The Great Resignation has seen 33 million Americans leave their jobs since the Spring of 2021. While the global pandemic was a catalyst, it’s not what gave so many people the confidence to make the leap. Do you have an idea to sell an app?

It’s never been a better time to be a solopreneur. All you have to do is explore communities such as #buildinpublic on Twitter to see the diversity of products people are building.

There are plenty of great opportunities to make money online in 2022. Here’s just three:

1. Make and Sell an App

It’s never been easier to learn how to make an app. People from all walks of life are learning how to get started with programming using Swift Playgrounds from Apple.

Want to learn how to design and code your first mobile app? Check out the more than 240 tutorials from Design+Code.

Once you make an app, it’s time to make money. In fact, it’s never been easier to make money by collecting in-app payments through the Apple Store or Google Play. Nami provides a simple toolkit to sell your app like additional features,  content, or even tips. Payments can be through one-time purchases or recurring subscriptions.

You can sell your app another way, too! Services like Flippa provide a market place for buying and selling apps. The more app revenue, the higher the price.

2. Build a SaaS app with No Code

In addition to a mobile app, you can build a SaaS (software as a service) application. So-called micro-SaaS apps are easier than ever to build no code tools like Bubble. Once built, it’s easier than ever to get feedback and find your first customers.

Communities like Indie Hackers and Product Hunt provide a great jumping off point. Get the word out by sharing what you are doing and asking for feedback.

Once you’ve generated some revenue, sell the app on Flippa or for a nice premium on  MicroAcquire if your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) supports it.

3. Create and Publish an Information Product

Another way to make money online is to share your knowledge with others. Paid info products have become incredibly popular. From ebooks to video courses, these come in many formats.

There are so many of these types of products. Some offered for a one time fee. Others through a membership.

Just a few  examples:

• Learning the Figma design tool from a course on Udemy
• Materials for mastering cold emails or becoming a creator sold on Gumroad
• Learn about search engine optimization (SEO) from Moz Academy

👉Read more: Let Your Fans Support Your App with a Tip Jar

Anyone Can Sell an App & Make Money Online

We covered only three of the ways people are making money online. There are so many more. All you need to do is figure out what your niche is and have the courage to get started. Happy selling!

       

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The Waning Years of Traditional TV

We have approached the milestone predicted years ago that streaming video will ultimately overtake cable as the preferred source for home entertainment media content. Consulting firm Deloitte reported that 69% of consumers currently pay for some type of video streaming service. The report also found that only 65% of consumers pay for traditional cable or satellite subscriptions. This is a significant increase of 10% from last year. In 2009 only 10% of consumers subscribed to internet video services.

The big three streaming services – Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime were joined this last year, to much fanfare, by Apple TV+ and Disney+. Both of the new streaming services are expected to attract a significant number of subscribers by releasing large-budget content that will no doubt shake up the balance. However, this second wave of streaming services, with the introduction of Apple TV+ and Disney+ will not necessarily mean the viewership pie will be sliced.

An increasing number of video streaming consumers are choosing multiple app subscriptions today to satisfy their viewing content interests. A recent survey found that most people are now willing to pay between $17 and $27 a month for all streaming subscriptions. It is no longer a matter of which streaming service to choose from. It is now how many can I subscribe to for the best value.

The trends in cable cutting from the Deloitte report shows a generational preference among consumers. When we look at millennials, 22 to 35, we see 88% who chose online streaming services while 51% subscribed to traditional cable or satellite. There is still 43% of consumers overall that pay for both services (traditional TV and Internet video services). These consumers, on average, subscribe to three different streaming services. The primary reasons why they chose online streaming services included, access to original programming (57%) and to avoid all advertising (44%).

👉Read more: Mastering Subscription Commerce for Connected TV Apps

More Streaming Apps Lead to More Subscription Apps

The dominant model for video streaming services in the United Stated remains the subscription model where a monthly fee is paid to watch video content free from ads. The competition in this market is no longer just about gaining eyeballs for advertisements, it’s about building a subscriber base that provides consistent monthly revenue for the provider. The subscription revenue vs advertising revenue debate has seen clear winners in the music and video streaming space.

