It wasn’t that long ago that people only used their smartphones for checking email, making calls and sending text messages. In the early days of smartphone popularity, some people played games and watched movies or television shows too. Thanks to Google Play, iTunes and other marketplaces, those with smartphones can now download apps of various times to use on their phones. Some of the top developers made millions of dollars off of their apps. Even if you have little experience designing apps, there are still ways that you can use the idea you have to make money.

Become an App Developer

When many people think of those who make money from apps, they think of the developers themselves. As a developer, you can take those ideas you have in your head and create dozens of apps. When you upload those apps to a marketplace, you earn a set amount of money based on how many people download the app. Even if some buyers download and never use the app, you still receive money. There are many how to books that teach you the basics of designing and creating apps.

Check few of these free and paid gaming apps to understand how well they are made and how they are able to earn.

Sponsor an App

If you dislike the idea of creating an app, you can make money as the sponsor of a new app. Many free apps rely on advertising as a way to make money. As a sponsor, you agree to run ads for your company or your products. These advertisements run every time someone uses the app. Users can follow links on those ads back to your website to buy items or purchase services from you. You can also get their attention when your company name runs alongside the app itself.

Create a Marketplace

Google and Apple are the two largest marketplaces that offer apps that could appeal to tech entrepreneurs like Ehsan Bayat Afghan Wireless founder and other similar professionals. Just because those marketplaces already exist doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for another. You can create a website that serves as a marketplace. Users who visit the site can download free apps or buy apps from your site. You must work out an agreement with the developers of those apps though. This means that you’ll give them a percentage of each sale and that you’ll keep the rest of the money for yourself.

Become a Reviewer

As long as you have a smartphone, a computer or tablet with an Internet connection, you can make money as an app reviewer. Download a handful of apps, try each one for a few days and then write reviews of each one. Become an affiliate for the marketplaces that sell those apps. When you put your review online, you include a link to the marketplace. Each time that someone uses your link to download an app you wrote about, you make money. Signing up for Google Adsense or another similar advertising program helps you make even more. Those programs pay you cash just for running ads on your site.

Making money off apps today no longer requires a degree in computer science or experience writing and creating apps. You can make thousands of dollars or even more as a sponsor for a new or existing app, when you create a marketplace to sell apps or when you post reviews of apps online.