Whether or not you’re a fan of IAP (in-app purchases), from the mobile app developer team side there is certainly merit to owning a successful app that has people purchasing things in your app like crazy. So how do you properly “tap” 😀 into this craze without getting hate in the reviews for another “pay to win” game? Using a few simple tricks you can turn your “pay to win” game into a profitable success. Here are a few tips:
1. Create Need
Why would you spend money unnecessarily? In the case of a game, the likelihood of most people trying to pass the levels on skill alone will be high. In order to create the need or desire for an in-app purchase you need to hit two points:
- You raise the difficulty incrementally
- You raise the amount of time a user spends trying to complete each level
The incremental time needed in your app as you progress can go a long way to stir the desire for an in-app purchase. If you read my other blog posts which I am sure you do, you will remember my important point for app creation:
People love things that will save them time
And the case is still true for your in-app purchases, sometimes the temptation of beating a level of your game in a few minutes can be great when the alternative can take a significantly longer time. Kinda starting to make sense? Good, let’s move on!
2. Give Them a Taste
I remember being only a few candies away from beating my Candy Crush level and being thankful they gave me a few bombs to help me finish them off. Once my free bombs ran out, I didn’t know what to do, I felt like they had become part of my strategy so I quickly rushed to the store to buy more. Just by giving me that quick taste of what I COULD do with a few extra items made the game seem like I couldn’t play without them (remember that Need point we just covered?). As we saw in Candy Crush and many other apps, just by adding a few items for free was a complete game changer for their IAP rate, it literally costs you nothing to add a few digital gifts to your user and before you know it, you may have a paying customer on your hand.
3. Perceived Value
Now I could go well into the ins and outs of perceived value but here is the sum of it. When you buy a hamburger, why not get fries and a drink for $2 extra? In other words, why not bundle purchasable items that go together at a discounted price? Again, this costs nothing for you to do and the value to your customers will be boosted. Win-win. You could also do this as a limited time event, if you create a sense of urgency and wrap it with a good value, you have a couple pretty strong ingredients for success.
4. The Opportunist
Have you ever lost a life in a game or failed after coming so close to beating your high score? Doesn’t that just bug you like crazy to come so close and lose it all? Enter the opportunistic offers to save your bacon for a low fee. Providing a way to salvage your progress or to spend a small amount to get those last few points you need can be both beneficial to you as a developer, as well as adding value to your customers, especially if your app is popular and addictive enough to warrant investment. You can add to this by making a one time limited edition offer to provoke urgency.
5. Analytics
Make sure you have some sort of analytics set up to determine location, most popular items, and age demographics as this will help you find a strong target audience. It also doesn’t hurt to see who is number 1 in the app stores and why. Checking out what the competition is doing is absolutely a fair play if you believe you can apply the same success to your own app. Never stop working at making your IAP more appealing, easier to find/get, and more targeted if necessary to your strongest clientele.
Now What?
If you’re thinking, “I saw a couple of great strategies in there and would love to get started with my own app,” you’re in the right place. Our team would love to chat about all your ideas big and small. Just head over to the Contact Us section of our website and we will get to work setting up your appointment for a chat! When it comes to your app idea, don’t you deserve the best app developer?
References:
www.raywenderlich.com/39647/40-secrets-to-making-money-with-in-app-purchases
