MagLoft allows you to offer auto-renewable subscriptions to your magazine. At this moment, it’s important to note that you currently need to manually log into your Apple developer account to create in-app purchases.

We are working on ways to automate this but until that is completed you will need to do this manually. Please find below the steps on what to do when you want to offer subscriptions in Appstore Connect.

Please note these steps are specifically if you want to set up subscriptions. If you want to set up a single paid issue, kindly check out our article here.

If you want to offer subscriptions, your issues will need to have either the Paid or Subscribe unlock type.

Please note that issues set as Paid can be unlocked either via subscriptions or purchasing it as an individual issue, while issues set as Subscribe can only be unlocked via subscriptions.

After setting up the issues unlock type, go to the Portal > Sales > App Subscriptions to set up the subscriptions you want to offer.

You need to set up the duration of the subscription, trial period, title, description, price, and unlock type.

There are two different unlock types for subscriptions: Unlock Latest Issue and Unlock All Backissue.

If you choose the unlock type to be Unlock Latest Issue, readers who purchased this subscription will only unlock one (1) issue (which is the latest one) first and then will continue to unlock the future issues during his active subscriptions.

For example, A reader purchased the subscriptions on 30th of August, and the latest issue that is published live in the app when he purchased it was the August issue. He will then unlock the August issue immediately upon purchasing the subscription, and all of the future issues available as long as his subscription status remains active.

The other unlock type is Unlock All Backissue, which means that readers who purchased this subscription will unlock all of the back issues available before his subscription date, and then will continue to unlock future issues during his active subscriptions.

Taking the example above, if the subscription was set to unlock all back issue, the reader who purchased it will not only unlock the August issue. He will unlock all of the other issues available within the app that is published before his subscription date, and all of the future issues available as long as his subscription status remains active.

You will also need to pay attention to the product IDs available within the App Subscriptions set up. These Product IDs have been separated into each platform available (Apple, Google, Amazon, Web App).

To create the subscriptions in Apple App Store, you need to use the Product IDs available in the field with Apple icon as shown:

1. Log in to your App Store Connect

2. Click My Apps and select the app you'd like to add the subscription to

3. On the left side menu, click the Manage option under In-App Purchase:

You will see a list of your existing in-app purchases (if any). Click on the + icon next to the In-App Purchase to add a new one. For Subscriptions, at the moment MagLoft only supports auto-renewable subscriptions, so ensure that you choose that:

You will then be asked to fill out the Reference Name and Product ID.
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The reference name will be used on App Store Connect and in Sales and Trends reports. It won't be displayed on the App Store. Think of it as the internal name for your subscriptions.

The Product ID is the ID available in the App Subscription section in MagLoft portal. Please note that after you use a Product ID for one product, it can’t be used again, even if the product is deleted.

Next, select the Subscription Group (or create a new one) that you'd like to add this specific subscription to. We recommend keeping all of your subscriptions in one group just so it's easier to check and track.

Once you've selected the subscription group, you will be asked to fill out the details of the subscription as below:

Choose your Subscription Duration, Subscription Prices, as well as the Localization.

After selecting the Localization, you will be asked to fill out the Subscription Display Name (this will be displayed in App Store and is public to everyone) as well as the Description of the subscription.

Once you've filled these, scroll down to see these for the next step:

The App Store Promotion is optional and can be skipped altogether. However, for the Review Information, you will need to provide a screenshot and Review Notes.

The screenshot can be the cover image of any of your issues, and you can reuse the same cover image as the screenshots for all of your subscriptions.

As for the Review Notes, ensure that you include this sentence:

Once you've completed these settings, you can go ahead and click Save and Submit the In-App Purchase for Review. It usually takes a day or two for the in-app purchase to be approved by Apple.