How to Make Your Mobile App Addictive
It’s not uncommon if the first thing you do in the morning is grope around the bedside table for your phone. Who can get out of bed without checking the stocks, checking email, checking Facebook. Or even before going to bed at night, the last thing many of us do is check Instagram, fire off a final tweet, or confirm what time boxing class is the next day.
What is it about these apps that have inherently integrated them into our daily lives? There was a time before mobile applications when people didn’t NEED to check mobile apps, but that time occurred simply because they didn’t exist. Now that they do, it can be nearly impossible to imagine what life was like pre-app.
How did the most addicting apps become so...addicting? Yet even more importantly, how can your app become one that users can’t get through the day without?
Plug Into the Routine
The apps that are used the most have everything to do with what their user does in day-to-day life. Think about the ones you use...apps that track exercise and eating, apps that help manage schedules, apps that provide music to help you hum through the day. These are the winners in most people’s lives because they are with the users as they go about their day, and even make it easier for them to do the activities they like. If you can fulfill a need that fits into a user’s daily routine, it’ll be addictive.
Integrate with Other Services
Some standalone apps have good reason to be just the way they are. However the golden handcuffs are fastened when your app can integrate with apps and services your users already love. For example, PayPal is a well known money transfer service, allowing businesses to accept funds and allows friends to send money to each other. All that is needed is an account holder’s email or phone number and poof, money is sent. However the hassle arrives when the payer must look up the phone number or email address of the person they wish to pay. This can be just as much of a hassle as getting up to get and enter the credit card, which can inhibit the transaction from occurring altogether.
Then came along Venmo, a money sending mobile application integrated directly with Facebook. Upon sign up, a user immediately connects to Facebook and accesses the Facebook user’s profile and friends. Once bank account information is initially entered, the user can easily send funds to anyone on their friends list who has also activated the Venmo app. This integration makes it much easier to send money to friends, and removes the barrier of looking up any sort of account information. Because of this Venmo quickly became a go-to app for savvy spenders, and eventually were acquired by PayPal.
Talk to Your User
Send timely notifications to let your user know you’re there. You’re competing with a heavy amount of noise both from the users app filled phone and with the busy world around. In order to become an app worthy of daily use, your user should be regularly aware of its existence. For example, if they haven’t logged in for a day or two, send a gentle reminder via push notification to remind them to check in. Perhaps you can gain the user’s email address. If so, send updates on what’s going on with your app to keep the user informed - and your app top of mind.
Get Personal
Have your user enter personal information, if it makes sense in the context of your app. From there, personalize their experience. When they log in, greet them with a, “Hello Brent!” or even ask them how their day is going. If you know their time zone you could go even further and say, “Good evening, Brent!” The sweetest sound to any person’s ear is their own name - so use that Psych 101 tidbit to your advantage to get your user hooked on your application.
Make it Fun
Regardless of if your app is for business or play, most of the time you can still have fun with your user. Gamification is as addicting as sugar, so get your audience engaged in ways that make your app feel more like a game.* Perhaps you can add a host character who guides the user about the app, making it fun and friendly. Or encourage more activity by unlocking new features with continued use. Awarding points or prizes in some way is a great way to make your user feel rewarded - and keep them coming back for more.
*If your app is a game, well, make sure it’s a really fun game.
Keep an Eye on User Activity
Monitor where your users spend their time. What portions of your app are they using? Which are hardly opened? If you can determine usage you can gain valuable insight into what is working for your app, and build upon the features that intrigue and engage your audience. There are some great tools available that can help you with this, such as Google Mobile Analytics or Flurry Analytics. Just remember that what is taking up valuable data space could possibly better be used otherwise, which can make your app the attractive solution to getting the user through their day.
Connect with Friends
Similar to our point about integrating with other services, if you can connect your app to the user’s community, all the more reason for them to stay engaged with your app. While we know that we talked about dating applications recently, we can’t help but hammer on the issue of how genius it is to connect daters with people who aren’t entirely strangers. In our particular article we talked about Pear Friends, yet there are other dating applications that utilize user’s friends to get better results when providing matches. One such app is called Hinge, the app that helps users meet new people through friends by connecting daters only with people within the parameters of that user’s social circle. It does this by plugging in directly, again, with Facebook. From there the app searches through friends of friends to determine what kind of people may be a good fit. Using this strategy makes it much more addicting for daters, as infused with it is the excitement of learning who friends are friends with, and the added security that matches are not complete strangers.
The success of your app depends on having users. Giving your users a reason to use your app daily gives them reason to talk about it with their friends, thus widening your user base and making you more successful. If you’re ready to get started making that app dream a reality, let us know how we can help you get started.
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Setting a Price for Your App
Everyone who develops an app for consumer use has to face the question of price. Should your app be free to use? If not, what should you charge for it?
These are difficult questions to answer, especially if you’ve spent countless sleepless hours thinking through every last feature of your app to make it the best it can be.
Pricing your app is a bit more complex than classifying it as “free” or “paid.” There are four different payment models you could consider, based on a number of factors. Before you decide on an app price, take a look at all four models, the benefits of each, and then decide how you can choose the right model for your app.
Meet the App Pricing Models
Free
The majority of apps in the Apple and Google Play store fall into this category. It’s interesting to note the contrast between the two stores. In the Apple Store, 61% of apps are free, compared to 92% of apps available for Android. This is due to Android’s open source software and the fact that it attracts more DIY, small-scale app developers.
