Exploring Indie Life: Learning to Write Promotional Text and App Store Description

As someone who loves to write, it is difficult to articulate my thoughts in marketing terms that can sell my app well to the users. I do not want to sound like a marketing shill or the description to be boring.

When you submit a new app to the App Store, you must provide the Promotional Text and App Store Description. Here is what both of them mean:

• Promotional Text: Promotional text lets you inform your App Store visitors of any current app features without requiring an updated submission.
  • Limited to 170 characters
  • Appears at the top of the app's product page
  • Can be changed without submitting a new version
• App Store Description: A description of your app, detailing features and functionality.
  • Up to 4000 characters
  • Provides a detailed overview of the app's features and functionality
  • Requires a new version submission to update

The Challenge

As an indie, it is hard to context switch and wear many hats. Mostly, I am coding; the next, I am brainstorming the user interfaces and experience, and suddenly, I realise I have to make money too and thrust into the role of a marketer. This last role is daunting.

I want the app to shine, but I know it is an art. To craft compelling promotional text and app store descriptions without compromising my integrity or sounding like a grifter.

Understanding Your Audience

Before diving into writing, I need to know who I am even writing for:

1. Who is my target audience?
2. What problems does my app solve for them?
3. What language and tone will resonate with them?

I am a storyteller, taking them on a journey on how my app will improve the users' lives.

Who is my target audience?

For Meshing, the target audience includes:

• Majorly designers (both professional and amateur) looking for an easy way to create unique gradients
• App developers who need attractive backgrounds for their applications and copy the code in their SwiftUI projects
• Social media content creators who want decent graphics on which they can put some texts or images
• Digital artists who want to explore new tools for their craft.
• Anyone interested in creating beautiful wallpapers!

What problems does my app solve for them?

Meshing solves several problems for these users:

• Simplifies the process of creating complex, beautiful mesh gradients
• Saves time in design workflows by offering quick gradient generation
• Provides inspiration with AI-generated gradients and templates
• Allows for easy extraction of colour schemes from photos
• Enables non-designers to create professional-looking gradients

What language and tone will resonate with them?

Given this audience, the language and tone should be:

• Friendly and approachable, to appeal to both professionals and hobbyists. The app's UI is also made in such a way
• Clear and concise, explaining technical features in simple terms
• Empowering, emphasising how the app enables creativity
• Playful, reflecting the fun aspect of creating gradients but professional enough to appeal to serious designers
• Inclusive, making sure all skill levels feel welcome

Phew. That is hard.

Creating an Effective App Store Description

Here is my take on a creative and effective description. I have seen the popular apps uppercase the main features and then write about them in detail with bullet points:

Meshing lets you quickly and easily transform your ideas into beautiful colour gradients. Perfect for creating wallpapers, designing websites and app backgrounds, or just playing with colours.

What makes Meshing special:

INTUITIVE DESIGN
- Tap and swipe to craft amazing gradients
- Choose from 2x2 to 5x5 grids for precise control
- See your changes in real-time as you create

DESCRIBE AND CREATE
- Tell what you want, and make it happen with Meshing AI
- Get unique gradients based on your descriptions
- No design skills needed; just your imagination

PHOTO TO GRADIENT
- Turn any image into a unique gradient
- Extract colour schemes from your favourite photos
- Instantly create gradients that match your style

STUNNING VISUALS
- Add blur effects for a dreamy look
- Switch to the wireframe view for a unique, structural perspective
- Bring your gradients to life with smooth animations
- Experiment with gradients on text, images, and buttons

TEMPLATES AND FAVORITES
• Get inspired with pre-made designs
• Save your favourite gradients for future use
• Build a personal library of inspiring colour schemes

EXPORT AND SHARE
• Save your work as high-quality images
• Export gradients as ready-to-use code
• Use your creations in any project

I made Meshing because I believe everyone should be able to create beautiful designs, even if you are not a professional artist.

Give the magic of Meshing a try and create amazing gradients!

I used uppercased headings to highlight the main feature categories. This format allows potential users to grasp the main features quickly while providing more detailed information for those who want to dive deeper with bullet points.

I feel it is much easier to read the feature points, so users can quickly scan and digest the app's key selling points.

Here is what I learned from writing the description:

• Your first few sentences should hook the reader
• Use short paragraphs and bullet points for readability
• Highlight key features and benefits
• (I have not got them yet) Include social proof (awards, user testimonials)
• End with a clear call to action

I want to iterate more on it to let my artistic soul wild with words. Users appreciate authenticity and, according to me, are often drawn to apps that feel personal and crafted with care.

Creating the Promotional Text

Here is what I went with the promotional text. It is harder than I thought to put everything in those 170 characters:

Quickly create beautiful gradients for wallpapers and backgrounds. Describe your idea or use a photo, and watch the magic happen. No skills needed—just your imagination!

1. It is consice, clear and immediately tells users what the app does.
2. It mentions photo-to-gradient and description-based creation without mentioning AI.
3. It tells the user about the outcome or result they will get: wallpapers and backgrounds.
4. I assume "No skills needed" makes it appealing to a wider audience.
5. Some wordplay with "Watch the magic happen" to create excitement!
6. Finally, I gave it a personal touch with "Your imagination" to make it relatable.

Moving Forward

I am happy with this first iteration of the app store description and promotional text. It is a solid start, but there is always room for improvement.

I will keep an eye on other app descriptions in the App Store, especially those in the design and creativity categories. I learned so much from just one successful app.

Once Meshing is live next month, I will pay close attention to user reviews and feedback. Their words might give me ideas for better ways to describe the app's features or benefits.

This process has shown me that marketing is a skill I can develop. With each iteration, I hope to improve my ability to articulate my thoughts and communicate them to users.

For now, it is time to get back into my cave and code.

Happy writing!