In this presentation, Amita Paul covers the complexities of working with products across the physical and software arena, and understanding consumer and business ecosystems. Amita also discusses how to build monetization products with members, consumers. In the last section Amita explains how to measure success.

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How to Monetize Consumer Platforms
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8. Amita Paul
TONIGHT’S SPEAKER

9. Monetizing Consumer Platforms
Keep Users Delighted OR Investors Happy?
Amita Paul
Product@LinkedIn

10. “But, this is disruptive User Experience” - Product Manager
‘We need this to meet our Revenue Goals … and, to fund your salary dear.’ – Sales Manager.

11. Today’s AGENDA
1. Consumer Platform 2. Monetizing Strategies 3. Product Principles

12. Email
Social
Ad Network
Consumer
Ad Tech
Enterprise
Academics
SWE
Did the Study Thing ...
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT /
ENTREPRENEUR
Leading To
MY INTRODUCTION

13. Email
Social
Ad Network
Consumer
Ad Tech
Enterprise
Academics
SWE
Did the Study Thing ...
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT /
ENTREPRENEUR
Leading To
MY INTRODUCTION

14. 1. Consumer Platform 2. Monetizing Strategies 3. Product Principles

15. Consumer Platform Is a Dynamic Ecosystem

16. Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem
- Of Producers &
Consumers
- Offers Value to Each
Player
- Value increases with
Participation

17. Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem
USER ACQUISITION
- What is your entry
strategy?
- How do your drive
adoption?
- What is the critical mass
threshold?
Traditional: Optimize Traffic and Conversion funnels to grow
Platform: Build Network Effects before you optimize for conversions

18. Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem
PRODUCT DESIGN
What are the
Engagement Triggers?
Traditional: Product is valuable in itself.
Platform: Product has no value unless users interact with each other
utilizing the software that you provide.

19. Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem
MONETIZATION
How to leverage an
irregular, dynamic
network?
Traditional: Charge consumers directly for the product & services
Platform: Understand who creates value and how to charge for it

20. MORE
HOSTS
MORE
GUESTS
More Hosts =
More rooms available for
guests.
More Guests =
More business / $$ for
hosts.
More Host attracts more
Guests & Cycle continues.
Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem

21. MORE
READERS
MORE
WRITERS
More Writers =
More time Readers spend
on Medium.
More Readers =
More Writers begin to
write.
Both sides contribute to
the value each gets.
Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem

22. MORE
DEVICES
MORE
USERS
More Users =
More Apps & Developers.
More Users =
More Device / OS
More Device / OS =
More Users (and
Developers)
MORE
CONTENT
&
DEVELOP
ERS
Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem

23. MORE
RECRUIT-
ERS
MORE
JOB
SEEKERS
More Member Profiles =
More Recruiters
More Recruiters =
More Jobs are Offered
More Job Offered =
More Member Profiles
MORE
JOBS
Consumer Platform Is an Ecosystem

24. 1. Consumer Platform 2. Monetizing Strategies 3. Product Principles

25. Monetization Is a Dirty Word!

26. Monetization PM Is Evil !

27. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
1. Do not disrupt the User Experience
○ Audio On Video Ads
○ Pop-Ups
○ Overlays (with or without close buttons)
○ Relentless Retargeting
○ Useless Rewarded [Videos, Ads]
○ Pagination / Slides

28. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
1. Do not disrupt the User Experience

29. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
1. Do not disrupt the User Experience. Instead,
compliment the experience.
○ Use target audience profile to partner with
advertisers that offer relevant, contextual brand
messages
○ Differentiate value proposition clearly between free
and paid
○ Be transparent about data policies and give the
users the options to opt-out/ opt-in

30. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
1. Do not disrupt the User Experience. Plan to setup and
measure impact on user experience
○ Conduct User Experience Research
○ Test the monetization idea with a few users and
measure the impact on their experience
○ Use NPS and Qualitative feedback to decide on the
next steps

31. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
2. Plan early but, wait for the right momentum to
Monetize
○ Monetization strategy is linked to the stage of your
platform’s lifecycle
○ Determine the future / potential revenue streams
○ Determine the critical mass number of users and
create a business model around that number
○ Set investment and growth goals around the [x]
number of users - even if you are not planning to
monetize now
“You cannot pivot your way to a business model.”
- Fab.com CEO Jason Goldberg

32. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
SUBSCRIPTION3. Understand Platform
dynamics to determine
what monetization strategy
will work the best.
E.g. YouTube RED

33. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
SUBSCRIPTION3. Understand Platform
dynamics to determine
what monetization strategy
will work the best. ○ Audience willing to pay (Cost Per Acquisition)
○ Value is substantial (LTV)
○ Differentiation / Niche (LinkedIn Premium)
○ Full v/s Partial Subscription (e.g. Twitch)
○ Flexible Pricing based on consumption patterns

34. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
ADVERTISING3. Understand Platform
dynamics to determine
what monetization strategy
will work the best. ○ Complimenting v/s Compromising experience
i. Sponsored Messages on Amazon.com v/s on
Amazon Dot Speakers
○ Context Matters (Do not run expedia ad on a Plane
Crash video)
○ Brand resonance is important (Do not run toe fungus
or belly fat reducing ad on - ANYWHERE)
○ Format - Polite v/s Loud Ads
○ Unexpected Ads - Can’t recognize that was an ad?
○ Click Bait - Fake News!
○ Frequency and Control - Allow users to some
controls to manage their ad preference (YouTube
Red, Hulu etc) But, be careful with this tactics.

35. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
TRANSACTIONS3. Understand Platform
dynamics to determine
what monetization strategy
will work the best. ○ Have the users pay for the service they have used.
○ eBAY - Charge to list the product
○ Amazon - Charge transaction fee when a product is
sold
○ Xoom - Charge a fee every time money is
transferred
○ AirBnB - Host and Guest pay fee when rent is
confirmed
Remember to continuously evaluate the supply & demand

36. Monetization Strategies & Guiding Principles
DATA3. Understand Platform
dynamics to determine
what monetization strategy
will work the best. ○ What is the monetizable data Platform provides?
○ More data absorbed = more monetization
opportunities.
○ LinkedIn Value = Data from it’s Users
○ Car-as-a-platform: High tech cars are absorbing
enormous amount of data to optimize service and
efficiency to the users
Also helps insurance providers & car service providers

37. 1. Consumer Platform 2. Monetizing Strategies 3. Product Principles

38. Monetization Product Principles
Mindset of Consumer Experience + Revenue Savviness
Quarterly OKRs KPIs
100 K New Users
$ 2.5 MM Revenue
CPA: $50 | LTV: $500 | NPS: 70
Points
NOW NEXT LATER
List of Features List of Features List of Features

39. Monetization Product Principles
Mindset of Consumer Experience + Commercial Savviness
○ Single Plan of Records / Roadmap across
Consumer and Revenue Product Lines
○ Cross-Functional Collaboration
○ Revenue PM sits in Consumer Product
Brainstorming and vice-versa
○ Company wide thematic Hackathons: Consumer
and Revenue
○ Use All Hands to announce both User as well as
Revenue Growth
○ Instrumentations and Metrics to make the case
(instead of point of views)
User First, but build Product Features and Strategies that help
the bottom line too.

40. THANK YOU
If you find yourself on a tightrope next time,
make sure you have the harness!

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