A fantastic idea or invention can go a long way and make you hundreds or thousands of dollars; the key is getting that concept into the hands of the appropriate people. Getting a fantastic idea off the ground usually involves time and the availability of pricey resources or experienced support. Fortunately, the World Wide Web provides a forum for businesses and individuals to launch and market their ideas for sale to firms like Google, who may transform those ideas into a reality.

Step 1: Patent your idea

Patent your idea so that you have the sole right to sell your invention. Since the World Wide Web is such a vast plain of communication, it offers a useful platform for communicating your ideas to the world. However, such widespread reach means your idea is also vulnerable to potential risk. This is why it is extremely important to first patent your idea.

Step 2: Research your idea

Use surveys, questionnaires and polls to gain insight into your target market. Understand your idea inside and out. Ask yourself, what makes my idea, product or service different from other products running Google ads? A Google ad is one that displays the fine print: ad by Google.

Step 3: Create a presence for your idea or product in the Google sphere

Set up listings for your idea as if it were a company, catalog it in Google Maps, create online profiles with Google’s places pages, and run ads within Google’s popular online directory business. All of these things will increase your idea’s visibility within the Google local business center, which is now known as “Google Places.”

Step 4: Create a PowerPoint deck

Create a PowerPoint deck outlining the research you have done on your idea. The presentation should also highlight important information related to the Google search engine. For example, what type of Google ad would render the best click-through rate for your product or idea? This PowerPoint deck will act as a road map to marketing your idea to Google.

Step 5: Create a website

Create a website to promote your idea to Google. The website you present to Google and the world should appeal to your audience’s needs, engage, educate and inform. Strategically place keywords throughout the content on your website. This is critical for a well-positioned webpage to achieve optimum Google search engine results.

Step 6: Use the Google AdWords keyword tool

Use the Google AdWords keyword tool to help generate new keyword ideas and promote better results within the Google browser. The Google AdWords webpage advises users to “open the Google Keyword Tool in your browser and type in your website’s URL address.” Google will generate keyword data based on your website’s focus.

Step 7: Use Social Media

Make sure you link the website to social media business sites such as Linked-In, Twitter, Facebook and others to generate buzz. Since Google is a web-based media giant, the more hits your website generates, the more attention it will receive.

Step 8: License your idea

License your idea so you can prove its value to Google. Licensing your idea can lead to a big payoff in the end. This process is similar to renting your idea, because it gives you control to revoke the license at any time. For example, if you developed a unique writing software, you could license it to Google technologies through your website for a limited time to prove the value of the service. The best part is that you still maintain sole ownership of the idea or service you are providing.

How to Sell an App Idea

So you’re an innovative person – you come up with new ideas, discover new things, and have a creative mind in general. And then one day you have an app idea. The forthcoming product has a solid value proposition and extremely useful features, and you are confident that users will like using it. What’s more, it offers promising monetization prospects.

Read Also: How do I Market my Business on Google?

There is a lot of material on the internet regarding how to sell an app idea. We will tell you which companies you can sell it to and detail precise procedures to help you make money from your app concept in this blog post.

How to Sell an App Idea to Apple

Of course, your app idea is so outstanding that even Apple would be willing to buy it and make a successful product out of it. But how do you reach out to them? You don’t know anybody who works at the company. You decide to go to Apple’s website and hit the “Contact Apple” button. At first, you are lost because there are so many topics for which you can contact Apple. Finally, you find an option to leave the feedback, and you start describing your idea.

The bad news is that Apple does not accept any ideas. They officially declare it in their Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy and ask not to submit any proposals, materials or works to Apple’s employees or contractors.

There is also one more interesting paragraph in the Policy saying that if you submitted your idea, Apple will treat it as its own, and you will receive no compensation and reward in return. So if your idea is indeed revolutionary and you submit it to Apple, they can develop it and make it successful, but nobody will ever find out who is the real hero.

Nevertheless, Apple does buy successful working apps such as the voice assistant Siri, which was purchased in 2010. There were rumors that Siri’s investors received up to $200 million from Apple. So, if you think that your app has the potential to fit into Apple’s roadmap, you will need to build high quality and popular product and maybe you’ll get lucky to sell it to Apple.

How to Sell an App Idea to Google  

Android’s Google Play has about 2.5 million apps. This is the largest app store in terms of the number of apps published. If you say “i have an idea for an app” and it is unique, it might be a good idea to check the Google Play Store to see if there is anything similar.   

Google does not state they don’t accept ideas. They do accept them, however, just like Apple, they don’t pay for your submitted proposals, but treat them as their own. So, if you feel altruistic, you can submit your idea through an online form, but don’t expect money in return. 

If you want to make money and sell your app to Google, you will firstly need to develop your high-quality app, market it, and make sure Google notices it. 