This has led to app subscriptions increasing significantly in other verticals as well.  Subscription gaming, identity-theft protection software, podcasts, credit reporting, antivirus tools, even SaaS solutions like Photoshop all indicate demand and increasing acceptance of the subscription model as the better option for apps and content consumers.

Subscription services are continuing to grow in markets outside just the streaming space. For app developers that want to grow and optimize a recurring revenue stream, we recommend using Nami ML. Now is the best time to publish your app with Nami, the world’s first platform purpose made to optimize subscription revenue powered by advanced machine learning. Try it for free today.

👉Subscriptions Driving Consumer Spend

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Nami Co-Founder & CEO Dan Burcaw joins Subscriptions: Scaled Podcast with Nick Fredrick to discuss what it takes to launch a mobile subscription business, how Nami can help, and more.

Here's the podcast synopsis from the show page:

Do you want to learn how a service that helps businesses launch mobile app subscriptions works? Then tune in to the latest episode of Subscriptions: Scaled, with Dan Burcaw, Co-Founder & CEO at Nami ML. Throughout the episode, you’ll learn all about Nami ML as a company, the recent changes in the subscription industry, mobile app subscription integration, and so much more.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at the Subscriptions: Scaled episode page.

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No-code paywalls are a huge part of what makes the Nami platform so valuable for our customers.  With just a couple lines of code to setup our SDK and then invoke the paywall, developers and app publishers are able to start selling in-app purchases and subscriptions to their customers on Android and Apple devices without having to write any code to process the transactions or manage the complexity of the subscription lifecycle.

Today we are adding even more power and flexibility to our no-code paywall solution by introducing styles.

Prior to the introduction of styles, Nami users were limited to matching their brand on the purchase screen by selecting imagery and uploading it as a background.

Now you can reflect your brand on the purchase screen by adjusting the many styles on the paywall to match your brand palette, including the colors of all fonts, buttons, and the bottom overlay on the paywall.  

Let’s start by opening up the Cloud Paywall Creator in the Nami Control Center.

Simply look for the Theme subsection at the end of each screen where you modify the content and design of your paywall.  You’ll now see new options to adjust colors and font sizes.  Click on a color label to open up the color picker.

Additionally, all text now has the options to add a shadow.  Simply turn on the toggle next to Shadow for each text field that you wish to have a shadow.  Select a radius and color that works with your designs.  See the changes previewed right away our our Paywall Previewer in the web browser.

Add the paywall to a live campaign and click Update and you’ll see the changes reflected in your mobile app right away.

Have really great imagery that you really want to highlight in the design of your paywall?  Simply switch off the toggle for Use Bottom Overlay and it will go away, placing the buttons for your in-app purchase products directly on the image.

Drawing attention to your most popular SKUs can both help in increasing conversion rates on your paywalls and increasing revenue by driving users to select different SKUs that may reduce churn rates or increase conversions from free trials with your users.  

We have introduced 2 new features to help you put the focus where you want it.

• Drag and drop SKU ordering
• Featured SKU colors

👉Read more: Reasons to Use a No-Code Paywall Builder

You’ll find both of these options on the Products section of the paywall.  Put your SKUs in the right order and change the color of your best seller!

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If you already spent all your time hunting for the best image for your purchase screen, open the eyedropper tool to select colors directly from your image into any color picker tool in the paywall design.  Quickly match the rest of your paywall to the image you’ve selected.

Have a designer that can help you make your paywalls even better or want to reuse a great style you already built in another paywall?  No problem.  Use the export button on the Overview tab to get a JSON of all your styles.  Modify it and then import it into the paywall to get all your style information right away.

Happy designing and we are excited to see the beautiful designs you are able to pull together using our new tools!

👉Read more: Five Paywall Product Best Practices

Please note that to fully leverage the new style options requires that your are using the following versions of our mobile platforms.

• Android: v0.5.0+
• Apple:  v2.4.0+
• React Native: v0.3.0+

If you still have users that are using an older version of the SDK, paywalls will display in the old style with no font size or color changes.

‍What Causes Error 2020?

