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Congratulations! You’ve just finished developing your mobile application. After testing and improving it, it’s now ready to be used by mobile users. Now you want to turn your application into a business, i.e. you want to market it. So you’re now asking yourself: how do I sell my app? In this guide, we’ll explain how to sell mobile apps.
Where to Sell Mobile Apps ?
To sell your mobile application, you have two options:
- Sell your mobile app on marketplaces
- Direct sale
Sell your mobile app on marketplaces
One way to sell an app is through marketplaces. Flippa is the most popular marketplace for selling apps and websites, but you can also opt for other marketplaces such as Sell My App and App Business Brokers. Selling on a marketplace is the easiest way to sell your mobile app, as it offers many advantages but also some disadvantages:
Advantages:
- Wider Reach: Marketplaces like Flippa, SellMyApp, and AppBusinessBrokers attract a pool of potential buyers actively searching for mobile apps. This increases your chances of finding the right buyer compared to selling directly.
- Streamlined Process: These platforms often have established procedures for app valuation, buyer communication, and transaction management. This simplifies the selling process for you.
- Expert Guidance: Some marketplaces like AppBusinessBrokers offer expert guidance on app valuation, marketing, and negotiation, which can be invaluable for first-time sellers.
- Credibility and Trust: Established marketplaces provide a level of credibility and trust in the transaction process, potentially attracting more serious buyers.
Disadvantages:
- Competition: Many apps are listed on these platforms, so yours might get lost in the crowd if it doesn’t stand out. Effective presentation and competitive pricing are crucial.
- Fees: Most marketplaces charge listing fees and/or commissions on successful sales. These fees can eat into your profits, so factor them into your selling price.
- Lower Selling Price: While marketplaces can attract serious buyers, there’s also a chance you might receive lower offers compared to selling directly to a strategic buyer who understands your app’s full potential.
- Limited Control: The marketplace might have guidelines or limitations on how you present and negotiate the sale of your app. This can be less flexible than a direct sale.
If you don’t want to depend on a marketplace, you can always sell your mobile application directly.
Selling your mobile app directly
This type of sale is an equally attractive option. Like selling on a marketplace, it has its advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
- Higher Selling Price: By cutting out marketplace fees, you potentially retain a larger portion of the sale price. This can be significant, especially for high-value apps.
- Greater Control: You have complete control over the sales process, including negotiations, pricing strategy, and buyer communication. This allows you to tailor the sale to your specific goals.
- Confidentiality: Direct sales can be conducted discreetly, which might be important if your app’s technology or user base is sensitive. Marketplaces often require some level of public disclosure about your app.
- Targeting Strategic Buyers: Direct outreach allows you to target specific companies or investors who understand your app’s value proposition and might be willing to pay a premium for it.
Disadvantages:
- Limited Reach: Finding suitable buyers can be more challenging without the broad audience of online marketplaces. You’ll need to proactively identify and connect with potential buyers.
- Marketing Efforts: Selling directly requires more marketing effort on your part. You’ll need to create compelling sales materials and actively reach out to potential buyers.
- Time Commitment: The sales process can be time-consuming, involving negotiations, due diligence, and potentially legal paperwork.
- Negotiation Skills: Strong negotiation skills are crucial for getting the best price in a direct sale. Be prepared to present a convincing case for your app’s value.
There is, however, another way to earn money without necessarily selling your mobile application.
Can you make money with mobile apps?
Yes, you can make money with your mobile apps. There are a number of different ways, which we’ll look at together.
Paid Downloads:
- Concept: Users pay a one-time fee upfront to download and use your app. This model is simple to implement and understand.
- Advantages:
- Straightforward revenue generation.
- Encourages high-quality app development, as users expect a premium experience.
- No ongoing revenue management required after purchase.
- Disadvantages:
- Limits user base. Free alternatives might be more attractive to some users.
- Requires significant upfront marketing efforts to convince users of the app’s value.
- Difficult to scale user base once the initial wave of interest subsides.
- Ideal for: Apps offering niche functionalities, high-quality productivity tools, or premium content (like mobile games with complete storylines).
Freemium Model:
- Concept: Offer a basic version of your app for free, with additional features, functionalities, or content available through in-app purchases or subscriptions.
- Advantages:
- Larger user base potential, as the free version attracts more downloads.
- Allows users to try before they buy, potentially leading to higher conversion rates for premium features.
- Provides valuable user data and engagement metrics to inform future development decisions.
- Disadvantages:
- Requires careful design to ensure the free version is valuable but doesn’t overshadow the premium features.
- Relies on a constant stream of new users to convert to paying users and sustain revenue.
- In-app purchases might be seen as disruptive by some users.
- Ideal for: Apps with core functionalities that offer value on their own, with additional features providing an enhanced user experience (e.g., photo editing apps with basic filters and premium filter packs).
In-App Advertising:
- Concept: Integrate targeted advertisements within your app. You earn revenue when users see or click on these ads.
- Advantages:
- Minimal upfront investment required.
- Can be implemented alongside other monetization models for a multi-pronged revenue stream.
- Offers scalability – as your user base grows, so does your potential ad revenue.
- Disadvantages:
- Relies heavily on a large and active user base to generate significant income.
- Intrusive ads can negatively impact user experience if not implemented carefully.
- Revenue can be unpredictable and fluctuate based on user engagement with the ads.
- Ideal for: Free-to-play games, social media apps, or utility apps with high daily usage but limited premium features to offer.
Subscription Model:
- Concept: Users pay a recurring fee (monthly, quarterly, or annually) to access the full functionality or exclusive content within your app.
- Advantages:
- Predictable and recurring revenue stream.
- Encourages user loyalty and long-term engagement with your app.
- Allows you to offer premium features and content that justify the subscription cost.
- Disadvantages:
- Requires a compelling value proposition to convince users to commit to a recurring fee.
- Can be challenging to acquire new subscribers, as users might be hesitant about ongoing costs.
- Maintaining user satisfaction with exclusive content updates is crucial for subscriber retention.
Ideal for: Apps that deliver ongoing value through regular content updates, exclusive features, or access to premium services (e.g., podcasts streaming services, news apps with exclusive content, or fitness apps with personalized workout plans).
So, in this blog article we’ve looked at the different ways of making money with a mobile app:
- Selling your mobile app on a marketplace or direct sales
- Monetize your mobile app
With this guide, you should be able to choose which model suits you best for making money with your mobile app.
And if you’re thinking ahead, you might even consider setting up your own app marketplace.
