The ‘app industry’ is still extremely young, even in terms of technology niches. That being said, however, it has exploded in popularity and given many individuals and companies a way to make huge amounts of money almost overnight. The days of ‘publish & profit’ for apps, however, are gone. Today it is difficult to get the attention of users since there are thousands of new apps added to the various app stores every day.
This is why ads for app installs have become so popular. According to a new study from Fiksu, people are paying more than ever to get users to use their apps. The cost for a loyal app user has gone up from just over $1.50 in November of 2014 to $2.21 in June of 2015. This means app marketers are paying more than twice what they were for each loyal user.
Getting people to use your apps is important for becoming profitable, but it is not a guarantee. The report also found that while people are spending more time than ever on their mobile devices, they are still using the same general number of apps per device. This means that getting people to spend time on your app is often a matter of getting them to spend less time on another app. Of course, other app marketers are busy trying to get their app to bump off yours too.
Fiksu CEO, Micah Adler, said “June’s results reflect the ongoing evolution of the mobile marketplace, as marketers continue their struggle to gain screen time with users. Increased competition for limited attention is causing a rise in overall costs.”
This is certainly true. The question, however, is whether or not the added marketing costs are worth it for app marketers. If you can get an app to become popular, it is possible to make many millions of dollars (See SuperCell, a company making millions from Clash of Clans and Boom Beach). Most apps, however, don’t end up making a dime. No matter how good your marketing is, you need to start out with an amazing product or you’ll be doomed to fail from the beginning.