Error 2020 occurs when the app’s regional availability settings in App Store Connect do not cover the user’s location. This is frequently intentional, especially for apps targeting specific countries due to licensing or legal constraints. However, it may also happen inadvertently if the app’s settings are misconfigured or certain regions were omitted unintentionally.

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Common Scenarios for Error 2020 - App Not Available in Your Country

Developers typically encounter this error in the following situations:

1. Testing in Unavailable Regions: Attempting to test or distribute an app in a region where it’s not available triggers this error.
2. Intentional Regional Restrictions: Apps intended for specific markets may block access in non-target regions.
3. Incorrect App Store Connect Availability Settings: Misconfigured availability settings in App Store Connect can prevent users from accessing the app.
4. Geo-Restricted Content: Apps with geo-restricted media or services may be limited to certain regions, causing this error.

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Step-by-Step Solutions for Error 2020

Solution 1: Review and Update Availability Settings in App Store Connect

• Purpose: Ensures that the app is available in all intended regions.
• Steps:

1. Log in to App Store Connect and go to Pricing and Availability.
2. Under Availability, verify that all target countries and regions are selected.
3. Update the settings if additional countries need to be included.

• Result: Expanding availability settings allows users from more regions to access the app.

Solution 2: Check Regional Restrictions in Content or Licensing Agreements

• Purpose: Ensures that the app’s content or services comply with regional restrictions.
• Steps:

1. Review any content or licensing agreements that may restrict the app’s availability.
2. Ensure that all regions allowed by these agreements are covered in App Store Connect.
3. Update availability based on these restrictions.

• Result: Aligning the app’s settings with licensing agreements avoids inadvertent geo-restrictions.

Solution 3: Test with a VPN to Simulate Different Regions

• Purpose: Verifies the app’s availability in target regions by simulating different locations.
• Steps:

1. Use a VPN to connect from a country where the app should be available.
2. Attempt to access and download the app in the App Store.
3. Confirm that the app appears as available or troubleshoot further if it’s still restricted.

• Result: VPN testing helps identify regions where the app is unavailable, helping refine availability settings.

Solution 4: Notify Users of Regional Availability and Future Plans

• Purpose: Provides users in restricted regions with information about potential future availability.
• Steps:

1. Update the app’s description or website to indicate current regional availability.
2. Optionally include future availability plans for users in currently restricted areas.
3. Guide users to request updates for new regional availability.

• Result: Informing users manages expectations and helps prepare for possible future expansion.

Solution 5: Contact Apple Developer Support if Restrictions are Unintentional

• Purpose: Helps address unexpected restrictions that may not align with the intended availability settings.
• Steps:

1. Document all current availability settings in App Store Connect.
2. Reach out to Apple Developer Support with details of the issue.
3. Follow Apple’s guidance to adjust settings if necessary.

• Result: Apple’s support team can provide assistance to resolve unintentional regional restrictions.

Conclusion

‍Error 2020 - App Not Available in Your Country, usually results from regional availability settings or content restrictions. By reviewing availability in App Store Connect, checking licensing agreements, testing with VPNs, notifying users of availability, and consulting Apple Support, developers can manage and resolve this error effectively.

With Nami’s low-code solutions, developers can streamline regional app configurations to focus on market expansion with ease. Discover more at NamiML.

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In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, The App Economy and The User, we explored the how the App Economy’s focus on growth has wrecked the user experience for many apps, and how an over reliance on paid advertising in order to generate new downloads creates a negative cycle that is difficult to break.

In Part 3 we recommend an alternative approach that is win-win for users and publishers. But first, we should talk about monetizing growth…

Monetizing Growth

Five years after the introduction of the iPhone, just 35% of American adults owned a smartphone according to Pew Research. Fast forward to today, and ownership has skyrocketed to 81% in the US. Across the globe, smartphone ownership is on the rise in both developed and emerging markets.

It’s no surprise that over the same period of time, app publishers (1, 2, 3) have experienced rapidly growing install bases with tens of millions of downloads. With so many installs, it’s understandable that monetization strategies focused on audience size have become en vogue.

