[Journey] Building an iOS & Android App Empire

[magic_button]

Update:

Earnings average: $100 through FAN + Unity daily since my last update. I guess with Admob I would have make way more money. Somehow the earnings for iOS are extremely low with FAN. Its not only that the fill rate is only 70%, but the ECPM is 3x less than on Admob.

With Android FAN is doing pretty well. 90% fill rate and decent ECPM (still lower than Google). And just saying: I already blocked the Tier 3 countries, so the average ECPM should actually be higher than on Admob, where I got a lot of traffic from countries like Indonesia, PH, Thailand and India. Now they are blocked! They can not access my beautiful apps and abuse them, because they are blocked. Very nasty.

Uploaded two more Android apps. One of them got published already. Google took like 7 days to review it. I didn't make any other new app so far, because I was busy updating my existing apps to FAN and Appodeal.

I was drinking a beer last night and I was thinking about what I would do differently if I would start from the beginning:

Depending on the niche of the apps I would:

Probably make two accounts. One safe account, where I only give access to countries, where people won't do unethical crap like mass reporting and another account, where I would just give access to everyone.

About monetization:

I would block Tier 3 countries from seeing ads. Yes, I would lose a few $, but it would keep my account safe.
Or even better: I would use mediation and send Tier 3 traffic to a different ad network. You can actually select the countries you want to show ads to. I would use Admob only for Tier 1 & 2 countries and a network like FAN, Unity, etc. for Tier 3.

Also, I would make sure I wouldn't buy keyword installs or any other kind of "invalid traffic" / bots and run ads. Basically, terminating ANY KIND of risk.

This would probably the best and safest way.

hey nakamura, do you recommend running google ads? Because it's quite expensive compared to ads revenue.

 

[KomonMam]

How to avoid/bypass FAN 4.1 Violation anyone?

 

[WarlordYT]

Update:

Earnings average: $100 through FAN + Unity daily since my last update. I guess with Admob I would have make way more money. Somehow the earnings for iOS are extremely low with FAN. Its not only that the fill rate is only 70%, but the ECPM is 3x less than on Admob.

With Android FAN is doing pretty well. 90% fill rate and decent ECPM (still lower than Google). And just saying: I already blocked the Tier 3 countries, so the average ECPM should actually be higher than on Admob, where I got a lot of traffic from countries like Indonesia, PH, Thailand and India. Now they are blocked! They can not access my beautiful apps and abuse them, because they are blocked. Very nasty.

Uploaded two more Android apps. One of them got published already. Google took like 7 days to review it. I didn't make any other new app so far, because I was busy updating my existing apps to FAN and Appodeal.

I was drinking a beer last night and I was thinking about what I would do differently if I would start from the beginning:

Depending on the niche of the apps I would:

Probably make two accounts. One safe account, where I only give access to countries, where people won't do unethical crap like mass reporting and another account, where I would just give access to everyone.

About monetization:

I would block Tier 3 countries from seeing ads. Yes, I would lose a few $, but it would keep my account safe.
Or even better: I would use mediation and send Tier 3 traffic to a different ad network. You can actually select the countries you want to show ads to. I would use Admob only for Tier 1 & 2 countries and a network like FAN, Unity, etc. for Tier 3.

Also, I would make sure I wouldn't buy keyword installs or any other kind of "invalid traffic" / bots and run ads. Basically, terminating ANY KIND of risk.

This would probably the best and safest way.

How many apps do u have to reach 100$ ?
I have just 1 game and 1 app making 5-8$

 

[ClikB]

Goodluck on your journey, and I appreciate the recommendations on your thread

 

[Deleted member 1207404]

Update:

Earnings average: $100 through FAN + Unity daily since my last update. I guess with Admob I would have make way more money. Somehow the earnings for iOS are extremely low with FAN. Its not only that the fill rate is only 70%, but the ECPM is 3x less than on Admob.

With Android FAN is doing pretty well. 90% fill rate and decent ECPM (still lower than Google). And just saying: I already blocked the Tier 3 countries, so the average ECPM should actually be higher than on Admob, where I got a lot of traffic from countries like Indonesia, PH, Thailand and India. Now they are blocked! They can not access my beautiful apps and abuse them, because they are blocked. Very nasty.

