Regarding getting featured, this is another thing one can aim for. The Android team has written about how to be in the running for getting featured, as have others.

For example - Android introduces new features with new OS releases. In Gingerbread, Android introduced NFC. A well-designed app implementing NFC in an interesting way back when it was introduced had a very good chance of being featured, as well as a chance of getting publicity, and also usage by people who wanted to test their phones NFC capability. Of course, you want to be viable even if you are not featured, but some apps have a better chance of being featured than others, and being featured helps a lot, especially for a paid app.