If you ever wanted to build an app for your small business but do not want to spend several thousands of dollars to hire a team of designers and developers, there are several mobile platforms out there that can help you build an app – no coding knowledge needed. Not only that, using the right mobile platform can help speed up app development and significantly reduce costs. These DIY tools provide you with a series of pre-built templates. Simply select the template that best suits your fancy, upload images and content about your business and make customizations to build out your app. The other benefit to using these tools is that they allow you to publish your app to multiple platforms be it Android, including the Amazon Appstore, iOS or Windows with just one click, no additional work is necessary. Additionally their functionality is not limited to businesses. Whether you are an artist who wants to promote his work, a blogger who wants to offer a native mobile experience for his readers and more, these tools have you covered.

With a small investment, you can create and manage your mobile site or application using one of these platforms and start increase awareness, engagement and revenue by offering your customers a dedicated mobile experience. In this post, we’d like to introduce you to three such platforms that we recently worked with.

We’re excited to announce that Amazon developers can now monetize their apps using Supersonic, a leading mobile monetization and user acquisition platform. The company works with publishers of all sizes, from indie developers to large game studios, helping maximize ad revenues and acquire quality users. Get started here.

The mobile game development community is chock-full of vibrant developers such as yourself, with amazing creativity, innovation and passion for games. Chartboost can help get your amazing mobile game in front of millions of players through the Amazon Appstore across Amazon and Android devices.

To do that, Chartboost created the GameOn program. Together we’re offering $100 in free Chartboost ad credit to 500 qualified Chartboost users. You can use these credits to promote all your games for which you’ve implemented the Chartboost SDK across multiple platforms –Apple Appstore, Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore.

Today, Amazon is pleased to share Chartboost with Appstore game developers. Chartboost is the largest mobile-games only platform, helping game developers increase revenue and discover new players. According to Chartboost, they power over 200,000 games with 700 million monthly active players and drive over 20 billion monthly game sessions per month.

Tools Mobile Game Developers Love

Chartboost’s technology enables Amazon developers to acquire players with positive ROI and grow revenue. Their Cross Promotion tool to lets you promote your new titles to the players who already love your other mobile games with free interstitial and mobile video ads. With their unique Direct Deals Marketplace, you can connect with other game developers and act as a publisher and/or advertiser, on terms that both sides agree upon. This allows you to cut out the middleman completely, and keep 100% of the revenue you generate.

“Every mobile game that I know is using Chartboost. They understand what mobile game developers need to build a successful business.”

Tommy Palm, Candy Crush Mastermind

Amazon developers can conduct large-scale advertising campaigns that reap high quality players with positive ROI and greatly enhance revenue with made-for-mobile interstitial ads and gorgeous, 100% viewable mobile video ads—all through one lightweight SDK. In addition, Chartboost provides an easy-to-use dashboard for developers, with granular control over who advertises in your mobile games, ad location, targeting options and so much more.

Get Started in Minutes

Developers can start growing their mobile games business on Amazon with Chartboost, today. To get started, sign up for an account and download the lightweight Chartboost Android SDK that takes only five minutes to integrate.

-Ankur

Want Amazon Developer blogs delivered to your inbox? Stay in the loop on the latest industry best practices, Amazon promotions, and new launches by subscribing to our weekly blog summary here.

Do you want to reach new customers for your mobile apps and games? Or are you an enthusiast who always wanted to build and publish your first app and are looking for inspiration to finally dive in and get started?

Thanks to the folks over at Appy Pie, now is the perfect time to fire up their App Maker or Game Builder (whatever suits your fancy) and turn your amazing idea into a product – without programming. Appy Pie just launched the Appy Pie App Challenge, which rewards developers for submitting their apps and games built using Appy Pie to the Amazon Appstore. From now, until October 11^th, you can earn a Kindle Fire HDX 7 inch tablet and a $10 in Amazon.com gift card. 

We’d like to share an offer by Applovin – “The App Challenge” to help Amazon developers monetize.  AppLovin recently announced that Appstore developers can now integrate the Applovin SDK and start monetizing their Amazon apps with ads from Applovin. With this offer, any developer who publishes an app to the Amazon Appstore will receive an additional dollar for every dollar they make from that app using the Applovin SDK. Developers can earn up to $500 dollars and all apps published from 7/1/ 15 – 8/31/15 are eligible to participate in this offer.

How to Participate

• Build your app and add the AppLovin SDK.
• Publish your app to the Amazon Appstore.
• Submit your app to the challenge by simply filling out the entry form.
• Receive your rewards within 4 weeks (9/30/15) of the offer end date (8/31/15).

This challenge is open to all, so please feel free to refer friends and other developers. For additional details and offer terms and conditions, check out the official announcement by Applovin.

