No big wins or rocket profits. But this app monetization case study gives you more: a ton of inspiration. A Vietnamese publisher explains how an idea sparked after a few cups of cà phê sữa đá is now generating stable revenue through Smartlinks.
“I didn’t start with an app. I started with traffic.” Phuc Nguyen believes in building cash flows first, not brands and products. Here’s his story.
Disclaimer
The story was translated by the Adsterra Content team. We had to depersonalize web screenshots and erase sensitive data to protect the publisher’s privacy. We tried to keep the copy authentic but may have misinterpreted local names or slang. Please be tolerant of this.
Before I started monetizing an app
By the time I started vibe coding an app, he had been running a website with anime quotes rephrased by fans, short posts, fanfics, things people search and exchange when they feel bored at night. Stuff like “câu nói hay của Itachi”. You know that type:
- Scraped 1-line quotes (not full copy)
- Some lightweight reviews of the latest episodes
- Character VS Character fanfics
- SEO pages targeting things like “Itachi quotes Vietnamese.”
- About 165,000 monthly audience, mostly newcomers
The traffic started coming almost exclusively through Google. Some traffic came from Facebook groups run by my friends (who were my main help). There was a spike whenever somebody shared the page on Zalo. It was nothing spectacular, but I was able to observe it.
I didn’t spend much time analyzing whether my niche was “a good” one. I just kept my eye on the numbers. Numbers are something I trust. If something was moving in the right direction, I’d keep it going. And if it wasn’t, I’d cut it loose without overthinking too much. One thing I did notice, though: people would come, check out a short story or a quote, then go looking for something else… And they’d click on about 8-10 other pages in the same session. That was some great engagement (average of 6 minutes on site) and very low bounce rates, too.
The moment I understood Smartlinks
I tested a Smartlink on one of my best fan-quote category pages. No design change, just added this Link to a text piece. First, I wanted to attach it to a button (Xem thêm câu nói hay từ nhân vật này), but that is what ad networks can flag you for. It’s called ‘misleading’ when you deliberately promise one thing but provide another.
30 days after, the numbers looked like this:
- ~158,000 impressions
- ~$320 revenue
Not bad for one page, right? But still, I didn’t see any potential in growing apart from adding more ads.
How I decided to build an app
The truth is, I couldn’t figure out a way to grow my website audience in today’s Google environment. Google keeps vacuuming up all this traffic that looks just like mine, and I was also having trouble getting much traction on Facebook – reach was just dropping through the floor, and website visits were all over the place. And the thing was , I didn’t even own the business yet.
I put it as a plan for what I actually needed:
- More traffic channels
- More mobile traffic
- Geo distribution
The app idea and legal issues that matter
The fact is that any anime or manga-related content is subject to copyright. You can’t simply take images or long stories and use them in your product. So, I acted the same way as on my website: I wanted to develop a creative tool where quotes serve only as triggers.
The app idea:
- User sees the beginning of a quote (or thought)
- They continue it (their own version)
- That version stays on a smartphone screen locker for 24h or until they decide.
- Next day → new continuation / evolution
I don’t use images, logos, or any other brand elements that are subject to copyright. My concept is a personal inspiration app that uses quotes as references. I attribute character names and anime titles to comply with local laws.
That’s how one of the app’s prototypes looked. I did some vibe coding in Claude Sonnet + ChatGPT image creation to develop several prototypes before making the final version. I removed extra functions later and ensured the app complies with copyright regulations.
Warning list
Never use these in your app monetization cases unless you have the authors’ permission.
- Anime screenshots
- Manga scans
- Full scripts or episodes
- Audio clips
- Branding assets (logo, recognizable style elements, mottos, slogans, etc.)
Building and distributing the app (the practical way)
I didn’t overcomplicate it. The stack I used:
- Kotlin + Jetpack Compose
- Firebase (Firestore + Remote Config)
- WorkManager for background quote updates
First things first, I just needed a quick test to see if I could monetize my site fast: no fancy architecture required. Most of my friends do the same thing. We get our sites live, test, and swap out anything that’s not working. Nobody spends 3 months building a perfect system from the ground up without making sure they have a revenue stream in place first.
Frontend (Android)
- Language: Kotlin (Google’s official recommendation)
- UI: Jetpack Compose (modern declarative UI)
- Architecture: MVVM + Clean Architecture State handled with ViewModel, StateFlow
Lock screen implementation
- Notification-based only (no overlay at start)
Core Android components
- Lock screen integration: Foreground Service + Notification + Overlay.
