How to Use Bots to Make Money and All the Latest Trends in Bot Development
When you have created a thing you want to be praised, want to be appreciated want people to love your creation. Who wants to be Van Gogh and become famous after death? Definitely, not us! So, what do we need to know to develop a really eagerly sought software? Maybe, to build something even better than an app? A Bot? Yes, let's talk about bot development and how to create an outstanding one and make money on it.
Now, you have a very essential question why I am offering you to create a bot instead of mobile applications, which was probably your first thought. Well, apparently because there is a risk and a big one that bots will actually replace applications and take their place, however, the opinions vary. Let's study the pros and cons.
Bots vs apps, will the bot store replace the app store?
Can you remember when was the last time you turned on your PC to search something on the Internet? Neither do I. If I need to find some information, I grab my smartphone. And something tells me I'm not the only person who does the same. If we need to book a hotel, we open Tripadvisor app. If we need a taxi, we open Uber. If we need some fresh music, we open Pandora Radio app. Internet browsers is a relic of the past. We all seek for simplicity. Comfort. And speed. And if you believe that application is an answer, you are wrong. The evolution hasn't stopped. Here are the reasons why bots have all chances to beat apps
Bots and apps comparison
Let's look closer to each element:
Size
The statistics says that if your app is bigger than 50 Mbytes, it is less likely to be downloaded. The average size of a bot is much smaller. Which makes the app with the same functionality but bigger size less attractive from the point of view of a common user.
Simple installation
Not the most forcible argument, still these days the rule the easier the better works in the measure never given before.
Data sharing simplicity
There are no forms to fill, no complicated queries you don't know the answer to. What can be easier than communication with a person? The task of a bot to give an illusion that you're talking to a person.
User-friendly interface
When you have developed an app, you need to create a tutorial to it, so even a granny knows how to work it. When you've created a bot, granny already knows how to use it.
Human-like interaction
And the biggest advantage of the bots is the feeling that you are interacting not with a piece of software but with a human being and the more you talk to it, the better it performs needed tasks.
Fast development
Fast, easy and cheap to create in comparison with application development service. Moreover, the ready-made solutions offered by platforms such as Telegram and Facebook Messenger can help you create your bot even without a line of code!
Knowing all that, are bots capable of replacing apps? No. We can't imagine our world without video and photo editors, games and social media in our handsets, so why do we have to? And no bot is able to change it.
But! What we have to be prepared to is that bots will release us from lots and lots of applications, whose job is to provide users with information, process orders and perform small tasks. It means that bots are going to kill the unneeded applications, as they can do the same job faster, better and in a mode which is more preferable to a user. In the end of this battle, only the unique and highly efficient apps will survive and the majority of them will include a chatbot in their system.
Discover how much does it cost to build a chatbot in our new article
How to make money with bots? The best Chatbot monetization strategies
Now, when we made sure that we need to shift our attention to the bots development, we suggest pondering the easiest and the most profitable ways to monetize our bots. There are lots of variants, but we've chosen the ones that fit the modern trends and will gain speed in the future. Here we go, the top 5 best monetization strategies for bots
Best ways to make money with a bot
Lead generation. As we believe, one of the most perspective ways to earn money with bots. Such approach would fit the bots that provide information in a tourism, law, constructing and even fitness spheres.
Learn how to make more money with an app in our guide from Cleveroad
How it works: a user wants to consult about the regulations of the law of a divorce or inheritance process. Bot provides all needed information and asks a customer if he wants to talk to a specialist. In a case of an affirmative response, the system passes all the collected information along with the contacts of a lead and passes it to your partner. A nice advantage for the user is that he doesn't have to repeat all the information one more time because your partner will get this data from the bot.
Affiliate Marketing and Sponsorship. As always these strategies work pretty well. The secret is to offer users goods and services similar to yours or very close to the subject of the bot. For instance, if your bot gives decor advice, it can suggest purchasing a chair or wallpapers in a shop-partner. But remember, frequent suggestions to buy something usually scare people off or annoy them, so it the advice should be reasonable.
Survey and statistics bot. Is a relatively new way to make money using bots, however, the principle is very easy to apply. A bot collects some information based on users' replies and provides it in a form of statistics, which can be sold. For example, your bot helps to sell cars, it collects all the data about car brands, it's age, cost and other information about customers' vehicles. After processing you have a database of car drivers. Yet, remember about privacy policy and inform users that the information can be used for statistics data analysis.
B2B Bots. You can create a bot that will solve specific tasks of a particular business group. For example shopping chatbot, whose design can be easily modified according to the branding style of a particular shop. Your offer should also include adjusting services, so your buyer gets a ready to work program. It is the simplest example, to tell the truth, there are lots of chat bots like this. Moreover, such bot can be easily created by a non-programmer. So, you can expect for good revenue only if your bot is unique and solves imperative business issues.
Consulting bot. In this model, a user pays for each conversation with a bot. The program can offer psychological help or mechanical advice. But! Your program has to stand out from other similar free bots with it's highly qualified professional replies. To develop such bot you will need to spend a long time on the planning stage and maintain a very accurate development. The bot needs to use Artificial Intelligence principles to be smart enough to attract customers.
