You’ve already done the hard work that’s required to land these clients. Now it’s time to extract maximum value by providing them with additional solutions that their businesses need to grow.

Digital marketing agencies, advertising agencies, PR firms, web design and development businesses, social media agencies, consultants—really any B2B agency can sell mobile apps to their existing clients. 

Find a Platform That Simplifies Your App Development Process

The very first thing you need to do is figure out exactly how you’re going to build mobile apps for your clients. Using a white label reseller platform is by far the easiest and most profitable approach here.

With Buildfire’s reseller program, any agency can start creating and selling mobile apps without writing code or hiring a development team. 

This allows you to get your share of the $252.89 billion mobile app market without sacrificing your core agency services. You can continue doing what you do best without having to hire a new team just to manage your mobile app department. 

Unless your clients are trying to build the next Facebook or Uber, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll need custom coding. So you can just white label an app builder, create what they need using a drag-and-drop editor, and then sell apps for high profits. 

You can unlock Buildfire’s reseller program for a low fee and rebrand everything as your own. So your clients will never know the difference, and you’ll have access to the exact same platform that’s been used to create and launch over 10,000+ successful apps. 

Additional Reading: How to Make Money With White Label Apps

Identify High-Value Opportunities in Your Client Base 

Targeting clients with bigger budgets is often the first thing that comes to mind whenever agencies enter the app development space. While you obviously want to make sure you’re pitching to clients who can afford an app, this isn’t the only way to identify high-value opportunities.

First, start with active clients or ones that just finished a contract. This will be much easier than reaching out to a former client you haven’t spoken to in years.

Then narrow that list down to the clients to whom you’ve successfully delivered positive results with other services. From there:

• Focus on industries where mobile apps provide clear value (retail, restaurant, fitness, education, etc.).
• Prioritize brands whose competitors have already launched mobile apps. 
• See if any of your clients are already getting significant site traffic from mobile devices. 
• Consider clients who have previously indicated problems with operational inefficiencies.
• Target clients seeking ways to improve customer loyalty, streamline bookings, or any other clear initiative that can be solved with an app.

Here’s something else to consider. Don’t ignore clients who already have a mobile app.

Download their app and see if it’s useful or delivering on its promise. If not, you can still pitch those clients and offer to build them an app that actually works. 

In these early stages, you should focus on 5-10 high-value clients. You can always scale your app development services down the road, but the first few apps will build a solid foundation for everything else.

Develop a Compelling Value Proposition

Why should clients use your agency to build their mobile app? 

This is not a rhetorical question. After all, there are other app development agencies out there who have been building apps for years. And right now, you’ve (probably) built zero apps. 

So you need to have a clear and concise value proposition that conveys:

• You already know their brand.
• You already know about their customers.
• You understand their pain points. 
• You offer everything under one roof (app development and your other services).

The reason why businesses turn to an agency for anything is because they want access to talent, expertise, and resources that they don’t already have in-house.

You can position your app development service the same way. Your clients need an app—they can’t build it themselves, and they already have an existing relationship with you. 

If you’re using a white label app builder like Buildfire, your service can also be offered at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional development. Since the platform is so affordable, you can pass those savings along to your clients while still charging enough to generate high profit margins. 

Create a Sales Pitch to Specifically Target Existing Clients

One benefit of starting with a shorter list of hand-picked clients is that you can make your sales pitches ultra-specific. This will be totally different from your normal sales calls where you’re speaking to new leads.

You already have a point of contact and an open line of communication with your existing clients. So it’s less about pitching your agency and explaining what you can do and more about adding value or solving problems.

Don’t make this a broad pitch of, “We sell mobile apps.”

Instead, leverage your existing relationship and results as much as possible. 

Your sales pitch should be centered on “When working on [whatever service you provide], we noticed [a specific problem]. We can create a mobile app for you that [solves this problem].”

Early on, you may even consider offering some type of exclusive discount to your clients who are among the first to use your app development services. 

It’s a win-win for both of you. You’ll get to sharpen your skills and have a proof of concept for marketing purposes down the road—and your clients can get an even better deal.

[CASE STUDY]: See how Social Connection Marketing, a digital agency, used Buildfire’s white label platform to build ten apps for clients within the first year of offering this new service. Read the story here.

Prepare to Overcome Common Client Objections

Not every client you pitch is going to welcome the suggestion with open arms. That’s to be expected. But you should still be prepared to answer some of the most common objections associated with app development. Examples include:

• Cost — Bust the myth that app development is expensive by offering your services at an affordable monthly rate. Your clients may not want to spend $50,000, but charging anywhere from $500 to $1,500 per month is reasonable and still gives you plenty of room to make a profit. 
• Technology — Some clients may not want to move forward because they lack the in-house technical skills to build, launch, and maintain an app. But you can handle all of this stuff for them by using a no-code app builder.
• Leadership Approval — Your current point of contact might just be a department head or manager, but not someone who has the authority to move forward with an app development project. If they need a decision-maker to sign off first, focus on ROI using real numbers for that specific client. 
• Change — Sometimes your clients are just resistant to change and afraid to explore new ventures. In this case, position the app as a competitive advantage on their own terms. Failure to move forward could create a situation where they’re forced to change later on because they’re falling behind other businesses. 

Having the right answer ready to a common objection could potentially turn into a sale with a client who was previously on the fence.

6 Pro Tips to Maximize the Total Value of Each Client and App

As you’re pitching and selling mobile apps to your clients, there are several ways that you can increase the total dollar amount of each sale and ultimately boost the lifetime value of your clients.

1. Use a Single App as Proof of Concept For Similar Clients

Once you create your first app for a client, you can use that framework to build other apps for clients in the same industry. 

Buildfire’s white label app builder makes it easy to clone an app you’ve already built—so you can just make small changes to the branding while keeping the basic features and functions the same. You can even take a portion of that cloned app, add another client’s logo, and use it as a demo of what their app would look like. 

This saves your agency a ton of time and money when you’re building similar apps moving forward. 

2. Provide Ongoing Support and Maintenance

Rather than just building an app once for your clients for a fixed fee, you can generate recurring revenue for the lifetime of the app by providing ongoing support. 

There are tons of behind-the-scenes infrastructure requirements that mobile apps need to function. From user authentication servers to push notification servers, analytics, integrations, app store updates, and more, you can charge a monthly fee for providing these components.

Buildfire doubles as a MBaaS (mobile backend as a service). So if you’re using Buildfire’s white label platform to sell apps to your clients, all of this stuff is included. 

3. Look for Post-Launch Upsell Opportunities

In addition to charging a monthly or annual maintenance fee, you can also look for one-off upsells to earn even more revenue. Examples include:

• New features.
• Custom functionality.
• App redesigns or facelifts (at least a year after the initial launch).
• Adding new integrations and/or automations to the app.

Keep selling. Buildfire already has over 150+ pre-built features that you’ll have access to, and this list is continuing to grow. So you can always keep your clients updated about new features to improve their app and then charge them accordingly to implement them. 

4. Sell Multiple Apps to a Single Client

Whenever you have a client that’s willing to invest in mobile app development, they could be a candidate for multiple apps. 

For example, maybe you’ve already built a customer-facing app that’s designed to increase sales and boost engagement. Now you can pitch them an internal app that improves employee communication and internal efficiencies. 

If your initial pitch worked, just revamp it and make tweaks for an additional use case. 

5. Bundle App Development With Your Other Services

This is all about perceived value. Some of your clients will be more likely to move forward if they’re getting an app bundled with other relevant services.

It doesn’t work for every client, industry, or service. For example, bundling your mobile app with a reputation management service doesn’t make a ton of sense.

But this type of package deal works really well for web design and web development services—allowing you to provide a complete digital transformation for your clients. 

Additional Reading: Why Every Web Development Agency NEEDS to Offer App Development Services

6. Use Your App Development Services to Land New Clients

I know most of what we’ve talked about so far has been about selling apps to existing clients. That said, you shouldn’t completely neglect the opportunity to acquire new clients from your app development services.

At a minimum, have a landing page that showcases the apps you’ve built for your clients. You can also share those testimonials organically on social media and include them in drip campaigns for new leads.

Instruct sales reps to mention your app development services on discovery calls. Even if new clients aren’t ready for an app today, you can always just sell them your other services and then follow these steps again once they become an existing client. 

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

Selling mobile apps to your clients is an easy way to expand your agency services and generate new revenue streams from a service that’s in high demand.

The beauty of using an app reseller platform to sell apps is that it’s a low-risk entry into the industry. Rather than having to hire team developers or create an entirely new department for managing complex projects, you can simply pay a low fee for access to an existing no-code app builder. 

You can break even after selling just one or two apps, and the opportunity to scale is virtually limitless. Plus, leveraging your relationships with existing clients puts your agency in a unique position that’s poised for success. 

Book a demo of Buildfire reseller today to learn more about how you can create and sell apps to your agency clients.

The post How to Sell Mobile Apps to Your Existing Clients [Agency Guide] appeared first on Buildfire.

I was in a similar position about ten years ago. I had a good job but wanted the freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere and be my own boss. I was inspired by an idea I found online, and I never looked back. 

But today if you search the web for home business ideas or how to make money from home, 90% of those suggestions don’t fit the description. They might tell you to start a dog walking business, become an event planner, or be a personal chef—all jobs that require you to leave your house. 

This list is different. With one or two exceptions, the small business ideas below all fit the following criteria:

• You can actually work from home (or anywhere with internet access).
• You can do it alone without hiring any employees.
• You can start these businesses with little to no investment.

Best of all, you can make real money with these ideas. 

This isn’t just for college students who need some extra cash or stay-at-home parents looking for a side hustle. So no, I’m not going to suggest that you sell old clothes or flip items purchased from a thrift shop. These are real careers with six-figure income potential. 

1. Become an Online Personal Trainer

The online fitness space is exploding in popularity—generating $14.82 billion this year in the US alone. This number is expected to reach $20.2 billion by 2029.

What’s more impressive is that there’s still so much more room for growth. Currently, user penetration in the digital fitness world sits at 54.86%, and it’s poised to eclipse 65% within five years. Surveys suggest that 70% of people prefer the flexibility of exercising online compared to traditional gyms. 

The best way to penetrate this space is by becoming an online personal trainer. 

While it obviously helps to have a fitness background, you actually don’t need any formal licenses or credentials to be an online fitness coach. 

You can simply develop your training programs and sell them to people worldwide. 

From meal plans to video tutorials and 30-day challenges, the possibilities here are virtually endless, and so is your reach. It’s cheaper than a gym membership, and you can still generate monthly recurring revenue in the form of digital subscriptions. 

2. Sell Mobile Apps to Businesses

With Buildfire’s reseller program, you can create mobile apps using the same exact platform we’ve used to build over 10,000+ apps—all without writing a single line of code. Then you can sell those apps to other businesses for sky-high profits.

The key to success here is landing your first client. 

Once you build that first app, you can simply clone it and make small adjustments for other clients in the same industry.

For example, let’s say you build an app for a church. The features and functions of that app will be virtually identical for every other church and religious organization that needs a mobile app. You’ll only need to make small changes to the branding and content, which is what makes this idea so profitable. 

3. Sell Online Courses

Following the trends is always a good idea when you’re looking for profitable small business ideas, and there’s tons of money to be made in the online learning space. 

You can start with a single course, which shouldn’t take more than 30 days to create. Then it’s just a matter of packaging your materials and putting them into the hands of your target audience. 

Think beyond traditional classrooms here. You can create an online course about anything.

• Online cooking courses
• Music lessons
• Chess or poker strategy
• Home gardening secrets
• Basic DIY car maintenance

Any useful skills or knowledge you have can be turned into a course. If this interests you, We have a guide on how to create and sell an online course that you can reference for step-by-step instructions. 

