Best Practices for Your Promotional In-App Purchase

Promotional In-App Purchases are a great way to showcase your in-app purchases on the App Store and invite users to purchase before even downloading the app. Here are 5 best practices for setting them up in App Store Connect.

Provide Friendly Name and Description in Metadata

Each promotional in-app purchase has a name and description.

The name should be different from your app’s name and describe the purchase in some human-readable way. In other words, don’t give it a name of promo_1_month. For the description, provide up to 45 characters of details about what the purchase unlocks. Try to avoid generic terms like ‘Unlock all access.’ That doesn’t help your customer understand the benefits of what they are buying!

Design a new Image for your Promotional In-App Purchase

Your promotional IAP should use a different image than your app logo. This is because in search results, Today, Games, and Apps tabs, your promo IAP will display with your app logo next to it. So make sure your logo isn’t repeated! Design a promo image with similar elements to your logo without completely copying it.

Choose the Right Size and Layout for your Image

Apple has a particular size and layout for the promotional in-app purchase images. Their guidelines recommend a 1024 x 1024px image, either in .png or .jpeg format.

Apple also places the image in a frame. Make sure your image has plenty of padding on all sides, especially the bottom left where the app icon is inset.

To test your image, you can upload into App Store Connect for a live preview.

You can also download Apple’s design resources and use the Sketch files to hone your design.

Use Consistent Branding for Your Promotional In-app Purchase Images

Your app has a brand and a style. Use these guidelines when designing your IAP images.

Gentler Streak uses their mascot in their promotional images. In the monthly image, the mascot is standing. In the yearly image, the mascot is moving. This cute detail helps represent the benefits of purchasing the yearly plan.

The CARROT weather app utilizes the lightning bolt from their icon to represent premium.

Create an Image for Each Product

You might sell multiple products in app: monthly or yearly plans, purchase packs, or lifetime access. Creating unique images for each of these products will help sell the benefits.

Final Thoughts

Setting up a Promotional In-App Purchase is an easy way to extend your app’s brand and show App Store browsers all the benefits your app has to offer, without requiring them to download the app. Following the few steps above can help you create the best promo IAP experience possible.

Happy app building!