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GetJAR is well known by mobile developers the first stop in distributing a free mobile app. They have plenty of reach, worldwide traffic, a cool beta-testing community, and some (slightly questionable) statistics on performance of each app. The downside to GetJAR is that the bar is set very low for entrants, so there is a lot of stuff here. You’ll be pretty motivated by seeing that the top apps are getting tens of thousands of downloads a week, but do observe just how long that list is. As of this writing, even the relatively mundane “Times and Calendars” category is well over 300 apps. Nobody is going to review 300 time-keeping apps to find the perfect one, so rest assured that the ones at the back of the list can’t get no love.

What makes a popular app popular? On this site, it’s all about perpetual motion: Aside from promotional placement, apps are rated simply by number of downloads — and the ones at the front of the list, surprise!, get more visibility, and thus more downloads, and the trend continues. If you fall down the list, your fall may accelerate over time as new apps show up and get promoted.

You do have one simple grace period: From the time you first upload an app will also make an appearance on the first couple pages. This is your chance to make it a huge hit — once it’s gone, your chance isn’t likely to come back.

Here are three tips for getting the most out of your brief opportunity:

1. Be flashy. Use a bright animated GIF for your icon. Write the most seductive quip you can conjure in your summary. This is your chance to get users’ attention. This may sound obvious, but it is really helpful and something not to forget. When we switched from a static icon to an animated GIF, views on our app jumped 3x instantly.
2. Use a tracking image. How did I know that views on the app jumped 3x right away after putting an animated GIF in? You’re allowed some basic HTML in the description, so take advantage of it by letting yourself see a trackable hit on your server whenever someone checks out the details of your app.
3. Release to as many handsets as possible. Right away. GetJAR measures gross total downloads of your app, so don’t release for just your favorite Nokia N-series at first while you work out the kinks on the rest. Release everything at once — so everyone has an opportunity to download, and get your numbers up. This bit us the first time around since we were so psyched to release a few handsets the second they were ready. This is probably the single most important thing you can do to get good placement!