In this pricing model, your app will be free of charge to download and use. If you are looking to generate revenue from your app, your revenue stream would come through advertising and directing users towards a larger platform where people can opt into other charges. Free app developers understand their best shot to make money is not with an upfront download charge. Don’t underestimate the revenue that in-app advertising can bring — more than 80% of Facebook’s ad revenue now comes from mobile advertising.
Free apps have the major advantage of being searched first in app stores.
Freemium
Freemium apps are free to download, but place in-app restrictions on what a person can do or access with the free version. This model acts as a teaser, giving people access to the basic functions of an app in order to hook them into paying for additional features.
This includes encouraging users to buy new filters for their photos, extra lives or tools for their games, exclusive recipe content for cooking apps, or items for their virtual farm. Anything that requires the spending of real money to advance functionality in your app space. Remember, in order to get your users interested in the premium version of your app or the paid features, your free version must offer some engaging value at the basic level.
This pricing model is ideal if you want to reap the organic traffic brought in by free apps, but think you have enough features worth monetizing. For some categories of apps, such as games, you may need to plan for regular updates and additions to your available in-app purchases in order to keep users engaged long term.
Paid: One-Time Purchase
In this model, users pay a one-time fee to download your app. Setting a price for your app will depend on a number of factors, including the demographics and interests of your target market, and competitor price points. Interestingly enough, $0.99 is not the most popular price. In the Apple Store, 12% of apps are listed at $2.99, and 8% at $4.99. These outrank the 6% of apps charged at the minimum $0.99 rate.
One challenge of the one-time payment model is that users cannot try out your app before spending money on it — you’re essentially asking users to buy a product without testing it. This can slow downloads, unless your app falls under a niche market, doesn’t have much competition, or comes with heavyweight reviews. These kinds of paid apps are best for popular businesses that already have a large base of loyal customers.
Paid: Recurring Subscription
As opposed to charging users once to download your app, you may consider charging a recurring monthly or annual subscription. This works well for apps that produce fresh content on a regular basis (such as news apps) or those offering ongoing services (such as personal finance apps and streaming apps). One advantage of this model is that you may be able to charge users more in the long run than they’d be willing to pay in a one-time fee, generating a steady stream of revenue for your business. The subscription model also allows you to offer a free trial, which can lower the barrier to entry for new customers.
This model does require you to make additional decisions, such as whether you want to bill monthly or annually, (the answers depend heavily on your target market and how the app is used). You’ll need to plan for the subscription model early during development of your app, as the app will need to recognize the time interval set for your subscription, and be able to accommodate changes in user subscription status, expired subscriptions and more.
Paidmium
This pricing model is a blend of the paid and freemium models. These apps require an initial download cost — plus additional opportunities for in-app purchases. The paidmium model keeps developers on their toes, but should only be used if a company is certain it can continue providing valuable content to users on a consistent basis.
Choosing Your Pricing Model
There are three major questions you should consider when choosing a pricing model for your app:
Who is my audience? Survey results show that those in the baby boomer generation will be less likely to pay for an app than younger consumers, who have fewer reservations about spending money on app downloads.
What are my competitors doing? If you are the only paid app among a sea of freemium apps with similar offerings, your product will drown. Look at the most popular pricing model for your competition and price your app accordingly.
iOS or Android? The Apple Store has more paid apps than the Google Play Store. You may consider different pricing schemes, depending on whether you’re selling in one or both stores.
Pricing for Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
If your app is for an IoT device, scrap the regular pricing model schemes. Because these apps offer highly-personalized, on-demand services for IoT devices, they naturally demand an initial payment from the user for the actual device. Many IoT gadgets come with a selection of apps already installed by the company that produced the device. Consider whether your app would be better sold to consumers, to be downloaded onto their various IoT devices, or to the makers of the IoT devices themselves.
IoT apps offer a range of services in one app (think of a home security app that can identify potential fires, intruders, and lock your front door if it has slipped your mind). While the app itself may be included for free, its provided services are not. As a result, IoT app companies are creating tiered payment models for customers, ranging from the most basic of services to higher paid tiers that offer more flexibility. This allows customers the freedom to choose their level of investment.
IoT apps can also be pay-as-you-go. For example, imagine having an air conditioning unit that’s connected to the IoT, and charges you only for your rate of usage. We already see insurance payment models in which users pay for car insurance per mile driven; the rise of IoT vehicles will make it possible to not only pay-per-mile to rent a car, but also pay-per-usage for any IoT app services you may use while driving that car. The pay-what-you-use approach gives users flexibility in how much they spend for the services your app offers.
Don’t Wait Until Release to Set a Price
It’s best to consider the pricing model and price point for your app before you go into the development stage. This way, your development team can design and produce features that fit what’s needed for your revenue model — whether that’s elements to accommodate advertising, encourage in-app purchases, or direct users to a wider network. During development and design, you can always rework the pricing model as you add or remove features from the app.
By the time you’re ready for release, you’ll not only have a well-built app but also a well-suited pricing model to go along with it, so as your app delights users it also provides you with appropriate revenue.
If you need help assessing a price point for your app, Barefoot Solutions offers a full-service team to guide you in the process, from strategy and marketing to design and development — let us help you bring your app to life.
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