The document discusses key strategies for acquiring users and monetizing mobile apps, emphasizing the importance of service quality over mere app development. It outlines the mobile ecosystem's players, including platform providers and app stores, and highlights effective distribution methods such as advertising, social sharing, and review sites. Additionally, it reviews monetization models like paid downloads, freemium upgrades, and partnerships while stressing the importance of analytics and user retention metrics.

1. Overview of the Mobile
Ecosystem
Mike Rowehl
http://thisismobility.com
mikerowehl@gmail.com
@miker

2. Two Questions to
Answer
1. How to get users? - Distribution
2. How to make money? - Monetization
(Questions aren’t mobile specific, but the
answers can be)

3. Don’t think about how
to build an app, think
about how to build a
great service.
(see also: Mike Kuniavski)

4. However, I’m going to
give some tips for
building app store apps
cause it’s the most
accessible initial
channel.

5. The Simple Model
• platform provider
• equipment manufacturer
• carrier/operator
• application/service provider
• end user

6. The Not Simple Model
• Developer Programs • HTML5 Toolsets Wireless
• Paypal/Boku/Obopay/Zong • NFC/Short Range
• AdMob/MobClix/Smaato • Ansca/Appcelerator/RhoMobile
• Recommendations • App Inventor/SachManya
• Review Sites • GetJar/AppstoreHQ
• Incentive Offers • OpenAppMkt
• SearchDistribution
Optimization • Metrics/Analytics
• Social Lobby • Sensor Browsers
Networks
• Game Promotions • Mobile Optimization
• CarrierGoods • Networkand Antivirus
• Virtualinstalls • SecurityBuying
• OEM Stores • Group
• Enterprise • Tablets
• Location Services • User Experience
• Messaging • SystemsManagement
Integration
• Paid Download • DeviceSource
• Vehicle Systems • Open

7. Getting Users
• App Store
• Advertising Distribution
• Social/Viral
• Review Sites
• Web Search Services
• Recommendation
• Carrier Promotion
• Affiliate Programs
• Preinstall Deals

8. WTF is an ‘App Store’?
•
•
Distribution
Payments
• Notification
• Moderation
• Security

9. Users find new apps
and services by poking
around on their
handset or through
recommendations from
friends.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_do_iphone_users_find_new_apps.php

10. An app store NEEDS to
provide a large number
of active users.
Everything else is
optional.

11. App Store Tuning
• Price Sensitivity
• Category/Section
• Description/Keywords
• Screenshots
• Ranking Metrics
• Featured/Promoted

12. Advertising
• Don’t assume it’s the same as web
• Cost, volume, and quality of traffic vary
greatly based on the ad network, region,
target devices, and offer
• There is no inverse index in mobile apps
• The best way to find users is to find
existing behavior (find new game players in
existing games)

13. Viral/Social Distribution
• Fundamentally social - Instagram went on a
tear cause they tuned the social aspects of
their service to line up well with photo
sharing
• Coincidentally viral - Angry Birds went viral
without the direct support of challenges or
highscore publishing, initially all word of
mouth and unsolicited press coverage

14. Monetization
• Paid Download
• Free w/ Premium Upgrade
• Virtual Goods
• Advertising
• Lead Generation/Affiliate
• Partnerships

15. I won’t call it Freemium
• But it works particularly well in mobile
• For the same reasons as online
• Plus it provides lots of positive metrics that
app stores like to see such as raw
download numbers and comment counts
• Since those are your major distribution
channels, it’s an effective form of marketing
• Soliciting comments also works very well
★ http://blog.flurry.com/bid/48418/Madison-Avenue-and-the-Land-of-Make-Believe

16. Advertising Publisher
• High switching cost for swapping ad
networks within an app, intermediaries
exist for a reason
• Demographics, it’s hard to live off general
third party network impressions
• You’ll want some extra analytics
• User retention also becomes a key metric
• The math is simple (impressions times
eCPM), but a lot of influences on both

17. TMTOWTDI

18. iTeleport
• http://blog.iteleportmobile.com/quality-
over-quantity-how-we-built-iteleport
• Never in the top 1000 rankings
• High cost application
• Consistently generating over $1000 in sales
a day

19. Tap Tap Revenge
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7751628.stm
• A music based rhythem game, long running
franchise (early onto the platform)
• TTR3 was a low cost download (0.99)
• Katy Perry Revenge, Coldplay, Lady Gaga,
Linkin Park, etc (generally 4.99)
• TTR4 is free

20. Storytime!!

21. Tools and Resources

22. Analytics
• Localytics
• Flurry
• Distimo
• Percent Mobile
• appFigures
• AdMob Analytics

23. Metrics
• Distimo - monthly, and currently an overall
summary for 2010, multiple app store stats
• Flurry - http://blog.flurry.com/
• Opera State of the Mobile Web - http://
www.opera.com/smw/
• Chomp Charts - http://
chomp.typepad.com/chomp/chomp-charts/
• http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/
• There are always paid sources too if you
really need a particular question answered

24. Notifications
• Urban Airship
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Twilio
• Boxcar
• Notifo

25. Location Services
• Cloudmade
• SimpleGeo
• Navteq
• Location Labs
• Skyhook
• xAd
• Where Ads
• Geodelic

26. Review Sites
• http://www.148apps.com/
• http://www.appcraver.com/
• http://toucharcade.com/
• http://www.tuaw.com/apprequests
• http://www.slidetoplay.com/
• http://www.appadvice.com/

27. Recommendation
Services
• Chomp
• Chorus
• Appolicious
• Apptizr
• AppBoy
• Mobspot
• StumbleUpon
• AppsFire
• AppBrain

28. Grab Bag
• GetJar - independent app store
• Carrier Services - all have featured apps
• developer.sprint.com
• developer.t-mobile.com
• developer.att.com
• Influencers and domain experts
• Mob4hire - crowdsourced testing
• User Testing
• Multivariate Testing