Featured / spotlight apps

[tsr1983]

Hi developers

I've been developing apps for almost 2 years now and I'm really enjoying it and starting to get better. So far, none of my apps have been featured / put in spotlight or something similar, so I was wondering if any of you have accomplished this with some of your apps? Do you have to be lucky or is it purely based on the quality of the app / how unique it is? Is the promotional images you can upload during the process a requirement for this to happen?

If you have any tips on how to improve the chances for this to happen (besides making good apps), please share

Best regards
Thomas

 

[anon(9090490)]

I also have the same problem. I published my first app, but it has not been spotlighted yet and I do not know whether it will ever happen. It seems, it is a hidden and mystic process inside Microsoft we cannot affect anyhow. The only good resource I found about this in their blogs is the following:

http://blogs.windows.com/buildingap...your-app-promoted-in-the-windows-phone-store/

I also recommend that you install the App Spotlights tool by the DotNetApp developer to monitor spotlights for your app and to know about other apps that were lucky:

www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/app-spotlights/33695cc5-1f28-40f1-b5d3-e7f06f74820e

 

[tsr1983]

Thank you for your input. It seems I'm not alone wondering what it takes, maybe I'll just have to wait and hope for the best. And make apps, of course.

I didn't know about the App Spotlight app, very useful. Will be using that one from now.

 

[0vZ]

It seems, that Microsoft team should like your app or game and then it would be featured.
My game is spotlited every week (sometimes two times a week). Most of times in several markets per each featuring.
Each time I have email from Microsoft, telling me the date and markets, where my game would be featured.

As far as I understand, your app/game should be cool, it should meet interface guidelines, and it should be some kind of unique.

What is not very good - my game wasn't ever spotlighted on markets, that I'm most initerested in: USA, Europe (except several countries), Russia.
But it was featured in China and India for..... 3 times
From Europe it was featured just in Greece, Norway, Albania, Croatia, Macedonia.

 

[tsr1983]

It seems a little bit random, but I guess it makes sense that they should like the app before putting it in spotlight. I couldn't find much official information about the topic, so it got me wondering how the process works.

At least your app got spotlighted, but a shame it wasn't your targeted markets.