

How I got to #12 (and still climbing) in the iTunes App Store - avgarrison

I wanted to share my experiences today, as a beacon of hope to my fellow indie game devs, as I sit here watching an app that I created rise in the iTunes App Store.<p>The name of the app is SimplePhysics, and it became available in the app store last Thursday (3/24/2011). I have been preparing for this moment for a few months now, starting back in December of 2010. I implemented a dialog popup in my other games that asked the user if they'd like me to e-mail them when I released a new game. Since that time, amazingly, I have been able to collect over 30,000 e-mails. I created an e-mail campaign at Campaign Monitor, and loaded in my list. I created an extremely basic e-mail, and got everything ready to pull the trigger. Here's the e-mail:<p><pre><code>   Hello!

   This is Andrew Garrison, the creator of BridgeBasher. 
   I am excited to let you know that BridgeBasher's sequel,
   SimplePhysics, is now available in the App Store! If 
   you like BridgeBasher, then you will love SimplePhysics.
   You can find out more about it here:
   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplephysics/id408233979?mt=8
  
   Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!
   -Andrew
   
   ps - If you do not wish to receive e-mails about my game
   releases in the future, you can unsubscribe here.
</code></pre>
At the same time, as I was setting up this e-mail campaign, I tweaked my other apps, and I removed the e-mail signup dialog and replaced it with a dialog that linked directly to my new app. I submitted the update to Apple, and set it to "Hold for Developer Release." Now I had all of my ducks in a row. When I release these updates, and my existing user base loads up the new version, they will immediately be hit with a dialog telling them about my new game, along with a link directly to the iTunes page where they can buy it.<p>SimplePhysics went live last Thursday and I sat on it for a few days to make sure it propagated to all app stores worldwide. Last night, I pulled the trigger. I sent the e-mail and I logged into iTunesConnect and released all of my app updates. After less than 12 hours, SimplePhysics has risen to #12 overall in the iTunes App Store. I have complete refresh-syndrome. I am constantly holding my iPhone, checking the charts every other minute. I watched in complete amazement as SimplePhysics rose to #1 in Games-&#62;Simulation, ousting NBA Elite, a game made by fucking Electrnoic Arts. It is almost euphoric to see a game that I made sitting on top of a game made by EA.<p>I do realize that this rise on the charts is fleeting. I realize that once all of my e-mails are opened, and once all of my users have updated, that the game will start quickly falling from the charts. Nonetheless, it is still extremely exciting, and I hope it will encourage my fellow indie game devs. The app store is such a great opportunity for indie game development. It is the only place that I know of where a little guy like me can outsell a major game company.<p>If you want to see the app, here's the product page for it:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplephysics/id408233979?mt=8<p>ps - I'm not asking you to buy my app, but you know, I can't say I'd be offended if you did......I mean, I did just give you all of my secrets ;)
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werdelin
Andrew, congratulations on great launch! One of the things we are doing at
allify.com is to allow you to 'bank' cross promotions credits. So if you plan
to launch a new game, you can add an cross promotion unit and promote other
apps. When you are then ready to launch your new app we will then give you
back the impressions that you gave to the network pre-launch. Its a bit
different from what you are doing - but same type of concept. All in all,
great to hear tips like that - more power to independent app makers :) Best,
henrik at allify

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egb
How many copies have you sold of your other games? (Looking for the other
number that goes with 30k emails + ?k app updates = #12 in appstore)

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avgarrison
Yes, BridgeBasher gave me a good seed to start with around 1.2 million total
downloads, most of which were obtained when it was free.

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pkamb
What are your thoughts on pricing the game at $.99? Did much thinking go into
that, or is $.99 just the de facto price for any successful game?

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avgarrison
I think that, sadly, $0.99 is the expected price of iPhone users, and it is
integral in climbing the charts, unless you have an extremely sophisticated or
high quality game.

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wmboy
Just wondering... is it against Apple's TOS to have locked levels you can only
unlock if a user signs up to your newsletter?

Because if it's not, that would be a great way to build an email subscriber
list.

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qq66
If it's not already, and you start doing it successfully, it will either
become against their TOS, or have a 30% tax applied to any benefit you derive
from it.

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wmboy
Lol, and force all app developers to use their email newsletter software...

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charlesdm
Can you disclose some revenue numbers?

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pisoi
How did u collect the emails? just a popup in the middle of the game asking
for the user email? who would agree to that?

(i admire your geniousity)

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avgarrison
Yes, just a popup that asked if they wanted to be notified when I released my
new game.

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yusufg
Didn't Campaign Monitor require your users to be confirmed opt-in or when you
receive their email address you initiate a confirmation email to them ?

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riskish
Andrew -- do you have an email we can ping you at? I have been wanting to try
iphone development, specifically with the box2d physics engine, would love to
chat.

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avgarrison
Sure, you can reach me at iphone at andrewgarrison dot com.

~~~
avgarrison
I really wish I hadn't put my e-mail on this page...I'm already getting spam
now. Can anyone delete my previous comment with my e-mail?

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jackkinsella
Congratulations, sounds like you got the success you deserved for putting in
such careful forethought.

Thanks a million for sharing this marketing technique!

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MichaelStubbs
I don't suppose you're planning on bringing this to Android any time soon? It
looks like a game I'd be interested in.

Congratulations on your success!

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avgarrison
I would love to port it to Android! Just don't have the time at the moment.

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rrhoover
Great idea and thanks for sharing, Andrew! Would you be able to share your
email open and click through rates?

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mapster
I want more secrets on iphone development - do you have a blog? I applaud your
effort and success!

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avgarrison
Thanks! I do have a blog, though it is geared more towards my users than
developers: <http://andrewgarrison.com>

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alex_c
Congrats on your success! It's an incredible rush. Be careful, the feeling is
addictive ;)

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EtienneJohnred
Nice job. I saw the app zooming up the charts last night and was trying to
figure out what was causing it to rise so fast.