About Those Mobile Ads

According to AppAnnie, mobile accounted for 62% of digital advertising spend in 2018; a $155 billion market. Many of these “mobile first” ads promote the installation of other mobile apps and have become an essential part of app publishers’ user acquisition strategy as discussed in Part 2 of this series.

Monetization through ads is a volume game. Individual ad impressions are worth little to nothing except in the rare case a user taps on an ad. Sadly, many ads are poor quality and end up disjointing the user experience rather than harmonizing with it.

In today’s era of Super Retina displays, it's shocking that agencies publish display ads which represent their brands and look lousy on high resolution displays.

Apple famously tried to improve the quality of mobile ads with their 2010 acquisition of Quattro, which was the basis for Apple’s iAd network. However, that effort was shuttered in 2016 as Apple shifted focus to app search ads on the App Store.

Unfortunately, it’s not merely the look and feel of mobile ads that is a problem for end users. Ad frameworks that app developers thoughtlessly integrate into their apps in order to serve ads can do as much or more harm to user experience than ugly creative.

‍👉Read more: Subscription Tech and Doing What Matters

Selling Ads = Selling Out Your Users

Ad frameworks employ advanced targeting algorithms to serve ads to users. Most frameworks collect data about users under the guise of showing more relevant advertising. Relevancy sound great, but most users are unaware how much data an app is harvesting, especially apps that serve ads. How would you feel if an app was selling your data to the highest bidder? This is exactly what’s happening.

Even if an app isn’t serving ads, it may very well contain a framework that harvests your data.

Of particular concern are apps that use your location, such as weather apps. You may agree to share your location in order for the app to give you a relevant experience, but, unbeknownst to you, the same app might also be sharing your location with an ad targeting framework. With this data, ad technology companies can map your movements and quickly figure out where you live and work.

It’s not just the display ad providers, however, that are interested in data collection. The entire marketing and advertising technology ecosystem thrives on your data. Many of these companies view mobile as a key source in building immense data clouds full of rich user profiles.

Luckily, Apple continues to be focused on end user privacy, giving users more control about how and when their data is shared with apps. Apple has also made data collection much more transparent to the end user, especially with location sharing and Bluetooth access.

Furthermore, Apple’s App Store review guidelines continue to evolve, encouraging app publishes to focus more on end user privacy. While some apps have been updated to be on par with the new standards, others have gone above and beyond, offering a truly user-centric experience.

Governments are also playing a role in setting the tone for the collection of user data. New regulations such as the European Union’s General Data Production Regulation (GDPR) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have put companies on notice to be more thoughtful about data.

The US Federal Trade Commission has also taken action against companies such as Facebook and InMobi, who have notoriously put profits above user privacy.

Wouldn’t it be great to build a real business around your app that customers are willing to pay for? It seems like such an obvious approach, but it’s not entirely that clear cut.

The app ecosystem has evolved a lot since the App Store launch in 2008. Several changes have challenged app publishers to embrace new monetization tools. Great apps can be expensive to build and maintain. App publishers need a reliable, viable means to make their investments worthwhile.

Let’s take a look at three common monetization approaches:

1. Pay to Download

Paid apps were the primary monetization approach in year one of the App Store. As the number of apps increased, however, publishers found themselves in a race to the bottom on price. A one-time price of $0.99 in a growing-but-nascent market was clearly not a recipe for sustainability.

2. In-App Purchases

Apple introduced in-app purchases in 2009, originally restricted to paid apps and available to free apps later that year. This created a new avenue for monetization with inexpensive, and later free, apps attracting larger audiences and offering in-app purchases.

This model has become ubiquitous in games. A consumable resource such as virtual coins can be sold to players to be used to buy virtual commodities, unlock features, or speed up the progress of a game. Monster money maker like Clash of Clans provides in-app purchases that allow players to remain competitive against the legion of other players across the internet who are doing the same, culminating an in-app purchase arms race of sorts.

Across all app genres, in-app purchase are used for countless add-ons from photo filters to recipe bundles to workout routines. They are even used to allow users to remove ads from an app, letting the app publisher trade one revenue source for another.

