App Store Sales Tips and Tricks
by Chris Jorgensen · in Torque 2D for the iPhone · 05/13/2009 (5:01 pm) · 15 replies
I've learned a few things about how to sell games in the app store in the last few weeks. I figure others have as well. So why not start a thread about it? Here are a few things that I've learned.
- If you're not in the Most Popular apps categories, try to stay in the Latest Releases category; your sales will be higher
- Any app update will put you back in Latest Releases (at least in the phone's app store)
- Apps over 10MB can only be downloaded over wifi and not 3G, which limits buyers
- A price drop will put you in website lists that track sales; so it's good to occasionally go "on sale" to gain exposure
Anyone else come across some wisdom they'd like to share?
- If you're not in the Most Popular apps categories, try to stay in the Latest Releases category; your sales will be higher
- Any app update will put you back in Latest Releases (at least in the phone's app store)
- Apps over 10MB can only be downloaded over wifi and not 3G, which limits buyers
- A price drop will put you in website lists that track sales; so it's good to occasionally go "on sale" to gain exposure
Anyone else come across some wisdom they'd like to share?
About the author
Owner of Cascadia Games
#2
I thought I read that if you're using your phone, any update still puts you in the update list. But in iTunes, it does not. I can certainly attest that the latest releases on my phone are anything but...
Update: Here's a nice free app ranking site: www.topappcharts.com
05/13/2009 (5:30 pm)
App ranker looks handy!I thought I read that if you're using your phone, any update still puts you in the update list. But in iTunes, it does not. I can certainly attest that the latest releases on my phone are anything but...
Update: Here's a nice free app ranking site: www.topappcharts.com
#3
05/14/2009 (8:09 am)
It might be that the AppStore app on the device still works the old way, but there have been at least three phases of changes to how the store works just this year. See the complaint threads on the Apple developer forums for information :)
#4
05/14/2009 (6:50 pm)
Nice! I've stickied this thread, as I can see its usefulness in the long-term.
#5
06/07/2009 (6:02 pm)
After some research, here's what I've found. A price change or app update won't automatically put you up higher in the release list in the App Store any more. But you *can* change your release date if you've uploaded an update to your app, thus artificially putting you up as a new release. This is an abuse that I've seen many folks use... and have used myself when I update my apps. so use it yourself until Apple makes a sane policy. :)
#6
06/08/2009 (4:41 am)
Thanks, I'll keep that exploit in mind :)
#7
www.weplayiphone.com
www.touchmyapps.com
I'll add more as I discover them.
Update: Here's a far better list:
www.travisdunn.com/30-review-sites-to-promote-your-iphone-applications-games
07/17/2009 (7:22 pm)
I thought I'd start adding in sites that will actually review your games for free:www.weplayiphone.com
www.touchmyapps.com
I'll add more as I discover them.
Update: Here's a far better list:
www.travisdunn.com/30-review-sites-to-promote-your-iphone-applications-games
#8
Unfortunately, the actual release date that is shown on my page on iTunes itunes.com/apps/strummer is october 11th and not october 29th...
So Strummer won't show up on iTunes on the front page of the Music category when I sort by Release Date. There you can only see the newest apps of approximately today and yesterday, and not the ones - like mine - with a release date almost 3 weeks ago...
I found similar complaints about this issue on the apple forums.
Any approved ideas to avoid this?
10/30/2009 (12:49 pm)
When I uploaded my first app Strummer for approval, I selected the date of my upload (october 11th) as the release date, because I didn't know exactly how long apple's approval period would last. It took 18 days and my app is now on the store (october 29th).Unfortunately, the actual release date that is shown on my page on iTunes itunes.com/apps/strummer is october 11th and not october 29th...
So Strummer won't show up on iTunes on the front page of the Music category when I sort by Release Date. There you can only see the newest apps of approximately today and yesterday, and not the ones - like mine - with a release date almost 3 weeks ago...
I found similar complaints about this issue on the apple forums.
Any approved ideas to avoid this?
#9
devforums.apple.com/message/110589#110589
10/30/2009 (12:58 pm)
I think this should do the trick:devforums.apple.com/message/110589#110589
#10
Another one I should point out is the use of promo codes -- use 'em! They affect your rank. Give them away in the Touch Arcade forums, for example. They'll get snatched up quickly and you can push up your rank within your specific category (say games->racing->paid). I think there are enough potential buyers that you won't lose sales by giving away those 50 copies. In my experience, I sell more on days that I give copies away.
10/30/2009 (8:45 pm)
That's a good point. It definitely hurts to launch and not be in the latest releases list.Another one I should point out is the use of promo codes -- use 'em! They affect your rank. Give them away in the Touch Arcade forums, for example. They'll get snatched up quickly and you can push up your rank within your specific category (say games->racing->paid). I think there are enough potential buyers that you won't lose sales by giving away those 50 copies. In my experience, I sell more on days that I give copies away.
#11
10/30/2009 (9:00 pm)
I'm not going to sweat over giving away 50 free copies to anybody. Even if I gave them all away that's only $100 of potentially lost revenue for a $2.99 application, that's a wash in the grand scheme of things.
#12
Today (November 9) I found an an app on the music page that is (will be?) released on November 16!
My own app Strummer was released on October 29
You can find it on the App Store (also when you search for "strummer", "instrument" or "guitar" etc.) but it won't show up on October 29 when I browse the music category (sorted by release date...)
What's wrong?
11/09/2009 (2:05 pm)
App Store release date chaos?Today (November 9) I found an an app on the music page that is (will be?) released on November 16!
My own app Strummer was released on October 29
You can find it on the App Store (also when you search for "strummer", "instrument" or "guitar" etc.) but it won't show up on October 29 when I browse the music category (sorted by release date...)
What's wrong?
#13
regards,
rochelle
Simulation prêt
11/09/2009 (2:24 pm)
Nice! I've stickied this thread, as I can see its usefulness in the long-term. regards,
rochelle
Simulation prêt
#15
11/10/2009 (12:19 am)
I think the #13 post may be spam?
Torque 3D Owner Ronny Bangsund
One thing I've seen in some games is a reference to all games by a developer in their lite versions. A weblink to your product pages couldn't hurt in the full version.
Hand out those promo codes one at a time, so you can see if there are boosts in sales around the days those sites post a review of your game. Maybe you'll find one site to be particularly effective and ignore the rest.
Use AppRanking to watch your rank from day to day. If there's a drop, find more ways to spread the word. Maybe those review sites you ignored till now :)