MobiAdage - App Store Optimization, Mobile Advertising & Making Money on Android

Hi, a quick one... I've just released a new music app on the market for Heavy Metal fans.. Please download it and give it a spin... I am actually surprised at the quality of music these unsigned artists produce! Note: if you do not want the notification ads to show, click the menu button and uncheck the option.. Cheers! -Bill

If you're reading this blog here, then it is highly likely that you're not a big time app developer or owner of a big games or app company. I am pretty sure that Rovio wont be spending their time reading my blog (hey, if you're from Rovio, say aloha!). Chances are, you're like me, a small time app developer. To us, I say, stay small.

The Update Last week I added notification ads to classical radio app. The returns has been pretty awesome. (Check out Leadbolt for solid notification ads) It has been my largest money maker for most of the days, and has been consistently among the top 3 money makers for me. I have now added sign up ads via Pontiflex into it. And that has yielded another revenue stream from the app. Whats interesting though, is that the notification ads have not received negative feedback. The app has gained a few 4 and 5 star ratings, and a number of Google +1. So, maybe, just maybe.... the opt-in method probably works fine. And the download increase has been awesome too, check this out (copied from the android market): Whats next?  I am wondering, what if I, periodically, change the notification icons from the on-demand type it is now, to say a recurring one, maybe about once a week. That would show more ads to all that have my app. And maybe after 24 or 48 hours, change it ba

The implementation of the notification ad with an opt-in model has been surprisingly good... so far!

I have just updated my Classical Radio app with Leadbolt notification ads opt in added in. This app has has a very beautiful growth since launch. Check it out!

The 5th Season The world is a beautiful place. With the passing of days and weeks and months, so too the seasons change. Now, there is a great opportunity in making money from the seasons from your Android apps, and I am not talkling about a weather app.

The background Good looks go a long way in getting downloads for your apps. I'm a fan of looking out for beautiful app designs. I've looked at so many apps, gotten so much inspiration, but have yet to achieve anything that I can be proud of. Blame genetics if you must. I am a developer, and although I play the guitar and love music and beautiful art and images (even tried photography once), I suck in the design area. I can give an idea, a design, but cant execute it. I'm a coder damnit!

The Big Bang The universe started last May, when I started releasing apps with ads in them. I've made progress overall in my money making venture, and yes, the journey has been pretty eye opening. Imagine, jumping from making about $500 per month, to suddenly up to $2000? Not a gradual increase, but an instant jump! I'll share ideas on how you can use ads to monetise your apps, whats best way to implement the ads, the options and the drawbacks.

The shake in the knees Understanding the weakness that your app or game has is vital. It helps you build better app, improve your existing app, plus a few other things which I'll cover here. I release my highly successful app, Photo Story Camera FX app on the market, and it was such a runaway success, you really gotta download it!

Flames of passion Whether you've started making money with your Android device, or you're planning to make money with Android (that's why you're here aren't you?), there is one danger you need to be vary of - Burnout. Many developers have had this. They make a new app or game, successful or not, they stop updating their apps, stop releasing new apps, and just plain stop. Why does this happen?

How would you go about monetizing your Android app? Banners, interstitial, notification ads are a few ideas. They're fine most of the time. But what if you do not want user experience interrupted in using your app? This has been something I have had to plan for my upcoming app, Photo Story Camera FX .

Mad Elephant Studios is taking a new turn this year. We are going to go more main-stream. Focus will be to more useful apps and utilities. With this, the revenue from our Android Apps would hopefully be given much needed boost. This shift will bring Mad Elephant Studios to a whole new level. Whats in store?

How does good ratings for your Android game or app get you more money? Well, the ratings KIND-OF help in giving your app a higher attraction from the user, and a slightly better market ranking. How do you improve the rating?

Not making money from your Android apps after moving to a CPA ad network? A lot of people have an issue when they transition from a pay-per-click (CPC) ad type to a pay-per-action (CPA) ad type. I too have been in the same boat, and have since taken a life vest and jumped off of that boat. This article hopes to clear up a little for those who are making the move from CPC to CPA. Take the life jacket, jump in, the water is warm enough, I have a feeling you'll enjoy the waves better. Lets read on...

The ultimate showdown that you've been waiting for. Which wall would stand the fight! Allright, enough drama!  Offer Walls or App Walls (or whatever walls) is a way of displaying offers or apps to the user in your app. The walls here could list a few items, thus giving the users exposure to more than 1 advertised product in 1 glance. This way there is a higher exposure to "ads" than say a normal banner in an app could show you. I have used 2 of these walls in my apps, one from Leadbolt , and another from AppBrain (yes, I was suprised when I found out that they had advertising too!). I had option to use the AppBrain SDK before the Leadbolt's wall option was made available.

You're Brilliant! Having an amazing idea for an app is fun! You're going through your daily life, and you realise hey, you should make a todo app to help you list out all the stuff you wanna do. Thats awesome. You're not gonna make much money with that though. Not with android, and not unless you're lucky (pretty confusing statements there).

My money making with android ads journey was superb! December has really been an awesome month! The highest earnings ever I've received, with Leadbolt providing the bigger share! Airpush remained as it was, and admob picked up a lot! I believe with santa out of the picture now, its gonna go down back to how it was before december. I am still depending very much on leadbolt to drive my revenue. Their app wall hasnt been giving good return to me. I will try some new implementation strategy for that. My faith in them is strong! Will share the tips and report how it goes soon... hang in there! Cheers! -Bill