The idea for the next big venture can come to anyone at any time. Whether it’s while you’re musing at midnight or have been working towards it for the past couple of months. Your idea for an app is the beginning of a journey that can end in success!
I HAVE AN APP IDEA, WHERE DO I START?
When you think of your idea and your instinct says ‘I have a really good idea for an app’, then it’s worth pursuing and looking into. But the question is how? Look into the viability of your idea and if there’s a gap in the market that it fulfils. Unless your app resolves a problem or adds value to the life of its users, it won’t be a sustainable idea. The only way to verify the viability is by investing in market research and obtaining quantitative data that supports your idea.
I HAVE AN APP IDEA BUT NO PROGRAMMING SKILLS?
You do not need programming skills to build an app. You need your idea, the vision that drives it, managerial skills and leadership prowess. However, one can’t learn all this overnight and it’s a learning curve. To build your vision of the app, hire a team or outsource an agency to work for the tech part of the app creation while you focus on the bigger picture’s strategy.
WHAT’S AN MVP AND WHY DO I NEED IT?
An MVP is a Minimum Viable Product. This would be the version of your app that has all the essential and core functions and features of the app. You should always aim to create the most smooth functioning MVP first before working on extra features. This would ensure that you know the feedback for the core functions of the app and would know how to fix and grow it further in the future.
WHAT KIND OF MONETISATION STRATEGY CAN I USE?
There are many ways that you can monetise your app to generate revenue for your new or existing business. The choice you make and the strategy you create could be to select one or more methods of monetisation based on the kind of audience and product you intend to have. In a June 2019 survey of 400 app developers across the USA & UK, 56% stated that they used a subscription model and 36 per cent stated that it generated the most money. However, freemium apps were a close second with a 54% usage rate and 33% of app developers stating that they generated the most revenue via this method.
MOST POPULAR MOBILE APP BUSINESS MODELS AS OF JUNE 2019, BY USAGE AND MONETIZATION
The various monetization methods that you can employ are as follows:
IN-APP ADVERTISING
The most popular model employed by app developers, this method generates indirect revenue for the app by providing a free app to its users where they are shown ads.
SUBSCRIPTION AND THE FREEMIUM MODEL
Under the freemium model, a certain amount of basic features are available for free users, while paying subscribers to get additional premium features that they can use.
DATA MONETIZATION
Large app audiences that are collected and anonymized provide very insightful statistics that can help improve digital ecosystems from designing smart cities to better-targeted marketing.
IN-APP PURCHASES, VIRTUAL GOODS AND CURRENCY
Some apps, especially games, sell in-app purchases like virtual goods bundles, in-app currency or even physical merchandise like t-shirts, etc
TRANSACTION FEES
Usually used by marketplace apps where browsing is free but they charge a percentage of the amount exchanged when a purchase is made.
TRANSACTIONAL APPS
Employed largely by finance apps, this model generates revenue on every transaction that happens on the app. Eg. somebody purchasing a share via your app will also pay a transactional fee for the service.
WHAT CAN I DO TO GET MY APP FUNDED?
Now that you have an MVP plan and a monetization strategy in place, you need to work on a business plan to pitch to potential investors and even partners. There are many ways to acquire funding for your business:
- Angel Investors
- Venture Capitalists
- Crowdfunding
- Business Partners who will bring in monetary backup
- Bootstrapping
Create a budget plan and accordingly pitch to the potential investors to acquire funding. To get a realistic idea about how much will the app cost you, you can use our App Development Cost Calculator.
HOW TO START BUILDING MY APP?
With funding in place, you now know the expertise level that you need to build your app and the budget to do it within. You can read more about what key mistakes to avoid when building an app here. Broadly there are three ways that you can build an app, each with its own pros and cons.
- Hiring an in-house team
- Collaborating with expert freelancers
- Working with an app development agency like Valere
Outsourcing’s biggest advantage is that it gives you access to experts who work on your app while you can work on the bigger picture to scale and grow the business. You can learn more about outsourcing your app development here.
MY MVP IS READY, NOW WHAT?
Once the MVP is ready, push it out and get feedback for improvements and edits before you officially publish your app publicly. This helps smoothen out any glitches, improve the user flow and increase the efficiency of your product. This in turn will ensure that once published, your app makes a great first impression. Testing at every step often saves time and effort in the long run and building the MVP and then making changes post feedback should be no different.
CAN I PUBLISH MY APP NOW?
Once you have worked out the issues and improved from the MVP stage, it’s time to add finishing touches like optimising the checkout process or ensuring seamless navigation across devices and versions. When you are sure that the app fits and works perfectly across devices and systems, you’re ready to publish the app. However, just publishing it alone won’t generate users or revenue. You need a solid marketing strategy and growth plan in place. For this, you will have to study the app markets constantly, do regular competitor and industry studies, etc. If you want to be a successful app entrepreneur you’ll have to be on your toes to keep growing.
MY APP IS PUBLISHED, WHAT’S NEXT?
Once the app is published, there’s a lot of day-to-day tasks that need to be monitored and delegated. When you build an app, you also need to provide regular security checks, upgrades and general maintenance updates for your users. When you build the app with us, you get end-to-end solutions and more so it’s imperative to choose the right team for your passion project. You can hire an in-house team for those tasks or delegate a few of them like Data Management, Customer Support, Administration, Graphic Design, Marketing & Social Media to us at Valere Assistance.
Building an app and running a business are both challenging tasks individually. When combined, they are even more challenging but also have more growth potential. So, if you have an idea for an app, get started on it!
Valere is an award-winning software development agency that has built over 300 top-rated applications for startups and Fortune 500 companies in all verticals like healthcare, finance, sports, fitness, education, and more. Their apps have been featured by the New York Times, and have been consistently recognized as Apple App Store’s top featured apps, TechRadar, and Google Play Store’s top featured apps! Schedule a call with us today to learn how we can help your team create the perfect software or application that can Accelerate Your Business Goals!
