Helping our developer community succeed is what keeps me up at night — and what gets me up in the morning. We try to walk the fine line of providing as many tools as possible, without putting any limitations on creativity. While Technical Documentation is critically important, it isn’t enough. We’ve built a Kin Developers Playbook to guide you through integration in more detail and show you what Kin can look like in practice.

We’ve also learned a lot from our early partners that we wanted to share here. Successful product implementations spark the user’s interest and motivate them to start and maintain repeated in-app engagement. In other words, they turn one-time novelty actions into habits.

How can you do that in practice? The three-step process below will help you integrate Kin into your experience in a way that is habit-forming and keeps users engaged:

First, talk to your user community to identify what experiences they want with a new digital currency. Do they want more opportunities for peer-to-peer rewards? Or access to more features? Listen before your build.

Next, get everyone excited about what they can do with Kin. First-time user perks or social contests that build credit within your community work especially well.

Finally, give users an opportunity to earn additional Kin on an ongoing basis, so they can keep enjoying your app experience and coming back for more.

The three-step process

Let Your Imagination Run Wild, But Take These Into Account

Okay. So now you’ve through the implementation steps and you’re ready to build. Your creativity should certainly drive the ship — the sky’s the limit! But we have found that keeping the four design principles in mind can help developers succeed.

Be Organic.

The creative challenge here is to make Kin a natural fit for your product that isn’t forced or tacked on. You asked your community what they want to see…now your creativity can help make it a reality.

Kin may be a digital currency, but don’t be fooled. For your users Kin shouldn't be about making money — it’s about participation in new and fun experiences that keep them engaged (and help you to explore new monetization opportunities in the process!). The best uses of Kin integrate naturally into products in ways that enhance the experience.

2. Keep it Simple.

Users should always be just a few steps away from their goal. When experiences are too complicated, they become confusing — especially when you’re designing a new behavior. Whether it’s an in-app challenge, awarding badges for social interactions or getting advice from other players, make it easy for users to get and give Kin.

3. Offer Users Something Unique.

Because digital currencies are new, they still have an air of mystery and excitement around them. We’ve found that apps succeed when they lean into this novelty, encouraging “limited time only” type experiences (e.g., Use Kin in the next 5 minutes to secure a bonus). This adds a layer of urgency, innovation and freshness for early adopters.

4. Make the Value Immediate.

In addition to being simple, the user’s ability to spend Kin for tips, rewards, or any other use case should be quick. Our learning shows that incentives work best with the promise of immediate gratification. That way, everyone has an opportunity to get more Kin while continuing to enjoy the app experience.

Selected Kin Experiences

These principles don’t exist in a vacuum. They work best in combination — simple and organic, immediate value and limited time use, and so on. But by keeping these design principles in mind, I have no doubt that you can motivate your users to capture value and maximize their Kin experience.

Ready to put Kin to work in your product? Download our Kin Developers Playbook and join the Kin Developers Program today.