Do you remember brownie points that you earned as a kid from your aunt while playing games? They were meant to reward your good conduct and honesty. Well your mobile app users expect the same, so you give them rewards. But in the mobile app business, you deserve to earn some brownie points too. Monetization of your application determines whether your idea can fetch financial results.

In a free downloadable application, In-App purchases are one of the best ways to monetize. A download means the user has shown confidence in your application. When he keeps using the application, he is most likely to upgrade or buy more features. This is a sign that your application has successfully solved his/her problem. But how do you monetize by In-app purchases? Let us break it down for you:

Create apps independent of in-app purchases

The most obvious assumption that a user makes while downloading an app is that it would be functional without purchases. Contradictory as it may sound, if your app doesn’t function properly without purchases, it will fail to generate any purchases. So while the user is busy in your app, you can opt for complementary revenue by offering to enhance user experience.

Add unlockable features

One of the best ways to monetize by In-app purchases is to divide your application in stages just like gaming applications. Take for example, social media management application Buffer gives Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Linked-in free of cost but starts charging for more social networks beyond these.

Give Limited Time Offers/One-Time Deals

Just like any other marketing method, this always works. Anything that’s available in incredibly low price has the MOST value at the moment. Ensure that you plan your Limited Offers wisely so as to earn revenue on occasions such as New Year’s, Christmas etc. In case of One-Time Deals, use the brownie point method again and reward your most engaged users with such deals.

Add ‘Remove ads’ option but include recommendations

Users wish to experience a mobile application without distractions. Always keep the Remove Ad button but include recommendations so as to appear subtle. Users who are hooked to your application will listen to these recommendations more than ads.

While it’s true that monetizing apps is tricky, yet if you do it wisely and smartly, you can always keep your users coming back to you for more.