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Developers sometimes ask us, “What can Microsoft do to help me promote my app?” We’re listening, and today we're happy to announce what we’re calling the Spring Cleaning* project.

For the next three months, the Windows Phone Marketplace team wants you to tell us why your published app is great and why it deserves prime placement in the Marketplace. Once you tell us why your published app is great, we’ll expedite our review of your app for merchandising placement. You'll find the details of our merchandising placement opportunities and our judging criteria below.

We’ll review every published app that you tell us about, but placements aren't guaranteed and we can't tell you ahead of time if your app will be featured.

The rules:

1. There will be three opportunities: April, May, and June 2011.
2. Your App must be published to the Windows Phone Marketplace by the 15th of each month (by 11:59 PM PST).
3. Your App must work as promised.
4. Your App must be new to the Marketplace or be a new version with substantial, new features or capabilities as described below in the "Quality Apps" section.
5. You then email the following information to Spring Cleaning (wp7springclean@microsoft.com).
   • Your App Hub Live ID (no passwords, please)
   • Application ID
   • New app or update to an existing app?
   • (if update) What major new features have you added?
   • Uses Live Tile: (yes or no)
   • Uses Panorama: (yes or no)
   • Uses Pivot: (yes or no)
   • How does your app delight users?

Not every app will be selected for merchandising or promotion. However, sending us this information tells us that you think your app has what it takes to be promoted and merchandised. It also means that we'll take the time to review your app to see if we think it should be promoted. The best apps that combine Functionality + Features + Great Windows Phone UX will be promoted in the following weeks.

We're excited by all of the great apps that we're seeing delivered to the Windows Phone Marketplace. “Spring Cleaning” gives the best apps a chance to received increased visibility and downloads.

We look forward to seeing what you create!

Promotion: The Three Types of Merchandising Slots

One of the great things about the Windows Phone Marketplace is our unique range of merchandising opportunities. On any given day and in every single market, there are at least three different types of merchandising slots on every Windows Phone 7 device.

The most prominent merchandising slot is the Panoramic, which offers an opportunity to not only feature your app by itself, but also puts the app’s panoramic imagery across the entire Marketplace. The next level of merchandising is the Featured Icon, which presents your app icon and title along with three to six other great apps. And finally, there's the Featured List programming, which prominently displays your app icon and ratings in a vertical list.

All of these different spots give a lot of visibility to apps. When an app is featured in any of these slots, developers see dramatic increases in their apps’ daily downloads.

So what can you do to increase your chances for promotion?

Quality Apps: What We Look For

The most important thing you need to know is what makes a GREAT app. When we think about what makes a great app, we think of the following:

Great apps start with strong functionality, add an interesting set of features, and finish with a delightful Windows Phone user experience. It’s important to understand that a great app combines all of these characteristics. Delivering a delightful Windows Phone 7 look and feel is unlikely to get your app merchandised if the app has performance issues, poor content, or just isn’t very interesting.

Other factors that increase the likelihood that we'll promote your app: use a Live Tile, integrate a Panorama or Pivot Control, or make smart use of Push Notifications.

* In case you were wondering how we came up with the name Spring Cleaning: Traditionally, spring cleaning is a time to clean one’s house from top to bottom and get things in order after being holed up indoors through the winter. Here, Spring Cleaning is a chance for you to “clean out” your in-progress apps or your app ideas and tell us if you think they have the characteristics of a great app. —The Windows Phone Marketplace Team