mike hines, amazon
TRANSCRIPT
WHAT THE TOP 50 APPS DO WITH IAP THAT THE
REST OF US DON’T
Reach Engage Earn
MIKE HINESDEVELOPER EVANGELIST, AMAZON
@MikeFHines mikehines45
Who is
Mike Hines
Founder @ 2 Financial Services StartupsFounder @ 2 Software Startups
QA Engineer @ Now SoftwareQA Manager, Product Manager @ MicrosoftEvangelist @ Amazon.com
Mentor @ GameFounders, Dev Bootcamp
Games Judge @Casual Connect Indie Prize, White Nights, and Pocket Gamer Very Big Indie Pitch
Speaker @ GDC, GDCE, Casual Connect, Pocket Gamer Connects, AnDevCon, White Nights, CES, PAX Dev
CREDIBLY INNOVATE PHOTO
HERE
Amazon Appstore
TODAY’S AGENDA
How the Top 50 Did
What They Do Differently – Selling
What They Do Differently – Engagement
SELL IN 236 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
AndroidDevs
iOS devs AmazonFire OS
41%
48%
60%
% D
eve
lop
ers
ab
ove
Po
ve
rty L
ine
Source: Developer Economics Q3 2014 © VisionMobile, All Rights Reserved
HOW DO WE GET MORE
DEVELOPERS EARNING
MORE REVENUE
An app must make more than $500 per
month if it is to fund future app
development and marketing.
$500 per month is the app poverty line.
How the Top 50 apps did
vs. the rest of us
Cohort Analysis
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
Day 1: Installs
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
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iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
100100
installed
Day 1: Active Users
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
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Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
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4142
In
active
5958
active
Day 1: Uninstalls
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii1318
uninstalled
5958
active
Day 1: Paying UsersGroup A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
2,6
2.9
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Day 1: EngagementGroup A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
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Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
6,9
7,41822
6,9
7,4
2,6
2.9
Day 1: RevenueGroup A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii
=×
# of items / paying
10
0%
112%
avg. selling price
100%1
36%
100%
154%
ARPPU
1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
1822
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
1 Day Later…Group A: Top-50 Grossing
ii
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Group B: Rest of Freemium
ii
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
×
avg. session length(minutes)
1725
uninstalled
3437
active
11
paying
=×
# of items / paying
100%
106%
avg. selling price
100%107%
100%1
14
%
ARPPU
6,7
7.7
3.2
3.5
21
27=
# of sessions / active
3 Days Later…Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
×
avg. session length(minutes)
1928
uninstalled
1923
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
107%
avg. selling price
100%122%
100%13
1%
ARPPU
5,9
7,9
2.6
3.2
15
25=
# of sessions / active
1 Week Later…Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
×
avg. session length(minutes)
2032
uninstalled
1418
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
102%
avg. selling price
100%1
21%
100%1
24
%
ARPPU
5.7
7,4
2.6
3.2
15
24=
# of sessions / active
2 Weeks Later…Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
×
avg. session length(minutes)
2134
uninstalled
1014
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
111%
avg. selling price
100%
10
8%
100%12
0%
ARPPU
5,7
7,3
2,5
3,1
14
22=
# of sessions / active
1 Month Later…Group A: Top-50 Grossing
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Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
2236
uninstalled
48
active
=×
# of items / paying
10
0%
103%
avg. selling price
100%
128%
100%
13
1%
ARPPU
5,9
7.3
2,4
3.1
14
23
# of sessions / active
Hours Since App Download
IN-APP PURCHASING BY HOUR
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 192 216 240 264 288
PRICE INCREASES OVER TIME
Days User Owned App
80%
90%
100%
110%
120%
130%
140%
150%
160%
170%
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
+60%
average
selling price
WHAT WE LEARNED
The top have higher average price pointsYou can charge more in the right place and time.
Session length and count are importantRetention is not the only important metric.
What the top 50 do
differently
-- Selling
THE TOP DEVELOPERS KNOW THE NUMBERS
?
ENGAGE
CUSTOMER
EARLY
MAKE IT
EASY TO
COME BACK
GIVE THEM A
REASON TO
COME BACK
37% of users who will purchase, purchase
on the first day
48% of repeat purchases happen within one
hour of a previous purchase
64% of revenue comes from 3rd order +
74% of revenue occurs after first 7 days
56% of revenue occurs after first 30 days
Apps with tutorials that introduce IAP
items
HAVE A 2.5x HIGHER
CONVERSION RATESource: Amazon Appstore, July 2013
Apps showing users how to “consume”
GET MORE REPEAT
ORDERSGames that providing a post-purchasing tutorial
generated 65% more repeat orders than the
market average.
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Games with bigger selection
RECEIVE MORE
ORDERS PER
CUSTOMERDevelopers that add new items regularly are able to
re-engage their paying customers. 1.14% of the
customers generate 30% of sales.
