In a move to push its marketing to the grass roots, Microsoft has started offering developers promotional codes
Developers generate codes from the Dev Centre from section found in the Monetisation tab on the sidebar of the app page.
They can select an app or in-app purchase and the number of code they want to generate, and then click Order Codes. The codes are generated and then downloaded in the form of a .tsv file (tab-separate value file). The file has all the codes, expiration dates, and URLs to share the codes with customers.
The developer then provides customers, testers, and reviewers with the promotional code or URL that leads the customer to a code redemption page. If the developer wants to give the customer a code instead of the URL, he or she can inform the customer that he can redeem the code at microsoft.com/redeem.
Once the customer has redeemed the code from the promotional URL code or the microsoft.com/redeem page, the customer will see a link to take them to the app in the Windows Store. If the code is for an app, the customer can click install without getting charged; if the code is for an in-app purchase, the customer can download the app to use the code.
Developers can monitor code usage, unredeemed code quantity, and see exactly when the codes expire.
Vole is asking for people’s opinions about its cunning plan.
