Seven truths about “Apple Recommends”
I’m sure you’ve read a lot of tips on how to get recommended by the Apple Store, but many people still fall into a big misunderstanding. Not long ago, Greg Essig, a former App Store team executive, to reveal the truth about getting Apple’s recommendation to all developers. Stay tuned with asobooster.com for the latest mobile app news. You can also get the best app ranking service here. We provide ASO app ranking boosting service to increase discovery, revenue and better ranking. Contact us now for your success!
In the game world, there is a group of very mysterious people, they are the editors of Apple App Store. There are various rumors about how to get the recommendation from Apple Store, asobooster.com even heard that some teams even took the game demo and “squatted” in the coffee shop near Apple in order to get a recommendation seat.
Recently, asobooster.com spoke with Greg Essig, the head of global business development at FunPlus, who worked for Apple for three years before joining FunPlus to head up the games section of the App Store. He told us a lot of untold “truths” about App Store reviews and recommendations.
“If my game is good enough, it will always be recommended by the editor.”
Truth 1: Developers should contact App Store actively
“Many developers may think it is difficult to contact the App Store, and it is not necessary to have a personal relationship. But it’s really not.” Greg said.
In fact, the App Store has several dedicated email addresses to handle these requests, such as appstorepromotion#apple.com and appstoremarketing#apple.com, and if a developer has a game they want to be recommended, they can send an email to appstorepromotion#apple.com. In the email, developers should first describe the game and why Apple should recommend it, preferably with a video of the game and the developer’s own promotional plan, and someone from the Apple Store will handle the email.
“There may be times when this is a Chinese email, and we’ll have someone who understands Chinese look at it.” According to Greg, the App Store’s global team now covers 180 countries and regions, with about 30 international teams covering more than 60 different languages.
Of course, if there is a relatively large marketing campaign before the release of the game, editors will also notice when browsing major game blogs or websites such as Youtube, and they will even reach out to developers to ask for demo trials, but such tend to be in the minority.
In general, there are three ways for developers to actively apply for recommendations.
1. write an email request (highly recommended)
2. Do your own PR to attract the attention of Apple editors
3. through private referrals
“My game has been reviewed on the shelf for a long time, but it has not been recommended, is it hopeless?”
Truth 2: There are actually two groups of people who review games and recommend games
The App Store team is made up of three different functional teams.
The first is the management team, where Greg works, whose members are usually experts in their respective categories.
The second is the marketing team, which guides developers on the marketing side of each app to ensure that they are using the resources the App Store has to offer in the right way
The third is the editorial team, these people ultimately select the recommended bit of games, they work as a team, according to the App Store’s philosophy, this department will not be contacted by the outside world, they need to review the applications like consumers based on their own experience, judging their first impressions of these applications, whether they are interesting or not. This team needs to select those applications that consumers will really like without being influenced by display effects and marketing.
It’s worth mentioning that if you don’t reach out to the Apple Store, your games may never get recommended, especially those that are already live. That’s because the people who review games for shelf are a completely different team of editors than the ones who recommend them. “If you think your game is great, then don’t sit around waiting for a recommendation, you can’t wait for a recommendation.” The team that reviews the games probably spends less than half an hour on each game, and they’re mainly looking for violations,” Greg said. Unlike the recommendation editors, they spend more time playing each game, at least 3 or 4 hours a game.”
So if developers think their games are really great, they should be the ones to reach out to the App Store team, rather than waiting for the editors to find you, which is often not the case.
“My game is going to be in public beta in a few days, it’s not too late to contact Apple.”
Truth 3: It’s important to leave enough time and apply in advance
App Store teams are often large and cumbersome, and the recommendation process can be lengthy and not something one person can decide. As a result, developers need to submit their applications at least three weeks in advance (and even then they won’t necessarily get a recommendation). “That said, if your game’s public release date is already set, it’s perfectly fine to get your game on the shelves first and then contact the App Store at least three weeks in advance to apply for a recommendation, which works out perfectly in terms of timing,” Greg told asobooster.com “And most developers send out emails two or three days before release, but after they receive them, they still need to have a lot of people try and approve them, so at the end of the day it leads to limited time.”
Therefore, developers need to set aside enough time and marketing budget to support the associated marketing plan and PR plan, and then announce the release date. If you want to get a recommendation, it’s best to wait a while after sending an email, even if the game has been approved by the App Store, and you may need to re-plan the release date if necessary. If you want to get the global App Store recommendation, the editor has to declare upward to the global team, so it will take even longer time. Therefore, the more “ambitious” teams need to allow more time.
“Why did my game get recommended in China but not in Southeast Asia?”