- Background updates:
- WorkManager (daily thought lifecycle)
Backend (lean, cost-efficient)
You don’t need a heavy backend at this stage. One of the options I can recommend is Firebase:
- Firebase Analytics
- Local prompt list (or very light remote config)
- I can also recommend Room (SQLite) for main storage.
App distribution
Many developers target the Play Store, and that’s a good choice. It’s still the main distribution channel globally and dominates installs in Vietnam. But if you want to test a product, look for sideloading platforms. Check these first:
- APKPure (very popular in SEA)
- APKMirror (for tech-savvy users)
- Local APK Facebook groups (hugely popular in Vietnam)
- My own site with quotes
- Zalo seeding through cross-promo with my fellow developers.
Where Smartlinks actually fit
The best place to use Smartlinks is during the first setup, but only at the last stage when the user expects to get something valuable without paying for it. At this stage, users are ready to watch ads.
You can structure it like this:
Step 1: Suggest theme / interest selection
Start the onboarding, allowing users to pre-set their main interests and app themes: “Chọn nhân vật bạn thích” (Naruto, One Piece, Attack on Titan…). This feels natural, no monetization required here.
Step 2: Add personalization
Allow users to adjust the vibes of your app. This could be Motivation / Sad / Life lesson / Winning / Inspiration, and more. But keep this list shorter, not over 7 mood items.
Still no ads or any paid content here.
Step 3: Unlock full experience
This is where you can mess everything up. A very bad approach is to add a final button labeled “Continue” or “Unlock full experience” and open a random Smartlink. Users will feel tricked and uninstall the app.
What I advise you is to introduce a clear exchange:
- “Mở khóa toàn bộ bộ sưu tập câu nói (miễn phí)” or “Unlock the full quote collection (free)”. This button or link is part of the app ecosystem.
- Then, you give options like “Xem đề xuất dành cho bạn” or “View suggestions for you”. This link is a Smartlink.
It must feel like optional exploration, not a forced redirect.
More placement options
The onboarding stage is a one-time placement. If you want to collect more views, consider adding Smartlinks to Advanced options, Updates, or other sections you can offer in exchange for a valuable click.
App monetization case study results:
Here’s what my monthly statistics started showing after I launched and tested the app. The “geo distribution” strategy worked best. High-CPM traffic continues to come from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the US. Taiwan leads in monthly revenues and in CPM rates ($6.3). I removed CTR and Clicks from the report as Smartlinks are not CPC-based; you get paid for views and actions only.
Vietnam is still not the top traffic and earnings supplier, but I continue working on this.
Why the website still matters
Even after the app launch, I didn’t stop pushing the website. My goal was to boost traffic channels aside from search engines, so the app was an addition.
But I didn’t leave everything as it was. I added a Smartlink to the top category pages in visible places. Also, I built large SEO-purposed articles targeting commercial and navigational user intents using the following templates: Best Quote Apps for Android Users, Best Anime Apps, One App vs Another (comparisons).
There’s no hard competition over these key phrases (but it’s better to check several countries). My website has decent authority in this field, and such listings and comparisons gained rankings in search and AI overviews. Thanks to commercial intentions, users don’t stay in AI-generated abstracts but come to see the full list or product review.
Monetization through my website:
After powering through organic search, there was a spike in Vietnamese traffic to 200-230K impressions (240–250K visitors). I noticed my VN CPM jumped to $4.5–5, making Vietnam my top money maker among other countries.
Unlike with the app monetization case, the site keeps attracting local visitors, but I also notice views from Hong Kong growing, as well.
With some 320K monthly ad views, I gained $1,600 last month. And that’s what I call the first steps.
Choosing a Smartlink provider
Among all monetization tools, I chose Adsterra for its clear payment procedures and rock-solid performance. The thing is, I really respect how their managers lay it out for you: having a high CPM doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to rake in the dough. It really comes down to the quality of your traffic (how your users behave after they click on those ads).
What I’m seeing right now is stable CPM across GEOs, and that’s a scalable model.
I don’t chat much with Adsterra, but I like how precise they are in answering. No small talk, no long explanations, we go straight to the matter: what to optimize and how to make more cash.
Looking forward
Working with networks is straightforward. You don’t build relationships, you test. My test has proved Adsterra is a long-term partner who is ready to pay more when you scale. And that’s what I’m going to do next by adding social traffic and moving to the Play Store, at last. I’m now testing Social Bar by Adsterra on a stage site version, and it’s one of the most lightweight scripts for now; pages load as fast as without it. Maybe my next story will include this format, as well.