Can you give me some tips to monetize my iphone/android apps?

[john]

I am in the planning stage of creating a app. I want it to be free, so alot of people will use it. Ultimately, my goal is to get the app to go viral such as Angry Birds, or Draw Something.

What are some tips to do this?

Some things I want to do: Make the app go viral, have lots of active users, and create a community within the app for people to interact.

[Rad]

You can include small minor ads in them this will make some dough, also let more people know about it obviously, and erm that's all i know.

[Nader]

well, if you were able to give it a push in marketing, then all that's left is an app that catches the eye. if it was a game try to make it look sharp-in visuals
keep in mind that the more you put MONEY and EFFORT into it the better your product will be and eventually should sell high. and always remember that people expect you to give them the best for cheap if not for free. hope that helps.

[David]

According to http://appscashbook.com/showthread.php/2...Phone-Apps

Here are some tips:

I have done some thinking and I feel these are probably the top 10 tips to creating profitable iphone apps:

1 - Look at trends or look for a niche
When brainstorming think of a particular niche you may want to enter or current trends within the industry. Search the top 100 paid and unpaid apps currently on iTunes. Do some mind mapping at this point.

2 - Complicated does not mean good
If you look at all the iPhone apps out there, the best tend to be simple and straight to the point. As we are talking about ensuring your app will be profitable, it's important to analyse whether or not the work, effort and money injected into the project will get you the kind of return you will want in comparison to what a simpler more cost effective app may bring.

3 - Make sure your idea doesn't already exist - This is an obvious one
I don't think I need to explain much here other than don't waste time developing an app then searching to see if one already exists.

4 - Choosing that winning name
This can be a difficult one. Selecting the right name can be crucial, so much so that it could determine how successful your app will be. Things to remember/do - The name must not already be used, type your potential name into Google, it should sum up your app in 3 words. Take some time on this, play around with name and name combinations.

5 - Turn a customer into a sale! - You only have 3 seconds to do this
Once a potential customer lands on your app page on the app store, you have around 3 seconds to grab their attention. The name is crucial along with your icon and the first line of your description. Make sure everything is informative but to the point! Show screenshots of your app along with a demo video.

6 - Use already existing framework
There are a ton of free frameworks out there which you can use. Work with it instead of trying to create your own (unless you are a very adept programmer). Why waste time spending thousands for developers to create something entirely new if there are similar frame works out there that can be enhanced.

7 - Have your business model already in place
This is just basic business principles here. If you have an idea, sit down and write out your business plan. Set out your financial forecasts etc. This is where it will give you an idea of how profitable your iPhone app may be! It's also a good idea here to work out some form of a marketing strategy to follow. If you don't have goals and targets, how will you ever know if your app is successful?

8 - Don't waste your time on a sinking ship
Almost all apps have similar sales graph. Release, then being quiet for a few days, then skyrocket and then slowly sink towards a plateau close to the bottom. There are a million and one tricks how to make your sales’ peak unload more apps and how to make your downtrend flatter, etc. but remember once you hit the bottom it will never be a hit app anymore, you can keep it alive and sell some more, but eforts vs. proft ratio will only get worse and worse.

9 - Create hype
Don't hold onto the fact you are creating an app, then release it, then try and get people excited about it! Create some hype through social media means, get bloggers to write about it, do some press releasing and tell everyone about this awesome app that will be releasing. Get some reviews and demos of it across the media platforms and give the date it will be launched. Creating hype is a great way of helping to get sales. Everyone loves a bit of hype!!

10 - Sexy, Sexy and Sexy
Make your app look good! Design a user friendly interface with app sex appeal! It's amazing how many iPhone app users base their purchases on how good the app looks (screenshots on iPhone app store page). The better it looks the more sales you will have.