Have you heard of in-app content?

The concept is new to me too.

Once I realized that in-app content is all the content within apps that encourage further purchases I realized I’ve been exposed to this quite a few times. And the number of times I’m exposed to it seems to be increasing.

It appears the strategy of in-app purchases and content is taking off as successful.

From The Future of In-App Purchases:

Mobile applications worldwide provide several different ways for developers to earn money from consumers as well as advertisers, and revenue from in-app purchases is expected to surpass revenue from pay-per-downloads in 2012.

The trend makes sense. If you use your smartphone or similar device you probably realize the power of in-app purchases.

I realize now that I’ve seen this in work a few times. I see it all the time with games or news apps. They offer their content and their app for free or relatively cheap, but you have to put up with the advertisments. Sometimes it’s not too invasive, but other time’s it’s worth the extra $4.99 or whatever the price is to remove the ads.

I’ve also seen the journalist websites and apps provide some content for free while charging for the more in-depth articles. The pay-gate or tiered approach seems to work well for in-app purchases. People read the free content and then crave the paid content. The freemium model lives.

Now, you might be wondering what this has to do with blogging and blogging strategy.

Well, the in-app model made me think of a how a blogging strategy could work well with a company selling in-app purchases to smartphone and device users.

In-App Content Strategy

The strategy for a company selling in-app purchases would be to create a blog that has great content. The content is what would bring in the app users.

For example, a company that is selling men’s belts could create an app that is a daily blog on various men’s fashion and apparel topics. The blog would include articles on everything from how to tie a tie to what colors make for the best look in certain body types. There is a lot of great content you could write for such a blog and there are even opportunities to create videos and interactive tutorials. The blogging strategy is sound and the in-app purchases could coincide with the blog. Belts could be offered with advertisements or more clever in-app integration.

I think we’ll see more of this as smartphone and tablet use rises.

A different example might be golf media company. They could create a blog that shares some insight into how to swing a golf club. The posts could offer some good insight, but as the in-app purchase there could be the offer of further in-depth swing analysis and even more content and tips from the pros.

I can think of a few apps that probably have this exact same model or even something similar, but you probably get the point.

In-app purchasing is increasing as a way to generate profit.

The intersection of blogging and in-app purchasing is an area of opportunity as well.