In the beginning, Jodel's choice of growth model was selling traditional ad spaces because it was a more effortless and quicker option to scale as a startup. 

With the vision to provide advertisers with a unique experience to engage with the local community, Jodel revamped the In-App Advertising experience with In-App Purchases, simplifying the payment process and diversifying ad opportunities. 

Today, Jodel’s primary revenue stream comes from the combination of In-App Subscription and In-App Purchase of Consumables.  

Listen to the full episode to learn more about Jodel’s journey to improve the app with new features, unexpected winners and losers in its optimization journey, and its most significant challenges today in increasing revenues. 

For noteworthy quotes and key takeaways from the episode, read the article -  Shifting from ads to In-App Subscription-led revenue generation with Tim Schmitz (Jodel)

Episode Topics at a Glance

• Jodel's Hyperlocal Community and the challenges it represents 
• Scaling with Advertisements
• Combining In-App Subscriptions and Consumables In-App Purchases 
• Unexpected features: winners & losers 
• User feedback and Being a user themselves
• Challenges to increasing revenue and subscriptions

More about Tim Schmitz

Tim is the COO and Co-Founder of Jodel. Over time he managed all functions of the company like Product, Growth, Community, Tech and Monetization. Prior to Jodel, Tim studied at ESADE Business School and worked in banking and consulting. Tim grew up with strong ties to software development due to his father who owns a software company. During his exchange semester at San Diego State University, Tim met Alessio Avellan Borgmeye with whom he founded Jodel together. 

Tim Schmitz’s Links

• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Timestamps

00:21 Presentation with Phiture 

01:08 Welcoming Tim Schmitz and the Jodel app 

01:33 Jodel's Hyperlocal Community and challenges it represents 

04:08 Worldwide users for Jodel 

04:48 Features and strategy behind Jodel's paywalls 

09:31 How did you mix subscriptions and in-app purchases? 

11:58 Strategy to determine what is free or purchasable 

15:29 Unexpected features: winners & losers 

17:13 Do you combine tests with user reviews to make your determinations? 

20:39 Did you ever have a bug that became a feature? 

23:35 How do you keep a pulse on feedback for hacking? 

24:27 Challenges to increasing revenue and subscriptions

Transcript

Episode production by Mobdesign: https://podcasts.mobdesignapps.fr