6th
Advertising on a Phone is NOT a Business Model
I want that to be clear. Advertisements don’t generate enough cash-flow for your company or product to remain sustainable. Here is why:
1. Screen Real Estate - smartphones have 3-4 inch screens. You need to maximize every pixel for your app, not some ad that is going to take up 1/4 of your screen. The ad takes away from the application functionality.
2. Where my Clicks at? - are you looking for an accidental click when you put ads in your mobile app? People don’t click on ads when they are in the middle of playing a game. Accidental clicks will get you sub-minimal profits at best.
3. Mass Audience - advertisements only work when you have a mass audience. Sites that bring in tons of users will have a higher click through rate which brings in more money. Your application will nowhere near get the amount of clicks a blog or social media website can bring in. Face the facts, even if you are #1 on the iPhone App Store you won’t bring in the kind of traffic that brings in money.
There are plenty of other business models that can bring in sustainable cash-flow. Software as a service is just one of the many ways you can expand your companies bottom line. Cash flow should come naturally if your application is really a killer app.
