If you are preparing to launch a site that offers video games to your visitors, you may be wondering how you can make money from the site without turning off potential gamers. While gamers have experienced marketing in games before, you do not want to use monetization techniques that interfere with their gameplay or user experience. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can earn money on your video game site that can be seamlessly incorporated into the gamer's experience.
1. Have Pay-Per-View or Pay-Per-Click Ads Running in Inconspicuous Areas on Your Site
One way you can earn money on your gaming site is to have different ads displayed in the background. There are two types of ads from which you can choose, and each one has its advantages and disadvantages.
Pay-per-view ads can be placed in inconspicuous areas across multiple pages and can be in the form of static banners or videos. These types of ads pay you a small percentage of penny whenever the ad displays.
This passive method of advertising does not require that the gamer click or interact with the ad in any way. However, these types of ads pay less per view than the other type of ad.
As opposed to pay-per-view ads, pay-per-click ads pay you whenever gamers click on the banner. While these types of ads pay more, they do require interaction by the gamer, and they pay per group of clicks, such as per 1000 clicks.
However, the drawback to either of these types of ads is that they can become obtrusive to both the design of your site and to the gamers' experience. Be careful that you do not place too many ads, so you can avoid irritating the players.
2. Make Incentives for Players to View Ad Videos
While you may be wary of placing ads on your website, you can use them to your advantage by making them part of the gameplay. Since many videos require that the user watches them in their entirety or for a set amount of seconds, you can use the videos as part of an incentive for the gamers.
For example, you can offer a weapon or skill that can be used one time in exchange for watching a short video. Even though you are not forcing the ad on the user, they will be more inclined to watch because they get something in return for it.
You can set up these incentives on a one-time basis or start having a daily rewards program that offers a small gift or coins they can use in the game's shop. You can easily set this type of system up with monetization software.
3. Offer a Free Basic Membership with the Option to Upgrade to a Premium Level
Another way to earn money from your site also allows you to have cash up front instead of waiting for your ad companies to pay. It also brings in more gamers to your site because you are offering free basic membership.
When you offer free membership, the gamer signs up with limited access to the games to try them out. You can also set them up to run more ads than premium memberships. Then, you can offer an upgrade to a paid premium membership that opens up more options for games. And, depending on whether you have tiered memberships, you can have the top level remove ads for your up-front paying users.
Using one or all of the above techniques can help increase your chances of making good money while running your video game site. Before the launch of your site, contact a business that offers game monetization software to discuss the various techniques for earning money when you provide a video game to users.