The 'arms race’ phenomenon, however, doesn’t exist in non-games. Because most non-games lack a linear progression or an endless market of virtual goods, in-app purchases haven’t radically improved the long term sustainability that app publishers want outside of the game category.

3. Subscriptions

After the iPad launched in 2011, Apple introduced in-app subscriptions which were originally reserved for content publishing apps such as newspapers, magazines, video, and music.

Apple’s signature launch partner for in-app subscriptions was News Corp’s The Daily. The Daily was ahead of its time in its user experience and monetization approach, but iPad users weren’t ready and The Daily was discontinued just a year later.

Fast forward to 2016. Four years after the launch of The Daily, Apple reported having 1 billion active devices in use around the world. This incredible milestone meant a renewed opportunity to build strong recurring revenue businesses in the ecosystem.

To do so, App Store subscriptions were overhauled and opened up to apps in all categories and improved its revenue split to be more friendly to app publishers. The original split was 70% to the app publisher and 30% to Apple. The new split was 70/30 in the first year, and 85/15 in subsequent years. This model still exists as of this article’s publication (Oct 2019.)

The in-app purchase model seems to be working. According to App Annie’s State of Mobile 2019 report, consumer spending is up 120% since 2016, largely attributable to growth from subscriptions. The firm forecasts that subscriptions will drive the app economy to grow by another $75 billion dollars by 2022.

‍👉Read more: Cross-Platform Subscriptions

Welcome to the Subscription Economy

It’s clear that we’ve entered an app economy that is fueled by subscriptions.

Building a paid customer base focused on growing recurring subscription revenue is so fundamentally different from focusing on audience growth, where acquiring new users is much of the ballgame. How do app publishers thrive in this new world?

A mindset shift is necessary. In the subscription economy, it’s vital to be at peace with the fact that not all users who visit your website or download your app are going to become paid subscriptions.

A Mindset Shift

In the subscription economy, your job is to identify and encourage your users, and nurture them through a customer journey. Through that journey you’ll understand that your best users have high potential to become your best customers.

The subscription customer journey is not focused on creating hyperactive usage patterns to inflate growth metrics like MAUs. It’s also not a one-size-fits-all journey. Some users need more time to evaluate and consider whether your app serves a need. Others will know right away.

Your job is to make sure your experience isn’t creating artificial roadblocks or messaging users for self-serving reasons. Those retention email and push messages reek of desperation, and will turn users that might otherwise have become paying customers.

The best subscription apps let go of the baggage from the growth era. Rather than spending inordinate time and energy trying to prevent those low-quality users from churning, these app publishers focus on building a great experience that some users will love.

Spend most of your time optimizing your experience to provide unquestionable value to a certain audience, and spend little time focusing on the rest.

Build For Your Fans

In the subscription economy, converting a user to a paying customer isn’t the finish line. Your job is to continue to build and reenforce the value of your product. If you do this, you have a chance to earn an even more profound stage in your app’s customer journey: true fans.

This is an elite club, so don’t expect a large volume of users in this cohort. That’s okay. They are, however, your best customers. Why? They have the lowest churn risk and the highest Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). They will help your marketing efforts without being asked by recommending your app through word-of-mouth. They will even give you the benefit of the doubt when the inevitable bug is introduced.

Imagine a world where you focus on building a product that is valued by your customers and delights your fans rather than figuring out how to more efficiently coax and nag the millions of users who downloaded your app. Build for your fans and you are one step closer to building a healthy app business.

P.S. Your fans understand the true value of your product so they will likely pay far more than you think you can charge.

Embracing Subscriptions

Unlike ads and even basic in-app purchases, offering in-app subscriptions is quite a bit of work to not just launch, but maintain over time. This work is further complicated if your app is available across multiple app ecosystems or if you offer a way to purchase on the web.

In addition, once you launch, it's incredibly important to have the flexibility to iterate on your subscription offers, marketing, and pricing so you can optimize revenue and customer satisfaction. Nami's here to help. Our Subscriber Experience Cloud is a complete suite of tools to help you get to market fast, gain insights to help you optimize your subscriber experience which is good for revenue and customer satisfaction.

If you're thinking about adding subscriptions to your app, we invite you to learn more about Nami.