Affiliate or Referral Marketing
Affiliate marketing allows to monetize the mobile app by promoting third-party products or services. The revenue is based on pricing models. This monetization strategy is closely linked to the previous model ⁠— in-app advertising.

Amazon Associates is an example of an affiliate marketing program that helps monetize apps. You can advertise any Amazon goods by placing links to them. If users click the link and make a sale, you receive a reward. Yet, there are other marketing pricing structures available for affiliate marketing. Let’s consider some of them.

CPA Ad Pricing Model
CPA (cost-per-action) ad pricing model is sometimes called PPA (pay-per-action) or PPP (pay-per-performance). This ad pricing model is an effective way to gain revenue.

This pricing model presupposes that you pay for the number of users, who performed a specific in-app activity after tapping on your ad.

A publisher offers an in-app ad. A user sees an ad while using this app. The user clicks on the ad (signs up, downloads an app, makes in-app purchases ⁠— it can be any action). An advertiser is paid for it.

This is how to make money with the cost per action model even if your app is free.


CPA pricing model is beneficial for a publisher, i.e. a free app founder. It is not risky since he or she pays for specific actions the business needs.

Meanwhile, an advertiser risks a lot. Users may find an advertisement boring or annoying. Thus, they might refuse to take any actions or even delete the initial app.

PPC Ad Pricing Model
PPC (Pay-per-Click) ad pricing model presupposes that an advertiser pays a particular fee (CPC or cost-per-click) for each user, who clicks an ad that redirects to the advertiser’s predetermined destination.


PPC pricing model can sometimes result in false positive results. It is very easy for users to click ads by accident. But PPC is still one of the most cost-effective and easy-to-implement pricing models.

PPC marketing campaign is easy to arrange. Moreover, it allows to use iTunes or Google Play app stores to track inbound traffic. It enables founders to see where the clicks are coming from. It enhances the transparency of any actions.

CPV Ad Pricing Model
CPV or Cost-Per-View is a video ad pricing model that is based on the number of views or interactions your ad gets.

What can be counted as a view? A user should watch an ad for 30 seconds (or less, if the video itself is shorter than 30 seconds) or interact with it.

An app advertiser sets CPV bids to make it clear how much he or she is ready to pay for each view.


CPV model enables app owners to get to their target audience and expand awareness.

Moreover, this video ad pricing is highly effective for advisers. They pay only for those views that last no less than it is required. It means that those users, who skip ads or click away from them too quickly are not paid for.

CPM Ad Pricing Model
CPM (Cost per Mile or Cost per Impressions) is an ad pricing structure that helps to create an app awareness. An app advertiser pays for every 1000 times the ad is displayed to the user. The revenue per impression is based on the formula:


App owners use a CPM pricing structure if they need to scale.

Check out the ultimate overview of the free apps possibilites for monetization - https://spdload.com/blog/how-do-free-apps-make-money/