The choice of monetization model not only affects the developer’s revenue, but is also often directly related to the user’s experience and willingness to use. In the current application market, the existence of advertising and subscriptions has begun to significantly affect user retention.

This article will systematically sort out the actual impact of different monetization models on user retention, and provide solutions so that developers can both guarantee revenue and improve user retention.

Impact of Common Monetization Models on User Experience

Interstitial Ads: interrupt user operations, most likely to cause negative emotions and lead to user loss.

Banner Ads: occupy interface space and affect the neatness of the interface, but their intrusion is low, and the degree of impact on user experience depends on the layout. If the ad position is not placed properly or the ad layout is too dense, it will still affect user retention.

Rewarded Video Ads: This type of advertising model is mainly based on user self-selection, allowing users to get rewards by watching videos, with high acceptance and low impact on user experience.

In-App Purchases / Subscriptions: If there are too few free functions, users will directly uninstall the app, causing a large number of users to lose. However, if the payment design is reasonable, it can improve the satisfaction of paying users.

Background Monetization (such as CastarSDK): This type of monetization solution basically does not interfere with the user experience, and users have zero perception, so it basically does not affect user retention. It is the first choice for non-interference monetization solutions.

How to Balance Monetization and User Retention

Prioritize Non-Intrusive Monetization Solutions

The best way to balance monetization and user retention is to choose monetization tools that generate revenue without disrupting the user experience. Such tools run silently in the background, bringing long-term stable passive income to developers without users noticing.

For example, CastarSDK has no ads, no pop-ups, no interface occupation, and no privacy data collection. After the developer integrates it once, the background will continue to generate revenue, and the user experience will not be affected at all.

Optimizing Ad Experience

If you want to reduce the impact of ads on users, you should give users the choice to click on ads or design ads to be as unobtrusive as possible.

● Use rewarded ads instead of forced interstitial ads, and clearly tell users to “watch ads for rewards” to reduce user resentment and enhance user participation.

● Control the frequency of ads to avoid user fatigue.

● Keep the design of banner ads as simple as possible, do not cover the main functions, and do not take up too much space on the interface.

Providing Value to Free Users

Many developers who use subscription or in-app purchase models to monetize fall into a misunderstanding: the fewer free features, the more likely they are to promote user conversion. This is actually wrong.

Users are not unwilling to pay, but they need to build trust first and let them know what value they can get from your app. Too many restrictions on free features will lead to incomplete new user experience and a limited understanding of the app’s functions, resulting in serious loss.

The correct approach is to retain users by offering enough free value, then gradually drive paid conversions.

Summary

Monetization and user experience are not mutually exclusive. To achieve the best of both worlds, the key is whether you choose a monetization method that is user-friendly.

Start taking action now and adjust your monetization strategy according to the above methods, so that the application can increase revenue while reducing the impact on user retention!

Developers can start by non-interference background monetization methods, such as integrating CastarSDK, which is low-cost, low-risk, and brings stable passive income to developers. This is a very cost-effective monetization solution.