Very often, you see the news that big corporations like Google, Apple or Facebook buy smaller companies to help them compete against each other. Recently, it was reported that Google was planning to acquire “Firework” – an app similar to TikTok. TikTok with its format of short 30-second videos became a favorite platform for younger video creators, potentially threatening Youtube dominance. Facebook is also building a similar app for short videos called “Lasso”.  

For Google (or any of the big tech guys), to notice your app, the product needs to have the quality to help the corporation fight and outperform its rivals. Another option is to develop a solution that would help the company improve its own products. In 2016, Google purchased the Israeli startup, Waze. It was a navigation app having 50 million users. One of the advantageous features Waze had was the possibility for users to interact and report on the road and traffic situation in real-time.

How to Sell an App Idea to Facebook

It may come as a surprise, but Facebook does not buy app ideas either. Facebook does not pay for any type of ideas – whether it is an app, or a feature, or some kind of technology. Although they are very open to suggestions from the community, they will not give any money to people who submit their offers. 

Like Google and Apple, Facebook also buys ready products, and they don’t necessarily have to be profitable. When Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, the latter was not generating revenue. But in 2018, Instagram was estimated to be worth over $100 billion. Former Facebook employees revealed that the acquisition was for fighting Twitter and Google+. 

Another famous Facebook acquisition was the messaging app, Whatsapp. Facebook paid $19 billion – an enormous amount taking into consideration that Whatsapp was famous mostly outside the US and didn’t make a lot of money. Confidential charts revealed by the United Kingdom’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) parliamentary committee show that in 2014, Whatsapp was getting more popular and potentially had all the chances not only to compete but to successfully win the battle over Facebook Messenger. 

To be purchased by Facebook, your app does not necessarily have to be related to social networking. Facebook has a very diverse portfolio. For example, in 2014, Facebook bought a virtual reality product called Oculus VR. They also bought a company called Ascenta which made drones. Other acquisitions covered companies within industries like video software, fitness, and health monitoring, and team messaging. 

How to Sell an App Idea to a Company

Not only Apple, Google, and Facebook purchase apps. Other companies are ready to invest and broaden their business portfolio as well. Don’t be upset if your app idea does not fit the business models or roadmaps of big tech Silicon Valley corporations. There are smaller companies, and there are businesses outside the US that might be willing to purchase your app project. 

In 2018, 97 unicorns started operating in China. Unicorns are startups valued not less than $1 billion. The presence of Chinese apps and investments is hard to underestimate. TikTok – the eighth most downloaded app in the US in 2019 – was created by ByteDance, a tech company from China. PUBG mobile game was developed by Tencent. It turns out that Chinese app publishers learn very fast how to market their apps to US and European users. 

Another strategy of Chinese companies to grow their global presence is to acquire smaller companies from Europe and the US. For instance, Tencent failed to make WeChat successful in the US. So they purchased or invested in other firms locally to get their gaming products into the Western markets.

As of January 2019, over 300 tech unicorns were operating in various countries, such as the US, China, Singapore, UK, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Malta, Sweden, Israel, etc. 

And while you are looking for somebody to purchase your app, there might be some tech company interested in acquiring promising app projects and ideas. If you browse through the list of employees of these organizations on LinkedIn, you might notice the users with a title similar to “Investment manager” – these are the people responsible for investments and acquires.

Find potential investors and pitch them

If Google or Apple hasn’t contacted you yet, it’s a sign you’ll need to look for the relevant investors. Here are several guidelines to help you:

• Create a list of tech companies capable of buying app projects.

If your goal is to sell the app (and not just get some investments to grow your organization), you will need to look for tech companies capable of buying other projects. The simplest way is to search online for tech unicorns, research about recent acquisitions and investments. Don’t limit yourself to your country or region only. Your buyers can live anywhere. 

• Pick the companies that are relevant to your business.

Analyze the profile of the company, read about its latest acquisitions, and try to understand if your app fits their business model and development roadmap. Limit your initial list of investors to the companies that are relevant to your app

• Find relevant contacts.

Check the website of the company to see if they have contacts of people responsible for business development or investments. You can also check out LinkedIn and find company representatives who have accounts there. Ideally, you would need to connect and contact a person responsible for business acquisitions. You can also use LinkedIn to find a necessary person through the other contacts that are available. 

• Contact and Pitch the Potential Investor

Once you have a list of necessary contacts, you are ready to start with pitching the companies. The channel you decide to use depends on your personal preferences. You can start with LinkedIn messages and emails, and then proceed with phone calls and personal meetings. You can also meet those companies’ representatives at startup events and meetups. 

Remember not to disclose too much confidential information about your app. All the information you provide should be disclosed under the mutually signed NDA. There will be due diligence done by your potential buyer. Make sure to get the professional lawyer’s support if you feel you will need legal assistance.