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Advertising

We at Facebook have had success serving targeted advertisements to our users based on information we know about them. By leveraging the data we give you access to (as detailed in our Developer Terms of Service) and data users share with you directly as a part of your application experience, you can serve highly relevant ads within the canvas page. You can find more specific details about what is and isn't appropriate in our Platform Principles and Policies and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

A key thing to think about is: what makes your app unique? Why are users using your app? For example, Movies (by Flixster) shows trailers and serves ads related to upcoming movies. iLike, a music app, serves targeted ads based on musicians that the users have indicated they like, as well as their location. Many game apps serve targeted ads focused primarily on gamers.

And don't feel like you need to do this all by yourself--there are a number of external parties who run ad networks specifically for social applications – learn more about them here. 

"Freemium" (or Subscription)

Once you've created a solid core experience, think about additional features you can create that your users would like. For example, Playfish's Who Has the Biggest Brain? makes its core functionality available to all users, but users can choose to "Go Pro!" for a one-time fee and access additional fresh content, such as more games, time trials, and more. Think about what additional content you can create that some users may want to pay for. And be sure you keep innovating – don't do something that's just a quick win, keep users coming back again and again. There are a number of ways that people are currently accepting payments on Facebook. Learn more here about some of the available providers. 

Virtual Credits / Virtual Goods

Another interesting way that developers are monetizing their applications is by enabling users to purchase or earn virtual credits within their applications and then providing ways that users can redeem them for virtual goods or game play. Texas HoldEm Poker (by Zynga) gives users a small amount of "Chips" to encourage Poker play, and then monetizes by having users buy additional "Chips" in order to continue playing. (We're not the legal experts, but we're told that this is not considered gambling because the users can never cash out their Chips for actual currency. Needless to say—you are responsible for working through those legal issues for your applications… ) Applications like (fluff) Friends allow users to earn one kind of credit ("Munny") and purchase another kind ("Gold") for access to premium virtual goods.

See more experts speak about their experiences with virtual goods in the online videos from the 2008 Virtual Goods Summit. (link: http://vgsummit2008.com/video/)

Also, instead of accepting payments directly from users for subscriptions or virtual goods, some applications instead allow users to complete affiliate offers by filling out surveys or agreeing to try new products. There are a number of providers who consolidate these types of offers, see more about them here. 

Affiliate Fees

If your application is related to things that users are already accustomed to paying for (books, DVDs, movie tickets, music, or clothing, to name a few) then you may be able to successfully charge a fee for helping those users locate those goods. For example, book applications like Visual Bookshelf help users identify books they may want to purchase (by surfacing social information like what their friends have read, reviewed, and recommended), and then receive an affiliate fee from Amazon for books referred through that application. Travel applications can likewise accept affiliate fees.

Merchandising

Have a brand that users love? Help them share their love while off Facebook – with t-shirts, stickers, mugs, hats – and let them show their love for your brand proudly.