"Free app a day" Useful as a Marketing Tool?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by Ian, May 22, 2010.

  1. Ian

    Ian Well-Known Member

    Dec 24, 2009
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    I see many devs using the free app a day style campaigns to boost awareness of their apps. Has anyone tried this? How does a top 10 ranking in the free pages translate to the paid rankings? I understand that you lose the free ranking and have to start all over in the rankings; whats the point then?
     
  2. lukeca

    lukeca Well-Known Member

    Jul 22, 2009
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    I think a free app with some sort of in-app purchase is the best way to take advantage of the free app a day promotion
     
  3. ipod_david

    ipod_david Well-Known Member

    May 3, 2010
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    I think many will tell their friends: hey dude I got a cool game, get it too... oh bummer its paid again? come on then, buy it its totally worth it. I think thats how itcould work too!?!
     
  4. Mondae

    Mondae Well-Known Member

    Feb 26, 2010
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    Perv, why do you care?
    Or, it could go like: hey dude this game is free today. Get it today. *then updates facebook status with: hey cool free game today, here is a link.*
     
  5. Flickitty

    Flickitty Well-Known Member

    Oct 14, 2009
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    I usually ignore freeappaday.com, because I got tired of the FREE games that weren't really free, they were just a front for DLC.

    I'm not completely opposed to DLC, but goddam it, if you are telling me that you are giving me a game for free, it better be FREE.

    Plus, I don't agree with their shady methods and the ridiculous rhetoric from the foreign retard admin of the site, with his extremely limited vocabulary learned from watching too many Billy Mays infomercials.

    There are far better free site options out there: better for the consumers, better for the developers and better for the industry.
     
  6. Rocotilos

    Rocotilos Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2009
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    I am also wondering if this free app a day is good. its like, you are giving it for free just a day. it does not translate to good ranking in the paid section the next day either.
     
  7. MrBlue

    MrBlue Well-Known Member

    Sep 3, 2008
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    For those that are interested, you should do some legwork.

    Before I signed up the first time, I went to the sites, looked at every single app that's ever been promoted, looked at appshopper.com to get a sense of history of the app, and then looked at appannie.com to get historical ranks.

    Some apps went free for 1 day, while others went free for a week, while others are still free. You need to look at iTunes and possibly get a copy if it's still free.

    Some apps did well, while others not so well. It's not a silver bullet that will make my magic 8-ball clone into a best seller. If you look at some success stories like Tiki Totem and Ground Effect, they are both really well made games.

    Lastly, trust, but verify. I always research apps myself regardless what I've been told or read.
     
  8. Ian

    Ian Well-Known Member

    Dec 24, 2009
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    Friendsheep HD

    Friendsheep HD is currently #5 free app on the iPad, as a result of our free promotion.

    It's been a big headache for us. We can either convert it back to paid, and have to climb the paid charts, or we can implement in-app purchase. I've also heard the conversion rates for IAP can be as low as 2-3%.
     
  9. headcaseGames

    headcaseGames Well-Known Member

    Jun 26, 2009
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    Hollywood, CA
    I contacted them to see if they'd be interest, I'd love to get the exposure. Since release our visibility is dropping off and I feel that word of mouth the likes of which we could get from doing that is potentially very big.

    Going free without their promotion feels like it would be useless though. Anyway, there are my thoughts on the matter, like 'em or hate 'em.
     
  10. OneEye

    OneEye Well-Known Member

    Apr 21, 2009
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    Freeappaday did well for Underworlds. We got about 160k downloads in 36 hours, went into the top 5 overall. After the promotion we saw a 100% increase in sales for the first week and 50% since then. NOTE - this promotion is not free, if you dont have cash don't even try it.
     
  11. Flickitty

    Flickitty Well-Known Member

    Oct 14, 2009
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    Percentages always crack me up- because they are completely useless. If you sold 1 app on Monday and 2 apps on Tuesday, HEY YOU JUST SAW A 100% INCREASE!

    Are real sales numbers forbidden or something?

    Impossible Test zipped to the top of the charts as well, via FreeAppCalendar, and that site is completely free. I've heard that DLC was doing okay for that app- and it still ranks in the Top 100.
     
  12. ICS Mobile

    ICS Mobile Well-Known Member

    Aug 1, 2009
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    There you go:

    http://www.appannie.com/creamy-ice/ranking/history/

    http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/MouthOff/news.asp?c=20986

    http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/ThumbFire+news/news.asp?c=20787

    The solution has been improving over time but If you don't have a very very polished app, going free will get you nowhere, but if you do just like creamy ice or the chop chop series it might get you to the top 30 total US paid apps, Also the app stays visible on the site for up to 30 days as a paid app which also helps increase visibility and returns, but as someone mentioned earlier don't jump in without investigating!!
     
  13. Mondae

    Mondae Well-Known Member

    Feb 26, 2010
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    Perv, why do you care?
    Just wanted to tell you to keep up the good work with all these free apps.


    n
    (||)
     
  14. ICS Mobile

    ICS Mobile Well-Known Member

    Aug 1, 2009
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    Thanks! Mondae :)
     
  15. DaveMc99

    DaveMc99 Well-Known Member

    Mar 1, 2009
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    Seattle, WA USA
  16. ipod_david

    ipod_david Well-Known Member

    May 3, 2010
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    one should on the other side consider the fact that the free campaigns will also infect your ratings. FAAD is always motivating us to give reviews if the game is good. But what I saw in this very time are stupid-n00b-reviews with 2 or 1 stars even if the game is well polished (e.g. 2360 battle game). That piss' me off since those guys dont really understand that actually in some cases money and therefore an existence are behind these games (not to mention many many many hours of hard work, which I dont even know *lol*)

    FAAD, keep up the good work
    release the app soon
     
  17. ICS Mobile

    ICS Mobile Well-Known Member

    Aug 1, 2009
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    Hey Dave, Thanks again for the great sentence you wrote back then (alexa stats), when I was getting blasted from all over the place, it helped a lot! :)
     
  18. Vinvy

    Vinvy Well-Known Member

    Apr 9, 2010
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    I honestly didnt like 2360 and rated it low, if someone doesnt like a game they should rate it appropriately. I hate this idea that simply because someone worked on something they should get 5 stars, im not giving a high five to the devs for all their hard work, i am writing the review so that other people can read it and see if they like the game. *The rating system isnt there for the devs it's there for the consumer, if I dont like something I will rate it accordingly. If you think I am a stupid-n00b that is OK, but please understand why the system is there, and that not everyone likes the same games as you.
     
  19. Mondae

    Mondae Well-Known Member

    Feb 26, 2010
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    Perv, why do you care?
    The rating system is clogged with idiots. No wonder developers want 5 star reviews. So many people download and rate 1 star over something stupidly obvious, like the view in GTA; CTW which can be seen in screenshots.
     
  20. PixelthisMike

    PixelthisMike Well-Known Member

    It is okay to not like a game because it's just not your thing. However, I don't think that necessarily justifies giving it one star. One star should mean the game is actually lacking in some way, i.e. it is full of bugs or has 10 minutes of gameplay but costs $10 etc.

    If I played a good game that just wasn't my cup of tea I would touch on the good points, point out it just wasn't for me and give it an average rating.
     

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