There are three things that you need in order to successfully convert users and make your app profitable:
- You need to offer an outcome that your users really need and want.
- You need to offer it in a way that is simple, straightforward, and easy to get to.
- The outcome you offer and the way your users access it needs to be unique enough that your process is the obvious choice.
These are the prerequisites for a successful monetization attempt. Failure to adhere to these principles will result in failure to monetize.
I will use Uber and Facebook as cases in point.
Uber
Hailing a cab, dealing with fare, and all the B.S. that entailed sucked. Uber thought: “Hey, what if we can offer an outcome that people need (transportation), but in a way that is straightforward and easy to get to (application/platform), that we position for ease of access and usage (solid UI/UX principles)?”
As you can see, they adhered to the rules, and now their company is worth billions, and it didn’t happen by accident.
“What about Facebook? People don’t pay for that platform but they’re still highly valued!” Yes, that’s because certain users don’t pay, while others do. Advertising users pay Facebook to push ads to users who use the platform for free; which makes them, in turn, the product.
Again, Facebook abstracted online marketing, put everything you need in one spot, built a monopoly around it, and have so far done a very nice job defending that monopoly from other companies.
They followed the rules, and they got the reward. You can too.