These are not the only ways to monetize your app. Yet, the most important here is not only to choose the strategy, but also to build a really useful, recognizable program for your customers. To do that, let's find out what else you have to keep in mind.
What are the latest Chatbot trends?
The world of technology spins fast. New bots appear every day but not all of them become popular. The first bots were claimed to be dumb and some of the modern still are. To develop a really useful, smooth and smart bot which you can make money on, you need to understand the trends, which help build an unbelievable chatbot to impress the world!
Latest trends in Chatbot development
Simplicity
As we already mentioned, bots gained their popularity because of simplicity and usefulness. It is even more then trend, it's a fundamental rule you have to follow. Nevertheless, some elements of a usual program or application should remain here. Especially such buttons as Main Menu and Start Over must be clearly seen on any screen.
Intelligence
There are two types of bots. The first one works on specific commands, the other type uses machine learning algorithm. Guess which one is more popular! We like to talk to bots when they do what we need and do it fast, however, we like when they joke as well, when they remember us and our previous conversations when they know what we like and dislike.
Brevity
All users (including me) hate reading long messages. It's not only boring, it's inefficient. The maximum size of a bot's reply should be about 60 - 120 characters. Not more. Otherwise, a user will ignore it, get irritated and curse you and whole your family for the horrendous chatbot you've developed (joking).
Watch our tips to choose the best monetization strategy for your app
Personality
After you have defined the tasks your bot will perform and the target audience you want to cover, the bot's personality creation wouldn't go amiss. Think of a movie character, famous artist or create a new persona which wouldn't annoy your customers and would be nice to look at.
No quick replies
Why? Didn't you tell us that it is a fantastic feature for messengers? Yes, we did. Yet, messengers and bots are different and a conversation with friends and with bot differs to the same degree. The quick replies give an image of limited choice. Talking to a bot user wants to make sure that chatbot understands his queries in any form, he wants to make sure that the bot is a clever guy he can chat to.
Inform of delays
I'm pretty sure you are aware of a fact that users are never patient. Maximum that they can bear is ten seconds expecting a reply. If your bot needs more time to deliver an answer, you need to tell a user about it, so he would continue waiting instead of rebooting the program. Calm your customer with a phrase (not with a loading icon) that everything is okay and the information will be presented within a minute or that the reply will take a little bit longer this time.
Be careful with humour.
Humour is a vital part for many bots. They assure a user that the program is clever enough and it's easy and fun to talk with it. But it's also a huge pitfall that can work not for you. Firstly, dump humour will only disappoint your customer. Secondly, an inappropriate joke can offence a person. And thirdly, if you develop a bot for a banking system, humour will be absolutely impolitic here. To avoid these issues think twice about the purpose and target auditory of your bot and only then add some jokes into the system.
Summing up, we want to emphasize, that the money making process depends on many factors and the biggest one is you! The project itself is a combination of various elements and tendencies. Your task is to mix them wisely to create a funny, useful, highly-efficient bot, people will enjoy talking to. Define the target audience, set the tasks your bot has to solve, invent a nice appearance and face of your bot. Make it look and act like a well-bred highly trained English butler, easy to talk to and funny to spend your spare time with. Contact us to find out how to maximize revenue with your bot.
There are several ways how bots can help you make money:
- Lead generation
- Affiliate marketing
- Survey and statistics
- B2B bots
- Consulting bots
For example, a user wants to consult about the regulations of the law of a divorce or inheritance process. Bot provides all needed information and asks a customer if he wants to talk to a specialist. In a case of an affirmative response, the system passes all the collected information along with the contacts of a lead and passes it to your partner. A nice advantage for the user is that he doesn't have to repeat all the information one more time because your partner will get this data from the bot.
Here, the strategy is to offer users goods and services similar to yours or very close to the subject of the bot. For instance, if your bot gives decor advice, it can suggest purchasing a chair or wallpapers in a shop-partner. But remember, frequent suggestions to buy something usually scare people off or annoy them, so the advice should be reasonable.
Is a relatively new way to make money using bots, however, the principle is very easy to apply. A bot collects some information based on users' replies and provides it in a form of statistics, which can be sold. For example, your bot helps to sell cars, it collects all the data about car brands, it's age, cost and other information about customers' vehicles. After processing you have a database of car drivers.
For example, a shopping chatbot, whose design can be easily modified according to the branding style of a particular shop. Your offer should also include adjusting services, so your buyer gets a ready to work program. It is the simplest example, to tell the truth, there are lots of chatbots like this. Moreover, such a bot can be easily created by a non-programmer. So, you can expect for good revenue only if your bot is unique and solves imperative business issues.
In this model, a user pays for each conversation with a bot. The program can offer psychological help or mechanical advice. But! Your program has to stand out from other similar free bots with it's highly qualified professional replies. To develop such bot you will need to spend a long time on the planning stage and maintain a very accurate development. The bot needs to use Artificial Intelligence principles to be smart enough to attract customers.
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