4. Web Design / Web Development

There’s a huge demand right now for both web design and development. Pick one. I’ve packed these as a single idea for simplicity, but they’re actually two completely different roles. 

The best part about starting a web design or web development business is that you have endless potential clients. 

Rather than looking for businesses that don’t have a website, you can look for websites that are truly awful and in desperate need of a facelift. 

Once you redesign or rebuild the site, you can always look for opportunities to charge an ongoing maintenance fee. Or you can take things a step further and upsell those clients on a custom app (refer back to idea #2).

5. Create a Mobile App

If you have a cool idea for a mobile app, you can turn that idea into a profitable business. 

There’s a misconception out there that app development is super expensive. While this might have been the case a decade ago, that’s no longer the case today. 

No-code app builders like Buildfire make it easy for anyone to create an app without any technical skills. Plans start at less than $100 per month, which is a marginal investment when you consider the revenue potential. 

For those of you who want to create an app but don’t have an idea, we have a list of 50 app ideas that you can use for inspiration. 

Sign up for your 30-day free trial of Buildfire to get started. 

6. Sell Products Online Without Ever Touching Them (Dropshipping)

I’m not going to bore you with the latest ecommerce statistics to try and pitch you on this idea. It’s no secret that retail has gone digital, and more people are buying stuff online today than ever before.

If you want a piece of this market share, dropshipping is the easiest way in.

Rather than having to purchase inventory, fulfill orders, and print shipping labels, you can just start a dropshipping business without ever touching the products or leaving your house.

With dropshipping, all you have to do is run your ecommerce site or app. When a customer places the order, all of the fulfillment and shipping gets handled directly by the manufacturer. 

The manufacturer charges you the wholesale rate for the item, and your profit margin is based on whatever price you’re selling to the customer. 

Dropshipping profit margins are a bit slimmer compared to traditional ecommerce. But the startup costs are much cheaper and the risk is significantly lower. 

7. Freelance Writing

I became a freelance writer in 2017 and it changed my life. As long as you have a laptop and an internet connection, you can work from anywhere. 

But there are a couple of prerequisites that people often overlook—you actually need to be a somewhat decent writer, and you must be willing to write a ton. 

I can’t tell you how many people have approached me over the years asking for advice on how to become a writer and how I got started. Once I start explaining what I do and how it works, the most common responses I hear are, “I stink at writing” or “That sounds like a lot of writing.” 

If those thoughts enter your head, then this job isn’t for you. But if you’re willing to write 10,000 to 15,000+ words per week, there’s a huge demand for quality writing out there. 

AI hasn’t changed this at all. In fact, it’s made freelance writing even more in-demand because businesses are looking for a human touch to rise above all the AI-generated nonsense. 

8. Start Your Own Podcast

Truthfully, this might be the most challenging idea on the entire list. 

While starting a podcast is easy, growing your listener base can take years. So just keep this in mind before you jump in.

One thing that makes podcasting so appealing is that you can record episodes on your own time, and you have tons of flexibility with how you want to structure your show. 

If you have great ideas that you want to share but you’re not a great writer, podcasting is the logical choice because it’s just talking. And once you start getting views and listens, there are so many different revenue models that you can apply to your show. 

9. Become a Podcast Editor

Inspired by the previous idea, you can still start a small business within the lucrative world of podcasting while keeping yourself behind the scenes. 

As a podcast editor, you can work with multiple podcasts without ever speaking a word into the microphone.

Podcast hosts can just send you the raw audio or video files for their show, and you can cut everything together nicely before those episodes get published. 

The only investment required is quality editing software. But with over 3.2 million podcasts out there right now, you’ll have an endless list of potential clients who are seeking better production quality for their show. 

10. SEO Specialist

Search engine optimization—better known as SEO—is all about getting organic traffic to a website or app.

Companies are willing to pay a ton of money for help with this, as SEO has proven to be one of the best long-term investments that a business can make because it doesn’t rely on paid ads to get visitors. 

Brands pay SEO agencies anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000+ per month for link building, content creation, technical SEO, and other SEO services. 

You can market yourself as a cost-effective alternative by offering your SEO services for a fraction of this price and focusing on a specific industry or niche.

For example, you can differentiate yourself by marketing solely on SEO for physical therapists or SEO for AI searches. Or you can help businesses get more app downloads by selling app store optimization (ASO) services. 

11. Career Coaching

Have you climbed the corporate ladder and made a successful career for yourself? You can start your small business around this premise, teaching others how to do the same. 

There are a few different ways to approach this.

• 1:1 coaching
• Group coaching sessions
• On-demand courses and tutorials

You can start with one or offer a combination of these coaching services. 

Regardless of which path you take, selling your coaching services through a mobile app is going to be your best bet. It increases your reach, as people can access your advice from anywhere. 

This approach also ensures that you can run this business from home. Plus, it gives you a unique differentiator compared to other career coaches that are strictly web-based or just available through phone calls. 

12. Buy an Existing Small Business

This is the one exception on this list that requires more than $500 or $1,000 to get started. But even if you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars saved, you can always try to get a loan for the difference. 

It’s obviously a very broad idea and requires tons of due diligence to be successful, but you can find some real winners if you’re looking in the right places.

I suggest looking for strictly digital businesses. Browse online marketplaces like Flippa, where people buy and sell websites—searching for existing websites that have a simple yet profitable business model.

13. Marketing Consultant

This small business idea actually targets other small businesses.

There are so many second-generation and third-generation businesses out there using outdated marketing tactics that just don’t work the same way in the digital era.

While there’s nothing wrong with being part of your local chamber of commerce or putting coupons in a local newspaper, brands today need to have a well-oiled digital marketing presence to survive.

You can help these businesses create a Google Business Profile that’s optimized for local searches or grow an email list that actually generates conversions—and you can do all of this from the comfort of your own home, communicating via email, phone, and video chats.

14. Monetize Your Skills and Expertise

What is something that you do really well? Maybe it’s something you’ve been doing for years, or maybe it’s a skill that involves some type of formal training or certification you’ve received.

Now get creative and think how you can use that skill to make money.

In some cases, this is really straightforward. You’ve been a social media manager working for an agency for the last five years. Now you can go out on your own and start your own social media management business.

Other times, it takes a bit more creativity. For example, maybe you work in HR for a mid-sized enterprise. You know the pain points associated with onboarding and training new hires, so maybe you want to develop a standardized system that you can package and resell to other businesses.

Take out a piece of paper and write down the three things you’re best at, and start mind-mapping from there. Dedicate 30 minutes to brainstorming, and see what you can come up with. 

15. Become an Affiliate Marketer

I’ve worked with websites that generated millions in affiliate commissions. If you can find the right partners and drive traffic to your content, you can earn a ton of money as an affiliate marketer.

For those of you not familiar with how this works, it’s actually very simple to understand.

Affiliate marketers are paid to promote products or services. You earn a commission each time someone visits a website, downloads an app, signs up for something, or completes a purchase. The specific action and payout structure depends on the program, but it’s the same basic concept across the board. 

Next Steps

The only thing holding you back from starting your own small business from home is you. 

You can make excuses or tell yourself it’s not the right time. But if you really want financial freedom and to be your own boss, you need to start taking steps in the right direction.

I’m not saying you have to quit your job just yet. But here’s a checklist of quick wins that you can start working on right now:

• Form an LLC
• Register your domain name
• Open a separate checking account for your business
• Write a business plan

The vast majority of the ideas on this list are super low-risk. So you can try them and rest easy knowing you won’t be losing a ton of money even if the idea fails.

The post 15 Small Business Ideas You Can Start From Home appeared first on Buildfire.

Whether you agree with the training regimens or not, you can take a page from the CrossFit playbook when it comes to promoting your services and increasing your revenue. 

What’s the secret? Fostering a sense of community. 

90% of CrossFit participants say that their fitness community is one of the main reasons for participating, and 80% of members say they’re more likely to stick with their routines because of the community aspect. This approach to fitness has been incredibly successful, and the CrossFit market is continuing to grow at a CAGR of 12.1% between now and 2032.

Regardless of the specific services you’re offering, you can mirror this strategy and use the power of community to scale your fitness business.

Make Your Community More Accessible

The first thing you need to do is lower the barrier to entry for new members. Make it as easy as possible for them to join your fitness community and create a welcoming environment. 

Gyms can be intimidating. A recent survey found that 50% of non-gym goers say they’re scared to go. This sentiment also extends to existing members—with 90% of people concerned about how they’re perceived by their peers at the gym. 

You need to overcome this negative environment if you want to onboard new members and truly build a sense of community. 

They say, “The hardest part about going to the gym is walking through the door.” Well, what if you eliminated that door altogether?

Offer digital workouts through a mobile app. Newcomers can join your community without ever stepping foot in your physical space and have full access to workout programs from the palms of their hands. 

One study found that 58% of people say they prefer to work out at home anyway. So going digital appeals to this group as well, and increasing accessibility should lead to more signups. 

Find Creative Ways to Motivate Members

For the average person, self-motivating yourself to exercise is much easier said than done. 

A study from Statista found that lack of motivation was the second-biggest challenge for engaging in fitness in the US.

One of the best parts about having a community to lean on is the motivational element. 

According to the National Institute of Health, people who exercise with others are 32% more likely to reach sufficient physical activity levels compared to those who work out alone.

There are plenty of ways you can emulate this type of connection and motivate people to stay active:

• Send them workout reminders via push notification.
• Share a motivational quote of the day to get people fired up.
• Let members connect with a “buddy” to hold them accountable. 
• Showcase progress photos and testimonials as social proof of concept. 

That’s why having an app is so crucial to the success of your fitness community. 

It gives you a direct line of communication to their devices to keep them engaged, and just the fact that your app is always one click away can be highly motivating. 

Create Community Challenges to Boost Member Participation

One of my favorite features of Buildfire’s fitness app builder is the Leaderboard plugin. 

It’s a way for users to track their training progress directly through the app, and everyone can see the top “leaders” for a particular category or challenge.

Examples include:

• Consecutive days with an in-app workout completed.
• Most miles run in 30 days.
• Weight loss challenges.
• Most calories burned in a week.
• Consecutive days drinking 64 oz. of water. 
• Gym “check-ins” competition.

Members can open the app and watch their rankings climb as they complete these challenges. 

It’s a friendly competition that kills two birds with one stone—motivates people to work out while simultaneously driving engagement with other members. 

This can be a cornerstone of your fitness community. 

Eliminate Physical Borders So Your Community Can Grow Without Limits

The average gym commute is 3.7 miles. Even if we extend this to five or six miles, it still limits yourself to how many people can join your community. 

You can run some quick numbers to see how many people live within five miles of your gym and then determine what percentage of them are potential clients. That’s the maximum number of community members you could possibly have at each location—and it doesn’t even factor in competing gyms and how many of those people you can actually get to join (the real number is much lower).

But if you become an online personal trainer, it opens the doors to people all over the world. 

Having your own fitness mobile app instantly breaks down any physical border restrictions that you’re currently bound by. You can live in Texas while providing training materials to your community in California and New York—even London to Tokyo. 

Cut Costs and Pass Those Savings to Your Clients

Running a gym can obviously be expensive. Between equipment costs, staffing, and rent, not to mention keeping the lights on, the list of expenses is seemingly never-ending. 

So it should come as no surprise to hear that the average cost to open a gym ranges from $245,000 to $400,000. Some of you may spend more—and this doesn’t even factor in the ongoing monthly costs. 

Going digital is far less expensive. You can create your own mobile app for less than $500 per month and easily break even after a handful of subscriptions. The rest is pure profit. 

High cost is the number one reason why people cancel their gym memberships.

But if you’re not paying tens of thousands of dollars in monthly expenses just to operate your facility, you can offer cheaper membership options to your community.

