FAAD has not a good service. There are 3-4 apps in one day. Also they are featuring your app very unapparently. The terms and conditions are indefinite. There is not any contracts, too. Only good thing about FAAD is their user counts. Some good apps that using other services could reach top ranks. There are many of other choices like FreeAppWin and many free services. Just think twice and search for more information before you decide.
new online booking for an app promotion You can now schedule your app for a contest sponsorship promotion with FreeAppWin through the new online booking system - http://www.tapgen.com/developers/
I'm still trying to understand the concept of why we have to give our software away anyway? These promotions are sinking our industry before it even becomes a staple... I understand the opportunity to reach out to more users by giving your title away for free, but in the end they have your software, they've taken from you without it being a personal connection, and they will use your title and toss it only to wait for the next day to download yet another bunch of free games. This is a bit of a never ending epidemic that will continually erode the notion that our services are worth a damn... I think instead of wasting time with giving away your talents, we as a community should be requesting better opportunity to be noticed. We should be demanding that there be segregation from Monolithic companies that continually get featured on the from page because they are business partners, rather than just developers, with the stores they are a part of. Major companies can crush your attempt at a sale by putting their multi billion dollar catalogue on sale for nothing and crush the entire top level of the charts with all their rehashed filler... EA, Gameloft, etc. So our response as indies is to give our software away? Really? Are we really this insecure that we have to give away our services just to get noticed, to get our title played, to get the word out there that we have the ability to create as well? It's not healthy...and it's ruining the expectations and ability to make money in this market. I don't want to suggest anything revolutionary, but I do really think this method of promotion is absolutely the most anti-productive one. Sure you might get some sales and some exposure, but you've just put this market one pile of dirt below where it was. Basically all we're doing is weeding out those that cannot afford to endure giving their product away the longest... guess who's going to win between you and a billionaire?
I am not a dev or anything, but as a mobile gaming geek, I think these services are partly to blame for an overload of freemium. Many games these days are priced around $0.99-2.99, yet are filled with IAPs. After 2 weeks when sales slow to a grind, they give the app away for free. Then they get most 4/5 star ratings because 'cheap' gamers get to experience a shallow game with pretty graphics. Also, even when given away for free, they may recoup much more via IAPs. Some kids will think...ahh I got this for free, maybe I should spend 5 bucks to show some support. When these games return to being paid, people will buy it seeing high ratings. In this respect, Google Play is better than the Appstore as it DOESN'T allow paid>free>paid. Once free, you can never go paid, so no chance of it being misused by developers/advertisers. Also the reason Google Play has not equivalent of FOTA/FAAD whatsoever. Ultimately, if your games is infested with IAPs and a pay-to-win formula (drat you for that, honestly), going free for a day might work out very well. But if your game is an actual premium game and targets a niche audience, going free for a day will not help you, not by much anyways. Just my two-cents.
Hey - this is a problem a startup I've been working on is trying to solve. I would love to hear what an ideal indie-focused cross-promotion network would look like and how much demand there is!! PM for more info/links, we are eager to help fix this issue.
Very dissappointed with recent FAAD Campaign. It worked well a few years back for fraction of money and now it is a total waste of money imho. The difference is that like someone mentioned there are more than a couple apps they promote. Also our app was paid app last time and that made the difference?? The problem is there isnt much they can do to make it better. Shall I pursue at least partial moneyback? They did what they could do and I am glad they did. The problem is they charged us TOOO much.
Any disclaimer for "freemium" games? I could see where the $600 in marketing would lead to a lot of FREE downloads of an already FREE game and then if you believe in the game enough then people with start buying up the in-app purchases...
Nobady puts a gun to anyones head and say pay for this service. Before you buy a product or service research it and see if it fits for you. Its funny developers want stuff for free but then want customers to pay. This is similar to Cocos2D where a couple of years ago they were thinking of making a paid version but developers were against it and said the reason cocos2D was good was because its free. You cant complain about customers and then be cheap yourself. Also developers should make enough features for thier game so that they can make a lite version instead of going free.
We're interested in helping indies as well, and just recently launched AppRewardsClub.com and an associated iPhone/iPad app. There are quite a few cross-promotion networks out there already, and with Apple's new rule, they seem to be in jeopardy. There's no way I'd start a new venture in that space today!
We've heard/read that FAAD has worked for some apps, but most of what we've researched has been bad reviews and how it's not helped out in the long run. We're staying away from them because it does seem like a rip.
Kind of like the Groupon of the app world huh? You hear nothing but horror stories from businesses who used Groupon and actually lost money.
I thing this is the best choice for developers: http://maniacdev.com/2012/05/ios-app-review-sites/ Not FAAD and others sites.
