—versus listening within the background.
Macli additionally emphasizes the significance of testing other ways of integrating adverts, highlighting that they’ll influence the person expertise: “Testing is actually necessary as a result of we’ve acquired it improper a number of instances. We wrongly thought a function could be higher, resulting in decrease retention and worse evaluations. It’s at all times good to have a principle after which take a look at it. Sadly, that implies that your growth will go so much slower, however there’s nothing worse than releasing one thing and never realizing whether or not or not it was constructive.”
Lastly, Božo Janković suggests creating person teams or segments primarily based on conduct moderately than a one-size-fits-all method. For instance, you’ll normally need to keep away from exhibiting interstitial adverts to paying customers, however you may need knowledge exhibiting that, in some areas, individuals are extra tolerant of those adverts. In that case, you may construct these areas into separate teams with parameters that market to their nuances. Janković notes: “If you happen to attempt to discover a particular answer for a selected person group, you’re gonna make your job considerably simpler.”
For extra data on the right way to take advantage of advert monetization in non-gaming apps, you possibly can watch our full webinar right here.
You’ll want to try our Non-Gaming Advert Monetization Traits Report, which highlights new advert placement varieties, methods for tackling new markets, and greatest practices for balancing advert income targets with in-app engagement and person retention.
