As a mobile game developer, you want to create the best game possible. You have most likely thought long and hard about gameplay and story — two of the most important aspects of a successful game. And the established story likely influenced the art style you chose to fit the world you are creating.
Often forgotten at the development stage, but equally important, is to consider the best way to generate revenue from your hard work. The mobile game market is crowded to say the least, and that’s why effective monetization is so essential for success. Games represent almost 22% of the total number of apps in the Apple Store — every month more than 12,000 new games are submitted. The mobile games revenue global market is also estimated to reach 30 billion USD this year, representing 30% of the total games market. Despite the competition, revenue generated from mobile games lead when looking at app revenue.
With these high stakes and steep market competition in the mobile games market, here are just a few top hacks every game developer should keep in mind whether just starting out or looking to increase profit from an existing game.
Have a marketing plan (aka plan for acquiring new users). Having a marketing plan from the get-go goes hand-in-hand with developing a mobile game. Developing a game, putting it out on the App Store/Google Play and waiting for users to come is not a good strategy. We all know the number of games out there, and the many that fail to gain traction and downloads. To maximize the profit potential for your mobile game, having a strategy about how you will monetize and acquire users is just as important as coding a great game, and again, it’s part of the game’s larger strategic plan. Great questions to ask yourself are: Will it cost users money to download your app? If so, how much? Will you go the free route, which may increase downloads, and then monetize solely based on advertisers? In the realm of mobile advertising, distribution and ad networks exist to deliver quality traffic to your mobile game, along with in-app advertising and many other features.
Aim for a well-rounded approach. Diversifying your strategy for monetization is the best route, and it’s just good business sense in general. You can do this by trying different methods for revenue generation as a publisher. For example, you might make your app free to download and decide to monetize through in-app purchases, in addition to profiting from ad space. You may want to have a plan that blends different methods for reasons like not interfering with the gamer’s experience. Having too many ads might compromise user experience, and turn people off of your game — which is why you’ll want to use ads to generate revenue in moderation.
Take advantage of analytics. The type of analytics that exist today provide extremely valuable insights like never before, and taking advantage of them is an important part of monetization. Analytics give a clear picture of how users respond to your game marketing. Beyond how many people downloaded your mobile game, the analysis of data will show how many people are visiting your site on the app marketplace and even how many people read your app description without making a purchase. These insights allow you to make better educated decisions when it comes to monetization. If you notice that there’s a particular area for improvement, analytics will let you pinpoint exactly where you can improve, and then your goals can be redirected and driven toward that particular KPI.
Advertising. When choosing advertising as a specific means for mobile monetization, diversifying this approach will serve you well too. Different advertising tactics like banners, interstitials, offerwalls, coupon offers and rewarded videos will perform differently depending on the type of game and target audiences, so make sure to try many.
Localization is key. It goes without saying that various markets will take to your game differently. People, cultures, habits and style vary tremendously throughout the world, so knowing very well the markets in which you’d like to be successful will go a long way in your game’s success. Make sure your game is adapted to the respective country and cultural behaviors.
Game Economy. Your game has its own internal economy, or at least it should. If you want to increase monetization, make sure the player is ultra-engaged and is able to advance within the game, enabling the user to continue using. Having levels players can pass through is a must to keep them engaged. Developers need to be aware of the effect of each monetization strategy, and that it can vary by platform — Android vs. iOS. The game’s design and player funnel should also be taken into consideration when choosing a monetization route.
Socialize your game. Your mobile game should have social elements integrated to ensure maximum monetization. Having users refer a friend, share the game, post about it, use gifting, and participate in tournaments are all great social marketing opportunities that should not be passed up. Integrating social media or using gifting and tournaments will go a long way in bringing in new users and spreading the word about your game.
Last, never forget that your game should be engaging. Using sound, bright colors and animation are important to get the user’s attention. At the end of the day — don’t forget the key to a good game is that it’s fun!
Daniel Neumann is General Manager, EMEA & APAC at ClicksMob, a fast-growing mobile performance platform.
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