Recently, Apple made an announcement that is bound to have great impact not only on the Apple user community, but also on the developer community as well. They made a change to their policies so that now app developers are allowed to use promo codes, and use promo codes for not only apps, but also in-app purchases.

A lot of apps offer in-app features that are redeemable through purchase, being one of the main methods of collecting revenue. However developers were hindered by the inability to use promo codes in their marketing strategies.

For those who aren’t up to date with the term, a promo code is a specific code designed for a specific app or in-app purchase. The purpose behind these codes is that developers can use them in various ways, such as to unlock content early for testing, when trying to send the newest features over to the beta testers, or when trying to offer services at a discount price. Another use for promo codes are giveaways. Giveaways are events where products are given away for free to encourage crowds to check out said product. It is also a way for app developers to present a sample of what they’re offering, so that potential customers and collaborators can check out the app without having to buy it. It’s just an overall great utility to have, from both a marketing point of view as well as business point of view.

How Developers Can Get Promo Codes?

Let’s take a look at how both developers and users alike can get their hands and use promo codes. First off, if you’re a developer and want to get promo codes for your own app, a request submission is required, meaning that Apple has to approve it before the codes are granted. iOS app developers can request promo codes for both in-app content and the latest version of the app as well. In addition, Apple gives out codes for renewable subscription services, as long as the user wasn’t already subscribed. To submit a request, a developer just needs to access My Apps and then Features. Only those holding app manager, administrator or marketer status can submit promo code requests.

How To Redeem Promo Codes?

For those finding themselves on the user side of things, redeeming codes is a bit easier. The way codes are redeemed differs based on what type of device they’re using. If they have an iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone, users must log in with their personal information on the App Store, then use the Redeem option, located under the Featured tab. For PC and Mac customers, redeeming is done directly through the Redeem button from the iTunes Store.

Limited Supplies

Apple is able to provide a large number of codes, but the promo code supply isn’t infinite, as there are certain guidelines and rules that developers requesting promo codes must heavily take into consideration.

The maximum number of requested promo codes is 100 for each service. This means that iOS app developers can request 100 codes for every in-app purchase item, 100 codes for each new app version unlock, and so on. Apple will grant a maximum of 1000 promo codes every 6 months. The plan is for this limit to constantly reset every 6 months, specifically on the 1st of January and 1st of July. The generated promo codes will supposedly be valid for 28 days from the day they were requested, meaning that both developers and users will have plenty of time to share and use the codes before they expire.

This is all part of Apple’s bigger scheme of remodeling the App Store, by allowing app developers to seriously change the way their apps are producing revenue and how things flow in and out of the store.

Another big addition to the list of things implemented by Apple in regards to their store is the fact that Apple now allows the usage of search ads. As a quick reminder, search ads are pieces of advertisement that pop up on a hosted platform (in this case, Apple’s app store), and show advertised content strongly related to the search results of that platform’s users, namely the Apple customers. This lets Apple host adds in a more friendly and non aggressive manner, given the fact that said ads will advertise things that each individual user will already be interested in, or products that the user was already considering buying prior to seeing the ad.

Conclusion

It will be interesting to see what iOS app developers will do with this new found ability, and how the promo code usage for Apple content and products will impact the App Store.