By Ikenna Pius
The video games market is valued at around US$221.40bn, and everybody wants a piece of it. Mobile games make up the biggest piece of this pie; most people now play interactive video games on their phones, even more than they do on their computers and on their game consoles.
The reason is simple; phones are a lot more powerful today; and they provide a personalized effect to gaming.
This has provided a whole new market; one that is open to everyone. Mobile gaming is a fresh avenue via which people and companies can make money. The mobile gaming industry is worth around USD100 billion, and its value is expected to reach USD214.61 by 2028. This means the pie is sweet, but then we are just getting started. But this industry is not without its challenges:
How To Sustain Earnings On Mobile Games
Creators of mobile games soon discover that interaction with their games soon drop after an initial up surge; and those diminishing interaction figures take admob (or any other advertising revenue sharing program) earnings with them. This is attributable to a number of factors including;
- We Want New Things (Your Game Is No Longer New)
- Publishers Have Advertised Another Game
To break down the above; the life cycle of a game on an average person’s phone is 3 months. This is not just about games from small developers; even big game makers have reported sharp drops in interaction with their games after the initial hype goes down- and these games are very well designed so it has nothing to do with the quality of your game.
Remember that games are a form of entertainment; and entertainment is something we like served fresh. When was the last time you re-watched a movie? How many times did you watch it?
As for the second point (publishers have advertised another game) there is hardly anything you can do about it; publishers are simply giving the people what they want: new games; something fresh; something they have not yet experienced. If they are to stay ahead of their competition, then they must frequently provide new content, otherwise their audience will simply go somewhere else.
But there are steps you can take to ensure that you continue to make good earnings from your mobile games.
Secure Revenue Flow From Your Mobile Games With These Steps
Own Your Branding Space
Most small game developers just create their games and publish them; while few go ahead to create some awareness about their new games by doing advertising on blogs and other media outlets. However, they do not own the Branding Spaces; they only rent them, and soon, the media campaigns are over.
Owning your Branding Space means taking control of the advertising; making your audience see what you want them to see; when you want them to see.
Create A Website
You are going to need a website with which to display your games. It has to be professionally done, with artful designs, and magnetizing catch phrases. The website has to show your best games first, and when the visitors click on them they should be taken directly to the game’s download page on the publisher’s website.
You should then do your bit to advertise your website throughout the internet; advertising not just a particular game but your entire brand. However, this is not the main reason why you have to create a website; remember you need to own your branding space.
Use Your Game As A Branding Space
Most small game developers simply publish a game and hope to make money by signing up to one mobile advertising platform or the other. Small minds! If people are willing to pay you to advertise on your game app that means your game app must be a powerful marketing tool. Why not use that marketing tool to your own advantage?
Rather than promoting other brands, your first concern should be promoting your own brand. Therefore you should place an artfully designed banner ad in your game app; which would then lead to your website, advertising even more games to the user, and to all those who may happen to be watching his phone as he tries to open the game.
The other games can then carry adverts from the publisher’s advertising service. Gameloft has certainly used this system to retain their audience, and even draw in more people to their tribe. So can you!
Make More Games
Of course this goes without saying; it should probably have been listed previously. Making more games will give your audience options to choose from, and will also give you more streams of income as per ad revenue. The ultimate aim should not be to sell one game but to sell a brand; your games development brand.
This leads to the next point: making games that are similar to your flagship.
Make Games Similar To Your Flagship
We all remember the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4; we also remember Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Series S. Gameloft also produces games upon games upon games, and is an established brand when it comes to mobile games development.
To return to the point; you need to produce games which you will promote as improvements to the existing one. You may start with GameX, and then a year later make GameX1, followed by GameX2, 3,4,5 and so on.
Users who have enjoyed your games will anticipate your next production, and you can market it using the technique highlighted- see Own Your Branding Space (above).
Commit A Small Part Of Your Earnings To Advertising
As you must have frequently heard in marketing spaces; we live in a pay to play world. It is therefore necessary to spend some money on advertising. You can pay for banner ads which will be displayed on blogs. They are cheap, and some can be done for as little as $100.
Some of these adverts can be done on the basis of pay per click; which means you only pay when a person clicks on your ad.
By spending some money on advertising you are ensuring that fresh eyes continue to see your products; and that they continue to get downloads. This can help the algorithms decide that your game is popular; therefore deserving more visibility. That will jack up your downloads and revenue considerably.
Closing
Your revenue as a game developer does not have to be constant; it may fluctuate considerably. A downturn in revenue does not mean that your venture has failed.
Perhaps when the corrective measures highlighted above have been implemented, you can sustain your admob revenue or any other monetization programs you may use as a games developer.
Further Reading: How Much Can You Make Selling Ebooks Online
