Ex-Apple Engineer Reveals Five Things You Can Do To Get Your iOS App Noticed By Apple

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Getting your app noticed by Apple may be easier than you think if you follow these tips.
Getting your app noticed by Apple may be easier than you think if you follow these tips.

As Apple’s App Store continues to grow at an incredible rate, it’s becoming increasingly hard for iOS developers to get their apps noticed. There are currently more than 700,000 titles already available, which is an awful lot to compete with if you’re a newcomer without any previous App Store presence.

But there are some things you can do to get your apps recognized by Apple, according to one of the company’s former engineers, Matt Drance. These five tips will help Apple’s review staff notice your apps, which gives you a better chance of getting it picked for one of the App Store’s featured sections.

Get Noticed

Try to get some recognition for your app from the right websites and blogs. This isn’t as hard as it sounds if you have a great app, and there’s a good chance that once people start writing about it, Apple will see it. “Apple employees are very similar to Apple fans,” Drance says. “They read a lot of the same websites.”

“You don’t just want to do a PR blast. There’s nothing wrong with it, but don’t make the mistake that it’s enough.”

Execution

We’re well aware of Apple’s attention to detail and its obsession over the littles things, and that includes design and experience. Therefore it’s important to ensure your app works well and is well-designed.

“In terms of getting Apple’s attention, they are looking at execution,” according to Drance. “It doesn’t matter what the app does as long as it does it well and is well-designed.”

Make A Video

The only thing that beats a picture of your app is a video of it in action. Screenshots show what your app looks like, but they don’t show what it can do. A good demonstration video can make a big difference — just make sure you focus on the app, rather than trying to make people laugh.

“I think that people really underestimate the power of a video demo. The video should be about the app. People do too much with comedy,” Drance says.

Use New Features

Apple adds new feature to iOS with every major release. Be one of the first to take advantage of these and you’re going to get its attention, according to Drance:

“Using new stuff immediately definitely gives you a shot at getting someone’s attention at Apple. Apple is probably going to be very interested in highlighting transit apps in their next event. So that’s not too hard a crystal ball to read.”

Go To Events

Finally, it’s time to take yourself away from your keyboard and speak to people face-to-face. Take yourself to events like WWDC where you’ll find real Apple employees and talk to them about your app. “If they think it’s cool, they will start showing it to people in Cupertino,” Drance says. “There’s no secret handshake. It’s a fairly organic process.”

So that’s just five things you can do to get your app noticed by Apple. There may be a lot of competition, but follow these tips and as long as your app is worth noticing, App Store success may not be as hard as you think.

Source: Business Insider

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