Shake-a-Phrase free on Amazon for the Holidays

Cozy up with your favorite Android this holiday and Shake-a-Phrase...

Download Shake-a-Phrase for free (normally $1.99) on Amazon

If You Love Your Educational App Set It Free

You may have heard the argument against app promotions and giveaways that is centered on the notion that price reductions only contribute to a race to the bottom in the App Store.

You may have also heard that short term app price reductions do not help overall app sales.

Well, I'm here to tell you that you can't afford not to consider price promotions as a weapon in your educational app marketing arsenal.

On August 23rd we set our Shake-a-Phrase educational app to free (normally $1.99) as part of a weekly App Friday promotion and we extended the giveaway through Saturday to make sure everyone had a chance to download it.

A little backstory...

Shake-a-Phrase was the first educational iOS app  we produced under our Artgig Apps label over two years ago (that makes Shake like 60 in human years). The app was selected early on by Apple as a featured Writing app and remains forever featured as a result. The app has always been popular with educators and SLP's and we see a good amount of volume educational purchases, but it's far from a sexy chart topper. Of all our apps, Shake seemed like the best candidate for a visibility boost in the App Store feeding frenzy of the Back to School season.

App Promotion Results: 

We saw nearly 21,500 downloads over Friday and Saturday with 15,000+ downloads on App Friday.

We were fortunate that Shake was featured by App Advice for the Apps Gone Free daily listing which always translates to an instant download boost.

Additionally, Shake-a-Phrase was a Top 10 Free Education app for a short while early Saturday morning (luckily my 3 year old woke me up at 4:30am so I was able to snap this picture to prove it):

We also got a couple of new iTunes reviews and a nice new blog review here by the highly regarded @rmbyrne which set off a flurry of Twitter RT's to complement the stellar social media support we received throughout the giveaway. You cannot underestimate the importance of mentions like this.

In all, it was generally a terrific promotion for an educational app that is admittedly a bit long in the tooth.

As I type, the app is #72 in Paid Education when it normally slinks along the bottom of the Top 300 (and I didn't have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to snap this):

So, it's hard to argue about the success of the promotion. We dusted off an old app that is pretty popular in schools and got some fresh eyes on it - and that was the goal.

For kicks, I dug up our original Shake-a-Phrase App Friday promotion from exactly two years ago today.

On App Friday, August 26, 2011 Shake-a-Phrase had 2,602 downloads.

This Friday we had 15, 097 downloads.

What a difference a couple of years makes.

Back to School Stress Reliever (App Sale)!

Back to School.

If you're a teacher or parent and the very mention of these three words causes you to break out in a cold sweat, we're here to help.

This Friday, 8/23 we are giving away our featured App Store writing app, Shake-a-Phrase (normally $1.99), to promote giggle inducing grammar fun.

Ahhhh - don't you feel better already?

The silly sentence maker shakes up wacky scenarios and writing prompts in 5 different themes and includes a quiz mode for playful parts of speech practice.

Check out this teacher's review of the Android version of the app to see how Shake-a-Phrase can be used in your CCLS classroom.

Sure, you could probably use a nice weekend at a spa but what do you expect for free?

Download Shake-a-Phrase for FREE on the App Store - Friday, 8/23

WARNING - App Marketing Misstep

We've been feeling good about our educational app, Mystery Math Town, since we launched the game in April.

The app debuted as our best yet, easily eclipsing the previous successes of our Marble Math and Alien Buddies apps. Mystery Math Town was picked by Apple as a featured iPad Education New and Noteworthy selection and it even spent some time on the front page of the iPad App Store. We also received an outpouring of critical praise and user feedback, telling us how much people enjoy playing the game. But amongst the positive buzz and back-patting, there was a small but very vocal group of iPhone users who felt slighted - because we'd released Mystery Math Town for iPad only.

When we next gathered around our developers round table to plot our app updates, we quickly decided to fast track development of an iPhone version of Mystery Math Town. It seemed like a no-brainer to create a separate iPhone app for a number of reasons:

1. It would satisfy a clear market need - we knew users wanted the app for iPhone.
2. It would allow us to test the performance of an iPhone app in the App Store. To this point, our apps have all been universal (iPad and iPhone) or iPad-only. Apple only gives you combined sales in reports so there is no clear way to separate iPad and iPhone sales for universal apps.
3. We already had a successful marketing campaign in place for the iPad launch and we could repurpose some of those materials for iPhone.
4. People already love the iPad game!

It was an easy decision. We immediately defined the work we needed to do, which mainly required a re-thinking of the UI to take advantage of the phone screen real estate at different sizes. Once we settled on the adjustments to ensure a good user experience on the phone, it took about 70 hours in total design and programming time to make the changes.

We released Mystery Math Town for iPhone last week on Wednesday June 3rd for $1.99.

To date it has been downloaded 38 times, selling an average of 5 apps/day and earning a whopping $40.89 in total sales. That doesn't even cover a single hour of our development time.