Uploaded two more Android apps. One of them got published already. Google took like 7 days to review it. I didn't make any other new app so far, because I was busy updating my existing apps to FAN and Appodeal.

I was drinking a beer last night and I was thinking about what I would do differently if I would start from the beginning:

Depending on the niche of the apps I would:

Probably make two accounts. One safe account, where I only give access to countries, where people won't do unethical crap like mass reporting and another account, where I would just give access to everyone.

About monetization:

I would block Tier 3 countries from seeing ads. Yes, I would lose a few $, but it would keep my account safe.
Or even better: I would use mediation and send Tier 3 traffic to a different ad network. You can actually select the countries you want to show ads to. I would use Admob only for Tier 1 & 2 countries and a network like FAN, Unity, etc. for Tier 3.

Also, I would make sure I wouldn't buy keyword installs or any other kind of "invalid traffic" / bots and run ads. Basically, terminating ANY KIND of risk.

This would probably the best and safest way.

If I'm running an AdWord installs campaign from scratch. For a beginner, who do you think I should target first as my audience, ex Tier 1 or Tier 3 traffic? Do you think I should go for tier 3 traffic first so that I won't deplete my ad budget quickly without those core reviews and installs?

Note: My app is all tier friendly.

 

[nakamura]

If I'm running an AdWord installs campaign from scratch. For a beginner, who do you think I should target first as my audience, ex Tier 1 or Tier 3 traffic? Do you think I should go for tier 3 traffic first so that I won't deplete my ad budget quickly without those core reviews and installs?

Note: My app is all tier friendly.

It really depends on your niche and your target audience. If it's just about getting users/downloads you can run it worldwide and try to get the lowest possible CPI (Cost per Install). I got many downloads from Brazil for example and the average CPI was $0.07. However, the CPI also depends on the quality of the ads, the niche, the app itself, and the app listing.

How many apps do u have to reach 100$ ?
I have just 1 game and 1 app making 5-8$

In total around 12 apps. As you might read many Google Play Store apps always got deleted. Without the suspensions (only happens on Google Play!!!) I would probably earn stable $250 per day by now.

Its all about getting in the right niche. Targeting the right keywords. Tracking the keywords. Also the ad placement is very important. If you have a game, it would be smart to add video rewards to get coins or points. Video rewards have the highest ECPM. After this comes normal video ads, then comes interstitial and then comes banner ads.

Just keep scaling. With 10 games and 10 apps you would make 5-80$ or even more depending on the niche.

How to avoid/bypass FAN 4.1 Violation anyone?

Since it all comes down to the Facebook employee (or whoever it is checking) its difficult to say. My guess is the overall quality of the app must be decent.

hey nakamura, do you recommend running google ads? Because it's quite expensive compared to ads revenue.

So basically what you want to do is: Get a stable stream of downloads, rank your app and start to generate a passive income. No more work or money needed. Set and forget. Rank and bank.

Would have worked out for me well, but once my App ranked it got flagged by the competition and crooked Google removed it

 

[magic_button]

So basically what you want to do is: Get a stable stream of downloads, rank your app and start to generate a passive income. No more work or money needed. Set and forget. Rank and bank.

Would have worked out for me well, but once my App ranked it got flagged by the competition and crooked Google removed it

How can you run ads without money man?

 

[beatc]

Thanks for sharing your journey. My account was terminated recently and I made a new one. I've republished my terminated apps and I can tell you that it's fucking hard to gain back the no. of downloads.

 

[nakamura]

How can you run ads without money man?

Well, ads is not the only way to drive traffic/downloads. Try social media, SEO, guest posts, etc. the conversation rate will be lower and it takes way more effort, but its free.

 

[nakamura]

Thanks for sharing your journey. My account was terminated recently and I made a new one. I've republished my terminated apps and I can tell you that it's fucking hard to gain back the no. of downloads.

Yes, they are going crazy. And their ToS/Policies are absolutely ridiculous as well. A few days ago a very popular news app got removed. They said it "promotes violence" but what it actually did was showing the news.

Their policies are written in a way, that they can do whatever they want. The same goes for Facebook and their 4.1 policy. It states they can actually decide what app they allow.

 

[Deleted member 1207404]

Thanks for sharing your journey. My account was terminated recently and I made a new one. I've republished my terminated apps and I can tell you that it's fucking hard to gain back the no. of downloads.