Truth 4: The recommendation process differs from region to region
Since the App Store has separate stores around the world, it depends on the region whether the decision to get recommendations for games in different regions is made by the editorial team alone or by the entire department. For example, Greg’s previous team had specialists who specialized in game categories, while other regions did not. For example, the App Store team in China has four or five editors who are responsible for all the Chinese apps, not just in terms of games, but other categories as well. There are some more complicated games that they may find it difficult to analyze, so they will turn to the American team. The U.S. team will break it down by category, for example, if they need help with games, they will contact a dedicated games team.
The App Store now covers 180 countries and regions, with a large team like Greg’s and a small team like a marketing manager, an editor and a marketing specialist.
In addition, the App Store team has people dedicated to coordinating recommendations across regions, such as finding that certain games may appeal to consumers in other regions, and the team in that region will communicate with headquarters. But while that’s true in theory, there isn’t quite enough manpower on the App Store side to face the entire global market, “We have to figure out how to make this market work. There are probably over 300,000 developers on iTunes right now, and there’s no way we can take care of every one of them.” Greg said.
“I think those few big manufacturers’ games are always recommended, does Apple have a so-called ‘whitelist’?”
Truth 5: There is no whitelist, but having received a recommendation makes editors more confident in you.
Many developers have asked asobooster.com if the App Store has a “whitelist” that gives priority to games from certain developers.
And Greg’s answer is: “There is no whitelist in the App Store, EA and Apple have a good relationship, but not every game from EA will be recommended. But EA will send the release plan to the App Store in advance to see, and they know very well which games will meet the editor’s ‘taste’. So generally speaking, these big players do have a slightly better chance of being recommended. But Apple also pays a lot of attention to indie developers, trying to be balanced and trying not to tilt the balance in favor of companies with close ties to Apple.”
“The first time is always the hardest,” Greg added, “because game recommendations are always a relatively personal, individual choice, so after a developer has gotten a recommendation from Apple once, the likelihood of getting another recommendation later on is improved because in the process of communication between the two parties, they will have a better And Apple’s editors will feel comfortable recommending these developers’ games without worrying about being scolded by players (laughs).” Every time a game is recommended by the App Store, the App Store is more impressed with that developer, and it’s a virtuous circle. That’s how the “whitelist” argument came about – if the first one is recommended, there’s a good chance there will be a second one, but it’s a difficult process to get from 0 to 1 the first time it’s recommended.
As for the outside world has been speculation, such as Apple’s preference for small fresh style, in fact, is through their own observation of the speculation. “The recommendation is responsible by the editor, so everyone’s preferences may be different, there will not be some unified standards, but it is certain that these games are some of the best games with characteristics, many games actually do not get recommended will also achieve very good results. This is actually a process of building trust, people are willing to work with people they know better and believe in.”
“Apple’s big people are all high and mighty, not grounded, not eating the fires of the world.”
Truth 6: The App Store team will also go to “running meetings”
“In the old days, if a game continued to rise in the rankings and we didn’t know the developer, I would try to find a way to contact them. A big part of my job before was finding and contacting new developers. But Apple rules say that developers can’t contact me directly, but our friends can refer me.” Greg describes it this way. For the average developer, it helps to mix with the developer forums, where someone may have a connection to the App Store, so there’s a chance to be introduced to the App Store team.
Although App Store people are very secretive, they actually do attend industry conferences and even smaller developer gatherings, except they don’t wear Apple t-shirts and parade around, they tend to reach out to developers after seeing a great game and say, “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m the App Store director.” There are many developers in the industry, but the App Store team is not big, so they will mostly go to some conferences that bring together more developers, GDC is not necessary to say, and even some gamer-oriented conferences they will pay attention to, such as Greg has been to ChinaJoy, Tokyo Game Show and so on several times.
“OK, get the Apple recommendation, let’s wait for the share of money.”
Truth 7: Getting recommended by App Store does not mean success
As mentioned above, sometimes a game may be recommended just to a certain editor’s personal taste, which is also the original intention of App Store to set up the editor’s recommendation section. But more and more developers are relying too much on “feature recommendations” or editor’s recommendations. In fact, the store recommendation is only a week’s big picture display, which is not the same as a game long-term publicity and promotion effect.
“A lot of times we see games that don’t do well or make a lot of money after being recommended,” Greg said, “and that’s certainly true, because recommendations don’t mean everything is going to be okay. Recommendations are no substitute for your own marketing, which is often more important.”
An App Store recommendation is not a substitute for marketing; it’s just a prominent display on the App Store for a week, and it represents only one opinion of the App Store or one editor. Game developers who are truly successful often have a clear promotion plan of their own, and App Store recommendations are probably just one piece of the puzzle.