Learning from failures and successes

[readysetretro]

Hey guys,
Just hoping some of you could share the background into why any of your games failed or succeeded.

Game sales much lower than you expected? What do you think could have been done differently to improve sales?

Game sales much higher than anticipated?
What can you attribute this to, and attempt to recreate for another game?

Very broad topic, but ultimately this is just what I'm always hoping to gain from reading through the developers forums.

[LinQsta]

When I created my first app, I had expectations of it being the next Instagram, get tens of thousands of downloads etc etc, I was brought down to earth very quickly. Mistake no1 - expect to become a failure if you assess yourself against high expectations. Instead, think of your app in the same way as launching a new website, it may appear on the Internet, but unless anyone knows about it, you will get no traffic and hence no sales.

I thought that the functionality was the most important factor to gain sales for the app and rushed a clinical looking icon. Mistake no 2 - the icon is equally important for enticing buyers, so get a reputable graphic designer to do a sterling job. I had a total of 90 downloads after 3 weeks of my first app. I decided to remove the app from the store and start over. I got a great designer for just £150 (I negotiated and said I had a small budget being an indie) and he produced a superb icon. When I re-launched, I had 250 downloads on the first day and over 3 weeks, had exceeded 1000 downloads, and it entered the top 100 highest grossing apps in the category.

I read on the Internet that a site called greatapps.com was a great place to launch a new app, so I submitted the app for review and was manipulated into going for their best package. Mistake no3 - dont be fooled by the staff at sites like this, they promise the world and you don't get so much as a grain of sand. I achieved no downloads through this site, and came to realise that most sites do this. Tread carefully.

I thought "if you build it, they will come". My brother in law released a very basic app and got 1500 downloads on day 1 around two years ago, having done zero marketing of it, so I expected my quality app would easily outclass it. Mistake no 4 - those days on App Store no longer exist. You have to aim to be featured on the App Store in new and noteworthy or what's hot, and market the app like crazy. Get a youtube video, employ a publisher, set up social media pages, get a review from the millions of sites that never get back to you...the works!! Treat the app promotion task like a proper business and you will gain success.

Some other points to consider:
Give the app a clear title and add some good keywords in the title to get some extra SEO, I.e. Bingo Dash - addictive and fun gambling game with chat features
Uploading Screenshots - don't settle for basic screenshots of your game, it's the main thing users see when they view your app in the current iteration of the App Store, so make them good. Again get a graphic designer to add captions - see my app LinkPal Pro, and other apps such as BubbleGalaxy with buddies.
Think like a business owner, not like a business opportunity seeker - produce apps that will add value to users, not one where the focus is on making massive income for yourself. This will build a loyal user base.
Share functionality - give users the ability to share content via Facebook, twitter, Instagram, I.e. pictures, high scores etc - this will get the name out there quickly with little effort.
Invite friends button - allow users to invite friends to join by adding an email address.
Push notifications - integrate these into your app so users are reminded that your app is there. It's easy for users to user your app once and then it gets lost on pages of other apps.
Evolve your app - give it an update at least every 6 months with something unique that wows your users and builds some loyalty.
Make sure there is a page on each of your apps that cross-sells your other apps (if you have more than 1) - you need to get visibility how ever you can nowadays.

App marketing lesson over... Good luck!

[batgirl717111]

great tips, LinQsta, thanks for sharing!!

[TheFootballPlaybook]

I am going through the release of my app right now...i just made a post here about what i plan to do t=182040http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=182040


@LinQsta great post. looking into adding sharing on social networks as a result!
my game has solutions to its puzzles so it would be cool for people to share their solution. if you have any comments on my plan they would be much appreciated.

[Philipp_S]

"Give the app a clear title and add some good keywords in the title to get some extra SEO, I.e. Bingo Dash - addictive and fun gambling game with chat features"

I think, you gave some great advice up there, but I'm not so sure about adding keyword-rich taglines to app names. They can quickly look spammy, and it looks like Apple has reduced the impact of app titles on app store placement anyway: http://de.slideshare.net/kolinko/new...p-store-search

[LinQsta]

Before I tested this kind of title, I was in the same boat. However, having relaunched the app and tested this theory, my app is getting a very healthy stream of downloads per day, where the previous version I was getting no downloads per day.

When it comes to the strongest powered keywords, app title is considered higher than keywords, so your app is more likely to come up than a competitor who has similar keywords.

[fpadillao]

Great Tips @LinQsta. I think now days you need a long term plan, the success is not coming with just one app (you got to be a lucky genius) . You need an audience and many apps you can cross marketing each other and maybe one of them will be your bestseller.

[ThreeCubes]

Originally Posted by LinQsta

Before I tested this kind of title, I was in the same boat. However, having relaunched the app and tested this theory, my app is getting a very healthy stream of downloads per day, where the previous version I was getting no downloads per day.

When it comes to the strongest powered keywords, app title is considered higher than keywords, so your app is more likely to come up than a competitor who has similar keywords.

I thought apple had changed the policy on app names ranking higher in keywords as people started to post apps with massive names. I'm pretty sure this is not true now.

[deemen]

One good idea for testing your App Icon (since it is really critical), is to A/B test it on an ad network. Make two ads with the same copy but different icons and see which has a better click through rate.

[Appvism]

Originally Posted by LinQsta

Instead, think of your app in the same way as launching a new website, it may appear on the Internet, but unless anyone knows about it, you will get no traffic and hence no sales.

@LinQsta I'd like to also thank you for your detail reply back and your feedback - I do especially like your quote above, so true!