- Monetization Strategy
- End-to-end monetization guidance for Apple platform apps — from "should I charge?" to "here's your pricing page structure."
- When This Skill Activates
- Use this skill when the user:
- Asks "should I monetize my app?" or "is my app ready to charge?"
- Wants help choosing between freemium, subscription, or one-time purchase
- Needs pricing tier recommendations
- Asks about free trial strategy
- Wants to plan monetization for a specific app type (kids, therapy, productivity, etc.)
- Mentions "pricing", "revenue model", or "how to make money from my app"
- Wants to understand Apple's commission structure
- Process
- Phase 1: Readiness Assessment
- Before recommending a pricing model, evaluate whether the app is ready to monetize. Ask these questions via AskUserQuestion:
- 1. App Stage
- Pre-launch (idea/prototype)
- Beta / TestFlight
- Live with users (< 1K)
- Live with traction (1K+ users)
- 2. Value Proposition
- What problem does your app solve?
- Who is the target user?
- What alternatives exist (including doing nothing)?
- 3. Current State
- Do you have active users?
- What's your retention like? (Day 1, Day 7, Day 30)
- Are users asking for features / willing to pay?
- Readiness Scorecard
- Evaluate against these criteria:
- Signal
- Ready
- Not Ready
- Core value
- Clear, differentiated
- Still finding product-market fit
- User retention
- D7 > 20%
- D7 < 10%
- User feedback
- "I'd pay for this"
- Silence or complaints
- Feature depth
- Enough for free + paid split
- Everything feels essential
- Competition
- You offer something unique
- Commodity feature set
- Polish
- Professional quality
- Rough edges everywhere
- Recommendation thresholds:
- 5-6 Ready signals → Monetize now
- 3-4 Ready signals → Soft-launch pricing (low price, gather data)
- 0-2 Ready signals → Focus on product first, monetize later
- Phase 2: Pricing Model Selection
- Based on app type and user behavior, recommend the right model.
- Decision Framework
- Is the app used daily/weekly?
- ├── YES → Does it provide ongoing value?
- │ ├── YES → SUBSCRIPTION
- │ └── NO → ONE-TIME PURCHASE (with optional tip jar)
- └── NO → Is it a utility/tool?
- ├── YES → ONE-TIME PURCHASE or FREEMIUM
- └── NO → Is it content-based?
- ├── YES → SUBSCRIPTION or CONSUMABLE IAP
- └── NO → FREEMIUM with premium unlock
- Model Comparison
- Read
- pricing-models.md
- for detailed comparison of each model:
- Subscriptions (auto-renewable)
- One-time purchase (paid upfront or freemium unlock)
- Consumable IAP (credits, tokens)
- Non-consumable IAP (feature unlock)
- Tip jar / patronage
- Ad-supported with premium upgrade
- App-Type Recommendations
- Read
- app-type-guides.md
- for specific guidance by app category:
- Productivity / task management
- Health / therapy / wellness
- Kids / education
- Creative tools
- Social / community
- Developer tools
- Finance / budgeting
- Phase 3: Tier Structure
- Once a model is selected, design the tier structure.
- Subscription Tiers (if applicable)
- Two-tier structure
- (recommended for most indie apps):
- FREE PRO ($X.99/mo or $XX.99/yr)
- ───────────────────── ─────────────────────────────
- Core functionality Everything in Free
- Limited usage/storage Unlimited usage
- Basic features Advanced features
- Priority support (optional)
- Early access to new features
- Three-tier structure
- (for apps with clear user segments):
- FREE PLUS ($X.99/mo) PRO ($XX.99/mo)
- ──────────── ────────────────── ──────────────────
- Basic use Power user Professional/team
- Ads/limits No ads, more quota Unlimited + extras
- Pricing Psychology
- Anchor pricing
-
- Show yearly first to make monthly look expensive
- Price ending
-
- Use .99 for < $10, round numbers for premium ($19, $29)
- Yearly discount
-
- 15-40% off monthly equivalent (sweet spot: ~30%)
- Decoy effect
-
- Three tiers where middle looks like best value
- Regional pricing
-
- Use App Store price tiers for automatic localization
- Free vs. Paid Feature Split
- The hardest decision. Follow these principles:
- Free tier should:
- Demonstrate the core value proposition
- Be genuinely useful (not a crippled demo)
- Create natural upgrade moments ("you've hit the limit")
- Let users invest time/data before hitting the paywall
- Paid tier should:
- Unlock power/convenience, not basic functionality
- Feel like "more of what you love" not "removing annoyances"
- Include at least one "hero feature" worth paying for alone
- ❌ Bad splits:
- Free: Can view data → Paid: Can edit data (feels hostile)
- Free: 3-day trial → Paid: Everything (no ongoing free value)
- Free: Everything → Paid: Remove ads (weak value prop)
- ✅ Good splits:
- Free: 5 projects → Paid: Unlimited projects + templates
- Free: Basic tracking → Paid: Insights, trends, export
- Free: Single device → Paid: Sync across devices + widgets
- Phase 4: Free Trial Strategy
- Trial Types
- Type
- Best For
- Apple Support
- Introductory offer (free)
- Subscriptions
- Built-in via App Store
- Introductory offer (discounted)
- High-value subscriptions
- Built-in via App Store
- Feature-limited free tier
- Freemium apps
- N/A (your logic)
- Time-limited full access
- Productivity apps
- Built-in via App Store
- Trial Duration Recommendations
- App Type
- Trial Length
- Reason
- Daily-use productivity
- 7 days
- Quick to see value
- Health/fitness tracking
- 14 days
- Need time to build habit
- Creative tools
- 7 days
- One project cycle
- Business/professional
- 14-30 days
- Need to integrate into workflow
- Education/learning
- 7 days
- One learning cycle
- Trial Conversion Tactics
- Onboard to premium features
- during trial (not free features)
- Show "trial ending" reminder
- 2-3 days before expiration
- Highlight value received
- ("You tracked 47 workouts this month")
- Offer annual option
- at trial end (bigger commitment but better price)
- Win-back offer
- if they don't convert (promotional offer after 30 days)
- Phase 5: Implementation Guidance
- After strategy is set, guide implementation.
