BradPace.com

Many challenges of apps and widgets

• difficult to monetize
• low barriers to entry
• metrics and analytics inconsistencies
• spammy
• cost per installation
• disposable and low value
• copy cat apps. many are the same

How do you measure the ROI of a widget or with a distributed app? Many things cant be measured and the items that can be measured are hard to quatify the ROI. No direct correlation between ad spend and revenue yet.

How do you protect your brand with widgets? This can be difficult because users can add widgets to any site. Ultimately the consumer owns the brand. You cant control where the widget can be placed. So just let customers promote your product.

Viral widgets are very hard to build. That is one of the big problems with widgets. So how to you promote your widget? You have to reach out to users where they are looking for widgets. I just installed netvibes.com today and started playing with it.

How do you make money with widgets? Social app market has matured quickly. Widget space has grown more slowly but continues to have a huge reach of users. If you distribute your widget with the idea that it is an ad you can see success. One model is
CPI (cost per install). This is how many apps and widgets are making money now. The problem with this is currently apps are promoting apps and it doesnt seem sustainable. One comment was this is VCs paying VCs. Most cpi companies want to get to more of a cpm model. Ultimately it comes down to the developers coming up with unique revenue models.

What makes a good widget? Understand from end to end what a widget campaign entails. From conseption to construction and distribution to analytics and tracking on the back end. Make sure the entire thing is well defined before you start. Start with an objective. Is it to make money or to get brand awareness or to install on their page. Identify who you are and who your audience is before you start. Then try and identify and try and connect with your audience.

What are the biggest mis conceptions with widgets? People assume virality. Make sure that virality is truly built in. Be true to who you are and what you do. Ebay is a good example in that their facebook widget was a flop but using widgetbox has been successful. Because the sellers want to put the info on their own sites. If you build it they will come doesn’t always work. Also don’t mix desktop and social networking functionality. Follow the “does this make my day” test. Does it put a smile on someones face? If so then it may be viral. Have real expectations when you start.