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> The author hit the nail on the head pointing out the importance of being on the top 100 lists. Really, if you aren't on there you are invisible to buyers.

This makes me wonder if there are a lot of developers who would try to pay for XX of their network of friends to buy the software just to try to get it on the charts.

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i heard a talk by one of the guys from AdMob and based on their data he claimed you could buy your way to the top paid list with $10k in ads. this is based on their hypothesis about how the ranking works (greg yardley from pinch media hypothesized a 7 day rolling average)

its an interesting gamble. next time i have $10k to spare i might see if i can test it

It's not unheard of to make an ad purchase (banner ads or admob) in order to "bump" yourself onto the charts, in hopes that you'll make your money back once you're on the chart.

It turns out that, just like any other business, it takes marketing and capital to succeed, not just ideas and good engineering.

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