James Delahunty
9 May 2012 15:31
Not every app makes enough, not even close.
Stories like that of of the billion-dollar Instagram sale have put a lot of focus on the mobile app space. Research conducted by App Promo will probably dampen hopes for a lot of developers looking to become the next millionaires.
It found that more than 59 percent of apps do not generate enough revenue to break even. Only 12 percent of mobile app developers earn $50,000 or more for their apps, most of which have budgets around $30,000 for development, and also spend on average 14% of the revenue on marketing.
"With over a million applications in the market across platforms, app publishers are finding it increasingly challenging to cut through the noise and get their apps discovered and downloaded," the firm wrote in its white paper.
"Those developers that spend money and time on marketing outside of the app stores found the most success based on the revenue they had earned for their app. This core finding echoes what we believe as a leading app marketing and strategy firm, that in order to make an app a successful business you need to ensure that you have a budget and time allocated to marketing and promoting your app."