You can even set up tiered access memberships with different benefits at each level.

For example, you can structure your pricing something like this:

• Pro Members – $15 per month: Access to community message boards and a single 30-day workout program.
• Premium Members – $25 per month: Pro benefits, plus access to community challenges and access to all workout programs (30-day, 60-day, 90-day).
• Elite Members – $40 per month: Premium benefits, plus unlimited access to all on-demand video workouts.

You get the idea. This can be structured any way you see fit to maximize member enrollment and grow your community. 

Above all, these packages can be cheaper than a traditional gym membership. While your revenue per member will be lower, your profit margins should be significantly higher—and you have a greater opportunity to onboard people from anywhere.

Consider a Hybrid Approach to Your Fitness Business

Lots of what we’ve covered so far has focused on digital ways to build an engaging and active fitness community. But that doesn’t mean you need to neglect your existing members and clients.

Some of you may already have well-established gyms, multiple locations, and a wide range of services. I’m not suggesting that you abandon this stuff (as long as it’s still profitable). 

You can still enhance the in-person experience with a mobile app. Here’s how.

46% of men and 43% of women are already using their smartphones at the gym for training resources. If they’re not getting those materials from you, it means they’re getting them from someone else (and potentially paying for it).

Workout plans for your existing members can be an easy value-added upsell.

You might also run a gym or fitness community centered on group classes. If things come up and people can’t attend their favorite class, they may feel like they’ve missed out or they’re falling behind others in the group.

The solution here is simple. Record those classes and upload them to your app so members can access them on-demand.

Not only will this appeal to people who missed a particular class, but attendees can also go back and do the class again on their own time. This maximizes the value of your trainers, as a single 60-minute class can essentially be repurposed and sold forever.

Facilitate Meaningful Member Connections That Extend Beyond Workouts

Whether your members are training in-person or online, the actual workout time is likely just 30-60 minutes per day at most. It’s tough to establish a sense of community in such a short period of time.

One key benefit of offering a mobile app to your fitness community is the ability for them to connect and engage 24/7.

You can set up community message boards where members can chat about their experiences, offer tips, share favorite recipes, and motivate each other. This can even extend into a social-media-like experience where members post photos and discuss other topics—like what they’re watching on TV and fun trips they’re planning to take. 

It gives people an excuse to keep opening the app multiple times per day, even when they’re not actually working out. 

Not only does this help make your fitness community more engaging, but it decreases the chances that people will cancel their membership and it keeps the door open for additional monetization opportunities. 

Final Thoughts: Think Mobile-First

The key to building an active and engaged fitness community is a different kind of mobility—the digital kind.

Location-based communities just aren’t what they used to be. When groups of people get together, they’re all just looking at their phones. Rather than trying to fight this reality, you can leverage it and capitalize on the opportunity. 

Mobile apps are perfect for fitness communities because they provide on-the-go training materials from anywhere and allow people to connect even when they’re not working out. 

It’s a low-cost investment for gym owners and fitness instructors, with sky-high revenue potential that’s not limited to a geographical area.

Sign up for Buildfire today to start building your own fitness app without writing a single line of code. Your first 30 days are free—no credit card required.

The post How to Build an Active and Engaging Fitness Community in 2025 appeared first on Buildfire.

There’s a significant opportunity to capitalize on this trend, and selling an online course is the easiest way to get your share of the pie. 

I’ve seen plenty of articles on the web explaining how to teach an online course, but few focus on creating one that will actually sell (and sell for high profits). 

This is exactly what we’ll prioritize below. I’ll show you how to create an online course that’s positioned to sell for maximum gain. 

Step 1 — Choose a Topic

It’s so much easier to create an online course if it’s about a topic you really know. Not just something you’ve dabbled with once or twice. Focus on what you know best that others might be interested in learning.

Starting with a familiar topic significantly cuts down on your preparation, and it’s easier to sell something that’s coming from an “expert.”

• In-demand skills that you currently possess.
• Industry-specific knowledge based on your career.
• Problems you’ve repeatedly solved for other people.
• Credentials and certifications you have.
• Hobbies you’ve mastered.
• Life experiences and accomplishments.

All of these are good places to start brainstorming. It’s fine to keep it broad for now, as we’ll continue to refine this topic in the next steps to ensure it’s positioned for the highest possible revenue. 

Step 2 — Validate Your Idea

It’s time to make sure the topic actually makes sense to pursue. 

Keep an open mind here, and make sure you’re willing to admit the possibility that your course won’t work. It’s better to validate your idea now as opposed to wasting months of your life only to discover that nobody wants to buy what you’re selling. 

• Use Google Trends to explore search interest in your topic over time.
• Look at similar courses on platforms like Udemy to see if they’re selling.
• Check open job boards to look for relevant skills that employers are seeking.
• Run a poll or survey users on LinkedIn, Reddit, and niche-specific Facebook groups.
• Review Amazon’s best-selling books in your topic category.
• Test interest by running a free webinar (this only works if you already have a strong following).

Don’t rush through this step. 

I’m not saying you need to spend weeks running time-consuming focus groups or expensive ad campaigns. But don’t move on until you feel confident that there’s a strong demand for your course topic. 

Step 3 — Narrow Down Your Target Audience

Now look for a specific niche or submarket of your broader course topic.

Selling an online course should be treated like any other product or business venture. If you try to sell to everyone, you’ll most likely end up selling to nobody. 

It’s way too difficult to sell something that appeals to white-collar men in their 30s while simultaneously appealing to first-time mothers and college students. So just pick one.

For example, I have tons of experience with digital marketing and SEO. 

If I create a course on this topic, I might decide to focus strictly on solopreneurs who want to grow their existing businesses and sharpen their skills. This type of course would look very different if I were targeting first-time marketers, agency owners, or corporate marketing teams. 

Beyond the sales strategy challenges, trying to appeal to multiple audiences ends up diminishing the value of your course materials. 

So start with one ultra-specific niche audience and build everything around that customer persona. 

Step 4 — Pick a Platform to Deliver Your Materials

How exactly do you want to deliver your course to your audience? Potential options include:

• Use an existing learning management system (LMS)
• Create your own mobile app
• Live teaching
• “Locked” content on YouTube
• Membership sites

All of these approaches have pros and cons, but using a mobile app is by far the best path to success. Here’s why.

Mobile learning has a 45% higher customer retention rate than other models—and knowledge retention is 55% higher compared to traditional courses.

People are 99% more likely to continue training if courses are offered through mobile apps, and they complete these courses 45% faster than they would elsewhere.

Remember, everything we’re focusing on in this guide is about selling courses for the highest potential profit. The data proves that it’s easier to retain your students, and you can get those same people to purchase additional courses when they’re done. 

That’s not all. The mobile learning market is growing at a 30.12% CAGR (compared to 14% for the overall online learning industry).

With platforms like Buildfire’s education app builder, anyone can create their own app without writing a single line of code. Plans start at less than $100 per month, and you can try it for free with a 30-day trial. 

Start with a template that’s specific to online learning, and you can customize your course through Buildfire’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor. 

Best of all, Buildfire has everything you need to create a course that sells. You can set up one-time purchases, ongoing subscriptions, and distribute the course material in any format that you want. 

This also makes it really convenient for anyone who wants to purchase your online course, as they can work at their own pace without being bound to a computer or desk. 

Step 5 — Select a Course Format

Next, decide how you’re going to package and format the course. 

It’s totally up to you, and there’s really no right or wrong approach. This is actually the only step in which your decision won’t have a significant impact on your sales. But I’ll share some common ways you can approach this.

• Video lessons with pre-recorded lectures.

• Slideshow presentations.
• Downloadable PDF workbooks.
• Step-by-step guides.
• Screen recordings for software or technical tutorials.
• Audio-only or podcast-style lessons.
• Progress-dependent courses where a quiz must be completed after each training module.

You can mix multiple formats, but I wouldn’t go overboard by trying to apply everything at once.

For example, if you’re delivering an audio-only masterclass, it probably doesn’t make sense to ask your audience to complete a quiz after each lesson. They might be listening to this in the car, at the gym, or in places where stopping to answer questions just isn’t very practical.

Step 6 — Create the Content

To keep things simple for your first online course, I’d start by creating ten lessons at the absolute maximum. This is easier to visualize and it’s far less intimidating. 

Here are some other reasons why I recommend starting small:

• It’s faster to create and should take less than 30 days to build.
• You’ll launch the course quickly so you can start selling ASAP.
• You’re forced to focus on what matters most, which eliminates fluff from your course.
• If it fails, you didn’t pour too much time into it.
• You can always expand your lessons down the road.

Remember to speak directly to the niche audience you previously identified in the third step. 

Don’t be super hard on yourself right now. Your first course may not be amazing, and that’s totally fine. To draw parallels, I’ve written over 2,000+ blogs in my career. My first few weren’t great, but they drastically improved over time. 

If you’re aiming for perfection, then your course will never launch. So just make a conscious effort to put out your best possible product. Set a reasonable deadline for yourself to create everything, and move on.

Step 7 — Set Up Your Pricing Structure 

Now you need to set a price point and determine how you’re going to charge.

Common pricing structures include:

• One-time purchase for lifetime access.
• Monthly or annual subscription.
• Tiered pricing with different perks at each level.
• Freemium model (with paid access for premium content).

If you’re struggling to come up with a price point, you can always look at similar courses to see the cost of your competition. Then decide if you want to match them or go a different route (cheaper to stand out as a value option or more expensive as a premium alternative).

You should also consider the purchasing power of your target audience.

I recommend starting at a higher price point. It’s much easier to lower the cost of your online course than raise it. 

So shoot for the moon. If you miss, you’ll still land a lot further higher than if you started at ground level. 

Step 8 — Start Selling

That’s it.

Everything is officially in place for you to start selling your online course, which is the whole reason you started this venture. Too many people lose sight of this along the way. But driving sales should always be your ultimate goal. 

Start marketing your course through as many channels as possible—ideally through free or low-cost methods to ensure the highest possible ROI for your efforts.

Focus on your niche audience. 

Do you have a better chance of reaching them on LinkedIn or paid Facebook ads? Are there any influencers in your niche that you can partner with to promote your course?

Once the course is complete your sales potential will be limitless. All the hard work is already done. Now it’s just a matter of getting people to buy it.

Bonus Step — Rinse and Repeat

Don’t stop after your first course. Look for ways to expand and continue to increase your revenue streams.

• Sell the exact same course (with slight adjustments) to a new market.
• Create a new course for people who purchased the first one.
• Experiment with new formats (video vs. audio, etc.).
• Offer value-added materials for the same course (like a free download, new module, or lifetime access).

The sky’s the limit with how much money you can make here.

That’s because your first course isn’t going anywhere. So you can continue earning money from that course while you’re creating additional ones—and that revenue will just continue to compound on itself. 

Best Practices For Creating an Online Course That Actually Makes Money

Beyond the step-by-step instructions above, I want to share some pro tips that you should keep top-of-mind as you’re going through this process. These best practices will help you squeeze even more money out of your online course.

Keep it Short

People take online courses because they want to learn something quickly. So don’t create something that takes months to complete. Keeping it short makes life easier for you and appeals to most audiences. 

Think About the Money From Day One

Don’t lose sight of your primary goal—making money. While you shouldn’t be cutting corners that will come back to bite you later on, the profit-driven mindset will help shape your most important decisions. 

Look For the Low-Hanging Fruit in Your Market

Find ways to dominate smaller niches. If a particular category is getting 100,000 monthly searches, it may seem like a good opportunity. But instead of competing with hundreds of other people, I’d rather market my course to 1,000 potential customers with less competition, knowing I have a better chance of selling to half of them. 

