Tom Hamon
Co-founder and CEO of TheoremReach
Where to hear and read about Tom Hamon1 episode or test
Tom Hamon is co-founder and CEO of TheoremReach, which lets mobile apps pay non-paying users in in-game currency for answering real market research surveys. The thing most worth learning from him is to monetize every kind of player with several ways to earn, starting with the users you already have.
I see something and rather than just appreciating it for what it is, I'm like, Oh, that's cool, but what if we change this?
How to Increase Mobile Game Revenue Using Rewarded Surveys
Tom Hamon: the story and the lessons
1How Tom Hamon came up with TheoremReach
Hamon saw a lock-screen ad app and asked what if it asked a question. More than six years before the interview, an app paid users each time they unlocked their phone and saw an ad. His reflex was to ask a question instead of showing an ad.
He calls this habit "entrepreneurial sickness": seeing something cool and wondering what to change.
His own Clash of Clans habit supplied the player side of the idea. He wanted a fifth builder and refused to spend $20 on it. He wondered whether he could earn the gems by taking surveys.
"What if I could take surveys to get these gems for free?"
He built a product that connects game publishers and market researchers. Publishers want revenue from the many users who never pay. Researchers struggle to reach people, and phones put respondents right where they are.
Researchers pass answers to clients to build better products, which Hamon calls "win, win, win all around the board."
2Hamon's rules for adding rewarded surveys
Hamon says to monetize every type of player, not only payers. Payers go through in-app purchases, video watchers through rewarded video, offer wall fans through offers and survey lovers through surveys. Covering all of them lifts ARPU and LTV.
His shorthand is "do it all." Surveys sit on top of ads and purchases and take nothing away from them.
He gives players several ways to earn and lets them choose. Surveys, rewarded video and offer walls sit side by side because different players prefer different routes. Choice makes users feel empowered, and publishers get thanked for it.
Heavy survey users panic when something breaks: "I need my surveys."
He says surveys raise retention among players who never pay. Non-paying users are more likely to stay when the app gives them a way to earn premium items. Rewarded video does this too.
This comes from his experience with apps that run both formats. He gives no measured figure.
Hamon insists on real market research surveys, not fake ones. Scams that promise gift cards and then only show ads gave surveys a bad name. Real surveys on topics players like, such as arts and crafts, feel engaging.
Sharing about yourself gives a small serotonin release, and spending the reward in the game gives another.
He treats reliable payout as the basis of user trust. As a player he was frustrated by offer walls where he finished many steps and still got no reward. Whatever rewarded format an app adds, users must actually receive the reward.
3Where Hamon says surveys earn the most
Surveys do best in long-lifespan games like strategy, casino and puzzle. Players in these games stay a long time and understand what the currency is worth, so surveys become their usual way to get gems. Some users take over $100 worth of surveys in their lifetime.
He calls them "whale survey users."
He ties surveys to the most spendable currency, one game at a time. The faster players can spend a currency and the more they want it, the more surveys they take. Each game's economy is reviewed separately before surveys are added.
"The more spendable a currency is, the more likely they are to take more surveys."
Slots and poker show how spend speed shapes survey use. Poker players took about $10 of surveys at once to enter top tournaments, then returned weekly or every two weeks. Slots players came back daily for tokens, so slots earned more overall.
Poker still showed a pretty good LTV.
4Hamon on small games and other apps
Hamon says to monetize the users you have before chasing downloads. At 100 to 200 daily users, small monetization tweaks make a big difference. An indie game of his with about 200 daily users added roughly $1,000 a month.
Steve Young made the point that tweaks matter most at this size. Hamon now repeats the approach across more apps, and it pays his bills. Even 20 daily users is enough to earn extra.
He finds surveys also fit non-game apps that have a reward currency. Dating and texting apps have been tried. The requirement is some form of rewarded currency, which ties back to surveys most naturally.
He notes publishers sometimes seek help before they have finished the small tweaks.
How to Increase Mobile Game Revenue Using Rewarded Surveys
Rewarded surveys give apps a way to earn from non-paying users without cutting into ads or in-app purchases. The founder explains where they fit, which currencies and game types suit them, and how an indie game with about 200 daily users added roughly $1,000 a month.
Hamon saw a lock-screen ad app and asked what if it asked a question. More than six years before the interview, an app paid users each time they unlocked their phone and saw an ad. His reflex was to ask a question instead of showing an ad.
He calls this habit "entrepreneurial sickness": seeing something cool and wondering what to change.
His own Clash of Clans habit supplied the player side of the idea. He wanted a fifth builder and refused to spend $20 on it. He wondered whether he could earn the gems by taking surveys.
"What if I could take surveys to get these gems for free?"
He built a product that connects game publishers and market researchers. Publishers want revenue from the many users who never pay. Researchers struggle to reach people, and phones put respondents right where they are.
Researchers pass answers to clients to build better products, which Hamon calls "win, win, win all around the board."
Hamon says to monetize every type of player, not only payers. Payers go through in-app purchases, video watchers through rewarded video, offer wall fans through offers and survey lovers through surveys. Covering all of them lifts ARPU and LTV.
His shorthand is "do it all." Surveys sit on top of ads and purchases and take nothing away from them.
He gives players several ways to earn and lets them choose. Surveys, rewarded video and offer walls sit side by side because different players prefer different routes. Choice makes users feel empowered, and publishers get thanked for it.
Heavy survey users panic when something breaks: "I need my surveys."
He says surveys raise retention among players who never pay. Non-paying users are more likely to stay when the app gives them a way to earn premium items. Rewarded video does this too.
This comes from his experience with apps that run both formats. He gives no measured figure.
Hamon insists on real market research surveys, not fake ones. Scams that promise gift cards and then only show ads gave surveys a bad name. Real surveys on topics players like, such as arts and crafts, feel engaging.
Sharing about yourself gives a small serotonin release, and spending the reward in the game gives another.
He treats reliable payout as the basis of user trust. As a player he was frustrated by offer walls where he finished many steps and still got no reward. Whatever rewarded format an app adds, users must actually receive the reward.
Surveys do best in long-lifespan games like strategy, casino and puzzle. Players in these games stay a long time and understand what the currency is worth, so surveys become their usual way to get gems. Some users take over $100 worth of surveys in their lifetime.
He calls them "whale survey users."
He ties surveys to the most spendable currency, one game at a time. The faster players can spend a currency and the more they want it, the more surveys they take. Each game's economy is reviewed separately before surveys are added.
"The more spendable a currency is, the more likely they are to take more surveys."
Slots and poker show how spend speed shapes survey use. Poker players took about $10 of surveys at once to enter top tournaments, then returned weekly or every two weeks. Slots players came back daily for tokens, so slots earned more overall.
Poker still showed a pretty good LTV.
Hamon says to monetize the users you have before chasing downloads. At 100 to 200 daily users, small monetization tweaks make a big difference. An indie game of his with about 200 daily users added roughly $1,000 a month.
Steve Young made the point that tweaks matter most at this size. Hamon now repeats the approach across more apps, and it pays his bills. Even 20 daily users is enough to earn extra.
He finds surveys also fit non-game apps that have a reward currency. Dating and texting apps have been tried. The requirement is some form of rewarded currency, which ties back to surveys most naturally.
He notes publishers sometimes seek help before they have finished the small tweaks.