The ten rules of app discovery we learnt from Discovery Beat 2010

Last week's announcement that the App Store offers over 300,000 apps and 65,000 games may be exciting news for Steve Jobs.

But for the developer community, it raises monumental concerns about the ability to break through the noise and get noticed.

With a focus on indie developers, the second annual Discovery Beat conference in San Francisco provided solid and valuable insight in terms of application discovery and monetisation.

An impressive list of speakers and panels provided a range of examples and advice for handling the competition and making your app successful.

Here's a list of gems.

1. The user's always right

Treat users with respect and trust. Let them know they are valued and are being listened to. Offer custom rewards to recognise your most loyal users. Remember, an app isn't good until users say it is.

2. Say what?

Test, test, and retest. Get feedback on everything you can before you start pushing the app - concept, art, gameplay, even the name. (If the name can't be pronounced on the playground, no one will say it.)

3. Buy now

Build monetisation into the game at the get-go. Whether it's paid advertising, virtual goods and currencies, or affiliates, plan ahead. Don't fool yourself into thinking you'll add it later.

4. Be passionate, flu-like

Turn your app into an infectious disease. Virality is critical for success. If your app doesn't have it, it won't work. Tap into real life passions. Create an app you love enough to tell your friends about.

5. Little, often

Retention has unlimited value. Update constantly and manage like a service instead of an app. Downloads don't mean anything if users only play for a week. Focus on the long-term user relationship.

6. Knowledge is power

Make the metrics work for you. Know what your users love/hate/want and act on it in an instant. Track monthly, daily, and even hourly ratios to understand when users are interacting with your app.

7. Buy downloads

Hit the charts. It may be worthwhile to pay for an iTunes chart position as 80 percent of app sales are via the chart. Just make sure you're getting a real user not a click through.

8. One-click

Reach users through the platform. Non-mobile advertising (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) has not proven effective for driving sales of mobile apps. It's tough to convince users to log off Facebook to pick up a phone.

9. Go wide

Keep your options open with multiple strategies. Gain scale through multiple platforms. Create a safety net by using multiple distribution channels. Test multiple marketing concepts to find what works and get rid of what doesn't. Don't rely on one thing.

10. Smile

Make it fun. Nothing sucks the fun out of an experience more than telling a user what they can't do. Give them tons of choices and make them want to share the experience. If you design for fun, success will follow.