Apply Mobile-First Principles

It’s no secret that we’re living in a mobile-first world, and having your own app is the best way to stand out from other online courses. It’s convenient for your students as it allows them to complete the course from anywhere—while simultaneously giving you total control over your pricing and format. The numbers don’t lie. 

Start With Just One Course

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Get your first course to the market ASAP to validate your proof of concept and then expand from there. Then you can make adjustments by adding to that course or apply what you’ve learned to your next course. 

Deliver Real Value

Think about all the time and effort that went into creating your course and getting someone to buy it. You have a much greater chance of getting those people to purchase additional courses if they actually learned something from you. Delivering real value to them helps lower your customer acquisition costs for future courses and maximizes your ROI. 

Final Thoughts

People are going to make millions of dollars in 2025 selling online courses. Are you going to be one of them?

You don’t have to be a traditional educator to capitalize on the mobile learning trend. As long as you can position yourself or your brand as an expert on a particular subject matter, people will be willing to buy it. Creating your own app is the best way to stand out in this crowded market. So start your free trial of Buildfire today, and take the first step to creating an online course that actually sells.

The post How to Create an Online Course to Sell in 8 Easy Steps appeared first on Buildfire.

Online personal training is highly scalable and yields massive profits. You can create a single program that trains thousands of people simultaneously, whereas training clients in person will always have a ceiling. 

If you’re ready to break free from your current limitations as a personal trainer, this guide will teach you how to become an online fitness coach. 

What Does an Online Personal Trainer Do?

The terms online personal trainer and online fitness coach are pretty broad. But it applies to anybody who provides fitness instructions, nutrition advice, or wellness education through digital mediums—like a website or mobile app.

• Create custom workout plans
• Record video demonstrations of exercises
• Provide virtual coaching services
• Host virtual training sessions
• Build workout calendars
• Send motivational check-ins
• Conduct online fitness assessments
• Make custom meal plans with nutritional guidelines
• Remotely communicate with clients

All of these fall within the scope of online personal training. You can choose to do as many or as few of these services as you want and even go beyond this list to stand out from other trainers. 

Do You Need a Personal Trainer Certification to Become an Online Fitness Coach?

No, there are no laws requiring personal trainers to have a certification or license. This holds for all personal trainers, including those operating online. 

Some gyms may only hire personal trainers who hold a particular license. However, this potential barrier is irrelevant if you’re selling your services online.

That said, becoming a certified personal trainer definitely adds credibility to services. You can always get certified down the road if you desire, but don’t let that hold you back from starting your online personal training business today. 

How Much Money Can You Make as an Online Personal Trainer?

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary of an online personal trainer is $61,000 per year, and top earners make over $108,000 annually.

However, it’s important to understand that this particular data is based on open job postings for online personal trainers working at gyms. But if you start your own online personal training business, you can easily earn double or triple the amount compared to working as a traditional employee.

Research from ISSA suggests that online fitness coaches can make up to $125 per hour, which translates to $260,000 per year. 

Other studies found that online personal trainers make an average of $127,613 per year if they have at least 100 clients, which is easy to obtain when you’re not limited by physical boundaries. 

As you can see, there’s quite a wide range here depending on the source and how you’re looking at the data. But I think you can safely hit a minimum of six figures within the first 12-18 months.

Can Online Fitness Coaches Still Train Clients In Person?

Absolutely. The beauty of being an online fitness coach is that it allows you to be in multiple places at once. 

So you can continue working with your existing clients without it interfering with your online personal training services. 

You may ultimately decide to transition those clients to your online program or start making enough money online that you no longer have to train clients in person. 

How to Become an Online Personal Trainer in 7 Simple Steps

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s jump into the actual steps required to become an online personal trainer. 

Most of these steps are fairly easy, although some (like creating custom training programs) will take a bit longer. Regardless of where you stand right now, you can complete this entire process in less than 30 days for fewer than $500. 

Step 1 — Decide Who You Want to Coach Online

This is fairly straightforward, and most of you may already have this nailed down. 

One major benefit of coaching clients online is that you can really focus on your area of expertise rather than working with any client who walks in the door. 

Instead of coaching just anyone who needs to lose weight, you can get really granular here and focus on a specific subcategory of an otherwise broad and oversaturated market. 

Here are some examples so you can see what I mean:

Weight Loss

• Men ages 50+
• College students
• Postpartum women

Sports Training

• Injury recovery
• Strength training for football players
• Basketball endurance training

Corporate Wellness

• Posture correction and flexibility exercises for remote employees
• 20-minute workouts for busy parents who work full-time
• Virtual group coaching for offices

All of the subcategories within these niches are obviously very different. 

It’s important to narrow your focus to ensure your marketing materials and training programs actually resonate with potential clients. 

You can always expand later on. But it’s much easier to start small when you’re first launching. 

Step 2 — Choose a Core Business Model

Next, you need to determine a revenue model. There are plenty of approaches you can take, but these are the most common business models for online fitness coaches:

• One-on-One Personal Training: Personalized attention through video calls, custom training, and in-app messaging. 
• Membership Programs: Monthly or annual subscriptions for clients to access training materials, videos, and other workout programs.
• Hybrid Coaching: Mix of online coaching with occasional in-person sessions for local clients. 
• Digital Products: Charge a one-time fee for clients to access specific materials, like a downloadable meal plan.
• Group Coaching: Train multiple clients simultaneously through a live, virtual session.
• Online Fitness Courses: Fixed fee for a specific training course that’s designed to be completed sequentially (like a 90-day weight loss challenge).
• Premium Access Tiers: Set up multiple subscription levels, with additional perks unlocked at higher tiers to encourage clients to pay more for premium access. 

You may ultimately decide to explore multiple business models. But I highly recommend starting with just one right now. 

Master one method first, and then experiment with others later on if you wish to expand.

Step 3 — Set Up Your Online Distribution Channel

Now you need to figure out exactly how you’re going to deliver these services to clients online. There are really only two options to consider—a website or a mobile app.

Creating a custom mobile app is clearly the best path for online personal trainers.

This gives you a direct line to clients through their smartphones, which they can easily access when they’re at the gym or training from anywhere. You can’t replicate this type of experience through the mobile version of a website. 

Having your own fitness mobile app also adds a level of professionalism to your services and helps you stand out from other trainers operating online.

Best of all, it’s easier to set up and more affordable than you think. Buildfire’s fitness app builder starts at just $85 per month, and you can try it free for 30 days.

It’s a no-code platform, making it easy for anyone to create an app—even if you have zero technical experience. 

Simply start with a template, and begin customizing your program from there.

Buildfire gives you access to tons of fitness-specific features that will help you better serve our clients while increasing your revenue.

• Integrate with YouTube or Vimeo to incorporate video workouts.
• Create custom monthly or annual subscription tiers for your clients.
• Sell digital products, like ebooks or premium videos, behind a paywall.
• Build custom programs and challenges that are unlocked based on completion (Day 2 is available after Day 1 is complete. Day 3 is available after Day 2, etc.).
• Send push notifications to your clients with daily workout reminders.
• Let your clients reach you directly in the app through instant messaging.

Creating a mobile app is by far the best way to become an online personal trainer. 

The investment required is minimal, and the scalability is virtually limitless. 

Step 4 — Create Your Online Training Programs

This will likely be the most time-consuming step of all. Now you need to actually create the programs that you’re going to sell online.

Psychologically, this part can be difficult for people who are used to getting their time—because right now, nobody is paying you to create these workouts.

But you need to look at the big picture and beyond short-term gains. The amount of money you’ll make for your time is significantly higher than you’d make doing one-on-one training sessions.

It may take you two or three weeks to write the programs, record the videos, and package everything together into something that can be distributed online or through a mobile app. 

But that’s it—your work is done. 

A few weeks of hard work can be used to sell your services to hundreds or potentially thousands of clients nationwide for an entire year.

Start with just one program for now. This is far less intimidating than trying to build the most comprehensive fitness program on the planet. 

Look back at the niche and subcategory you defined for yourself back in Step #1 of this guide. Then create a program that speaks directly to the largest number of people in that sector. 

Step 5 — Nail Down Your Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy will largely be tied to the business model you’ve chosen from Step #2. 

You’re in total control over your pricing and how you want to market yourself compared to other trainers, but here are a few guidelines to help you decide:

• Most live training sessions are based on an hourly rate. This rate is usually higher than other online fitness programs but cheaper than in-person coaching.
• Monthly or annual membership plans can vary, starting anywhere from $25 to $250 or even $500 per month. It depends on whether you want to secure lots of clients for a smaller fee or fewer clients each paying a higher rate.
• Digital downloads are often the cheapest to sell. But the low fee makes it easier to scale and sell to as many people as possible.

Again, you have total freedom with how you want to approach your pricing. Just try to think of this in terms of the value you’re providing to your clients.

For example, you might set up multiple membership tiers starting at $50, $100, and $150 per month—and only clients at the $150 monthly tier have 24/7 access to message you from your app, whereas $50 members can send just one personal question per month.

Step 6 — Market Your Personal Training Services

Now it’s time to get the word out and promote yourself. There are dozens of ways to do this, but here are my top recommendations when you’re just getting started:

• Grow organically on social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok etc.)
• Send an email blast out to your current clients or contacts in the fitness space
• Partner with a local facility to spread awareness (like a nursing home or rehab clinic)
• Experiment with some paid ads on social media
• Offer a free download or free month to the first 500 people who download your app
• Pay a flat fee to an influencer in the fitness space to market your services (just make sure their followers fit your niche)

You get the idea. 

There’s really no right or wrong way to market yourself as an online personal trainer. But the methods above are either completely free or have a marginal cost, making it easy to work with if you’re on a tight budget.

Step 7 — Secure Your First Client

You finally have everything in place—now it’s just a matter of landing that first client and securing that first dollar.

My best advice here is to set realistic expectations for yourself. 

Would it be amazing to land 500 new clients the day your app launches and the program goes live? Absolutely. But in reality, the path to 500 clients will probably take much longer. 

This is a good thing—yes, I said a good thing. Just hear me out for a minute.

Your first training program probably won’t be perfect. So starting with a smaller group of 25 or 50 clients in the first year will help you perfect your craft.

Landing 500 clients immediately is useless if they all cancel after one month. 

Your goal should be to sustain recurring revenue and lengthen the lifetime value of your clients. 

The first few months are pivotal in figuring out what’s working well and what could be improved. You should be asking your clients directly for feedback and then use that information to enhance our services. 

Once you start seeing steady growth from your client base over time, with little to no churn, then you can think about expanding services and working on multiple revenue models. 

Mobile Apps: The Secret Weapon For Fitness Coaches and Online Personal Trainers

Using a mobile app to facilitate your online personal training business will be your secret weapon for success. 

The fitness app market is currently valued at $2.1 billion. This is projected to reach $2.47 billion in 2025 and eclipse $9.67 billion by 2033. That’s a whopping 18.2% CAGR during this period.

People are using mobile apps for fitness training, and they’re willing to spend money on it.

Furthermore, 74% of Americans have used a fitness app at least once, and 26% of those people use their fitness app over 10+ times per week. 

In terms of personal training, mobile apps are a no-brainer. Your clients will need to access your programs while they’re on the go and at the gym, and a mobile app will give them the best possible experience.

If you’re using an app builder like Buildfire, there’s virtually no overhead costs to worry about. Just one or two clients can pay for your app costs, and everything else is pure profit.

Sign up today to start your 30-day free trial and take the first step to becoming an online personal trainer.

The post How to Become an Online Personal Trainer in 2025 appeared first on Buildfire.

Rather than simply building more websites, offering mobile app development services can help you scale faster while unlocking additional revenue streams.

Whether you have a small web development agency, a large agency providing multiple services, or you’re a freelance web developer, this may be the most important article you read all year. I’ll explain the value of selling mobile apps, and why it’s the perfect addition to any web development service.

