Make the most out of your app!

Is it worth it? Many times - from our potential clients – we’ve heard the following phrases: “I would like to build my own app." "I am a recipe creator/blogger/nutritionist and I have a great app idea." "I’m going to hire some programmers and build my own app...” Although it might be a good idea to build your own app let me share with you my story. Hopefully you can learn from it...

It takes us only 2 weeks to create an app. After that, adding your content can generate new revenue. Before doing so, it is important to plan the right business model and consider how to sell your app to your follower base. We have worked with several clients in the industry and can say that not everything works and selecting the right business model is crucial for generating significant revenue. Subscription/Ads/ One-time fee One option is to combine a subscription or ads with a one-time fee. Ads can be annoying, but you can generate more income if you combine a freemium-premium model. Connect an ad platform with your app and offer a low-fee monthly subscription. This gives users the option to have a freemium version or pay for a premium version without ads. This generates double the revenue. Trial combined with Premium Another option is to offer a trial period combined with a premium model. This allows users to test your app before paying for it. This business model only works if you have personalized content or a high-value training program. The downside of this model is that users only pay when they are highly committed, and the app is important to them. Simple Premium A simple premium model is to show the value of your app and offer freebies without giving access to the app. Users should be convinced that they want the app before downloading it. At the time of download, they should be sure that the app will be beneficial to them. It can also be helpful to try to convince users to buy a longer subscription than just one month. Premium with 100% guarantee pay back Another effective model is the premium model with a 100% guarantee of payment. People like guarantees, and while there is no trial period, the guarantee allows users to ask for their money back, which is usually less than 0.1%. One-time fee A one-time fee model can also work well. You can sell the app for a one-time fee and offer extra content for additional payments. Based on our clients' stats, we have found that the best model is the premium model with a 100% guarantee of payment and a 6-month or 1-year subscription period. The price range for this model is between $19 and $59 for a yearly subscription fee.

The first Wasabi restaurant opened its doors in 2004 in Budapest and has experienced uninterrupted success since then. The growth of this restaurant chain is impressive, with 25 locations across the country. The Wasabi Restaurant is a pioneer in providing accurate information about nutrition and allergens to customers. They were the first restaurant chain in Hungary to start using our spin-off product, called RestoGuide. The PRO side of RestoGuide is a user-friendly web-based platform where restaurants can manage their recipes, menus, and create dish collections with automatically calculated nutrition and allergen data. It also includes the option to print the recipes to PDF. The RestoGuide app complements the PRO side by providing a social aspect for restaurant customers. The app allows guests to search for specific foods and check reviews of dishes and restaurants. It also provides nutrition and allergen data for the foods. The RestoGuide was developed with the input of chefs, dietitians, and IT professionals and was designed with the best practices and functionalities in mind. As a result, it is an exceptional software for restaurant management.

"Tyson & Blake is pleased to announce our investment in The Mealplanner Technologies, a Finnish start-up with an operational team in Budapest, Hungary. Over the past year, we have worked closely with the Mealplanner Executive team and board to understand their business, which combines platform technology and nutritional expertise to build healthtech, foodtech, and wellness solutions.  The company helps people with chronic diseases manage their diet through engaging educational content and recipes, while also allowing them to track their food intake. It also offers white labelling opportunities for restaurants, food delivery, coaches, and vloggers. We support The Mealplanner's vision of making it easier for people to make more informed decisions about their diet in an easy-to-use and engaging format, and we look forward to helping them on their journey," said Mark O'Dwyer, CEO of Tyson & Blake.

Our spin-off, Mira Health, has acquired the largest Hungarian Facebook group with over 44,000 followers. Insulin resistance is the gateway to diabetes and many other diet-related chronic diseases. Managing this condition through diet is crucial. The Mira Health app helps insulin resistance (IR) patients manage their diet , offers specific meal plans, recipes, and educational content, and helps track their carbohydrate intake. The purpose of owning the Facebook group is to start a pilot program in Hungary to support IR patients who are currently trying to advise each other without any professional knowledge, just based on their own experiences. We hope to achieve a 10-20% conversion rate with our pilot campaign.

An app allows for collection of more data and better design of offerings

In the past 5 years, as the influencer business has grown dramatically, we have also seen a shift in how readers/users consume content. There are two important trends to consider when you are in the content creation business: 1. Instead of reading, people quickly scan through content Few people will read a 2-page article unless it is very interesting. If a blog post is about preparing a pie crust, readers will immediately go to the recipe. If they are unsure about the preparation, they will look at the pictures you include in the post. But reading through long text? No way! Therefore, hiding product names for promotion in the text is almost useless. 2. Video creation has become easier When it comes to video and vlog content, people no longer care about the quality. They want to see real people in real situations. You can have a low budget and a one-man camera show, and they will still love you if the content is authentic and reflects real life. Therefore, starting to create video content might be a good idea. We see many content creators who had a great 5-figure income in the past but are now losing their user base because of the increasing number of new entrants with fresh video content. People are not loyal. If they see something greater, funnier, or more admirable, they will turn their back on you. If you stay lazy and think that the same ad revenue will continue to flow in, you are making a mistake. If you see a stable decline in your ad revenue, it is time to act before it is too late. Change your content, refresh your website, and create an app. There are thousands of cooking videos available now. There are also many training programs on the web for losing weight, building muscle, increasing focus, and becoming a minimalist. People browse through these options, but how can you keep them loyal? How can you ensure that they check your newest content and see your sponsors' ads? Having your own app is a great way to do this. Create an app while you still have a user base to convert. Make your app simple with relevant content. Analyze your readers/users and share easy-to-digest content. If you are in the food blogging or recipe business, just share your recipes, create meal plans, and add recipe videos shot in your kitchen. If you are in the fitness or wellness industry, create programs that help change wrong habits and support changes. Make changes in people's lives directly, and they will honor it with loyalty and referrals.

Step 1: Check your existing content and decide what you can move to an app. This could include recipes, e-book content, blog posts, meal plans, training programs, or other things. Consider what features your users might appreciate, such as a shopping list, tracking, or messaging. Step 2: Decide what you want to offer for free and what business model you want to use, whether it be a monthly subscription or one-time fees. Step 3: Review your content and create new material as needed. Step 4: Plan your marketing campaign for your existing followers and user base, as well as to acquire new followers. Step 5: Review your brand elements, including your logo and colors. Once you have completed these steps, you are well on your way to launching your app. With a base of 100,000 followers, you can expect anywhere from 500-1000 subscriptions, which can steadily grow over time. Don't miss this opportunity, as it can easily bring in a few thousand dollars per month. We have a client who had 10,000 e-book sales previously, but when she launched her app, she made $30,000 with her first campaign!