Mobile Marketing’s Exponential Audience Growth
We have 6 accounts or so that make up most of our revenue (the old 80/20 rule is still in true) and have dozens of accounts.
I chose one of our smaller accounts (as to not stir up too many haters saying I Photoshop’d it…fake…BS…etc) for some proof that some decent revenue numbers can still be had.
No, Mobile Marketing is not dead. If anything it is in the process of growing and out-pacing every other form of media on the planet.
Depending on who you believe, we currently have about 1.6 to 1.8 Billion (yes that’s BILLION) people that are connected to the Internet via a Mobile Phone. Experts project, in the next 2-3 years, that the number will grow to become 2x to 3x larger.
Mobile Infrastructure Growth Fueled by BIG Corporations
With companies like Facebook and Google actively growing the infrastructure of this medium, it will soon eclipse the opportunity desktop ever had.
Have you heard about the two Facebook drones flying around Kenya 24/7 to deliver free WIFI to the whole country?
Have you heard about Google launching 86 satellites into space to provide satellite Internet to the world?
Mobile Internet – Greatest Equalizer Humanity Has Ever Seen
+Slight Philosophical rant starts here+
In 2008, I had one of those ah-ha moments with a friend, in a slightly inebriated state, and I told him…”Wow! Have you ever thought about what the world will be like when the entire planet has the Internet? What about a global hotspot? Everyone in the world would would have access to the Internet. It’ll be the great equalizer!”
The gun, in the last few hundred years became the great equalizer for mankind. A man/woman/ or even child with a gun could now be on an equal playing field with any other human being as far as power.
With the Internet reaching the entire world we’ll soon see the greatest empowerment of mankind that has ever happened.
That once little girl in Kenya who grew up the abandoned child of a slave (who was also a child of a slave…generations of slaves) now has the information at her fingertips (walking around in her pocket) that life doesn’t have to be like this. Everything she grew up knowing to be the truth (her reality) now has been shattered with a new reality. And if she chooses to empower herself by believing and taking action on her new found truths, she can make a new life for herself. Possibly even change the world.
Can you imagine how much faster Ghandi would have had an impact on India had he been embarking on his mission today? What about Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela? Dare I say Jesus?
It seems that the distribution of this great equalizer is the destiny of mankind, there’s no stopping it.
+Slight Philosophical rant ends here+
Conclusion
So, no Mobile is not dead. It’s just beginning. If anything Desktop will soon be dead (or least greatly diminished). In countries like Kenya and the rest of the under-developed world they don’t (and likely never will) have the infrastructure in place to have electricity in their home…let alone cable Internet. They do seem to manage a way to have a mobile phone though and even have solar powered mobile phone chargers to make sure they never die.
Mobile is alive and well and will grow SIGNIFICANTLY in the VERY near future.
Better be in it…or you’ll be wishing you had.
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9 Comments
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:12 pmDavid (Owner) Affplaybook.com
Wow very impressive and inspiring numbers Dan! I’ve known Dan for a while, and he definitely know his mobile stuff.
Are these your own offers? Affiliate offers? Do you consult with any businesses?
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:13 pmI do all of the above.
This is one account on an affiliate network.
I’ve got TONS to share that will be up coming. Been a lurker for far too long and mobile is a minefield…especially for the people unfamiliar with it.
I’ve gone through the mine fields (not unscathed by any means…missing a few limbs LOL!) and I think some of what I share would be extremely helpful.
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:15 pmResponse to several question from member of Affplaybook.com
We have a fairly sophisticated backend that allows us to promote everything from games, other apps, and even pay per call. Owning the apps and the traffic allows you to do more than the average bear (to quote the famous Yogi).
That being said all verticals work. As I mentioned to J-SiN when I gave him a little advice (I’ll be sharing that dialog soon here) if you currently have success in a vertical on PPV or search (or other for that matter) leverage your success there and apply it to mobile. The people in your niche are still the same people, you are just presenting them offers in a different medium.
It’s a medium with exponentially greater challenges, as I’ll detail more in the future, but if you have some landers and offers working you can successfully port them over to mobile.
As far as traffic sources go. I’d stay away from syndicators/aggregators (mediabuy platforms) and focus on PPC through Facebook, Google, Bing (maybe even 7search, they do have inventory) or possibly specialty traffic sources that focus on certain verticals (like dating or games).
More to come…
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:15 pmYes, sorry. Oversight. Main point was that it’s only been a few months and not a year+.
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:16 pmI played around with Voluum early on. Had they been around 3 years ago it would have saved us several hundred thousand dollars.
To tell you the truth we mainly used mixpanel (to the tune of $20k per month) and our on in-house tracking platform.
I would recommend Voluum for the brand new guy and Imobitrax for the technically inclined. To tell you the truth though, I think even the technically inclined can get distracted by the technical aspect and running the infrastructure. So, even for those guys, if they are a one-man (or woman) shop Voluum may be the better choice.
Start with Facebook. Leadbolt can be good on the CPI side. A bit of a challenge to get the technical worked out as an affiliate.
If this was a year ago I’d say Push Traffic like Airpush or Leadbolt, but the volume is limited now compared to where it used to be.
Creativity now is what’s rewarded. Focus on providing value by creating great ads and landers and then you can kill it anywhere. Interstitials can be great (kind of like a pop-up for mobile) and redirect traffic like Zeropark can also be a good.
If or when you try media buys. Zero in on as few a publishers (sites and apps) as possible and optimize them. If you find one or two big pubs you can make 6 figures per months. In contrast, trying 4000 sites at once will kill your budget fast.
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:17 pmResponse to how to grow app base on Affplaybook.com
I can definitely help you grow your app base. It’s what I do.
My consulting is steep (details at http://kickassmarketer.com) and I only have one spot open at the moment for clients (I know it sounds like a BS ploy, but its true), but I’d be willing to publicly help you as a benefit to the public.
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:17 pmThere are guys killing it with pin submits in obscure countries, game app installs, lead generation on facebook etc. Most people when they refer to Mobile are Media Buying meaning…they buy traffic on a syndicator or distributor of ad placements. You create and add and target geo, maybe carrier, maybe handsets, and other options depending on the network and it places your ad across the entire platform based in real time bidding against your competition and inventory available.
A lot of self-serve media buys are actually buying the remnant (left over crap traffic no body wants), but even that traffic can work at the right price. It’s a dangerous game to play and costs a ton of money to optimize.
Some guys also specialize in mobile website pop-ups and redirects (a form of interstitial ad kind of) and interstitial ads.
The real brazen guys are killing it with rich-media buys like video ads inside of games and videos.
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:18 pmIt’s not really fake (most of it). What do you do when you get a spam notification in your mobile phone tray? You close it. Right? You don’t click the BS ad to see what’s there.
You still pay for the click when they open to read…when they close or delete your out your money man. It’s a cost of doing business in that medium. It’s crappier traffic that works…you just can’t over pay.
Kickass
August 17, 2014 at 1:18 pmOn average, if you optimize you can still double your money sometimes. 50%. If we’re seeing less than 30% unless there’s a ton of volume we get out of it. Daily volatility can have you profit one day and negative the next when you are on small margins.
As an advertiser, with subscription built in we often go negative about 25% month one and go profitable month 2.