Kylie Jenner App Revenue – Subscription Models Crush It In The App Store

It’s no surprise that celebrities have taken notice of the app store.
Last year Kim Kardashian’s app minted (ahem) $200 million bucks for Glu Mobile. 
Not bad.
Of course, sister Kylie Jenner had to out-do the older sibling once and for all with her own app (that is now more popular than Facebook and Instagram on the app store).
But that’s not the best part.
Whoever implemented this monetization strategy is a genius.
….or maybe an evil genius. 
Check this out:

Monday September 14, 2015

App goes live:
kylie jenner
Goes to the top of the charts (no shocker there).

September 15-20, 2015

Users have the following experience.
Create “Free” account which then prompts you to agree to a $2.99/mo subscription with the first 7 days free:
kylie jenner subscription
So all those 14 year old girls who just downloaded the app click “Continue.”
Duh.

September 21, 2015

Remember all those nice people who downloaded the app on launch day?
Time to pay the piper.
7 days later, all those “free trials” switch on the $2.99/mo subscription and charge the Apple ID associated.
If you think people were smart enough to cancel, think again:
kylie grossing
That is TOP 8 GROSSING IN THE USA APP STORE.
By our best estimates, that’s about $200,000-$300,000/day.
Like all subscription businesses, that’s just going to snowball.
 

The Subscription Model Just Dropped the Hammer On the App Store

Everyone in the internet marketing world knows subscriptions are a great business model, but no one has ever tried this other than apps like the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal and Spotify.
But we may now be seeing something new happen.
While the Kylie Jenner App example (in my opinion) is ethically questionable, the results from a pure monetization standpoint are staggering.
Keep your eye open for app developers to start leveraging this type of business model. The Kylie Jenner app revenue gives us insight into how much more potential this model has.
 
Now, I need to get back to Kylie’s latest makeup tutorial.
Carter
 
 

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