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
69%
100%
145%
1-5 Items 6-10Items
11-15Items
ARPPU by # of IAP items for sale
Conversion Rate
INDEX: Average = 100%
Don’t confuse your customer
OFFER VARIETY,
BUT NOT TOO
MUCH
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
147%
101%
52%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
1-5PricePoints
6-10PricePoints
11-15PricePoints
Where do apps
GENERATE
THE MOST
REVENUE
A 2016 study by Swrve
shows that disproportional
revenue is generated from
higher end price points.
© Swrve 2016 Mobile Monetization Report – used with permission
To sell more IAP items,
BE CLEAR
ABOUT VALUEMake it obvious what the
benefit is for buying different
price items. Confused
customers don’t buy anything.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Games with bigger selection
RECEIVE MORE ORDERS
Tutorials that introduce in-app items
HAVE HIGHER CONVERSION
Showing users how to “consume”
GETS REPEAT ORDERS
Treating in-app items like a catalogue
MAKES IT EASY TO SHOP
1.14%
of paying customers generate
30% of sales
What the top 50 do differently
-- Engagement
REDUCE BARRIERS TO FREQUENT
USE
Tuning Game Difficulty
WILL ENCOURAGE
LONGER SESSIONSToo hard, and users will abandon. Too
easy, and they can get bored. Just right,
and it becomes addictive!
Engaging Community
CAN CREATE BUZZ
AND KEEP USERS
ENGAGEDThis will result in more friend-to-friend marketing
as players share their achievements and ranks.
Players will also compete with friends and leaders
and stay engaged.
Leaderboards and
Achievements are
THE MINIMUM BAR
FOR SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT
User
Acquisition
Alternate
Revenue
Content
Creation
Influencers
Monetization
Loop
Game
Loop
BUILD A
COMMUNITY OF
FANS
The Top apps
A fan base creates:
• Influencers
• Content Creators
• Revenue Opportunities
BUILDING ADVOCATES IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Example of streaming during development
FAN CREATED CONTENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Communities help you
TAKE CARE OF
YOUR BEST
CUSTOMERS
The top apps communicate directly
with their top customers to keep them
happy and engaged.
© Swrve 2016 Mobile Monetization Report – used with permission
To be in control,
HAVE A LOT
OF LEVERSMeasure with Analytics, and
use A|B Testing to fine-tune
everything from game
difficulty to IAP menu
choices.
Design IAP into the
fabric of your game
MAKE IT
EASY TO BUYOffering ways to buy your IAP
items when they are needed
will increase conversion.
Apps that made it easy to shop
INCREASED REVENUE 75% (ARPPU)Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
WHAT WE LEARNED
Add social and tweak game difficulty to
INCREASE TIME AND COUNT OF
SESSIONS
Cater to your best and longest customers with clear value
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR IAP CATALOG
Give yourself control of your game in the wild
IMPLEMENT A|B TESTING
IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING…
Cater to your best and longest customers
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR IAP CATALOG
IF YOU ONLY DO TWO THINGS…
Cater to your best and longest customers
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR IAP CATALOG
Make sure your IAP catalogs are
CLEAR ABOUT VALUE
An alternative to IAP
-- Amazon Underground
A new shopping app distributing
#ActuallyFree APPS
Turn 100% of your Android users into revenue-generating customers
Developers waive fees on apps and In App Purchase items.
Customers get #ActuallyFreeapps!
Amazon pays developers for cumulative minutes customers spend in an Amazon Underground app.
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS
• Customers go to Amazon and download the Amazon Underground shopping app
• Customers download your app from Amazon Underground
• Total user minutes are multiplied by our payout ratio
• Developer is paid
UndergroundIn an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS
6,9
7,4
2,6
2.9
Day 1: RevenueGroup A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
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Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii
=×
# of items / paying
10
0%
112%
avg. selling price
100%1
36%
100%
154%
ARPPU
1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
1822
UndergroundIn an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
630K Minutes/week
630K x $0.002 = $1260
$1260 x 100% = $1260
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS
UndergroundIn an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
630K Minutes/week
630K x $0.002 = $1260
$1260 x 100% = $1260
IAPIn an average week:
10K Users (@3%
convert)
= 300 Paying Users/week
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS
6,9
7,4
2,6
2.9
Day 1: RevenueGroup A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii
=×
# of items / paying
10
0%
112%
avg. selling price
100%1
36%
100%
154%
ARPPU
1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
1822
UndergroundIn an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
630K Minutes/week
630K x $0.002 = $1260
$1260 x 100% = $1260
IAPIn an average week:
10K Users (@3%
convert)
= 300 Paying Users/week
300 x $6.00 ARPPU/week
= $1800
$1800 x 70% = $1260
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS
Getting Started
• Android
• Premium or IAP in another
store
• Open to Devs worldwide
• For customers in US, UK,
Germany and France
Qualifications
developer.amazon.com/underground
Learn more: http://bit.ly/top50iap
http://bit.ly/indieunderground
http://bit.ly/marketingtips4apps
Follow us:@MikeFHines
developer.amazon.com/blog