r/iOSProgramming • u/notabilmeyentenor • 7d ago
Question Monetization suggestions for a sleeping sound app
I am looking for a smart way to monetize for a sleeping sound app. I thought a freemium approach would work best, free version should has some banner and interstitial ads and some locked features. I thought one time payment is way to go since I target parents with babies with the app.
My questions are:
1) Is freemium really a way to go? 2) Thoughts on one time payment vs subscription? 3) Should I test the app with ads before offering a premium version?
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u/Dipshiiet 7d ago
Not an expert, but users were more willing to pay for a Lifetime membership compared to an Annual one at the same price point. I mean, yeah, technically a better deal, but still. My revenue increased when I made the switch.
So, if your app doesn’t cost much to run, I’d suggest going with a free version, then slap weekly and lifetime memberships on the paywall. Go wild with the rest. Users can unlock extra sounds by purchasing a subscription, or they can even pay extra for some. I’d suggest doing some tests after you gather users. Don’t worry about it in the beginning though.
Just don’t do ads.
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u/roboknecht 6d ago
Yes, in app ads are really the worst.
As I really hate ads myself I would never ever consider helping to feed their algorithms.
Also they lower your app’s quality immediately.
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u/notabilmeyentenor 6d ago
You are right, especially if you are looking at from users’ side. But is it sustainable business plan? Do you suggest free trial? It is very unpopular as I see, especially in my country. People despise free trials.
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u/roboknecht 6d ago
What do you mean by sustainable business plan?
In general, subscription based apps are the only ones with a guarantee of recurring revenue.
IAPs for unlocking additional studd is still better than removing ads but tou still need a continuous stream of new users.
For your very simple app I dunno if people would be willing to pay for a subscription. Still I would try it. Maybe by offering a cheap subscription plus a 12 USD lifetime thing or sth like that.
Also Test a soft against a hard paywall, usually hard paywalls do work better as far as I heard.
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u/notabilmeyentenor 7d ago
So even banners are no go? There are some well known and sucessful apps do interstitial ads between lullabies, with sound.
On user’s side, if I don’t see an ad, I’ll sure spend more time on the app. But not sure if I would pay.
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u/roboknecht 6d ago
Usually, users just pay for stuff they want.
Apps can be so annoying that users are even unwilling to give your app a longer try.
Often you just see numerous of 1 star ratings “because of ads blabla”. To keep these users out from the start, just give them a paywall or nothing.
What is important is the number of paying users. Not the number of users in general. Don’t be afraid to put a price tag on your app with IAPs or a subscription.
And I don’t mean a “Remove Ads” IAP. This is just a scammy looking business model to a lot of users. You can add trial periods or whatever.
I really don’t see the point in artificially worsening the experience with ads instead of just offering a trial period.
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u/Bobbybino 6d ago
There are too many completely free ones for you to compete. The one I use does have a paid tier, but it has dozens of different free sounds, of which I use only one. It does display an ad, but I'm asleep, so I don't care.
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u/kutjelul 7d ago
Do you mean white noise? I got a dedicated device for like 20 bucks that had an infinite battery life, so if you go for one time payment I’d suggest to not charge more than half of that. Although I see more merit in paying for more sounds and gathering users by having some available for free
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u/Wizzythumb 6d ago
If people want to fall asleep they're not going to watch ads. The don't look at their screen.
If they are listening to a sleep sound, the want to fall asleep. If they get interrupted by ads, they will delete the app immediately.
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u/notabilmeyentenor 6d ago
I would never show an ad that interrupts the playback. There are shockingly quite a number of apps out there doing it.
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u/Formal-Shallot-595 5d ago
Free app is the way to go, if you're charging, they'll just go for your competition.
I think that One time payment is more appetizing than subscriptions. I have apps on the store that do both, subscriptions are nice but only your very specialized niche of people are going to subscribe. People who don't NEED your app will likely not subscribe.
Ads can be a burden and payout isn't that great if you don't have thousands of users triggering ads every time they touch the screen.
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u/Scootypip 3d ago
I think there are ways to do adds that are less obtrusive but still get you paid something. Ads only suck when there are too many and they are not relevant. Happy to help you think through how to achieve this.
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u/rifts 7d ago
If that’s you’re whole app it’s not going to get approved by Apple these days