Hi Molly, thanks for your comment. I think my comment above applies to your question as well. I would speak with cyclists and see what their reactions would be to being charged for using your app. Of course everyone likes free things, but it’s important to ask the question. Are there competitor apps that don’t charge cyclists to use the features your apps offers? If so, why would a user want to pay to use your app? What’s your app’s core asset or value that would drive someone to pay to use it? Traditionally, sports and fitness-related apps are free with a subscription model tied to upgraded features. Perhaps cyclists are interested in having a feature that provides a statistical analysis of their performance based on their past couple of rides. Or maybe if your app integrates APIs from wearables or Apple’s HealthKit, it can provide further insights to cyclists on the estimated energy output or performance they should expect during their upcoming group ride. Your potential app users (cyclists) should be your best friends right now! What problems or challenges do they currently have, and how can you create a core loop in your app that solves these challenges for them?

Hey Christopher, that’s an interesting app idea! While it is challenging to understand the ins and outs of your app from where I stand, I’m a big believer in getting feedback from users or potential users. If you haven’t done so already, speak with as many student athletes and parents of student athletes as possible about your app. Ask them if they see value in the things you’re planning to deliver in the app. Would they pay for the “10 buttons” with the content? If they wouldn’t, what type of content would they pay for? Reports indicate that on average ~5% of app users make in-app purchases, so it’s crucial to get feedback from those who do to understand how you can find and engage more of them.

And remember, your app doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect at launch. It has to function without crashing or bugs, but you can let users tell you what they want from your app by watching how they interact with it. Review your app analytics to see where users are spending most of their time and where they drop off. Reach out to those engaged users and see what their feedback is.

Who knows? Maybe those users will give you nuggets of information that completely change your business model. For example, maybe down the line student athletes can leverage their success on the field (points scored, assists given, minutes played, etc.) into in-app currency to purchase these “10 buttons with content” in your app. If these students prove to do better in school, you can make a case to have the school implement the app and promote it to student athletes, therefore increasing your user acquisition.

Just some thoughts…hope these help!

I am in a similar boat. We are launching a sports educational app for student athletes but aren’t directly targeting schools yet. Our current model is freemium with in-app purchases. Basically the app is free, there are 5 free topics (that contain 4-5 levels within each topic). Then there are another 10 buttons (that contain 4-5 levels each topic). Our current pricing strategy is that the parent/student/athlete can unlock 1 button or unlock all at a big discounted price (to make it a no brainer).

This is still our MVP, so we feel we need to prove this concept before we move to a subscription model, then we can sell to schools etc at a premium price.

I know it is hard to give an answer, but any feedback on what i proposed would be GREATLY appreciated!

Hello Malik! This is great question that many developers find themselves asking all the time! There are several different models that you could look at:
1. Subscription based model: If you think schools should pay for the annual cost of the app, we recommend analyzing what exactly the school will be getting in return. Are you providing a service or tool that is not offered currently by any other company? If so, what price points are the other companies quoting for these services and tools? If you’re providing something that no other company currently offers, and you’ve proven that schools, students, and the parents of the students are in need of your app, then you have an opportunity to capitalize on this with offering an exclusive, competitive price.
2. Freemium model with in-app purchases: A tried and true method is to provide an app for free with in-app purchases (IAPs). Offer exclusive or additional content within your app for a price that the parents are willing to pay for.
3. Freemium model with ads: Another method is to provide all content for free in the app, but integrate ads in a tasteful manner. If you can estimate how many Daily Active Users the app will have and what the average user session will be, you can start to project revenue from in-app advertising.

Thanks Andrew!

Thanks, Ilene!