作者：Oliver Roup

Interactive Advertising Bureau最近数据显示，2012年移动广告投入增长至34亿美元，同比2011年增长111%，移动广告目前在所有数字业务收益中占比9%。

用户在移动设备上的投入持续加速，哪里有用户，哪里就有广告商。尽管如此，主宰互联网的传统展示广告模式在仅有几英寸屏幕的智能手机平台上却并不管用。

小型条幅广告已然成为21英寸屏幕上的一道风景线，并不会占据太多影响用户体验的使用空间。而针对移动平台的广告设计虽然干扰性更少，却仍然占据相当多的像素——即本可用于提升应用体验的空间。这种广告只是沿袭了已存在数年的桌面广告模式，将其草草塞入智能手机平台。鉴于移动条幅广告的局限性，那么传统展示广告或插页式广告还有哪些替代性选择？

freemium(from techorange.com)

免费增值模式

“免费增值”模式在许多游戏和一些服务导向应用中极为盛行，它为用户免费提供一种限量体验，为付费用户提供完整内容。在游戏领域，这意味着花钱解琐特定关卡，但基本关卡仍然免费。免费增值模式可以提升初始流量，但也不乏其负面效应。其中一个主要弱点就在于，采用该模式的应用开发者会有意向大部分用户（即免费用户）提供次级服务和体验。

联盟和转介营销

通过链接进行联盟营销是移动开发者在无需向第三方出让宝贵的屏幕空间这一前提下进行创收的一种方法。新服务会自动将现有移动链接转变为创收链接，将用户引向成百上千零售商中的一者。与广告不同的是，用户在此看到的是与自己有关联的链接内容。

热门手机及社交购物应用Wanelo（也推出了网页版本）展示了Wanelo社区成员所分享的促销产品内容，让用户关注特定商店或个人并发现自己喜欢的产品。这种发现随后就可能变成购买，这些交易会给Wanelo带来转介收益。

另一种联盟营销形式是推广其他手机应用，并从用户下载和购买中抽取佣金。这种类型的广告更容易整合到应用中，在两款应用的内容或风格具有互补性时尤其如此（游戏邦注：例如滑雪游戏可以推广与山脉气象有关的应用）。

应用内置购买（IAP）

除了展示性广告和联盟营销之外，另一主流移动盈利策略就是IAP，即购买虚拟物品以便获得更深层次的应用体验。采用IAP的游戏可能会向玩家推出虚拟货币或个性化虚拟角色。如果设计得当，IAP可以将一款“免费”应用转变为极具盈利性的收入来源。确实，有些高营收应用就是免费产品。

至于开发者应该选择哪种盈利方案，则要取决于目标用户购买习惯，以及应用类型等因素。例如，许多购物应用选择了联盟营销方式，而游戏则更适合IAP模式。对于服务型产品来说，开发者则可考虑在免费试用之后，针对应用收取小额费用。

找到合适的移动盈利技术合作伙伴是开发者的另一项重要任务。最好是挑选外具有灵活API的合作伙伴，这样开发者就可以自由制作自己所需的API调用。也可以针对当今的设备功能设计盈利方案。例如，摄像头就可以当作条码扫瞄器，GPS功能用于地理定位。

开发者不应事后才考虑盈利方案。应该首先考虑商业模式，然后创造或整合促使该商业模式获得成功的技术。当应用开发遵循这一过程时，相信就不会有太多开发者需要屈从于占用了10%屏幕面积的静态广告模式。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Mobile app monetization: Think business model, not ads

Oliver Roup

San Francisco, CA Tickets On Sale Now Oliver Roup is the CEO and founder of VigLink.

According to statistics released from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, mobile advertising spend rose to $3.4 billion in 2012, up 111 percent from the prior year’s record levels, and mobile advertising now accounts for 9 percent of all digital revenue.

Spending on mobile devices continues to accelerate at an aggressive pace; naturally, advertisers are following the consumers. Despite this growth, the traditional display ad model of advertising that dominates the Internet just does not translate well to the several inches of screen available on the typical smartphone.

On a 21-inch screen, a small banner ad simply becomes part of the scenery, and doesn’t take up so much real estate to impact the user experience. While mobile-specific ads are designed to be less obtrusive, they still occupy a significant number of pixels – space which could have been used to improve the app experience. These ads are simply taking the desktop ad model that has been around for years and crudely molding it to the smartphone. Considering the limitations of mobile banner ads, what are the alternatives to traditional display or interstitial ads?

Freemium

Popular with many games and some service-oriented applications, the “freemium” model offers a stripped down experience for free and a fully featured app for those who pay. In a game setting it could mean payment unlocks certain levels, while the basic levels remain free. Freemium can be a way to drive initial traffic, but it does have its downsides. A core drawback is the app developer is intentionally providing a large segment of its users (the “free” ones) with an inferior experience or service.

Affiliate and Referral Marketing

Affiliate marketing through links is one track mobile developers are taking to monetize applications without devoting valuable screen space to a third party. New services are automatically transforming existing mobile links into revenue-generating links by directing the user to one of thousands of retailers. Instead of an ad, viewers are unobtrusively presented links within relevant content.

The popular mobile and social shopping app Wanelo (also available as a web app) showcases products available for sale , each of which is shared by a member of the Wanelo community. The app lets users follow certain stores or individuals and discover products they love. These discoveries turn into purchases, and these purchases provide Wanelo with referral revenue.

Another form of affiliate marketing for apps is to promote other mobile apps with the goal of earning commissions when the app is purchased and downloaded. These types of ads typically have a more integrated and natural feel within the app, especially if the content or style (for example a skiing game referring a mountain weather application) of both applications are natural complements.

In-App Purchasing

Beyond display ads and affiliate marketing, a major and growing mobile monetization strategy is in-app purchases. Buying these virtual goods typically provide deeper levels of engagement with the app content. Games might offer virtual currency or the ability to buy a personalized avatar. When designed well, in-app purchasing can turn a “free” app into a highly lucrative income stream. Indeed, some of the highest grossing apps are free.

Which monetization strategy to choose depends on several factors including the purchasing habits of the target audience and the type of application. For example, many shopping-related apps lend themselves to affiliate style marketing, while games are a natural fit for in-app purchasing. For a service, a developer could consider charging a small fee for the app to make it more exclusive, after a period of free trials.

Finding the right mobile monetization technology partner is another important step for developers. It’s important to select a partner with flexible APIs, with the developer having the freedom to only make the API calls they want, when they want. Monetization can also be tailored to the capabilities of today’s devices. For example, cameras can enable bar code scanners, GPS enables local targeting, and of course, it’s a phone and many businesses are willing to pay per call.

Monetization should not be an afterthought for developers. Business models should be considered first, and then developers should create or integrate technology that will enable the business model to be successful. When app development is approached in this manner, it is unlikely many business models will include relegating 10% of available screen space to static ads.
（source：venturebeat）