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February 2, 2017
PC

A complete user acquisition & engagement platform



With so many apps getting published to the Windows Store daily, it can be a challenge to attract and acquire new customers. Successful developers use various channels to spread the word about their apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, popular blogs or Windows Dev Center’s own “Promote your app” feature. We’ve grown this solution over the past two and a half years, evolving it into a complete platform with machine-learning algorithms to maximize user acquisition and engagement campaign ROI.

Major milestones during the user acquisition & engagement platform journey

Our platform now lets you use objective-driven ad campaigns, where you can choose to acquire more customers or re-engage with your existing customers. With the recent launch of Universal campaigns, your app can get in front of customers interacting with Microsoft premium surfaces such as MSN, Outlook, Skype, Microsoft solitaire collection, etc.

The Dev Center user acquisition and engagement platform capabilities are tailored to meet the needs of every developer. You can start with zero dollars using community ad campaigns to advertise your app for free in other apps (in exchange for showing ads for other apps in yours).

You can also promote one of your apps in your other apps using house ad campaigns – again, for free. Even more effective are our paid ad campaigns, with a great return on investment for both app install and app re-engagement campaigns.

In addition, we have recently released our APIs so that you can use the campaign creation/update and reporting information with your organization’s built-in tools.

Universal user acquisition & engagement platform

Finally, for developers interested in running larger ad campaigns, we provide extra support with additional features:

  • $50,000 per campaign limit instead of the regular $5,000
  • Higher thresholds for billing campaigns
  • 1:1 product management team support to help tune your campaigns
  • Third-party tracking SDK support
  • Custom campaign dates
  • Custom user segment generation for huge volume goals

For info about qualifying for these features, reach us at [email protected].

Whether you’re a developer just starting your journey with the Windows app ecosystem or a top developer looking to find users for your next hit title, the Dev Center user acquisition and engagement platform can help you reach more customers and grow your success.

How do I get started?

If you haven’t already used the app promotion capability, follow these steps to create a new ad campaign:

  • Click on the “Dashboard” after your log in to your Windows Dev Center account.
  • Click on the “Promotions” tab under the Main menu.
  • Click on “New Campaign” to create a new user acquisition or user engagement campaign.

Check out the documentation for more details, then give it a try! If you’ve got suggestions to make these features even more useful, please let us know at Windows Developer Feedback.