In the early days of an app’s launch, we invest significant energy in operations and channel targeting in the hope of rapid growth. However, eventually, after the growth momentum inevitably fades, the app will hit a growth plateau: the cost of acquiring new customers remains too high, user churn outpaces new customer acquisition, and revenue growth slows.

However, blindly pursuing user growth during this period will yield meager or even zero returns, or even negative returns. In the long run, developers should focus not only on expanding their user base but also on areas beyond user growth. For example, monetization can unlock a secondary growth curve.

App Growth Curve

The first growth curve represents the user-driven growth model that apps rely on in their early stages. Once this phase passes, growth slows and stagnates. Without new growth drivers, the app enters a period of decline.

At this point, developers must embark on the second growth curve, essentially opening a new growth channel. This typically involves upgrading the app’s business model based on its existing user base. Choosing intelligent monetization methods is one of the most direct and simple upgrade paths.

Monetization: The Key to Your Second Curve

Why is monetization the key to renewed growth? This can be explained from three perspectives: user value, drive growth in return, and app lifetime value.

User Value is Undervalued

Have you squeezed every last ounce of profit out of your existing user base? Attracting new users is like clearing a wasteland, while monetization is like unearthing treasure. Your existing users are inherently valuable; you just need to figure out how to properly monetize them and turn them into assets.

Sustainable Cash Flow Feeds Back App Growth

Revenue generated through stable monetization can be fed back into user growth or app optimization, giving your app new life and creating a positive cycle.

Optimizing User Lifetime Value

Not every app is suitable for monetization through advertising or subscriptions. Currently, users are increasingly averse to intrusive monetization, and the presence of ads is becoming increasingly annoying. Similarly, paying users are ultimately only a small fraction of the vast user base and may not be suitable for all apps. At this time, it is particularly important to find monetization methods that are non-intrusive and cost-free.

Ad-Free Monetization

Ad-free monetization is the key to unlocking an app’s second growth curve.

For example, CastarSDK provides an ad-free, user-friendly passive income mechanism. With simple integration, the SDK runs silently in the background, converting idle user bandwidth into real revenue, adding a stable passive income channel to your app. During this process, users remain unaware of the SDK’s presence, leaving their user experience unaffected. More importantly, CastarSDK fully complies with international privacy regulations such as GDPR to ensure the legality and security of applications in the global market.

Convert every user into revenue

This quiet, reliable monetization model helps increase the lifetime value of each user, ensuring existing users continue to contribute to the product and avoiding waste. This is the value of the second growth curve: it allows apps to escape growth bottlenecks, creates new revenue channels within existing user bases, and builds a stronger and more stable monetization ecosystem.

Monetization Opens a New Chapter

Stagnant growth doesn’t mean the end; it’s simply a sign that it’s time to consider new directions.

Let monetization become a new starting point for your app, driving revenue growth and ushering in a new phase of development. Learn about monetization solutions like CastarSDK and activate your second growth curve.