The Field Almost Nobody Uses Well
If you've spent any time in App Store Connect, you've seen it: the Promotional Text field. It sits above your main description, accepts up to 170 characters, and has one unique superpower that most app developers completely ignore.
You can change it at any time — without submitting a new app version for review.
That might sound minor. It isn't. Every other piece of your App Store listing (title, subtitle, description, screenshots, preview video) requires an app update to change. Promotional text doesn't. You can log into App Store Connect right now and update it in five minutes, and it goes live within hours.
For a developer who wants to stay responsive to the market — seasonal moments, product launches, limited offers, press coverage — this is a significant tool. Here's how to use it.
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What Promotional Text Actually Is
Promotional text appears at the very top of your app description on the App Store product page. On iOS, users see it before the description text — though by default, only the first few lines are shown before a "more" button.
What it's NOT
- It is not indexed for keyword search. Writing keywords into your promotional text does nothing for discoverability. Apple explicitly does not use it for search ranking.
- It is not a substitute for your description. The description is still the place for thorough feature explanations and keyword-dense content.
- It is not shown in search results snippets consistently. Don't count on it being the first thing every user sees.
What it IS
- A live-editable headline for your most current message.
- A place to communicate time-sensitive information without waiting for app review.
- An opportunity to reinforce the one thing you most want a user to know before they read anything else.
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Six Ways to Use Promotional Text Strategically
1. Announce a new feature
When you ship a major update, update your promotional text to call it out directly.
> *"New in 3.0: AI-powered smart scheduling, redesigned calendar, and dark mode. Update now."*
This surfaces before the description and gives users who are browsing (not just searching) a reason to download or update.
2. Run a time-limited promotion
Promotional text is the only field you can change fast enough for a genuine limited-time offer.
> *"This week only: go Pro for 50% off. Offer ends Sunday."*
Because you can update it without an app review, you can flip this back to your default text when the offer ends — no version bump required.
3. React to press coverage or social momentum
If your app gets covered by a major publication or goes viral, promotional text is how you capitalize on that moment while it's hot.
> *"Featured in The Verge and Lifehacker. Download the app 1M+ people are talking about."*
This kind of social proof at the top of the listing can meaningfully improve conversion during a traffic spike.
4. Highlight an award or recognition
> *"Winner: Apple Design Award 2025. App of the Day in 40 countries."*
Awards and recognitions belong near the top of the listing. Promotional text puts them there.
5. Address a common concern directly
If your reviews consistently mention a specific concern — pricing, privacy, a particular missing feature — promotional text is a way to address it proactively.
> *"100% private. No account needed. Your data stays on your device."*
Users arrive at your page with objections. A well-written promotional text can defuse the most common one before they even read the description.
6. Set expectations for seasonal relevance
> *"Perfect for tax season. Import, organize, and export your receipts in minutes."*
Seasonal context can make an otherwise generic app feel exactly right for what a user is trying to do right now.
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Writing Effective Promotional Text
You have 170 characters. That's roughly two tweets combined — or one very punchy sentence and a follow-up.
Lead with the benefit, not the feature. Users don't care that you "added support for custom widgets." They care that they can "see their tasks on the Home Screen without opening the app."
Be specific. "Powerful and intuitive" is noise. "Export your budget as a PDF in one tap" is a claim users can evaluate and believe.
Use numbers where you have them. "Trusted by 80,000 users" or "4.8 stars across 2,300 reviews" carry more weight than "loved by users."
Test different angles. Since you can change promotional text without a review, there's no reason to set it once and forget it. Try a feature-focused version for a month, then a social proof version, then a seasonal one. Watch your conversion rate in App Store Connect analytics.
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When to Update It (A Practical Calendar)
| Moment | What to write | |--------|---------------| | New major version ships | Highlight the flagship new feature | | Sale or limited offer | State the offer and deadline clearly | | Press coverage lands | Quote the publication or describe the coverage | | Seasonal relevance | Connect the app to what users are doing right now | | Award or recognition | State the award | | Default (no specific event) | Your strongest value proposition or social proof |
Aim to review your promotional text at least once a month. Stale text that references a promotion that ended two months ago actively hurts credibility. Fresh text that's clearly current signals that the app is actively maintained.
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The Bigger Picture
Promotional text is a small field. But the ability to update it on your own schedule — without Apple's review process — is a capability most developers leave on the table.
It takes five minutes to update. It can meaningfully change what a user sees first on your page. And unlike screenshots or your title, there's no risk of an accidental rejection while you're tweaking the wording.
If you haven't touched your promotional text in the last 30 days, open App Store Connect right now and ask yourself: is this the best thing I could be saying to a new visitor today?
If the answer is no, update it. It's the fastest improvement you can make to your App Store listing.