Skill: 1kalin/afrexai-api-monetization (version 1.1.0)

# API Monetization Strategy Turn your internal APIs into revenue streams. This skill helps you evaluate, price, package, and launch API products — whether you're monetizing existing infrastructure or building API-first products from scratch. ## When to Use - Evaluating which internal APIs have external commercial value - Designing API pricing (usage-based, tiered, freemium, credits) - Building developer portals and go-to-market for API products - Auditing API readiness (rate limiting, auth, SLAs, docs) - Forecasting API revenue and unit economics ## Framework ### 1. API Asset Audit Evaluate every internal API against these criteria: | Factor | Question | Score (1-5) | |--------|----------|-------------| | Uniqueness | Does this solve something competitors don't? | | | Data moat | Does usage improve the product (network effects)? | | | Rebuild cost | How expensive to replicate from scratch? | | | Market demand | Are people already scraping/hacking alternatives? | | | Compliance risk | Any regulatory barriers to external access? | | **Threshold:** Score ≥18/25 = strong candidate. 13-17 = conditional. <13 = internal only. ### 2. Pricing Models #### Usage-Based (Pay-per-call) - Best for: variable consumption, developer experimentation - Pricing: $0.001-$0.05 per call (commodity) | $0.10-$5.00 per call (enrichment/AI) - Watch: revenue unpredictability, bill shock complaints #### Tiered Plans - Best for: predictable revenue, enterprise sales - Structure: Free (100 calls/day) → Starter ($49/mo, 10K) → Growth ($199/mo, 100K) → Enterprise (custom) - Watch: tier boundaries (80% of users should hit limits naturally) #### Credit-Based - Best for: multi-endpoint APIs, AI/ML inference - Structure: Buy credits in bulk, different endpoints cost different credits - Watch: credit expiry policies, refund complexity #### Revenue Share - Best for: marketplace/platform APIs where partner generates revenue - Structure: 70/30 or 80/20 split on transactions - Watch: attribution, fraud, minimum guarantees ### 3. Readiness Checklist **Must-Have Before Launch:** - [ ] Rate limiting per API key (not just IP) - [ ] OAuth 2.0 or API key authentication - [ ] Usage metering accurate to ±0.1% - [ ] <200ms p95 latency on core endpoints - [ ] 99.9% uptime SLA (measured, not promised) - [ ] Versioned endpoints (v1, v2) with deprecation policy - [ ] Interactive API documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger) - [ ] Sandbox environment with test data - [ ] Webhook support for async operations - [ ] Error responses with actionable messages **Should-Have for Growth:** - [ ] SDK in top 3 languages (Python, Node, Go) - [ ] Usage dashboard for customers - [ ] Billing alerts at 80%/90%/100% of plan - [ ] Status page with incident history - [ ] Community forum or Discord ### 4. Unit Economics Calculate your API unit economics: ``` Cost per call = (Infrastructure + Support + Compliance) / Total calls Gross margin = (Revenue per call - Cost per call) / Revenue per call Target: 70-85% gross margin on API products ``` **Infrastructure cost benchmarks (2026):** - Simple CRUD: $0.0001-$0.001 per call - Data enrichment: $0.001-$0.01 per call - AI/ML inference: $0.01-$0.50 per call - Real-time streaming: $0.005-$0.05 per minute ### 5. Go-to-Market **Developer-Led Growth (PLG):** 1. Free tier with generous limits (acquire developers) 2. Docs-first marketing (SEO on "[problem] API") 3. Integration tutorials with popular frameworks 4. Showcase in API marketplaces (RapidAPI, AWS Marketplace) **Enterprise Sales:** 1. Custom SLAs and dedicated support 2. Private endpoints / VPC peering 3. Volume discounts at commitment (annual contracts) 4. SOC 2 Type II + compliance documentation **Revenue Forecasting:** ``` Month 1-3: 100-500 free users, 2-5% conversion = 2-25 paid Month 4-6: 500-2,000 free, 3-7% conversion = 15-140 paid Month 7-12: Expansion revenue from usage growth (30-50% NRR uplift) Year 1 target: $50K-$500K ARR depending on market size ``` ### 6. Common Mistakes 1. **Pricing too low** — Developers will pay for value. $0.001/call for AI inference is leaving money on the table. 2. **No free tier** — Developers won't commit without testing. Free tier is your acquisition channel. 3. **Breaking changes without versioning** — One breaking change = mass churn. Version everything. 4. **Metering disputes** — If your usage numbers don't match the customer's, you lose trust. Invest in transparent metering. 5. **Ignoring DX** — Time-to-first-call >15 minutes = abandonment. Optimize onboarding ruthlessly. 6. **No rate limiting** — One bad actor takes down your API for everyone. Rate limit from day one. 7. **Bundling everything** — Separate endpoints have different value. Price them differently. ### 7. Industry Applications | Industry | Highest-Value API | Typical Pricing | |----------|------------------|----------------| | Fintech | Transaction scoring, KYC verification | $0.10-$2.00/call | | Healthcare | Clinical decision support, eligibility | $0.50-$5.00/call | | Legal | Contract analysis, case law search | $1.00-$10.00/call | | Real Estate | Valuation, comp analysis | $0.25-$3.00/call | | Ecommerce | Product matching, pricing intelligence | $0.01-$0.50/call | | SaaS | Usage analytics, feature flagging | $0.001-$0.05/call | | Recruitment | Resume parsing, skill matching | $0.10-$1.00/call | | Manufacturing | Predictive maintenance, quality | $0.50-$5.00/call | | Construction | Cost estimation, permit lookup | $0.25-$2.00/call | | Professional Services | Time tracking intelligence, billing | $0.05-$0.50/call | --- ## Resources - **Full industry context packs** ($47 each): https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/ - **AI Revenue Calculator** (free): https://afrexai-cto.github.io/ai-revenue-calculator/ - **Agent Setup Wizard** (free): https://afrexai-cto.github.io/agent-setup/ - **Pick 3 Bundle** ($97): Mix any 3 industry packs - **All 10 Bundle** ($197): Every industry pack - **Everything Bundle** ($247): All packs + playbook + updates Built by AfrexAI — turning AI into revenue since 2025.


Security scan verdicts — ClawScan: clean | static analysis: clean | VirusTotal: clean | SkillSpector: clean (LOW)