- Apple Commission Structure
- Scenario
- Apple's Cut
- You Keep
- Standard (Year 1)
- 30%
- 70%
- After Year 1 of subscription
- 15%
- 85%
- Small Business Program (< $1M/yr)
- 15%
- 85%
- Small Business + Year 2 subscription
- 15%
- 85%
- Important:
- Revenue calculations should always account for Apple's cut. A $9.99/mo subscription with Small Business Program = ~$8.49/mo to you.
- StoreKit 2 Implementation
- For code generation, refer users to the
- paywall-generator
- skill:
- Use the paywall-generator skill to create:
- - StoreKit 2 subscription management
- - Paywall UI (SwiftUI)
- - Receipt validation
- - Subscription status tracking
- Paywall UI Patterns (HIG-Compliant)
- Do:
- Show feature comparison (free vs. paid)
- Display price per period clearly
- Highlight savings on annual plan
- Include "Restore Purchases" button
- Show terms of service and privacy policy links
- Use system subscription views where available (iOS 18.4+)
- Don't:
- Block the app immediately on launch
- Use dark patterns (hidden close button, confusing language)
- Make it hard to dismiss the paywall
- Misrepresent subscription terms
- Auto-select the most expensive option
- App Store Review Guidelines (Monetization)
- Key rules to follow:
- 3.1.1
-
- In-app purchase required for digital content/features
- 3.1.2
-
- Subscriptions must provide ongoing value
- 3.1.3
-
- "Reader" apps can link to web for account management
- 3.2.2
-
- Unacceptable business models (bait-and-switch, etc.)
- 5.6
- Developer Code of Conduct (no manipulative tactics) Output Format Present monetization strategy as:
Monetization Strategy: [App Name]
- Readiness Assessment
- **
- Score
- **
- X/6 — [Ready to monetize / Soft-launch / Focus on product] | Signal | Status | Notes | |
|
|
| | Core value | ✅/❌ | ... | | Retention | ✅/❌ | ... | | User demand | ✅/❌ | ... | | Feature depth | ✅/❌ | ... | | Differentiation | ✅/❌ | ... | | Polish | ✅/❌ | ... |
Recommended Model ** [Model Name] ** — [One-line rationale]
Tier Structure | Feature | Free | Pro ($X.99/mo) | |
|
|
- |
- |
- ...
- |
- ✅
- |
- ✅
- |
- |
- ...
- |
- Limited
- |
- Unlimited
- |
- |
- ...
- |
- ❌
- |
- ✅
- |
- **
- Annual pricing
- **
- $XX.99/yr (XX% savings)
- Free Trial
- **
- Type
- **
-
- [Introductory offer / Feature-limited / etc.]
- **
- Duration
- **
-
- [X days]
- **
- Conversion tactics
- **
- [Bullet list]
Revenue Projections (Conservative) | Metric | Estimate | |
|
| | Monthly price | $X.99 | | Annual price | $XX.99 | | Conversion rate (free→paid) | X-X% | | Revenue per 1K MAU | $XXX-$XXX/mo |
Implementation Checklist
[ ] Configure products in App Store Connect
[ ] Implement StoreKit 2 (use paywall-generator skill)
[ ] Design paywall UI
[ ] Set up introductory offers
[ ] Add analytics for conversion tracking
[ ] Test with StoreKit Configuration file
[ ] Submit for review
Next Steps 1. [First action item] 2. [Second action item] 3. [Third action item] References pricing-models.md — Detailed comparison of all pricing models app-type-guides.md — Category-specific monetization recommendations paywall-generator skill — For StoreKit 2 code generation app-store skill — For App Store description optimization Apple App Store Review Guidelines §3 (Business) Apple StoreKit 2 documentation