It’s an Easy Upsell to Your Clients

Pitching mobile apps to your clients is much easier if you’re already providing them with app development services. It’s a natural progression for any business seeking new technology and opportunities for growth. 

You’ve already done the hard work in securing the client for your web development services. 

If your clients trust you and you do a good job delivering on their web development needs, they’ll at least be open to the idea of letting you build them a mobile app. It’s an easy upsell, and you don’t have to worry about pitching cold to someone who doesn’t know you.

We all know that client acquisition can be a struggle—and 37% of agencies say that getting new clients is their biggest challenge and growth barrier. 

Plus, you have a 60% to 70% chance of selling services to an existing client but just a 5% to 20% chance of selling to a new prospect. 

I personally believe that these chances are even higher when you consider how closely related web and mobile development are. It’s not like you’re trying to sell them on something totally irrelevant, and you already know that they don’t have internal development resources. 

Best of all, you know these clients have the budget for development. 

If they’re hiring you for web development, you know they aren’t an ankle-biter just looking to use a cheap, DIY website builder. You can safely assume they’ll be happy to pay a professional instead of building an app on their own.

There’s a Strong Demand For Mobile Apps

To clarify, I’m not suggesting that you abandon your web development service. But the data speaks for itself—and it’s clear there’s a higher demand for mobile apps. 

The mobile app development market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.1% between 2024 and 2032. 

Conversely, the web development market will grow at about 8% annually over that same period. 

Beyond the growth rate, the mobile development market is valued considerably higher than web development. 

Currently, the mobile app development market sits at $195.7 billion globally. This number is expected to eclipse $606.1 billion by 2032. The web development industry is currently valued at $65.35 billion and should reach $130.9 billion in 2032.

The mobile app development market is already valued at more today than the web development market will be worth in eight years.

This is an incredible opportunity for web developers. You can continue providing the services you know in a growing sector while tapping into a new market that’s growing at an even higher rate. 

App Development Services Are Highly Profitable

White labeling is the most profitable way for agencies to sell app development services. 

Rather than having to hire developers, rent servers, and support the entire backend infrastructure, you can just use a white-label app development platform and re-brand the service as your own. 

Leveraging an existing app development infrastructure drastically reduces your costs and results in sky-high profits for your services. 

This becomes even more profitable once you start landing clients in the same space or industry. 

For example, let’s say a local dental practice hires your agency to build or redesign its website. When you’re done, you pitch them on the value of a mobile app, and they take you up on your offer.

The next time you land a dentist client, 90% of the work has already been done. You can simply clone that first app, make some small content changes to fit the branding of the new client, and you’re basically done. 

There’s not going to be much variation between features and functions for these types of apps, which is great news for your profit margins. 

You’ll Stand Out From Other Web Developers

The ability to brand yourself as an all-in-one solution for web and mobile app development will ultimately help you close more deals. 

It’s so much more appealing for businesses to know they can get multiple services from a single agency. This is a win-win for both of you, as it eliminates the due diligence and vetting phases when the client decides they want to build an app.

Plus, I’m willing to bet that just offering app development will help you land more web development clients—even if those businesses don’t need or want an app right now. Just knowing that they can get it from you later on will give them peace of mind that they’re working with the right partner. 

Here’s something else to consider. 45% of agencies get their clients from referrals and word of mouth. 

I can’t think of a better way to get referrals and keep people talking than by providing multiple services.

Your clients will be proud to show off their new app, and I guarantee that other businesses will be asking about it. 

This can lead to countless new opportunities for your agency. 

It Opens the Door to Enterprise Clients

Speaking of opportunities, app development services tend to attract larger businesses and clients with deeper pockets. 

Even if those companies have internal IT resources, it’s often cheaper for them to outsource these needs instead of handling them in house. 

In fact, 90% of Fortune 500s outsource at least some aspects of their software development needs—and mobile apps fall into this category. 

Larger businesses also understand the value of both a strong web and mobile presence. So you’ll be able to deliver each of these services, and build a lasting relationship with them as their needs evolve over time. 

It’s also more likely for bigger brands to want multiple apps, like customer-facing apps and internal apps for team productivity. 

App Development Services Provide Recurring Revenue

Many web development tasks are one-off jobs that don’t require ongoing assistance. You might create a new website for a client or redesign an existing site, then never hear from them again until they need a new design in five years.

Sure, some of you might be providing a range of webmaster services to retain your clients, but you can only bill for so many hours once the site is functional and running smoothly. 

Mobile apps require far more work on a regular basis. 

From new features to bug fixes, app store updates, and hardware compatibility changes, you can continue billing your clients on a monthly or annual basis even after the app launches.

This is particularly true if you’re using a white-label reseller platform, like Buildfire, to deliver these services to your clients. You’ll be providing them with the entire backend infrastructure that powers their apps, and this is a service that calls for an ongoing fee. 

With Buildfire, you can offer custom subscriptions to your clients and set different monthly rates for specific features.

For example, you may charge extra to support an iPad and Android tablet app. Or you can charge more if your clients want to send push notifications. Client apps with 20,000 users could be paying more than apps with just 2,000 users. 

There are so many different ways that you can structure this to set yourself up for recurring monthly or annual revenue—for the lifetime of each app.

Service Diversification Helps Future-Proof Your Agency

There’s no telling what the future holds. New technology and trends are constantly disrupting industries and changing the way businesses operate. 

For all we know, AI will be building and redesigning websites for everyone in just a few years and eliminate the need for most web development jobs. 

But diversifying your agency services can help reduce risks for these types of changes and unforeseen circumstances, particularly if those services are profitable, in-demand, and in growing industries—three boxes that mobile apps check.

Getting your foot in the door now can help your agency survive in the future and outpace your competitors who were too slow to adapt. 

Final Thoughts

Providing mobile app development services to your agency clients is easier than you think. With solutions like Buildfire’s white label program, any web developer can create apps and sell them to clients for high profit margins. 

In addition to building and selling mobile apps, you can also white label Buildfire’s app builder and resell that software under your agency’s brand name. This is a great opportunity for those of you who want to target DIY business users by providing a profitable solution at a lower price point.

You’ll get the exact same software that we’ve used to create over 10,000+ successful mobile apps for iOS and Android. Why wait? Get started with Buildfire today to start generating new revenue streams for your web development agency.

The post Why Every Web Development Agency NEEDS to Offer App Development Services appeared first on Buildfire.

Today, we’re excited to share a significant milestone in our journey—our recent strategic investment by Curious, which marks a pivotal moment for us. You can learn more about Curious and the work they do here.

As we embark on this exciting new chapter for Buildfire, we are energized by the endless possibilities that our platform presents. Our commitment to innovation and user experience will continue to drive us as we evolve alongside the needs of our community. Along with this transition, we’re unveiling a refreshed brand that encapsulates our vision and the endless possibilities of mobile app creation.

Logo

The foundation of our logo is centered around how every app in Buildfire is developed — using different features to come together to create a cohesive and valuable mobile app for our users and theirs. To develop it we used a visual formula that combines building blocks, fire, and the “B” of Buildfire. The geometric look of our logo allows us to incorporate motion and masking in a variety of ways that echo the versatility of Buildfire.

Color Palette

Our color scheme is muted and monochromatic. We do this with intention, letting the work of our customers’ mobile apps and templates shine. We focus on incorporating warm tones in our palette, making it as welcoming as possible to entice any user regardless of their level of tech expertise to use Buildfire and find it accessible. Any areas of emphasis are generally highlighted using our electric blue, a nod to our previous brand.

Typeface

Inter is a variable font family carefully crafted & designed for screens. It’s one of the world’s most popular typefaces with applications ranging from computer interfaces, advertising & airports, to NASA instrumentation & medical equipment. We use Inter for many reasons. Beyond its suitability for screens, Inter is our subtle way of expressing the connectivity that we espouse. Buildfire mobile apps and the people behind them are all interwoven, interconnected, intertwined.

Our Value Propositions

We recognize the importance of clarity and purpose in everything we do. Our new value propositions serve as the foundation for how we design our platform and engage with you.

Intuitive

We know what you’re looking for before you do. Your time is valuable and for that reason our user experience is designed around streamlining the build experience so that you can get straight to enjoying the finished product. We’re focused on having a simple taxonomy around app creation and making sure every aspect of the experience adheres to that.

Accessible

We believe that creativity should be within everyone’s reach. Buildfire is designed to ensure that anyone, regardless of skill level, can bring their ideas to life. With intuitive tools and straightforward navigation, we eliminate barriers, making mobile app creation an inclusive experience. We ensure that every aspect of our service empowers you to create confidently and effortlessly.

Community-Oriented

We understand that collaboration fuels creativity. Buildfire fosters a vibrant community of builders helping builders. We’re dedicated to creating a space where users can share insights, seek feedback, and inspire one another on their app-building journeys. Buildfire is focused on helping you feel connected with other creators and with the platform itself every step of the way.

The journey doesn’t stop here. As we adapt to the ever-changing landscape of mobile app development, we’ll be right there with you—listening, learning, and growing together. We can’t wait to see what you create next, and we’re excited to support you every step of the way.

The future is bright for Buildfire, and we’re ready to build it together.

See you there,

The Buildfire Team

The post Brand Reveal: The New Look for The New Chapter of Buildfire appeared first on Buildfire.

Do you really need to own your own code? The answer may surprise you.

Here’s the short version—if you’ve got a multi-million dollar budget and you’re trying to build the next Uber or Facebook, then yes, you should own your own code. But for everyone else, save yourself the time and money and just use an app development platform. 

Read on for a more in-depth comparison between these two development options. We’ll cover the pros and cons of each, as well as specific scenarios for when it makes sense to take these very different paths. 

By the end of this guide, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to make the right decision for your app. 

Coding From Scratch vs. Platform Development: Comparing Your Choices

When it comes to modern mobile app development, businesses essentially have two main options to choose from—building everything from scratch or using an app development platform. Each approach has its own advantages and drawbacks, catering to different business needs, resources, and goals.

The first option requires you to code everything from the ground up using your own in-house development team or hiring external developers. You’re starting with a completely blank slate, and every line of code can be customized to meet your specific needs. This approach is often favored by larger companies with unique requirements or entrepreneurs who are trying to create a groundbreaking unicorn (Facebook, Uber, Tinder, etc.). 

Alternatively, you can take the path of least resistance and use a mobile app development platform. These platforms provide a foundation of pre-built features, functions, and infrastructure that you can leverage. Instead of writing everything from scratch, you’re just customizing and configuring existing components to match your unique requirements. 

An app development platform can significantly reduce your development time and technical complexity, making it an attractive choice for businesses with limited technical resources or tighter budget constraints. 

But here’s the catch. If you want to own your own code, you’ll need to build everything from scratch. This isn’t feasible for most businesses, but fortunately, it’s not necessary either. 

Owning Your Own Code: Pros and Cons

When you build an app from scratch, you have full ownership of the code. This approach offers unparalleled control and flexibility, but it also comes with significant responsibilities and challenges. If you’re thinking of taking this path, make sure you have deep pockets and a budget that can sustain you beyond development and through post-launch maintenance. 

Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of owning your code.

Pros

• Complete Control: You have total freedom to customize every aspect of your app.
• Unique Features: You can develop highly specialized features that may not be available in existing platforms.
• Intellectual Property: The code becomes an asset that your business owns. 
• No Platform Dependency: You’re not reliant on a third-party platform to succeed. 

