If you want to monetize your app through certain in-app marketing strategies, there are several options available to you. While in-app marketing can be profitable and help you earn more revenue for your app, your efforts must not hinder the user experience.

While many app publishers opt to sell ad space within their apps, the majority of users will quickly turn away from apps that don’t use ads the right way. If users see too many ads too frequently or simply see irrelevant ads with poor placement, this could severely limit your app’s appeal. It’s particularly hard to connect with users through ads today, considering the number of ads they see every day on multiple platforms from apps to social media sites.

Keep in mind that a poor user experience in your app can be extremely detrimental, making this a priority over any form of monetization. According to one survey on CXL, 48% of users who had a bad experience with an app were less likely to use it again. Meanwhile, 34% stated that they were likely to try a competitor’s app if it appeared to deliver a better experience.

If you want to offer the best user experience while effectively monetizing your app, the following are some in-app marketing strategies to try.

1. Carefully Place Ads

With the right placement and ad type, you can use in-app ads to monetize your app without negatively impacting the user experience. There are several types of ads you can use within your app, making it important to select the right one based on your app’s category and usage.

The potential types of ads you can place in your app may include:

• Banner Ads
    These ads take up a small amount of space on users’ screens when using an app. They typically stay in place as the user scrolls or otherwise browses a page. Because they’re in the background, they often go ignored by users, which leads to minimal awareness and engagement.
• Interstitials
    These are ads that tend to cover the entire screen when they appear. This ensures the user sees the ad and increases the likelihood of engagement. The ad then normally includes a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages users to perform a specific action, such as downloading an app.
• Video Ads
    These are ads that play a video for a specific amount of time before the user can close them. They may be as short as five seconds or as long as several minutes, but the shorter the better if you want to engage users and avoid hurting the user experience.
• Native Ads
    Using native ads, you can create an advertising experience that blends the ad with the app’s design. These ads typically feature designs that resemble the app’s design, which allows for a more seamless ad experience.
• Playable Ads
    If you really want to engage users and get them to connect with the ads displayed, playable ads are among the most effective. Playable ads present users with a mini-game that they can play to engage with a particular app, product, or service in a fun way. Because of their entertainment factor, they tend to complement the user experience within an ad.

Regardless of the ad types you select, you need to choose the right frequency and placement for them. Avoid placing them at critical moments that might irritate users and interrupt their experience. You should also make sure your ads don’t show up too often, which is another primary reason users leave an app. As an example, a casual gaming app might feature a very brief period of gameplay for each level, showing two ads between levels. This would likely be too frequent to the point of annoying users.

If you want to get the most from your ad strategy, you may also want to integrate carousel ads for products or a dedicated offer wall. On an offer wall, you could give users the opportunity to watch various ads in exchange for an in-app reward, such as game currency or free virtual items. This would give users more of an incentive to view and engage with those ads, leading to more revenue and app engagement on your end.

2. Use Advanced Segmentation

To get the most from your in-app marketing strategies, you should use advanced segmentation to effectively personalize the in-app experience and ads. This is crucial for successful app marketing strategies.

Through segmentation, you can find out what each portion of your audience wants to experience through advertising and the app itself. Based on this segmentation, you can then develop in-app notifications and other content using visuals and messaging that appeal to each segment. Segmenting your audience also makes it easier to identify the most valuable audiences, which you may want to market to more heavily.

Again, try not to push any in-app notifications, ads, or other content too frequently, as this can turn people away regardless of the content’s relevance.

3. Create In-App Modals

An in-app modal appears on mobile users’ screens and encourages them to perform a specific action before they’re able to access the app outside of it. Because of their intrusive nature, modals can easily annoy users if you don’t use them the right way. On the other hand, well-made and properly delivered modals can be extremely useful in your in-app marketing strategies.

Modals can drive a variety of actions within the app. For example, they may include a CTA button that directs users to a particular feature. Meanwhile, others can simply include messages and allow users to close them, while others can ask users to enter information to customize the experience. They most often show up in the form of welcome screens that introduce new users to an app.

In some cases, you may want to include brief videos in your modals. These videos can feature short tutorials or promote certain features in your app. For instance, a modal with a video could discuss a particular paid feature that users aren’t already paying for, which can get them to consider upgrading.

As with other potentially irritating in-app prompts, avoid using modals too often. It’s typically best to keep them limited to welcome screens for new users or to use them as one-time notifications when rolling out a new feature.

4. Conduct In-App Surveys

In-app surveys can complement other types of surveys that you request online through email or other platforms. When conducting surveys in your app, you should stick to micro surveys that don’t require as much time as longer ones.

One way to use in-app surveys is to request certain personal details from users that help shape the user experience. As an example, a prompt in a business app may include fields that enable users to enter their age, gender, and occupation, which could then personalize the user’s experience accordingly. You can also ask whether users like a certain feature or request specific feedback through a brief message.

Using the data collected, you can gain more insight into users and figure out how to further optimize the app. You may discover that many users don’t like or simply aren’t using a recently added feature, getting you to remove or change it. Additionally, you may learn that the majority of your users share a certain demographic, which could inspire certain design changes that are more likely to appeal to this demographic.

5. Integrate Resources and Guides

If you want to reduce the number of help tickets you receive and make things easier in terms of customer service for app users, you’ll benefit from incorporating a knowledge base in your app. While it may cost a certain amount of time to put together different guides and resources to include in your app, you’ll ultimately save a lot of time and effort in the future with invaluable content.

Keep in mind that resources and guides are popular among app users. In one survey, 91% of respondents stated that they would enjoy using in-app guides and resources over contacting customer service teams. This is largely because many people want to solve problems on their own before turning to anyone for help. You can make it easy for them with detailed information about your features, how to use your app, and how to address any issues.

Your in-app knowledge base could also feature a variety of content, including text guides along with helpful videos.

Develop a Solid In-App Marketing Strategies to Monetize Your App and Connect With Users

With the right in-app marketing strategy that doesn’t hurt the user experience, you can effectively monetize your app while engaging users.

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by akbar
source: AppSamuraiin-app