How To Make Money With An Educational App
With evolving market trends, educational apps are gaining traction and are anticipated to remain in demand with ongoing globalization. Seizing the opportunity, many custom app development companies are developing educational apps to capitalize on the eLearning wave. In this article, we have covered the most efficient methods to monetize educational apps, helping entrepreneurs and businesses to scale business profit.
12 Ways To Monetize Your Educational App
1. Advertisements
Advertising is one of the most sought-after ways to monetize an educational app. With most relevant businesses looking to build a brand name, giving them visibility on your educational app’s screen will make for constant money inflow.
This can be done with the help of affiliate marketing. Popups with ads automatically appear on the screen of the app. It is, however, important to make sure that ads don’t flash before the user's eyes all the time.
For selected users, a paid subscription can be offered which has no ads. Upgrading to a premium version of the app will give users free access to view data without ads. Luring customers via ads to become premium users is another method of earning profit.
For the most suitable ad content, place ads according to the products that the app audience might be interested in. And as time goes by, advertisements will increase user reach, enabling a better profit margin.
2. Freemium
A freemium model allows users free access to an educational app for a limited time. After that, users need to purchase a monthly or annual subscription.
The educational app can be divided into 2 parts: the free version and the premium version. Basic features, such as orientation modules and pilot elements are available for free use. Advanced learning material with more elaborated tutorials is provided in a premium version.
The use of an educational app can be strategized by offering a trial version so that the users can go through the services offered by the app. When convinced, the users can buy the entire solution with the premium services offered by the educational app.
3. Paid App Versions
A custom app development company can build an eLearning app with sophisticated features that can be offered at an extra cost. In this model, unlike freemium, users are asked to pay to experience the benefits.
The price of the app can be decided based on the features offered, complementing the market’s pricing matrix. A demo version of the eLearning app can also be created so that the users can try and experience the perks of the app first-hand. With a hands-on experience, users are more likely to pay for the premium version of the educational app.
4. In-App Purchases
This model allows users to use most of the educational app services for free. However, enhanced facilities with value addition can be offered at an extra cost. A good example of in-app purchases can be that of a language learning app.
In a language learning app, as the user progresses, rewards, coins, or badges are offered to unlock different learning modules. But, if the users are not able to win enough rewards, then they can purchase coins by paying real money via in-app purchases and proceed with the course.
5. Referral Program
Referral marketing can quickly broaden the reach of an educational app to develop a huge customer base. It allows users (learners/educators) to promote the educational app with ease, without adding to the marketing budget.
Traditional approaches like word of mouth and personal recommendations have been tried and tested for years to spread awareness. These approaches can holistically surpass a potential marketing strategy, as more than 90% of the people trust personalized marketing.
6. Paid Updates
Another transparent method of monetizing an educational app is by implementing charges for app updates. Users get an initial version of the app which is free of charge. The additional updates to be released in future versions with enhanced functionalities can be offered to the users for purchase.
This monetization method is a perfect fit for users who opt for an MVP (minimum viable product) instead of a complete version of the educational app. In case they don’t want to pay for app updates, the older version of the educational app can still be used.
7. Paid Services
A lot of educational apps focus on showing their expertise to a broader audience for free. But utilization of an expert service will always come with a price tag. Providing paid services to users, such as the opportunity to communicate with highly qualified educators directly, is a good source of passive income.
To offer paid services, higher course quality is imperative. Having polished educators onboard will deepen user trust as the quality of the courses will be high. User trust will eventually lead to buying a premium service, such as direct coordination with educators for assistance and advice from educators to guide the learning progress, check competencies, methods for improvement, and so on.
8. Subscription Fees
A subscription is another popular method to monetize an educational app. In essence, the user is charged a subscription fee (monthly or annually) for using the app. The perks covered under a subscription consist of free access to useful content, courses, lectures, or videos.
The limit on the number of courses available under a subscription can be set either based on users or the number of visits. This can help in making the courses exclusive and keeping the user on the platform for a longer period. A user can also choose the subscription plan as per convenience and requirement.
9. Online Store
Another way to monetize an educational app is by letting users purchase items that are relevant to the field of their interest. These items can also be used to develop competencies.
Educators or tutors can put their lesson plans online for sale. Relevant items such as books, videos, audiobooks, and more can be offered for purchase via an online store on an educational app.
Creating and selling materials will improve the quality of education and will generate revenue. Having an online store is a highly effective method, as potential users are already interested in what the platform is offering.
10. White Labeling
Built by a custom app development company, a nicely developed educational app can earn money via a white-label partnership. If the educational app is successful and is able to create a name for itself, then profit can be earned by selling the brand name.
The creation of a brand name is costly and highly time-consuming, but once the mark is achieved, white-label partnerships can lead to a lot of business profit. It also offers the enjoyment of exclusivity and in best cases, the monopoly in the affairs of offering.
11. Monetizing Data
This concept of data monetization has caught on. Big companies like Facebook and WhatsApp are using this method to garner important results and insights via customer data. In the case of educational apps, students enrolled can be asked for their academic details, orientation, and more so that important data can be churned into relevant information.
The same can be used to plan offerings strategically to earn better. Data analysis can also be done by partnering with a research agency to make the most of data-leveraged offerings.
12. Course Fees
Charging course fees is the most commonly used option. An educational app can be used as a platform to sell popular and copyright courses. At times, free workshops and webinars can be held to garner an audience for a particular course. If the demand for the course is high, then it can be priced at a higher value, and after a while, the price can be raised.
In the market, there is an average price for all courses. It is important to search for a fair price, as the demand for a course acts as a deciding factor for users. To constantly maintain demand and change the pricing policy regularly is not feasible. Hence, it should be taken into consideration that the course price should follow product strategy and not vice versa.
For premium access, the price can be doubled, but if broad coverage is the prerogative, then the price of the course should be kept optimal. Monetization of an educational app by charging course fees demands a constant validation of its value. Hence, special attention should be given when deciding the fees of a course.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned points clearly state that an educational app can be monetized to scale business profit. All that is required to create an educational app is to hire a cost-effective custom app development company.
