advertising,again, and is anyone actually making money from it?

[Richard Gaskin]

Dr. Hawkins wrote:

 > I've tried to get this discussion going before, and failed.  So
 > perhaps a crasser start:
 >
 > Is anyone actually making money from  livecode app's advertising,
 > either iOS or android?
 >
 > If so, how did you get it done, who did you use, etc.?

Good news:  Roxio reported Angry Birds brought in as much revenue from 
ads on Android as from sales on iOS.

Bad news:  There's only one Angry Birds. ;)

I don't know about folks here specifically, but in general, like any 
other ad venue, in-app ads are a matter of audience size.

This is a challenge for most:  to get a large audience you need a solid 
app, and a solid marketing plan, and money to execute well on both.

But that extends the time to break-even, often extended further unless 
you're very careful with the ad placement so it doesn't hinder the user 
experience.  There are so many apps out there that one poorly-placed ad, 
or an add that makes noise, or an add that pops up to cover the screen, 
or any number of other annoyances the someone somehow thought was a good 
idea at the time, will cause the app to be uninstalled.

I haven't found current stats for 2017, but this older article from the 
app heyday (2012) at least introduces the breakdown:

    Ad Network Payouts

    While the most common way for mobile app ads to cost advertisers
    money and pay out to app developers is per click, there are other
    commission structures available that pay for views or specific
    actions. The effective cost per thousand impressions, a measure
    that equalizes advertising revenue of apps with different click-
    through rates, ranged between $.53 and $1.12 in 2012. An impression
    occurs each time a new ad is displayed to a user. So if an app
    averages 1,000 daily users who see two ads each at an eCPM of $.50,
    the app would generate $1 on average each day.

<http://smallbusiness.chron.com/much-advertising-revenue-can-mobile-app-generate-76855.html>

If you find stats from 2017 I've love to read 'em.  But with all three 
app stores carrying so many hundreds of thousands of apps (millions?), 
the role of marketing is more important than ever.

Personally, I've found ads such a poor UX that I'm unlikely to ever use 
any ad network.  I'm considering building my own ad server for 
specialized needs, cross-promoting apps and services in a specialized 
mix that lets me tailor the experience to fully integrate with the app, 
more like a sponsorship than a slapped-on overlap that hinders usage.

For most apps in the works I have no interest in direct advertising of 
any kind, looking instead for strategic value realized elsewhere.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com