My experience getting featured as Game of the Day in the Apple App Store in 34 countries
I have been an indie app developer for over 10 years now. My most successful app is a geography learning game called Where is that?. It was downloaded over 8 million times across Android and iOS. But I was yet to be featured in the App Store.
Finally in June 2021 I received an Email from Apple App Store Connect which left me quite excited. They were requesting assets for a possible feature in the App Store.
The request included some details regarding the required assets and download links for Photoshop templates for me to fill. The deadline was set one week later. I signed up for a Photoshop subscription and immediately prepared the graphics, including several options for Apple to choose from. I uploaded the files to a newly unlocked section for my App in iTunes Connect called “promotional material”. The assets were approved a day later and I was good to go.
The requested assets already hinted at the kind of feature I could expect, as they included artwork for the Today tab as Game of the Day in English. That could possibly mean USA or UK, which are both exciting markets to be featured in.
Now the waiting game began. You don’t get any updates and the feature is not guaranteed. I watched my user numbers and the worldwide features every day to not miss anything. I speculated as to how long in advance features are planned. Probably 4–8 weeks.
Finally after 7 1/2 weeks I notice unusual activity in my App Analytics. I usually see 25–30% new users every day. On August 16, 2021 that number jumped up to 55–60%. Excited I tried to figure out if I was featured. I used the Appfollow site for an overview about app features and found that Where is that? was featured in the UK and Ireland as Game of the Day.
On the day of the feature my app received 4508 downloads in the UK and 199 in Ireland. Compared to the previous daily downloads of 22 in the UK and 1.6 in Ireland that was a massive increase. As a result I also jumped up the App Store charts, reaching Top 10 positions in both family and trivia games.
I have yet to see the long term impact of this feature, but I am excited and thankful for this opportunity after 10 years in the App Store as an Indie developer.
I want to point of however, that I am a single developer called Till Henrik Jonathan Hillebrand and not two called Till Henrik and Jonathan Hillebrand as in the feature :)
If you want to check out my app, you can find the download links for the iOS and Android version of Where is that? on my website.
Update 19/10/2021
Yesterday I casually checked my user numbers before going to bed, noticing a 300% increase. I immediately knew there was some external effect in play here. It turns out Apple followed up with a feature as “Game of the Day” in 32 European countries.
I did not have any indication of that happening. Apple did not request additional localized assets or communicate regarding any upcoming features. But as the assets did not contain any text per their request, they could easily use them. They just translated the original text into the respective App Store languages.
This massive feature resulted in a sea of green in the download charts.
Interestingly it was not enough to reach a top 1 category spot. That shows the maturity of the App Store. Major players are dominating the charts. When I started over 10 years ago it was easy for an indie developer like myself to reach the top of the overall charts, especially with a feature like this.
I am grateful for such appreciation of my work and am excited for what is ahead of me.
I would also love your feedback on a new project I have been working on called Jaysquared Events. It’s a white label live quiz app for companies to use for fairs and events. Using two iPads you can create a multiple choice or geography quiz app in just a few minutes. Colors, fonts, logo, timer and questions are customizable to your CI. All for a low pay per use fee without any upfront costs. The app is modular and I am open to further variations, like a kiosk mode with daily prize draw. Reach out to me at jonathan@jaysquared.com if you are interested.
