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Building Successful Free-to-Play Apps on Android
The document discusses building successful free-to-play apps on Android. It covers acquisition through channels like video ads and cross promotion. Retention strategies discussed include social sharing, daily rewards, and challenges/quests. Monetization techniques include direct in-app purchases, offerwalls displaying ads in exchange for virtual currency, and featuring limited-time special item deals. The key is iterating quickly based on metric analysis.
Building Successful Free-to-Play Apps on Android
- 1. Building Successful Free-to-PlayApps on Android
- 2. Agenda • Introduction toTapjoy • Android Market Stats • Acquisition • Retention • Monetization
- 3. About Tapjoy • Founded 2007 • HeadquartersSan Francisco • Offices in the US, Europe and Asia ® • Reach 600+ million mobile consumers on Android, iOS, Windows Phone 7 HTML5 • Funding $70.5 million from • J.P. Morgan Asset Management • Rho Ventures • North Bridge Venture Partners • InterWest Partners • D.E. Shaw Ventures
- 4. Recent Recognition Tapjoy recognized among the world’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company World’s Most #27 Innovative Company Most Innovative in #1 Gaming Most Innovative in #2 Mobile
- 5. Tapjoy Value Exchange Howit Works: Vivian needs more Pet Points to hire another employee in Pretty Pet Salon. She can buy Pet Points She can earn Pet Points by engaging with real money. with ads in Tapjoy’s Marketplace.
- 6. Power of Choice Vivian CHOOSES to watch The Avengers trailer and earns 59 Pet Points.
- 7. Tapjoy Ad Units Standard Banners Offerwall Full Screen Banners In-App Video
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- 9. Android continues togrow Android DAU’s continue to climb on the Tapjoy Network Tapjoy Network - 2012 Android Daily Active Users 45,000,000 40,000,000 App traffic 35,000,000 spikes up 30,000,000 on weekends 25,000,000 20,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 0 r r r r r r r r r n n n n n b eb eb eb a a a a Ap Ap Ap Ap Ap - - - - - Ja Ja Ja Ja Ja Fe M -M -M -M -F -F -F 1 2 2 1- 8- 5- 2- 9- 4- 1 8 15 22 29 5- 12 19 26 11 18 25 Android DAU
- 10. Free-to-play apps aredominating Revenue from Top Grossing iOS Apps …and the future is even brighter! January 2011 39% Projected In-App Purchase Revenue (in Billions)* Paid 6.00 61% Freemium 5.00 4.80 4.00 Freemium revenue and distribution has increased significantly over the last year, and continues to grow. 3.00 2.10 June 2011 2.00 1.00 35% -‐ Paid 2011 2016 (Projected) 65% Freemium *Juniper Research – The Mobile Games Briefing 2011-2016
- 11. Top Grossing Apps There is only ONE paid app in the Top 25 Grossing Android apps! 96% of the Top 25 Grossing Android apps are free-to- play
- 12. Free-to-Play: It’s notjust for games
- 13. Acquisition A R M
- 14. A R M MobileAcquisition Channels How are developers promoting free-to-play apps? • Rewarded installs • Social discovery (FB, Twitter, etc.) • Non-rewarded installs • Organic discovery (top charts, search, • Video ads word of mouth, etc.) • Cross promotion
- 15. A R M TheHoly Grail – Getting Featured on Google Play
- 16. A R M The Holy Grail – Getting Featured on Google Play Sessions New Users DAU’s ARPDAU 200,000 $.05 160,000 $.04 120,000 $.03 Featured! 80,000 $.02 40,000 $.01 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 -0 -0 -0 -0 -0 -0 -0 -0 -0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -2 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
- 17. A R M GooglePlay Featured Process 1 Suggest an app into the wall of suggestions: http://goo.gl/mod/DfIv 2 People vote on the apps that are on the wall of suggestions 3 The apps with the most positive votes are reviewed every Friday by Google’s Android Develop Relations team (2pm PT on “Hangouts”): http://www.youtube.com/user/androiddevelopers 4 The apps they like most are passed on to Google Play’s editorial team to be considered for featured / staff picks placement on Google Play
- 18. A R M NewUser Flow The new user flow is one of the most important parts of a successful game • Optimize the download • Great tutorial You have 30 seconds to • Use clear directions hook your users and 5 min to teach them. The • Give rewards goal is to shoot for 70% • Get the user playing as tutorial completion rate. soon as you can
- 19. A R M Optimizethe Download Tapjoy Network Android Conversion Rate: (clicks to installs) Total Conversion Megabytes Rate (CVR) 0-50 50-60% 50-100 30-45% 100+ 14-20% The smaller the file, the better the CVR.
