The Insider's Guide to a Billion Dollar App Business

322 Pages·2014·26.54 MB·English

The Insider’s Guide to a
Billion Dollar App Business
By Peggy Anne Salz
In Partnership with InMobi
“Apponomics: The Insider’s Guide to a Billion Dollar App
Industry” is a very useful contribution to helping folks under-
stand how to address this complex topic. It’s refreshing to see
such a balanced view presented; it’s neither “an easy way to
make your millions” nor doom laden. It tells the simple truth
that success in this market is elusive, but with careful prepa-
ration you will maximize your chances.”
― Jo Rabin, Director, Mobile Monday London

“Making a great app is only half of the battle, then it comes
user acquisition and monetization—not always an easy feat
in this rapidly changing global market. “Apponomics: The
Insider’s Guide to a Billion Dollar App Industry” is full of best
practices and tips from industry experts that will help any app
developer improve their chances of success in this complex
business.”
―Dave Westin, Co-founder, Mobile UA Fellowship
The Insider’s Guide to a
Billion Dollar App Business
By Peggy Anne Salz
In Partnership with InMobi
Copyright © 2014 by Peggy-Anne Salz / InMobi
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quota-
tions embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright
law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.
Published by:
InMobi PTE LTD
65,Chulia Street
#25-01/02/03 OCBC Centre
Singapore - 049513
www.inmobi.com
Printed in the United Kingdom
by Tyson Press
Chester | London
Design and Layout by
SWATT Design Ltd
www.swatt-design.co.uk
Contents
INTRODUCTION 009
Move into the mobile app fast-lane 009
Helping you navigate some tough terrain 010
01: App Market by Numbers 011
Apps take off 012
App opportunity in education 014
‘Healthy’ app markets 015
Case Study: EFlashApps 016
App developer attitudes & choices 018
Developer population and personas 020
Case Study: Touchten 023
Tablets make their mark 025
Connectivity breeds more apps 026
SpotLight on Dev Lab 029
The three things you need to know 031
02: Your Attention, Please 033
Discovery dilemma 034
App discovery apps 036
Alternative app stores 037
Distribution DIY 040
App Publish 043
Cross-promotion 047
Case Study: Dolphin 050
Enter AppGalleries 052
App Store Optimization 054
Keyword research 056
App title and relevancy 057
App Icon 058
Making a powerful first impression 059
Guerrilla Marketing 063
Engagement marketing 064
Ken Herron’s Social Media Crash Course 065
Case Study: gamesGRABR 074
Other media in the mix 076
Networking 077
The three things you need to know 080
03: Acquiring High Quality Users at Global Scale 082
Paid promotion pays dividends 083
Driving installs 084
Non-incentivized 086
Variables to consider 089
Syncing your strategy 091
Case Study: Storm 8 092
Learning 094
Aiming for the top 096
Scale 100
Quality 104
Understanding tracking 105
Tracking for mobile apps can be complex 106
Spotlight: HasOffers 107
Device IDs 110
Browser cookies 111
Device fingerprinting 112
Winning with analytics 113
Repeat performance 114
The three things you need to know 116
04: Monetization & Optimization Crash Course 118
Making smart choices 119
Paid 119
Freemium 121
Case Study: Fingersoft 124
In-app purchase 126
IAP works for non-gaming apps too! 128
New breed of business models 130
Case Study: Learning from the King 132
Paid is dead? 133
Mobile advertising 135
Monetizing with mobile advertising 137
Case Study: Alegrium 139
Meet the mobile advertising ecosystem 141
Strategies to optimize results 145
Mobile advertising best practices 147
7 Deadly Sins of Mobile Ad Monetization 152
Hybrid models to get more out of advertising 154
Case Study: Madbit Entertainment 155
Analytics are essential 156
The three things you need to know 158
05: Get Smart About Customer Lifetime Value 160
ROI- positive metrics and mindset 161
Everything you need to know about LTV 162
More tips for calculating LTV 164
Mind the gap! 165
Maximizing LTV 167
Behavioral targeting basics 168
Keep it simple 169
Case Study: Tiny Co 172
Measurable and actionable 174
Tips to get the most out of mobile app analytics 176
Taking Control 177
InMobi Analytics 178
Mapping for success 179
The three things you need to know 181
06: Think Big, Go Global 183
Going East for opportunity 184
Penetration 187
China 187
Spotlight on the Chinese consumer 188
China’s challenges 192
Checklist: What it takes to win in China 197
Market landscape 198
Japan 198
Japan’s big app spenders 199
Market challenges 201
Spotlight on CyberZ 204
Checklist: What it takes to win in Japan 207
Market landscape 208
Korea 208
Addicted to apps 209
Case Study: GameVil 211
Market challenges 213
Checklist: What it takes to win in Korea 215
Case Study: Orangenose Studios 217
Your global playground 219
Going West with success 220
Case Study: Go Launcher 223
Localize your app 226
Case Study: J2 Interactive 228
The three things you need to know 229