Cons

• High Development Costs: Building from scratch requires a significant investment, often hundreds of thousands of dollars—if not millions. 
• Technical Expertise Required: You need a full team of developers, designers, project managers, quality assurance agents, and more.
• Time-Consuming: Coding from scratch often takes 4-5x longer than using a platform. Expect to spend anywhere from 6-18 months writing the code prior to launch.
• Ongoing Maintenance: You’re responsible for all updates, bug fixes, and security patches for the lifetime of your app.  
• Scalability and Infrastructure: As your user base grows, you’ll need to continue investing in your backend infrastructure to handle the increased loads. 
• Cross-Platform Complexity: If you want your app to be available on multiple platforms (like iOS and Android), it requires additional time, money, and resources. 

While owning your own code provides maximum control, it’s important to consider whether you actually need this. For most businesses, especially those without in-house development teams or substantial budgets, the cons outweigh the pros. 

Using a Platform For App Development: Pros and Cons

App development platforms are the preferred choice for budget-conscious businesses that want to get to market quickly and benefit from a high ROI. Leveraging pre-built components and infrastructure helps you save time and eliminates the need for you to manage in-house development resources. 

While there are a few drawbacks to consider, most businesses can look past them when they understand the benefits. 

Pros

• Cost Effective: Significantly lower upfront fees and ongoing costs compared to custom development. 
• Faster Launch Times: Get your app to market in weeks, not months, by using pre-built components. 
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: You can launch your app on both iOS and Android from a single build without having to create and maintain two separate versions for each platform.
• Hands-Off Maintenance: Platform providers handle all ongoing maintenance, app store updates, and security on your behalf. 
• Technical Infrastructure: You can tap into all of the existing servers and infrastructure that’s required to power your app. From databases to authentication servers, push notification servers, and more, you won’t have to worry about any of this. 
• Proven Technology: You benefit from battle-tested features and infrastructure that’s been used on thousands of apps—eliminating trial and error. 
• Affordable Scalability: Leveraging built-in infrastructure means you can handle growing user bases with minimal ongoing investments. 

Cons

• Platform Dependency: Your app’s future is tied to the platform powering it, which is why it’s critical to use a platform with a proven track record and years of experience. 
• Some App Type Limitations: Platforms aren’t great for building certain types of apps, such as high-fidelity games.
• Lack of Code Ownership: You don’t own the underlying code that powers the app. 
• Shared Infrastructure: Your app may be running on shared servers with other apps, which could potentially impact performance.

While you won’t own your own code if you take this path, the tradeoff is often well worth it. Most businesses quickly realize that owning their own code isn’t really meaningful. There’s no reason or circumstance that would arise where owning the code would factor into the app’s success or business goal. It’s really a moot point. 

When it Makes Sense to Own Your Code

If you’re still on the fence about whether you need to own your code, see if any of the following scenarios resonate with you and your business model:

• You have a substantial budget (typically millions) dedicated to app development and maintenance.
• Your app’s core value proposition relies on cutting-edge technology that doesn’t yet exist.
• Your company has an experienced in-house development team that’s capable of building an app and maintaining it on a daily basis.
• Your team has the bandwidth to manage all oversight, technical infrastructure, and patches post-launch.
• You want to be the next Mark Zuckerberg and build the next unicorn app.
• Your business model relies heavily on algorithms and procedures that can’t be shared with anyone else.
• You can afford the indirect costs of employing an in-house app development team, like training, benefits, sick leave, etc.
• You’re building a high-fidelity gaming app with advanced graphics and sophisticated gameplay. 

When it Makes Sense to Use a Platform Like BuildFire

If you nod your head while reading the bullets below, then you’re a good candidate for using a platform for app development. 

• You need to launch your app quickly to capitalize on a market opportunity.
• You’re working with a limited budget but still need a professional-grade app.
• You lack an in-house development team or technical expertise.
• Your app has lots of standard features and components that can be found on other apps.
• You’re creating an app for internal use for a small or mid-sized business.
• You need a scalable solution that can grow with your business (without breaking the bank).
• You want to build versions for iOS and Android without doubling your development efforts.
• You’d rather focus on marketing your app and onboarding users, instead of worrying about technical implementation. 
• You want to iterate quickly based on user feedback without extensive coding.
• You prefer predictable cost management using a subscription-based billing model. 

The BuildFire Advantage

Leveraging a platform like BuildFire is a game-changer in the app development space. While you won’t own the code, you do own all of your user data. You can choose to do whatever you want with your data, and it’s yours to take with you if you ever decide to leave the platform. 

With BuildFire, 80% of the development work has already been done. There are over 180+ pre-built features that you can customize, plus all of the servers, app store publishing, and backend infrastructure are handled for you. So you can focus more on what makes the app unique to your users rather than having to build redundant features that are common to every app. 

One unique standout of BuildFire compared to other SaaS platforms in the app development space is we’re more than just a platform—we’re also an app development service. From ideation to launch and post-launch maintenance, our team will work with you to create an app that aligns with your business goals. 

Best of all, our app development service starts at just $5,000. You won’t find a better combination of value of quality anywhere else on the market. 

Unlike other platforms, BuildFire also offers some of the same perks that you’d get by coding your app from scratch.

For one, BuildFire is developer-friendly. So if you do want to create a totally custom feature that’s been written by an in-house or freelance developer, you can hook in your own custom code using the BuildFire SDK. 

BuildFire also has a white-label reseller platform. This means you can clone your app, re-brand it, and sell it to other businesses. So the profit margins are limitless if you’re interested in selling apps for a profit—and you don’t need to own your code to accomplish this. 

Making the Right Choice

Choosing between owning your code and using a platform is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your app’s success and your business’s bottom line. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation, and what works for one company may not be the best solution for another.

To help you navigate this decision, we’ve compiled a list of key factors to consider. Evaluate each of these in the context of your business goals, resources, and long-term vision for your app:

• Available budget for development and maintenance
• Timeline for app launch
• In-house technical expertise
• Desired level of customization
• Long-term scalability needs
• Ongoing maintenance requirements
• Target platforms (iOS, Android, or both)

By carefully considering these factors, you’ll be better equipped to make an informed decision that aligns with your business objectives. Remember, the right choice is the one that best serves your unique needs and sets you up for long-term success in the mobile app market.

Final Thoughts

When building a mobile app, most businesses don’t need to own their own code. While it sounds appealing, owning your own code requires you to build everything from scratch and could cost you millions of dollars. 

Leveraging a platform like BuildFire is far more appealing for most brands. You can launch your app faster and for a fraction of the cost—translating to a higher ROI without having to worry about any of the technical implementation. 

By choosing a reliable platform like BuildFire, you’re not just saving time and money, you’re also gaining access to proven technology, ongoing support, and total flexibility. You can focus on running your business and let us handle the technical stuff. 

The post Owning Your Code vs. Using a Platform For Mobile App Development appeared first on Buildfire.

Imagine an app that does much more than just stream music—it becomes a vibrant community hub where fans can connect, discover exclusive content, purchase merchandise, buy concert tickets, and enjoy enhanced event experiences. 

All of this can be accessed at their fingertips 24/7/365.

This vision isn’t just a dream or possibility—it’s within reach for any musician. 

Whether you’re just starting out in the music industry or you have an established following, this in-depth guide will explain how to create a music app that elevates the fan experience and opens new avenues for revenue. 

If you’re looking to innovate and connect with your audience on a deeper level, creating your own music streaming app could be the game-changer that sets you apart in the music industry. 

Market Analysis and Conceptualization

There’s big money to be made with music apps—and music lovers are willing to pay top dollar to access their favorite tracks. 

Research shows that the global music streaming market is expected to reach $125.7 billion by 2032, and it currently sits around $41.5 billion. 

With music streaming services still growing at a 15.1% CAGR, there are fistfuls of money to be made—even if you can capture just a fraction of a percentage of this market share. 

To be clear, we’re not trying to compete with the popular music streaming apps that are dominating this space. If you try to make a music app like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, or Pandora, you’ll likely have a hard time contending with those giants. 

However, these platforms leave a gap for personalized, artist-centric experiences. This is where your app enters the picture as a niche service that offers something they cannot—an elevated, intimate connection between artists and their fans.

To carve out your piece of the music streaming industry, start by analyzing the needs and preferences of your target audience. 

Fans of music, especially those following specific bands or artists, are often looking for more than just streaming. They crave behind-the-scenes content, direct interactions with their favorite musicians, exclusive merchandise, early ticket sales, and improved event experiences. 

Your app can cater to these desires by offering unique features such as fan forums, VIP access to special content, in-app merchandise stores, ticketing services, and immersive event features.

Create a unique selling proposition (USP) that focuses on the specific benefits your app offers to fans and artists alike, such as fostering a community, enhancing fan engagement, and providing new revenue streams for artists.

Conceptualizing your app involves identifying these key differentiators. Ask yourself:

• What can my app offer that existing services do not?
• How can it enhance the fan experience in a way that builds loyalty and engagement?
• What unique revenue opportunities can it create for artists?

By focusing on these questions, you can begin to outline the features and services that will make your music app stand out.

Licensing and Legal Considerations

Creating a music app that streams content, sells merchandise, and offers tickets to events involves navigating a complex landscape of legal requirements and licensing agreements. This step is crucial not only to ensure the legality of your app but also to respect the rights of any other artists and creators whose content you wish to feature. 

Here’s a breakdown of the process and tips on how you can navigate these waters effectively.

Music Licensing

The first step in legally streaming music through your app involves obtaining the necessary licenses from music rights holders. 

There are generally two types of rights you need to be aware of—sound recording rights, controlled by record labels through organizations like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and publishing rights, which involve the composition and lyrics, controlled by publishers or songwriter collectives such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC in the United States.

To legally stream music, you’ll need to secure two main licenses:

• Mechanical Licenses: For the reproduction and distribution of musical compositions.
• Public Performance Licenses: For playing songs and music tracks publicly, which includes streaming over the internet.

Merchandise and Ticket Sales

Selling merchandise and tickets directly through your app introduces another layer of legal considerations. For merchandise, if you plan to use the artists’ names, likenesses, or other copyrighted material, you’ll need to negotiate rights and licensing agreements with the artists or their representatives. This ensures that artists are fairly compensated for the use of their brand.

Ticket sales through your app will require partnerships with event organizers or ticketing platforms. It’s essential to establish clear terms regarding the distribution of tickets, handling of customer data, and revenue sharing.

Legal Tips

• Consult with Legal Experts: Given the complexity of music rights and copyright law, consulting with legal professionals who specialize in entertainment law is invaluable. They can guide you through the licensing process, help negotiate agreements, and ensure compliance with all legal requirements.
• Transparent Agreements: Ensure all licensing and partnership agreements are clear and transparent, detailing rights, responsibilities, and revenue sharing. This helps avoid disputes and ensures a fair relationship between all parties involved.
• Stay Updated on Laws and Regulations: Copyright and music licensing laws are subject to change. Staying informed about current laws and industry standards is crucial to maintaining the legality of your app.

This step, while challenging, is a critical investment in the sustainability of a successful music app. 

Technical Development

The technical development of your music app is where your conceptual ideas transform into a tangible product. This phase involves choosing the right technologies, developing the app’s architecture, and implementing features that will distinguish your app in the market. 

Here are some key features to consider and the benefits they offer to users:

• High-Quality Audio Streaming: Essential for any music app, offering users the best listening experience with minimal buffering.
• Offline Playback: Allows users to download songs to their music library and listen to them without an internet connection, enhancing accessibility.
• Personalized Playlists and Recommendations: Uses algorithms to suggest songs, artists, and playlists based on users’ listening habits, offering a tailored experience.
• Artist Profiles: Where artists can share their music, upcoming events, and exclusive content, helping fans stay connected.
• Social Sharing and Interaction: Features that enable users to share songs, playlists, and concert experiences on social media and within the app, fostering a sense of community.
• Live Streaming: Allows artists to stream live performances or behind-the-scenes content directly to fans, creating intimate, real-time engagement.
• In-App Store: A platform for artists to sell merchandise and for fans to purchase it easily, supporting artists financially while offering fans a way to show their support.
• Integrated Ticket Sales: Simplifies the process of buying tickets for concerts and events, with options for notifications about upcoming events and exclusive pre-sales for app users.
• Customizable User Interface: Lets users personalize their app experience, from theme colors to layout preferences within the music streaming service.
• Interactive Features: Such as lyric displays, music videos, and artist interviews, enriching the listening experience.
• Feedback and Support Systems: To gather user feedback and provide assistance, ensuring continuous improvement and user satisfaction.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many features and try to build everything at once.

