Sports applications and apps for sports fans, though popular still cause a number of difficulties for developers. Is it worthwhile to start developing a product that will be popular in a narrow circle of fans of a certain sport or even a specific team? What functionality must the application have, so that it can interest users? Perhaps, the most important question is how to earn money with the application for sports fans?
Choosing ways for the monetization of any application is a separate serious problem, but without profits, it makes no sense even to begin the development process. However, let us review everything in order.
The purpose of this article is to discuss how to make an app for sports fans and specifics of such software.
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What Can Help Attract the Attention of Fans?
To make a mobile app for sports team fans successful, first, you need to focus on the interests and needs of potential users. Of course, in order to interest the buyer maximally, one must seriously study the sport or even the specific team, its features, history and even slang. While preparing to develop an app for football club fans or app for soccer team fans, it is important to know the sports terminology and to use in the text content slang words related to a particular team and the sport as a whole. This approach will surely help to attract the target audience. Being an offshore software development company with years of experience at the market under our belt, we can speak of this confidently. One of our current projects is an app for NFL football teams. Even the preliminary customer feedback clearly displays that fans gladly download and use this application daily.
However, it is not enough just to show that you are in accord with customers. The main things in the application are its functions and capabilities.
Communication
The first need of fans of any sport or team is communication. Even before the advent of the internet, information technology and mobile applications for iOS and Android, fans joined clubs by interests to communicate on common topics, discuss matches, players and teams. The implementation of the fans’ need for communication is perhaps the mandatory function in the application, no matter which of the features of the application will be the main ones. However, do not bet on the chat application for the fans of the team: in the modern world of social media, these people have long ago found each other and united in groups on the network.
Helpful Information
Of course, sports fans can fully realize their need to get info about the favorite team on the Internet. The question arises: why make an app for sports club fans that does everything they can do without it? The answer is simple: unlike information resources, communities and interest groups in social networks, your application can give the opportunity to get “Everything at once and in one place”:
– Information about players and the team, including biographies and history;
– Match statistics;
– League rankings;
– Booking forecasts;
– Links to all the team news published at various resources, events, and campaigns.
Entertainment
Sports fans are very gambling people. Applications dedicated to a favorite sports team that employ gaming mechanics can be very attractive and popular. This can be match replays, where the user can experience the flow of the game from the player’s point of view, or educational games, thanks to which beginners can better understand the rules of the game.
The possibility of a multiplayer game be it step-by-step or real time is another good idea to attract users to your product. Games can also be a good foundation for monetizing your application.
What Else can be Useful for the Fans?
Symbolism and color scheme of the team is an excellent tool in the hands of the developer. Various unique emoji and colorful stickers, especially when they can be transferred to other platforms (for example, social networks, chat, WhatsApp, etc.) – is an opportunity to attract new fans to your product. Regular add-ons, updates and additional emoji packages with custom design can also increase the audience of your users. In addition, paid VIP packages and functions are a good way to receive the revenue from the application.
What are the Benefits for Developers?
For any application owner, the most important issue is naturally the return they will get from the product. Developing an application for fans is a very complex process, requiring careful study of additional information: from the features and rules of the sport to the biographies of all the team members. This requires resources and, first of all, time, which is expensive by itself. Can the application for the sports fans recoup the costs of the development through the monetization of the finished product?
The answer is yes. You can monetize any high-quality product, and applications for sports fans provide additional income opportunities.
Possible Monetization Methods
The first and one of the most profitable methods of application monetization besides selling the application itself in stores is advertising. In the presence of a large audience both the placement of advertising and paid premium accounts, for which ads are disabled are a great way to earn money.
For informational applications, it will be appropriate to have paid subscriptions with additional functionality and capabilities.
Monetization of gaming applications (especially with the possibility of joint participation of many players or the opportunity to share results and achievements) is a real gold mine. To receive profits, you can use as additional game content (new levels, matches, advanced “equipment”, etc.), and additional opportunities in the game for VIP accounts.
Implementation of sports betting in your product is another possibility to profit.
An audience consisting of fans of one team is also a way to profit by selling various team-themed merchandise such as clothes with prints of team symbols and popular players. Remember: the more unique is the merchandise, the more value it will bear for buyers. Include in the list of application features the ability to search for products dedicated to the team at the e-commerce sites and purchase them directly and your product will certainly pay off and bring profit.
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How to Make an App for Sports Fans: is it Worth Taking on the Development?
The question is very complicated and it is very difficult to give an unambiguous answer to it. Certainly, sports fans can become a strong, large and loyal audience for an application dedicated to their favorite team. It is no secret that such an audience is very likely to bring greater profit to the creators of the application when monetizing it. The only question is if you would be able to come up with and develop a product that will attract the users you need?
Besides the point that the applications for the fans must be of high quality and maximally trouble-free, it must be efficient, useful and interesting. To create such a product, you must very carefully approach to the study of the needs and interests of potential users. What do the fans want? How to pique their interest? What are their objectives? What features of the application will intrigue them? To answer these questions, it’s best to be a fan of the team, at fans of which a product is directed, or to conduct a serious study of the market and potential consumers.
On the other hand, knowing and understanding your audience gives a definite plus to developers. With a responsible approach to the idea and product development, establishing feedback from users, you can create an application “developed by fans for fans”, and this is almost a 100% guarantee of the popularity.
Be creative, understand the needs and interests of your users and your product is doomed to success, and you – to high profits.