Amazon has opened up a couple of monetization tools to more Alexa developers in the United States as part of an effort to help them make money from the skills they build for the voice-activated personal assistant. It’s worth pointing out that the online retail giant first announced these monetization methods in November last year with the goal of helping Alexa developers establish a viable business with their Alexa skills through in-skill purchasing and Amazon Pay, though at the time the tools were still in developer preview. That changes now with the wider availability of the tools.
One of those tools, as mentioned above, is the in-skill purchasing which allows developers to sell digital content such as game products, interactive stories, and fresh features designed to provide an improve Alexa experience to customers. The premium content can be bought through a number of methods such as one-time purchases which lets customers gain access to Alexa skills features and content or subscriptions through which customers will be able to experience premium features or content for a limited span of time. Keep in mind, though, that customers will still be able to experience Alexa skills with no charge so that they can evaluate a particular skill and gain insights on a specific product being offered before they decide to make any purchase using their voice. A number of companies already developed Alexa skills that offer premium content such as Sony, The Ellen Show, Fremantle, HISTORY, TuneIn, NBCUniversal, and Volley Inc. In order to pay for the premium content, customers can use Amazon’s voice purchasing flow with the payment options linked to their Amazon account. Developers will receive 70 percent of the list price they have previously set for their in-skill product. Amazon Prime members can also get several perks such as big discounts, exclusive content, or early access.
Additionally, more developers will now find it easier to earn money from their skill with Amazon Pay, the company’s online payments processing service through which merchants and developers will be able to sell physical goods and services with a wide variety of Alexa skills using Amazon’s voice purchasing flow. This method helps customers complete they payment process for physical goods and services they purchased within a developer’s or merchant’s skill using the information associated with their Amazon account. That means they won’t have to remember their username and password to wrap up the purchase.