Why did they suspend your account, I think if you're doing something sketchy they'll hit the ban hammer instantly.

 

[beatc]

Why did they suspend your account, I think if you're doing something sketchy they'll hit the ban hammer instantly.

I got three strikes and few removed apps. Got terminated a day before google payout but luckily got the profit

 

[beatc]

@nakamura do your recommend google ads campagin or facebook ads to promote your apps?

 

[nakamura]

@nakamura do your recommend google ads campagin or facebook ads to promote your apps?

Definitely Google ads. My results with Facebook ads were not really good. With Adwords I had an CPI (cost per install) of $0,07. Most downloads from Brazil tho.

I will run Google ads soon again and will share some insights then.

 

[Psh]

This subreddit is golden for ads: https://www.reddit.com/r/shittymobilegameads/

Just a tip.

Awesome journey, keep it up!

 

[baidovich]

@nakamura looking solid bro keep going!

Is there anyway we can create multiple Google Play Developer accounts?

My first account was suspended and I’m trying to create new ones so if an account gets banned, I don’t lose everything.. but couldn’t find a way so far

 

[nakamura]

@nakamura looking solid bro keep going!

Is there anyway we can create multiple Google Play Developer accounts?

My first account was suspended and I’m trying to create new ones so if an account gets banned, I don’t lose everything.. but couldn’t find a way so far

Using a VPS worked fine for me. For browser use Opera. When account creation you have to make sure you are using the location where your IP is. Choose a random street in the city your IP is in. Can make a new Gmail account, but phone verification should also be from the same country that you sign up from.

 

[Squezepage]

My plan is to make apps for Android and iOS in different niches. Later on I will give it a try with mobile games. I want to provide the users with the best possible quality, also in order to get a high retention. I am not going to make easy apps like Wallpaper downloads or something, but something more useful and meaningful.

My main motivation is NOT money. It is to build something sustainable. However, there is A LOT of money to make in the mobile/mobile gaming industry, it is not a secret. Some guys would say it is saturated, but I don't believe so. I just have to be better than the competition. I am willing to go this extra mile.

About me making apps so far:

I started from scratch on February 2020. I had no coding skills and was totally overhelmed with all the knowledge, coding stuff, etc. However, I managed to get the basics and improved step by step. Always learned something new on the way. It was all about getting into this mobile app industry, testing and making experience.

So far I made and monetized around 5 apps so far. I tested the limits, how far I can go until the apps get removed, and also how far I can go with the advertising. There are so many things to consider when making apps. Also, so far I made around $5k or more with apps.

What I got:

- Marketing skills
- iOS and Android developer account
- Ad network accounts
- Knowledge about the market, what I can do and what I shouldn't do (also in regards of Google and their policies)

How will you monetize the apps?

Through ads only so far. I don't plan to implement in-app purchases at this moment.

What ad networks are you going to use?

Admob (has the best eCPM from my experience), Facebook Audience Network/FAN and for some apps Appodeal mediation.

How will you make the apps?

With Swift, Java and for some I will use Flutter.

How will you drive traffic?

Through ads, SEO, social media, in-app ads and ASO

Will you use or do any Blackhat techniques/apps?

No, everything will be whitehat. I found Google has this "zero tolerance" approach on Apps and also on Adsense/Admob. They will directly delete/suspend your account/apps without any chance of reinstating. Basically they don't give a fuck. I don't wanna give them any chance to delete or suspend my account, therefore everything is going to be legit.

Please keep in mind: I don't want to make any apps or my niches public on here. I know many guys (especially in the app business) are copying, using some blackhat techniques or trying to damage/report each other. I want to prevent this from happening.

This is niche I have wasted many connections on searching for ways to get more exposure on it and improve the composition.

 

[nakamura]

This is niche I have wasted many connections on searching for ways to get more exposure on it and improve the composition.

You mean mobile apps?

It is really not that difficult. Find a niche with high demand, check the top keywords, make a great app and useful app (i think thats where most people fail), rank the app for those keywords. That's basically it.

 

[Squezepage]

You mean mobile apps?

It is really not that difficult. Find a niche with high demand, check the top keywords, make a great app and useful app (i think thats where most people fail), rank the app for those keywords. That's basically it.

Thanks for more explanation, everyday I learn new things and also get expose to the line worlds for better life ahead