Owning your own custom app as an influencer can feel like a far-off goal, but in reality, it’s very achievable. In our experience as a venture studio and mobile development agency, if you have around 100,000 followers, you could make an extra $50,000 with the same content on your own custom app.
Having your following depend entirely on a third-party platform can be more of a risk than you realize. Not only are you missing out on potential profits that are being eaten up by the platform fees, but it also leaves you with little control over your audience. You’re constantly competing with both the algorithm and other influencers all trying to grab more views.
The solution? Take your audience somewhere else: to a space made especially just for them.
By working with a venture studio like ours that has more than a decade of experience launching sixty apps (including for other influencers like you), you can reap many advantages with the same growing community you have right now.
In this article, we’ll go over the benefits of your own custom app, why this is the natural next step for influencers, and how to achieve this goal.
The first and perhaps most powerful advantage of a custom app is the ability to engage your followers with none of the competition. Using a platform like Instagram, Facebook or TikTok means you are stuck with an algorithm that may not always prioritize your content.
With a custom app on the other hand, it’s all you all the time. None of the competition from other influencers, and you get to be in complete creative control. For your followers, it’s just as great they want a place to find exclusive content that lets them know you care right on their home screen.
The next big advantage for influencers that have their own app is that you get to control your ads and get paid directly. And that’s not the only monetary difference between having your own app versus using a third-party app. With your own app, you can charge via subscriptions, in-app purchases, or more.
We have seen influencer apps produce $50,000 per month from the same audience from TikTok and Instagram of just 300k followers (and we even do payment plans to match your Revenue once the product is released). All because they were able to take more control of how they monetized their existing audiences.
Next up, there’s the key to growing your brand: analytics. You need metrics that can show you how, when, and where you are growing and performing your best. Third-party analytics can give you an idea, but when you have a custom app built you can track much more data than you’d get access to otherwise.
Many successful influencers have been able to leverage their own custom apps to great success.
Bobby Parrish has a YouTube channel with over 3.5 million followers that mainly covers food (recipes), health, and grocery store shopping guides. His free grocery shopping app has over 200K downloads! He keeps followers highly engaged and receives revenue through partnership deals within the app while also promoting his own brand and products.
Kayla Itsines is one of the most popular female fitness influencers, with over 12.5 million Instagram followers. She has built quite a strong fitness-lovers community and is the co-founder of the workout app “Sweat”. The Sweat app makes 99.5 Million per year from in-app subscriptions
With almost 500K Instagram followers, Michelle Tan is the face of Nom Nom Paleo where she talks about all things Paleo and shares delicious recipes. She made a two-time Webby award-winning iOS cooking app that receives around 7,000 monthly downloads. Michelle Grosses $30K-$40K per month
All of the above means they are able to attract new followers and receive revenue from in-app subscriptions and partnership deals that are within the app.
The problem is when you develop a mobile app when you are an influencer on the App Store (Or Google Play) you will have to give 30% of your Revenue to Apple and Google. Recent laws have allowed you to avoid these fees and part of our service is helping you navigate this to ensure you maximize your sales.
Brands are not created in large offices. They are created by people like you that have a personality, charisma, and character. Your audience loves you for who you are - so you should create a space for them to feel exclusive with your content.
Our venture studio is the leading mobile app development agency in Boston, and it does not matter what industry you are creating your content in. We create the custom app to match your content and your audience (this is why we build custom apps).
Not only can we develop your app, but we connect with Stripe, Apple, and Google Play to ensure your users have the easiest way to sign up for your app.
Being in creative control means you are also in control of features. You can increase engagement across the app by awarding those users that are using the app the most. Give out prizes and show your appreciation, or activate awareness with smart notifications to your free users to get them to convert.
Remember: custom apps are the only way influencers should sell their content. Why? Because you have a brand and cannot fit into a box. Your brand makes you money - it should feel like a billion-dollar company - not look like everyone else.
Reach out to us today to schedule a discovery call - we’ll ideate with you, tell you what’s possible, and help you get your app project over the finish line. All you have to do is send us an email or click the link right here.
