Dan Greenberg from Sharethrough drew on his experiences to talk about revenue models and using time wisely in an early stage startup.
Dan supported the emphasis at fbFundREV of releasing many iterations, testing often, and learning quickly. Originally Facebook app developers, Dan and his team were able to quickly and cheaply test different concepts, revenue models, and optimization strategies. Using lessons learned from their Facebook app experience on innovative revenue models and viral growth strategies, they founded Sharethrough, a tech-driven social marketing platform that helps app developers make money by integrating shareable media from brands on their social apps and sites.
View more presentations from fbFund REV.
Dan’s key insight is that the goal for most early stage companies should be to focus on building the product, not on optimizing to get the most money out of current traffic. Without a successful product and active users, a finely-tuned revenue model doesn’t amount to much. In the long run, decisions that drive product growth and user engagement are what will drive more users, more user engagement, and ultimately more money. Dan uses the 80-20 rule to talk about how to split up time; in most cases, you can optimize your current revenue to 80% of its potential using 20% of your time.
Dan discussed some existing revenue models for social apps, that are useful to startups considering new models or testing out different ones.
Virtual Currency (let your users give you money)
Gambit, Sometrics, Offerpal, SuperRewards
Video Integrations (make money when your users watch videos)
Sharethrough*, RockYou, VideoEgg
* Sharethrough helps developers make money by syndicating media through social apps. It’s a new and incremental revenue opportunity, because developers can leave their current ads running and it doesn’t affect other monetization strategies.
In-App Interstitials (integrate an ad impression as part of the flow)
Sharethrough, Cubics, Do it yourself
Brand Takeovers (pimp out your whole app with a brand campaign)
Appsavvy, Direct relationships
You need to segment your audience and have a well-defined niche in order for brands and marketers to come to you with targeted, branded ad campaigns.
Marketers want contextual and social relevance, more than targeting.
Sponsored Content
Viximo, AdNectar
Or……….Invent Your Own!.
Dan explains the models in more depth on the podcast and in the slides!
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