There were almost 150 billion mobile app downloads in 2016. And although the report for 2017 isn’t out yet, the overall mobile market development indicates that this number’s going to be much higher. These facts tell me one thing clearly, now is the high time to get into the mobile app development business!

And that’s how you do it:

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Money in Mobile App Development Business

1. Become a Developer

By this I mean officially registering as a developer with Google Play and App Store. Those are two biggest and outright best platforms for developers where you’ll be able to get more money than through the majority of retail app stores.

2. Build a Good App

To make your being a developer thoroughly official you need to create your own app. Note that I wrote ‘good’ instead of ‘brilliant/unique/revolutionary’. Unless you have an idea that’s on a scale of the second Facebook you should settle for something simple. The majority of people making money in the mobile app development business aren’t geniuses. However, they still make a good living, and so can you.

Now, to work over your lack of skill to build a highly complex app from scratch, I advise using specialized solutions that can be integrated into apps. For example, take Radar, which is an advanced location platform that can give any app a great functionality. The documentation provided by the Radar team goes into detail on how to integrate it into your own program with a few simple lines of code. The platform itself can be used in many ways, like sending out a push notification whenever the user goes into your ‘area of influence’. Like showing an ad with a discount coupon when entering Starbucks.

There are platforms like this for many other handy functions, like Vuforia for adding Augmented Reality or InstaVR for an outright Virtual Reality experience. There’s a specialized tool for anything or a freelance programmer that can make one for you.

I also suggest taking that documentation comment into consideration. When building your app, be sure to make your own documentation package that’ll explain users what to do with it.

Many say that the hardest part of making an app is coming up with an idea, and it might be true if you are trying to create something completely new. However, if you want to start making money in the mobile app development business, I suggest keeping it simple. Like this:

1. Think of what kind of app you need yourself.
2. Check out if others like this exist.
3. If not, you’re onto a potential goldmine!
4. If yes, study them and find a way to make one better/more efficient/one that looks cooler.

3. Price Your App

Setting the right price is vital for your future downloads rate. As you can see browsing both Google Play and App Store, the majority of products there are under $10.

Yes, that’s not much and as you’ll get only a fraction of it, you might be tempted to set a higher price. However, if you really want to start making money in the mobile app development market, you have no choice but to start small.

It’s all about quality here, and if your app is good, your downloads will go up. And with the analytics you get from this project, you’ll be able to make the next one better. Eventually, when you build up your reputation, you’ll be able to increase the price.

Also, don’t forget that there are other ways to make money off a mobile app, except the actual sale price. For example, in-app purchases and advertisements.

Final Words

That plan sounds simple, but that’s exactly the way it should be. Don’t overthink it as you’ll never get anywhere like that, at least that’s what The Huffington Post says. So, just follow the plan and get started.