Framework: RevMob

Generating revenue from free applications is difficult. One great way to do this, aside from In App Purchases, is advertising. Advertising not only helps to generate revenue directly, but it can also serve as a constant reminder for your users that they should upgrade to a paid version of your app. The annoyance should be just enough to get them to want to pay for your game, without disrupting their experience and making them hate your app. Learn more about advertising strategies in a previous post Monetize Your App: Ad Supported.

The advertiser that I use in my apps is called RevMob. RevMob provides full screen ads that show something like “DOWNLOAD A FREE GAME”. The generic, seemingly exciting message is supposed to win the users’ curiosity enough for them to click on the ad. When they download the app that is shown, you get paid in the range of $1-$3. RevMob is a fairly new platform but is growing fast. It’s getting rave reviews by developers that it has the highest eCPM in the ad industry.

Setting up the RevMob in Your App

Follow the steps below to get started with RevMob:

1. Visit www.revmob.com and sign up, don’t worry it’s FREE!
2. Click the “Apps” tab then “Add app” and Select the Platform your app is on (iOS App).
3. Enter the Name of your application.
4. Make sure you copy the unique application ID (APP ID), you’re going to need it soon.
5. Download the latest RevMob iOS SDK.
6. Drag and drop the directory RevMobAds.framework inside one file group of your project on XCode (usually, “Frameworks”).
7. Be sure to include the frameworks SystemConfiguration.framework, StoreKit.framework and AdSupport.framework that are not included by default. You can do that by clicking in the project root > Build Phases > Link Binary With Libraries > Click in the + button.
8. Add the following code into your App Delegate.

   #import 
   - (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application 
   {
        [RevMobAds startSessionWithAppID:@"copy your RevMob App ID here"];
        //your code
   }
   

   The code above initializes the RevMob framework in your app. Be sure you add the correct APP ID for the application you setup on the RevMob website. Don’t put in the specific ad unit ID. The only ID you ever need to input is the APP ID, all of the banners will be called using the default methods that don’t require IDs.

9. Insert a Full Screen ad within your application

   #import 
   - (void) displayAd {
        [[RevMobAds session] showFullscreen];
   }
   

   Above you’ll see the basic implementation for adding a Full Screen ad to your app. Be sure to include the RevMob framework at the top of the View Controller you are inserting the ad into. As another example see how to insert a Banner ad using the code below.

10. Insert a Banner ad within your application

    #import 
    - (void) displayAd {
         [[RevMobAds session] showBanner];
    }
    

There are a couple of other ad units available such as Links, Buttons and Popups. You can read more information about integrating these in the RevMob SDK Documentation.

RevMob is one of the easiest SDKs to integrate into your app, so why not do it and start making money!