07: Data-Driven Marketing in the Era of You 231
Shift happens 232
App developer disconnect 233
Your users come first 234
Data comes next 236
The significance of signals 237
Respecting privacy is best practice 238
Building better personas 241
Your app exists in an ecosystem 241
Why you can’t go it alone 243
What should you look for in a technology platform provider? 244
Moving from user personas to user stories 245
Case Study: Animoca 246
Trekking in ‘Trillions’ territory 256
Sensory explosion 257
Location meets context 259
Marketing and ‘Made Media’ 259
Loud and clear 260
The three things you need to know 262
Appendix 264
‘Helpful Tips’ Sheet: Ad Creative 265
‘Helpful Tips’ Sheet: How much can it cost? 272
‘Helpful Tips’ Sheet: How many markets should you target? 274
‘Helpful Tips’ Sheet: What are the sure signs of success, or failure? 275
‘Helpful Tips’ Sheet: Targeting 276
Endnotes 278
Glossary 282
App-solutely essential industry contacts 289
Expert Contributors 300
InMobi Insight’s Provided By 312
The Team 317
The InMobi Team 319
INTRODUCTION
Move into the mobile app fast-lane
It’s no longer a secret that creating apps has become a serious source of income for thousands of
app developers across the world. And while developing apps has become a profession for many,
not all developers have mastered the final step: How to grow the user base and make money?
The voracious speed at which the app industry continues to evolve, and the scores of products,
tools and platforms available to build and monetize apps, can often overwhelm an app developer
who is attempting to build a sustainable business.
At InMobi, our customers range from large developer studios that make hundreds of millions of
dollars annually, to much smaller app developers who fight for survival with minimal marketing
resources.
We have aided in building global success stories among this diverse group of app developers and
have played a pivotal role in guiding them through their journey to become successful “appre-
neurs,” including expansion from West to East, or the opposite direction, and entering key inter-
national markets like China and the U.S.
InMobi solutions address the app developer’s needs across the entire app lifecycle, including app
discovery & distribution, user acquisition, monetization, engagement, and retention. Our finely
tuned best practices, deliver real value at every phase of the app lifecycle.
We have created this book to share our six years of insights on the app business, complete with
real world case studies, developer interviews, and in-depth research to produce a practical guide
that can help you, the developer, navigate the complexities of the app world.
This book is an advanced guide to user acquisition and monetization, providing tips, tricks, and
practical advice to turn your app into a global business.
We hope you find this book useful and that your app finds the success it deserves!
Naveen Tewari
Founder & CEO, InMobi
APPONOMICS: The Insider’s Guide to a Billion Dollar App Business 009
Helping you navigate
some tough terrain
Apponomics: The Insider’s Guide to a Billion-Dollar App Business is your roadmap to sustainable
success, guiding you through the steps you need to follow to acquire quality users and make
money from your mobile app.
Drawing from extensive market research and exclusive interviews with senior executives from
companies across the ecosystem, this book is chock-full with lessons, learnings and best prac-
tices around targeting, acquiring and keeping loyal users.
From popular cross-platform tool providers to leading app data companies, and from regional
app marketing gurus across China, Japan and Korea, to super-successful app companies that
hit it big, this book uniquely gives you the inside track on everything you need to market and
monetize your app.
It’s both exciting and terrifying to think about the opportunities that
lay ahead for your business. And it’s no coincidence that developers
everywhere are scrambling to produce a compelling app. My first mobile
app book, The Everything Guide to Mobile Apps: A Practical Guide to
Affordable Mobile App Development for Your Business (F+W Media Inc.),
provided companies, marketers, brands and newbie app developers a
crash course in the basics to help them on their first app adventure.
The new and advanced guide, researched and written in close collaboration with InMobi, takes
all this to the next level. Bringing together exclusive interviews and in-depth market data, this
book tells you what it takes to turn your app into a serious — and sustainable—business.
The market is massive, and the competition is tough. But the interviews and insights featured
in Apponomics: The Insider’s Guide to a Billion Dollar App Business, will equip you to meet the
challenges head-on.
Strap yourself in. It’s going to be a terrific ride!
Peggy Anne Salz
Chief Analyst & Founder, MobileGroove Media
010 APPONOMICS: The Insider’s Guide to a Billion Dollar App Business