Instead, start with the features you need for your app to work—ideally aligned with the USP that you’ve identified earlier. Start there, and you can always add more down the road. 

UX/UI Design

By investing in a thoughtful UX/UI design process, you can create an app that not only looks appealing but also provides a user-friendly platform that encourages longer engagement and fosters loyalty among its users

Create a design that prioritizes simplicity and intuitiveness to help users easily find their way around the app, with a minimalist approach to reduce cognitive load and enhance satisfaction.

Personalization also plays a key role in the design process, allowing users to customize the app’s appearance and functionality to their liking, which fosters a sense of ownership and engagement. The design should adapt gracefully across different devices, ensuring a consistent experience whether on a phone, tablet, or desktop.

Some app designers may consider using interactive elements to enhance the design. Things like album covers or music visualizers add an additional layer to the listening experience.

Adding lyrics or artist bios can also help enrich the content. 

Accessibility is another important consideration, with features designed to accommodate all users, including those with disabilities, ensuring that the app is inclusive and available to a wide audience. Implementing multilingual support broadens the app’s appeal across different regions and cultures.

Visual branding should be consistent with the use of colors, fonts, and imagery that reflect the app’s identity, contributing to its recognizability and the user’s connection to the brand. 

High-quality imagery and icons are essential for a professional and polished appearance.

Simply stated, you can’t rush through the design process. This will ultimately determine the look and feel of your app, which is crucial to retaining your users. 

App Development and Testing

This stage involves translating your design concepts into a fully functional app—requiring a blend of technical expertise, creativity, and strategic planning. 

Music streaming app development encompasses a wide array of tasks, from coding and integrating APIs to setting up servers and ensuring your app’s compatibility across various devices and operating systems. It’s a complex process that demands attention to detail to ensure that every feature works as intended, providing users with a smooth, glitch-free experience.

For those looking to simplify the app development process, platforms like BuildFire offer a powerful solution. BuildFire is designed to streamline the creation of mobile apps, providing a user-friendly interface that allows for the customization of features without needing deep technical knowledge. 

With a wide range of plugins and templates, BuildFire can help bring your music app from concept to reality, facilitating the integration of streaming services, social media, merchandise sales, and more. 

Our intuitive platform also includes tools for analytics, marketing, and user engagement, making it an ideal choice for musicians, bands, and entrepreneurs eager to connect with their audience through a personalized app. Leveraging BuildFire can significantly reduce development time and costs, allowing you to focus on refining your app’s content and user experience.

Testing is an integral part of this phase, involving rigorous checks to identify and rectify any bugs or usability issues. This ensures that the app not only meets the technical specifications but also delivers on the user experience envisioned during the design phase. 

Monetization Strategy

After developing and meticulously testing your music app, the next critical step is devising a robust monetization strategy. This strategy is key to ensuring your app is not only a creative success but also a financial one. 

Here are some monetization strategies to consider when you build a music streaming app:

• Freemium Model: Offer basic features for free while charging for premium features. This can include higher quality audio, ad-free streaming, or exclusive content.
• Advertisements: Integrate ads into the app experience. Options include banner ads, interstitials, or sponsored content.
• Subscription Model: Encourage users to subscribe for a monthly or yearly fee to access exclusive features, such as ad-free listening, offline playback, and premium content.
• In-App Purchases: Sell digital goods or services within your app. This could be exclusive songs, albums, or virtual goods.
• Partnerships and Sponsorships: Collaborate with brands or artists for sponsored content or exclusive releases, creating a new revenue stream.
• Merchandising: Sell artist merchandise directly through the app, from t-shirts to vinyl, making it easy for fans to support their favorite artists.
• Data Monetization: Leverage user data (with their consent) to gain insights for targeted advertising or to sell to third parties interested in music industry trends.
• Crowdfunding or Tip Jar: Allow fans to support artists directly through donations or crowdfunding campaigns for upcoming projects.
• Live Streaming and Virtual Concerts: Offer paid access to live performances or virtual concerts, providing fans with unique experiences.
• Licensing and Content Creation: Generate revenue by licensing user-generated content or creating original content that can be licensed to others.
• Community Features: Enhance user engagement with paid community features, like exclusive forums or fan clubs.
• International Expansion: Localize your app for different markets to tap into global audiences, adapting your monetization strategies accordingly.

Choosing the right mix of monetization strategies depends on your target audience, the unique features of your app, and the overall goals of your project. By carefully selecting and implementing these strategies, you can create a sustainable revenue model that supports the ongoing success and growth of your music app.

Launch and Marketing

Following the development and implementation of a monetization strategy, the next pivotal phase in the lifecycle of your music app is its launch and marketing. This stage is critical for gaining visibility, attracting users, and ultimately ensuring the success of your app. 

An effective launch and marketing strategy not only introduces your app to the world but also builds anticipation, engages potential users, and sets the foundation for a strong user base.

For example, legendary American rock band 311 used BuildFire to create an app for their 30th anniversary tour that comprised 50 states in 50 days.  

The marketing efforts for the app were strategically timed to build anticipation in the weeks leading up to 3/11 Day (March 11) when the band was scheduled to perform three days of shows in Las Vegas.

By aligning the app’s launch with a significant event and leveraging targeted marketing strategies, 311 was able to maximize user engagement and downloads. The app served as a powerful tool to enhance the fan experience, offering a new way for fans to connect with the band and with each other, driving up engagement and fostering a sense of community among users.

You can read more about 311’s experience with BuildFire here and use this type of marketing strategy to inspire your own. 

Post-Launch Support and Scaling

Even after a successful launch, the journey of your music app is far from over. 

Post-launch support and scaling are critical to its long-term success and sustainability. This phase involves closely monitoring the app’s performance, gathering user feedback, and making necessary adjustments to ensure a seamless user experience. 

Continuous support not only addresses any technical issues that may arise but also demonstrates to your users that you are committed to providing a high-quality service, which can significantly enhance user retention and loyalty.

User feedback is invaluable for identifying areas of improvement and potential new features that could enhance the app’s value. Engaging with your user base through surveys, feedback forms, and social media can provide insights into their needs and preferences, guiding your development roadmap. This iterative process of improvement and adaptation helps keep the app relevant and competitive in a rapidly evolving market.

Scaling the app is another crucial aspect of post-launch support. As your user base grows, your infrastructure must be able to support increased traffic and data without compromising on performance. 

This may involve upgrading servers, optimizing code for better efficiency, or expanding your team to handle the increased workload. Preparing for scalability from the outset can help mitigate growing pains and ensure that the app can handle success without faltering.

Additionally, expanding your app’s features and exploring new markets can contribute to its growth. Based on user feedback and market analysis, introducing new functionalities, such as virtual meet-and-greets, fan-generated content, or augmented reality experiences, can keep users engaged and attract new ones. 

Considering international expansion can also open up new revenue streams and increase your app’s global reach. However, this requires careful planning to address language barriers, cultural differences, and local regulations.

Conclusion

Creating your own music app is a complex process—involving everything from initial market analysis and conceptualization to the intricacies of licensing, design, development, and beyond. 

Each step of this journey presents its own set of challenges, requiring a blend of creativity, technical expertise, and strategic planning. The goal is not just to launch an app but to create a platform that deeply engages music fans and provides artists with new ways to connect with their audience and monetize their craft.

Fortunately, platforms like BuildFire can significantly streamline the journey. BuildFire’s intuitive app development platform demystifies the technical complexities of app creation, making it accessible even to those without extensive coding knowledge. 

BuildFire has a wide array of customizable features, plugins, and templates, enabling musicians, bands, and music entrepreneurs to focus on what truly matters—their vision for a unique music experience—while it handles the heavy lifting of app development. 

With the right tools and a clear understanding of the steps involved, turning this vision into reality is more achievable than ever.

The post From Concept to Launch: How to Make Your Own Music App appeared first on Buildfire.

To keep pace with consumer expectations and gain an edge over your competition, converting your website into an app is critical.

The numbers speak for themselves. 88% of mobile device time is spent using apps. 70% of all digital media consumption comes from apps, and mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion this year alone. 

Converting a website into an app opens up countless opportunities for businesses across every industry. From improving user engagement and customer loyalty to accessing new revenue streams and expanding market reach, these benefits are hard to overlook for anyone with a website.

Fortunately, developing an app has never been easier. With the help of an app builder or website to app converter, you can turn your website into your own app quickly—without breaking the bank.

If you’re still on the fence, the information in this guide might be enough to change your mind. We’ll dive deep into all the benefits and advantages of going from a website to a mobile app that will take your business to new heights. 

Enhancing the Mobile User Experience

A whopping 85% of consumers say they prefer mobile apps over mobile websites. So when you convert your website to an app, you’re instantly improving the user experience. 

How is this possible? Let’s take a look at some key UX-related advantages of a mobile app compared to a website.

• User Interface and Interaction — Apps are designed with mobile users in mind, offering interfaces and interactions that are optimized for small screens and touch controls. This results in significant improvements in user interface (UI) design, including simplified menus, larger buttons, and intuitive gestures that enhance the overall user experience. Apps have a clear edge over mobile websites that often require pinching, zooming, and scrolling to view content.

• Speed and Performance — One of the most noticeable differences users experience when switching from a website to an app is speed. Apps store data locally on the device, allowing for quicker load times and smoother transitions between features and content. This immediate access is crucial for retaining users, as loading delays can lead to frustration and abandonment. 

• Navigation and Accessibility — Apps also offer superior navigation compared to mobile websites. With the ability to implement custom navigation solutions, such as bottom navigation bars or swipeable tabs, apps make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for. This encourages deeper exploration of what the app has to offer.

• Engagement and Satisfaction — The tailored UX that apps provide leads to higher engagement levels and customer satisfaction. Features like push notifications can be used to keep users informed and engaged, offering timely updates and personalized content that draws them back into the app. This direct line of communication is something that websites struggle to match, making apps a powerful tool for fostering long-term relationships with users.

One great example of this in the real world is H&M. 

As the second largest fashion retailer in the world, H&M has astonishing engagement rates—with 61% of its app users returning to use it on a monthly basis. Ecommerce websites don’t see this type of traction for their audience. 

This same type of success can be replicated through your own app. 

Accessing Native Mobile Features

One of the most compelling reasons to convert a website into an app is the ability to access and utilize native mobile features. These features, intrinsic to mobile devices, open up a new realm of possibilities for user interaction, engagement, and functionality that simply cannot be matched by mobile websites. Examples include: 

• GPS: Enables location-based services, providing users with tailored content, nearby store locations, or personalized offers based on their current location.
• Camera: Allows for interactive features like scanning QR codes, uploading images directly from the device, or even augmented reality experiences, enriching user interaction.
• Push Notifications: Offer a direct channel to keep users informed and engaged, whether it’s about new content, promotions, or updates, encouraging frequent app usage.
• Accelerometer: Can be used in fitness apps to track physical activity, or in gaming apps for motion-based controls, adding a layer of interactivity and fun.
• Contact List: Facilitates features like easy sharing, social interactions, or sending invites directly from the app, promoting a sense of community and connectivity.
• Biometric Authentication: Such as fingerprint or facial recognition, offers a secure and convenient way for users to access their accounts, enhancing both security and user experience.