- 20. A R M Start off Simple Take Users by the Hand and Guide Them Into the App During the first 30 seconds put the user on rails, don’t let them get lost • This is your chance to take an uncertain user and create an engaged user • You can’t display everything, show off your core loop and build from there Call to action Use arrows Gray out Show off Reward/ Get ‘em playing the screen the store congratulate them early
- 21. A R M UseClear Directions How to do it right Use arrows Highlight where you want the users attention Gray out areas that don’t matter now Give simple info
- 22. Retention A R M
- 23. A R M SocialChannels Take advantage of free social channels • Most social networks offer free API’s and SDK’s • Warning: Forcing a connection to a social network can cause a large drop-off in new user conversion, so it’s best to make social connections optional • Orange’s TV Check app saw a 75% drop off when the app forced users to connect with FB
- 24. A R M SocialChannels Sometimes it’s better to create your own social layer Surface social activity to users early on
- 25. A R M Incentivizefriend invites Reward users for inviting their friends
- 26. A R M DailyRewards Give your users a reward for coming back every day • In the later days of the reward cycle give the users bigger or exclusive rewards • Show them what they earned and also show them what is coming up
- 27. A R M Dailyreward combined with chance mechanic
- 28. A R M AppRe-engagement Remind them to keep coming back Notifications Appointment Mechanics
- 29. A R M UseChallenges / Quests to keep users on track
- 30. A R M Questsreally work Sessions New Users DAU’s ARPDAU Quests/Achievements added. 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -3 -3 -1 -1 -3 -4 -5 -6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
- 31. Monetization A R M
- 32. A R M MobileRevenue Channels Direct Pay Alt Pay In app purchase through Google Wallet Allowing users to engage with advertising in exchange for virtual currency Direct Pay Alt Pay — Offerwalls Alt Pay — Top: Display Ad Bottom: Featured Ad
- 33. A R M GluEarnings – Direct and Alt Pay monetization
- 34. A R M FeaturedItem Specials Highlight a limited-time featured item when users log in • Items on the home page will have 150% + sales increase • Rotate content often • Great place for seasonal items Today Only Seasonal Sale
- 35. A R M Create Clear Virtual Goods Markets Markets and Inventory • Do - Make the buttons large and easy to tap. • Do - Whenever possible use art and icons to direct the player, they look good and are universal. • Don’t - use small icons and text. • Don’t - make your users scroll through long item lists. Do Don’t
- 36. A R M Sales and special offers Make your users feel like they are getting a good deal • Your purchase screen should be clean and easy to navigate • Tell the users how much extra cool stuff they get • Use incenIves to encourage them to buy higher priced packages • Use icons to make bigger packages look more impressive • Users scroll through long item lists.
- 37. A R M Iteration and Metrics A R One of the advantages to the Android platform is the ability to iterate quickly • Choose a region you want to use as your test group (ex. Canada) • Make changes based on metrics • Review data on the changes, update and repeat • Keep updating your app with new content Key Points Iteration Metrics Small Changes can Make a Huge Difference 55,000 ARPDAU New Users DAU’s Sessions 44,000 33,000 retention rates 22,000 11,000 by cohort -01 -02 -03 -04 -05 -06 -07 -08 -09 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 -20 -21 -22 -23 -24 -25 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
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- 39. Best Practices For: Acquisition A • Choose the right channels for acquisition • Hold the user’s hand through the first experiences of the app • Keep it clear and simple Retention R • Use social channels and incentivize sharing • Offer daily rewards • Keep users engaged by implementing quests and achievements Monetization M • Make the most of your monetization by adding alt pay • Highlight special offers and items to drive purchase behavior • Frequently test and measure new features within a segment of your users, and roll out successful changes to the full audience
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