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Writing a great app store description - Tips & examples

In this post we'll cover these key points:

• Social proof is really, really important
• Tell a story, don't rattle off features
• The first few lines matter, most people won't read the rest
• Localization matters
• Experiment to learn what works
• Some awesome examples

I've managed to build a number of apps that have achieved millions of downloads on the App Store. So I've had a lot of practice tweaking App Store descriptions, here is what I have learned:

Social proof is really, really important

Sure this is a chicken and egg problem, but if you have any stats to brag about don't hold back! Have you had millions of downloads? Has Apple featured you? Have you had awesome press? Does your mum love you? Brag away to make your brand name even more attractive to customers!

Tell a story, don't rattle off features

Selling a story of the person your potential customers want to be is what you are trying to achieve. Are they going to be awesomely productive? Are they going to save money? Are they going to get fit in just 7 minutes? Tell me about the super human I will become using your app.

The first few lines matter, most people won't read the rest

The App Store will only show a few lines unless the user decides to click on the more link (which they most likely won't). So make sure you cram all the good stuff at the top.

Localization matters

The majority of the world don't speak English, so you have to speak their language! Start with English and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Portuguese and Korean.

There are a bunch of services out there that will localize for you, ask a friend or try out a site like Fiverr.

Experiment to learn what works

The only way you are going to know what works is by experimenting, try different wording and numbers. If your sales go backwards you can always revert.

Some awesome examples

Here are some of my favorite examples:

About The Author

Stuart is Co-founder & Co-CEO of Appbot. Stuart has been involved in mobile as a developer, blogger and entrepreneur since the early days of the App Store. He built the 7 Minute Workout app in one night and blogged the story of growing the app to 2.3 million downloads before exiting to a large fitness device company. Previously he was the co-founder of the Discovr series of applications which achieved over 4 million downloads. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

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