10 Strategies for Improving App Bottom Line

Did you know that only 17.2% of mobile apps make more than $1,000 a month in revenue?

For most developers, this is nowhere near sustainable. So, if you want to be part of those making more than $1,000 a month (or more), you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’ll delve into 10 key strategies to improve your app’s profitability and sustainability.

#1. Improve App Store Optimization (ASO)

More visibility equals more downloads equals more revenue (or at least opportunities for revenue). Because of this, honing on your App Store Optimization (ASO) is of utmost importance.

You can enhance your ASO through three main ways:

1. Using keyword-optimized titles and descriptions;
2. Encouraging positive reviews (and responding well to negative reviews);
3. Including high-quality app screenshots and video previews.

It’s a common mistake for developers to treat ASO as a set-it-and-forget-it affair.

However, trends in the mobile app industry (as well as your own app’s industry) are constantly changing and your app store page needs to adjust to it accordingly.

If you haven’t yet updated your app page in a while, you can check out this guide for ASO in 2025.

#2. Optimize User Acquisition Costs

However, it’s also important not to overspend on user acquisition (a common mistake). Acquiring many users but failing to retain them or capitalize on them will constantly return you to square one.

Make sure that you’re optimizing costs by:

• Gathering and analyzing data about your target audience;
• A/B testing your ads and landing pages;
• Advertising outside of app stores (like on social media);
• Implementing referral programs for organic user growth.

In fact, in my experience, many apps make a lot of money but are not profitable due to their high cost per acquisition (CPA).

Make sure that you’re calculating and optimizing your CPA to ensure that you can actually get to keep some of the money you make.

#3. Enhance User Retention

And given that acquiring users tends to be expensive, retaining the ones you do get is crucial.

There are tons of proven user retention strategies, such as:

• Personalized push notifications;
• Intuitive and seamless onboarding for new users;
• Gamification elements (leaderboards, badges, challenges, etc.);
• Updates and bug fixes to improve user experience.

If you can accord it, investing in customer relationship management (CRM) software can also make it far easier and more efficient to handle customer relationships.

#4. Leverage In-App Purchases

Okay, enough about getting and retaining users—how do you actually make money off them?

If your app follows a freemium model, make sure that in-app purchases are intuitive and cost-effective. You can’t just include microtransactions willy-nilly.

You need to analyze user behavior and offer several tiers of relevant upgrades that cater to all kinds of users. After all, different segments of your users will have varying needs; some will only be interested in minor upgrades, while others look for a whole host of features.

And, of course, make sure to run limited-time discounts every once in a while!

#5. Improve Subscription Models

The same philosophy can be applied to subscription-model apps.

Provide multiple pricing tiers that are fairly priced and include monthly and yearly plans as well.

Offering family or group plans that are more cost-effective for individuals can also cause hesitant users to finally subscribe. Even if each individual is paying less than if they went with an individual plan, you will still get more subscriptions in total.

Also, make sure to have flexible cancellation policies, as this is a common cause of friction for users who are unsure.

#6. Monetize Through Advertising (Wisely)

Ads can be extremely profitable—but also extremely risky. Make them too excessive or invasive and you’ll risk driving a significant amount of users away.

Your ads need to be:

• Only show occasionally;
• Placed appropriately (not near commonly-pressed buttons—conduct A/B testing to find optimal placement);
• Relevant to your app and/or your users.

However, while striking the balance described above is key, it’s also hard to strike. The truth is that ads will feel intrusive in one way or another.

To counterbalance this, you can, for example, provide rewards for viewing ads.

#7. Expand to Global Markets

The app market is global—why limit yourself to your home country? Other countries offer tens of millions of potential users!

To effectively expand, however, you’ll need to:

• Translate and localize content;
• Implement international payment options;
• Offer customer support in several languages;
• Optimize your app for different devices and network conditions (some countries have slower internet speeds);
• Comply with regional laws;
• Include a VPN integration if necessary.

While seemingly a costly investment, global expansion can be a game-changer. After all, some apps are only profitable in certain areas of the world.

For example, mobile games are huge in Southeast Asia while not being too trendy in the West.

#8. Strengthen Customer Support

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Even if your app is innovative and exciting, people will easily get turned off by poor customer support. Of course, disgruntled users will leave negative reviews that you’ll need to address, which will then prevent new users from being acquired.

It’s, therefore, important to be able to address customer concerns on all your app’s channels (email, social media, live chat, etc.) with FAQs, knowledge bases, and common quick fixes.

If you have a smaller team, then it’s wise to funnel all concerns and queries to only one or two platforms.

#9. Reduce Operational Costs

Cutting costs can be just as profitable as increasing revenue. Here are a few ways to reduce operational expenses:

• Use AI or software for routine tasks;
• Use cloud-based infrastructure to scale efficiently;
• Outsource labor of non-core functions (such as customer support, content moderation, or social media management).

By implementing cost-saving strategies, not only do you reduce expenses, but you also free more of your resources to further improve your app and its profitability.

#10. Analyze Data and Iterate

Being sustainably profitable requires sustained effort as well.

As mentioned, users are always changing, your competition is constantly evolving, and the industry as a whole goes from trend to trend to trend.

Always be gathering data and acting on them to further improve your app. From measuring the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns to experimenting with different pricing to UI/UX improvements, to other forms of A/B testing—there’s always room for improvement.

#Conclusion

Building a profitable app (or any business, really) is both an art and a science. There’s no step-by-step handbook to success. It’s a mix of wits, effort, trial and error, and luck.

As such, some of these strategies may work better than others depending on the exact context of your app and its position in the marketplace.

But as long as you look to the data, experiment, and respond to market demands, then you’re already in a better spot than most.

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