- Ankur

We are excited to announce that developers can now monetize their Amazon apps with TrialPay, a leader in cross-platform monetization and reward-based advertising.  By integrating the TrialPay Evergreen SDK or native ads API, developers can dynamically surface any type of ad format including native ads, offer walls, or videos. This enables Amazon developers to monetize users who don’t typically buy IAP items by offering them ads they can interact with in exchange for in-app currency.

For example, users can watch a movie trailer or buy flowers for Mother’s Day to earn in-app currency. Giving users a way to enjoy IAP items for free makes TrialPay an attractive tool for increasing the number of paying users. Industry leaders such as Glu, Zynga, and Kik use TrialPay to enhance their ad offerings.

“TrialPay is a great partner with deep experience in mobile advertising. They are strong technologists who continue to create unique opportunities for advertisers to connect with users through Kik Points.”

Jairaj Sethi, Head of Platform, Kik

As of late, TrialPay is also helping developers tap into the online-to-offline opportunity by rewarding users for everyday purchases at retailers such as Peet’s Coffee and Sephora.

Image caption: TrialPay Peet’s offline offer - buy coffee and earn in-app currency

Contextually Relevant Ads in a Variety of Formats

Their event-based Evergreen SDK lets developers show offers that are contextually relevant to events in their apps. Developers have easy dashboard controls to toggle dynamically between ad formats. 

In addition, TrialPay’s Native Offers API provides access to a wide variety of ad types, supporting app installs, video, and seasonal promotions. Developers have complete control over the UI to match the look and feel of their app and integrate more deeply with the app experience.

Getting Started Is Easy

Developers have a choice on the integration method. TrialPay offers both a lightweight SDK and a Native Offers API option. Visit the TrialPay Mobile Development Center to get implementation details. You can also email mobilesales@trialpay.com for more information. Mention this Amazon blog post in the subject line to be paired with a dedicated account manager today.

There are plenty of resources available online to help you get started with Android programming. However, most of these require some degree of experience to fully take advantage of. We’ve often heard that there is a chasm that absolute beginners find difficult to cross on their journey to become proficient app developers.

The Delta program is designed to help anyone become an Android developer from scratch. The program curriculum includes Java tutorials, Android development exercises, app implementation walk-throughs and more to offer a complete learning experience. It also has a community of over 5,000 students, mentors and professionals who will help you achieve your goal: to build and publish your first Android app.

"It's a humbling experience. I am very grateful for all the training and support I received from both this course and other resources on the web. The ability to implement my ideas (as an Android app) is priceless.”

– Ezugo Nwosu, Delta Program graduate.

Exclusive Offer for Amazon Developers

We are also excited to announce an exclusive offer for Amazon developers. Register for the Amazon Appstore by July 1^st and receive access to the Delta Program (valued at $200), for free.

How to Get Started

The Delta Program is a great way for people who are just getting started in app development to learn to make and publish apps, as well as connect to the right peers and professionals in the industry. So get started today!

Step 1: Register for the Amazon Appstore. Here is a short video on How to create your developer account. 

Step 2: Share the email address (HERE) you used to create an Amazon developer account. 

Step 3: Receive an email with instructions on how to access your benefits within 2 weeks.

How can I get started with Android development even though I don’t have any experience with mobile programming? – We are often asked this question by aspiring app developers.

The Programming Mobile Applications for Android Handheld Systems offered by Coursera, an online learning provider with over 12 million students, is a great place to get started. The course includes short video lectures, interactive quizzes, programming labs, and peer review assignments, supported by active communities of learners and instructors. The latest edition of the course kicked off on Wednesday, May 6^th. You can enroll anytime within the next two weeks to get started on your journey to become an Android developer.

Exclusive Offer for Amazon Developers From Coursera

We are also excited to announce an exclusive offer for all course participants. Enroll in the course today and create a free Amazon developer account to get free access to:

The HTML and CSS for Beginners with HTML5 eBook

The HTML5 Mobile Game Development by Example online tutorial

How to Get Started

Go the  Programming Mobile Applications for Android Handheld Systems course home page. Login to your Coursera account. If you do not have an account, create one for free in couple of minutes. Enroll in the course by clicking on the Join for Free button. You will learn how about app stores, how to create a developer account and receive details on how to participate in the Amazon Appstore offer to receive your rewards as part of the course work.

Continue on Your Journey!

This is part of a series of six courses that provides a comprehensive overview of the Android platform, starting with Android fundamentals, such as activities, fragments and user interfaces, more advanced features, such as notifications, animation and working with sensors, to advanced topics, including Android concurrency and services, to security and cloud integration.

This is an excellent resource for any developer wishing to enter the growing mobile app industry. We’ve seen lots of great apps come out of this program. By completing the entire series of courses, you’ll have the opportunity earn a verified certificate from Coursera as well.