Integrating these features into your native app not only enhances its appeal and usability but also offers practical benefits that can significantly impact user retention and satisfaction. For instance, an e-commerce app utilizing push notifications for personalized offers can see an increase in repeat visits and sales. Similarly, a travel app leveraging GPS for real-time updates and location-based services can become an indispensable tool for travelers.

Boost Brand Recognition Amongst App Users

Brand visibility and recognition are paramount for business success. Converting your website into an app offers a unique advantage in this arena, notably through the presence of your app icon on a user’s home screen. This seemingly small feature can have profound implications for brand awareness and engagement.

An app icon acts as a constant visual reminder of your brand, residing among the most used tools and platforms on a user’s device. 

Unlike a website, which requires a user to open a browser, type in a website URL, or search for your site, an app is just a tap away. This ease of access significantly reduces the barrier to interaction, making it more likely that users will engage with your app—and, by extension, your brand—on a regular basis.

Consider the difference in steps between accessing a website and an app:

• Website: Unlock phone → Open browser → Type URL or search → Navigate to the website.
• App: Unlock phone → Tap app icon.

This direct and simplified access not only enhances user convenience but also increases the likelihood of frequent engagement. Each interaction with your app reinforces brand recognition and loyalty, making your brand a familiar and trusted presence in the user’s daily digital landscape.

Furthermore, the app icon itself serves as a mini-advertisement for your brand. Well-designed app icons can convey your brand’s essence, values, and aesthetic, contributing to a cohesive and recognizable brand identity. This visual consistency across platforms—be it in the app, on your website, or in marketing materials—strengthens your brand’s presence and can lead to increased consumer trust and loyalty.

In addition to the app icon, converting your website into an app allows you to maintain consistent branding elements throughout the user experience. From the color scheme and logos to the tone of voice and messaging, an app provides a controlled environment in which every aspect can be tailored to reflect your brand identity. This consistency is crucial for building a strong brand image that resonates with users and stands out in a crowded marketplace.

Improving Customer Retention

While attracting new customers is important, retaining existing ones is even more critical—and often more cost-effective. Mobile apps offer a powerful toolset for enhancing customer retention, thanks to their ability to facilitate direct engagement, personalized experiences, and loyalty incentives in ways that websites simply cannot match.

In fact, research shows that mobile app retention rate is 50% higher than web browser. This number jumps to 90% for smartphone users. 

The effectiveness of mobile apps in retaining customers lies in their capacity to maintain an ongoing dialogue with users. Through features like push notifications, apps can deliver timely and relevant content directly to a user’s device. This immediacy ensures that your brand remains visible and top-of-mind, encouraging regular interaction. Whether it’s a reminder about an unfinished purchase, a notification about a new product, or a personalized offer based on past behavior, these notifications can significantly increase engagement rates and, consequently, retention.

Personalization is another key advantage of mobile apps. By leveraging user data and behavior, apps can tailor the user experience to meet individual preferences and needs. This could mean recommending products similar to past purchases, customizing content feeds, or even adjusting the app’s navigation based on the user’s interests. Personalized experiences make users feel valued and understood, fostering a positive connection with your brand and increasing the likelihood of continued app use.

Loyalty programs seamlessly integrated into your app can further enhance customer retention. Offering rewards, points, or exclusive benefits for app activities not only incentivizes continued usage but also builds emotional loyalty towards your brand. Users are more likely to return to an app where they feel their loyalty is recognized and rewarded.

The impact of these strategies on customer retention is clear. This ongoing engagement is vital for building a stable customer base for your brand.

Mobile Apps Provide Offline Accessibility

A key benefit that sets mobile apps apart from websites is the ability to offer offline accessibility. This feature is not just a technical enhancement—it’s a fundamental shift in how users interact with your digital content. By enabling certain functionalities to be available without an internet connection, apps can significantly enhance user convenience, ensuring that your services remain accessible even in the most remote or connectivity-challenged situations.

Offline accessibility in iOS apps and Android apps addresses a critical pain point for users—the need to access information, services, or functionalities when they’re not connected to the internet. Whether it’s due to poor network coverage, data usage concerns, or the desire to save battery life, the ability to use an app offline can be a deciding factor for users when choosing between competitors.

Here are some examples of how offline features can be implemented in apps to enhance user experience:

• Content Caching: Apps can store content locally on a device, allowing users to access previously loaded articles, videos, or documents without needing an internet connection.
• Data Syncing: Changes made in offline mode, such as editing documents or updating settings, can be synced automatically once the device reconnects to the internet.
• Offline Navigation: Navigation apps can offer map downloads for offline use, enabling users to find their way without relying on a live data connection.
• Music and Video Playback: Entertainment apps can allow users to download music, podcasts, or videos to enjoy offline, providing continuous access to media content.
• E-commerce Shopping: Shopping apps can enable browsing of products and even adding items to a cart in offline mode, with transactions completed once connectivity is restored.

Implementing offline accessibility not only improves user convenience but also signals to your customers that you value their experience and are committed to providing uninterrupted access to your services. This level of thoughtfulness provided by native app development can significantly enhance user satisfaction and loyalty, as it demonstrates a proactive approach to addressing user needs and challenges.

Creating New Revenue Opportunities

The decision to convert your website into a mobile app is not just a strategic move to enhance user engagement or improve brand visibility—it also presents a multitude of new revenue opportunities. Mobile apps offer unique monetization avenues that are not as readily available or as effective on traditional websites. By leveraging these opportunities, businesses can diversify their revenue streams and drive financial growth.

• In-App Purchases: One of the most direct ways to generate revenue from your app is through in-app purchases. This could range from selling physical goods, as seen in retail or e-commerce apps, to offering digital services or content, such as subscriptions, premium features, or virtual goods. In-app purchases provide a seamless shopping experience, encouraging users to buy directly within iOS or Android apps.

• Subscription Models: Apps can implement subscription models, offering access to exclusive content or features for a recurring fee. This model is particularly effective for services that provide ongoing value, such as media streaming, productivity tools, or specialized content platforms. Subscriptions ensure a steady revenue stream and can help build a loyal user base committed to your app.

• Advertisements: Integrating advertisements into your app is another way to generate revenue. Whether through banner ads, interstitials, or native advertising, carefully placed ads can provide significant income without detracting from the user experience. Choosing the right ad network and optimizing ad placement and frequency are crucial to maximizing revenue while maintaining a positive user experience.

• Freemium Models: Offering a basic version of your app for free while charging for premium features or enhancements is a strategy known as the freemium model. This approach encourages widespread adoption of your app while monetizing a subset of users who are willing to pay for a higher value offering.

• Affiliate Marketing: By participating in affiliate programs, your app can earn commissions for referring users to other services or products. This monetization strategy works well for native apps that recommend products, offer reviews, or curate content that includes external links. It’s a way to leverage the content and user trust you’ve built to generate additional revenue.

• Sponsored Content or Partnerships: Collaborating with brands or businesses to feature sponsored content within your app can also open up revenue opportunities. This approach requires a balance to ensure that sponsored content aligns with your user’s interests and the app’s overall theme, maintaining authenticity and user trust.

By diversifying the ways in which an app can generate revenue, mobile app developers not only increase their potential income but also build a more resilient business model. Each of these strategies can be tailored to fit the unique context of your app and your target audience, allowing you to maximize revenue while enhancing the user experience.

Expanding Audience Reach

Converting your website into an app significantly broadens your reach, leveraging the global platforms of the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

Listing your Android or iOS app in these stores opens your business to a vast audience, transcending geographical boundaries. The presence in these app marketplaces is crucial, as they are the primary channels through which users discover and download new apps.

Optimizing your app for these stores through careful keyword selection, compelling descriptions, and high-quality visuals is essential for improving your app’s visibility. 

This process, known as App Store Optimization (ASO), enhances your app’s discoverability, making it easier for potential users to find and download your app. Positive ratings and reviews further boost your app’s credibility, encouraging more installs.

If you already have a website, you’re likely familiar with how this works—as ASO and SEO are essentially the same concept (with a few key differences).

By targeting both Android and iOS users, you ensure that your app is accessible to the widest possible audience, taking full advantage of the extensive user base these platforms offer. The algorithms of the app stores play a pivotal role in recommending your app to interested users, making an app store presence a powerful tool for reaching a global audience and driving your business’s growth in the digital marketplace.

Optimizing Performance and Speed

Users today expect instant access to information and services, and even slight delays can lead to frustration and app abandonment. Apps that are finely tuned to offer quick loading times and smooth interactions set themselves apart in a competitive digital environment, where user patience is minimal.

A well-optimized app not only ensures quicker access to content but also enhances overall usability and satisfaction. This is particularly important in retaining users and converting potential customers into loyal ones. Faster apps are more likely to be used repeatedly, as they provide the immediate gratification users seek from their digital interactions.

The performance and speed of an app directly impact its conversion rates. Users are more likely to complete purchases or engage with services when the process is seamless and efficient. In contrast, apps that suffer from poor performance can see a significant drop in user engagement and revenue.

Establishing Increased Trust

Creating a mobile app for your business is a significant step towards building a deeper trust with your audience. 

Users are cautious about where they spend their time and money—making trust a critical component of user engagement and brand loyalty. An app enhances your brand’s credibility by demonstrating a commitment to providing a secure, efficient, and user-friendly platform.

A mobile app signals to users that a brand is serious about its digital presence and dedicated to improving the customer experience. This commitment is often associated with higher quality and reliability, which can enhance users’ trust in the brand. 

Features like biometric authentication, secure payment gateways, and personalized content within an app further reinforce this trust by ensuring user data is handled safely and their interactions are tailored and meaningful.

Focusing User Attention in a Controlled Environment

The digital landscape is full of distractions, which can make it difficult to keep a user’s attention. But apps offer a unique solution by creating a controlled environment that minimizes external distractions. 

Unlike web browsing, where users can easily switch between tabs or get sidetracked by notifications, an app encapsulates the user’s full attention on a single task or experience. This focused environment is crucial for businesses aiming to engage users deeply and effectively.

The design of mobile apps inherently encourages a more immersive experience. By utilizing the full screen for content display and tailoring the navigation to suit mobile interactions, apps can significantly enhance user engagement. This immersive experience is beneficial for both informational content consumption and e-commerce activities, as users are less likely to abandon their tasks due to distractions.

This focused attention ultimately leads to higher conversion rates. When users are fully engaged with an app, they are more likely to complete desired actions, whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a service, or engaging with content.

Streamlining Business Processes

Mobile apps offer a significant advantage in streamlining business operations, leading to enhanced efficiency and productivity. By integrating various business processes into a single app, companies can automate tasks, improve communication, and manage data more effectively. 

This consolidation not only simplifies operations but also reduces the time and resources required to manage them, directly impacting the bottom line by reducing operational costs.

For example, apps can facilitate easier order processing, real-time inventory management, and instant customer support, providing a seamless experience for both the business and its customers. 

The ability to instantly update and share information across the app also ensures that all stakeholders are informed and can make data-driven decisions swiftly, enhancing the overall agility of the business.

Apps can also improve internal communication. Features such as in-app messaging, task assignments, and progress tracking enable teams to collaborate more effectively, regardless of their physical location.

Convert Website to App: Is It Worth It? (Final Thoughts)

The decision to convert your website into an app is clearly worth it. The benefits—ranging from enhanced user engagement and loyalty to new revenue opportunities and streamlined business operations—all highlight the strategic value of embracing mobile app technology.

For businesses ready to make this transformative leap, BuildFire stands out as the ideal partner. With our cutting-edge AI app builder, the transition from website to app has never been easier.

BuildFire’s technology is designed to sync with your existing website, automatically pulling in brand information, content, and logos. This integration significantly accelerates the app development process, ensuring that your mobile app aligns perfectly with your brand identity.

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