Why An Educational App May Be A Profitable Option

Educational apps comprise a largely undervalued market. This could potentially be because they are also extremely tricky to appeal to mobile app users. If an app is too boring, then no one will want to use it. But, if it lacks too much educational value, then parents probably won’t endorse its use for their kids. While there certainly are many effective educational and knowledge stimulating apps available on app stores, compared to other categories, such as social networks, educational apps simply do not produce the same numbers. And while the profit potential may yield to such popular apps, those with an educational emphasis can still make a good profit if targeted toward the right demographics.

Educational Gamification

Gamification can involve intertwining aspects of gaming into a mobile app, which sometimes may have a purpose more than to just entertain. For educational gamification, the goal is to educate the user, but also entertain and keep them interested through the use of gaming. Apps such as Lumosity effectively combine the knowledge of education with the entertainment value of gamification in an app that users can enjoy. The Lumosity Brain Trainer app is so popular, in fact, it has received four stars on Apple’s App Store, with over 6,500 users providing reviews. The app is primarily marketed as a way for users to stimulate their slowly deteriorating minds. And while the thought of such is scary, it is also enough to get people to use the app. What’s more, Lumosity is offered for free, which means it likely makes a significant portion of its revenue from advertising revenue, but perhaps most importantly, it does so without alienating the user.

If you are looking for a way to profit off of an educational app, then look no further than the seemingly antagonistic combination of education and gamification in one app. Your users will surely be attracted to the app's educational value and underlying entertainment incentives.

Appealing To Children

In terms of receiving educational value from a mobile app, the majority of the market appeals to children. For instance, if you give a third grade student the option to learn out of a textbook or on an iPad using one of the many fun apps, they will almost assuredly pick the latter. With that said, children are not the ones doing the purchasing or downloading. So, while you must ensure that your app entertains kids when they actually get to play it, you must first appeal its educational value to the parent. The parents have the ultimate say as to which apps their children use, so if your app does not instill confidence that their child will learn, then they will likely pass. Similarly, if your app bores the student, both the parent and student will lose interest.

Conclusion

Intertwining educational value and entertainment in an app can be a difficult union to find. Like many effective combinations, the more you work at it, the more you will perfect it. As you appeal your app's wonderful creation of education and gamification, aim to please both adults and children. For an app like Lumosity, keeping the adult brain fresh and a child's developing is the goal. For an app geared toward children, think of your mission as keeping the parents and kids happy with education and entertainment intricately woven in one app.