Let me be clear, we never expected to repeat the success of releasing a brand new app. We also know that iPhone sales are significantly lower than iPad sales in the education space.

Sure, the timing isn't great. It's the end of the school year and there isn't exactly a frenzy of educational app purchases in June...or July for that matter.

We've worked hard to cultivate our Artgig Apps brand and we have a pretty loyal following of educators, parents and app reviewers who know we produce quality games. Our family of apps consistently rank in the Top 5% of all iPad apps in the App Store Education category.

I would think on the strength of the family alone, we'd be selling more than 5 apps a day.

But in order for the concept of App Store cross promotion to work, people have to see that your apps are related.

And, in the case of Mystery Math Town for iPhone, we've learned a very hard lesson.

Apple does NOT consider Mystery Math Town for iPhone to be related to any of our family of apps, because we have not produced any other iPhone-only apps. Actually, that's not entirely true. If you're looking at Mystery Math Town for iPhone in the App Store, and you search under "Related," you'll find exactly what you'd expect - more apps, like Marble Math, that you can play on your iPhone by the same developer (us!).

But our primary challenge with a new release isn't helping users to find other apps we've produced. The big challenge is helping users to find the new release (i.e. Mystery Math Town for iPhone).

In the App Store ecosystem not all family members are so sunny when speaking of their relatives. In fact, some of them flat out refuse to say a single word about the family.

If you're looking at the Marble Math App Store listing on your phone, and you say to yourself, "let me see what else these brilliant developers have produced" and you naturally select "Related" to peruse the other apps you might consider purchasing, Apple has apparently made the decision to exclude Mystery Math Town for iPhone, because it is an iPhone-only app, and you were looking at a universal app, so that must be all you are interested in.

Ouch.

That's where we stumbled and sprained our app marketing muscles.

It's pretty incredible to me that in the vast sea of the App Store, Apple is actively squashing the idea of cross promotion.

But there you have it.
The screenshots do not lie.

If you're considering developing an iPhone-only app - you might want to think twice.
Unless you're prepared to produce iPhone-only versions of your other apps, you'll miss out on one of the few opportunities available for app cross promotion.

This PSA is brought to you by Artgig Apps.

Shake-a-Phrase Now Available On Android!

Tired of searching the universe to find quality educational apps for your Galaxy?

We're pleased to announce our hit iPhone/iPad app, Shake-a-Phrase, is now available on Android:

"This handy little app is perfect for writers, party games and quizzing kids"

– AppAdvice

Shake-a-Phrase offers multiple themes and 3 fun-filled ways to shake up language learning at home or in the classroom:

• SHAKE IT: creates a new silly sentence every time you shake - just tap for definitions. 
• STORY STARTER: shake up the beginning of a story and let your imagination take over. 
• QUIZ ME: test your skills with adjectives, verbs, nouns, prepositions and conjunctions.

So what are you waiting for?
Get shakin'!

Get Shake-a-Phrase on Google Play

Get Shake-a-Phrase on Amazon

Happy Halloween From Artgig Apps!

With many of us on the East Coast still reeling from Hurricane Sandy, and the usual Halloween festivities on hold or canceled, we're doing our best to keep the spirit strong.

We've been shaking up our favorite Monsters with our Shake-a-Phrase app all month and posting them on the Artgig Apps Facebook page.

As an extra treat, we thought it would be fun to get our artist, Lis, to illustrate some of her favorite spooky sentences.

What's that? You wish we'd post all of the limited edition sketches right here, right now, so you can go straight to the curiously creepy couples and sinister scenarios our little random sentence generator concocted without enduring the agonizing wait of loading Facebook.

Well, allow me to step aside...

Artgig Apps - Halloween Treats!

Monsters, aliens and ghosts...oh my!
Don’t look now, but Halloween is sneaking up on you.
So in addition to updating our apps this October for the new iPhone 5 screen size, we’ll be sprinkling some Halloween treats about.

One of our most popular classroom apps, Shake-a-Phrase, offers a Monsters theme to shake up some spooky language learning fun. Last year, we teamed with a class in Westchester, NY for a Halloween-inspired creative writing activity and they enjoyed it so much, they requested that we do it again this year.  And we’ll be posting some of our favorite scary sentences on our Facebook page as Halloween draws near.

Meanwhile, our Alien Buddies were featured in this New York Times Gadgetwise post, sparking some pretty loud shrieks and howls in the comments section over screen time for babies (for the record, we don’t make apps for babies and we enjoy playing outside with our kids!)

If you’re looking for a fun activity for your early learner that doesn’t involve your phone or iPad, why not download a free Alien Buddies coloring book featuring your favorite martians.

Rolling right along, Marble Math recently made news in Australia’s The Sunday Mail paper. There’s nothing scary about this impressive list of kids educational apps from the iMums, but you may bump into a ghost while playing Marble Math if you don’t watch where you’re going.

Speaking of Marble Math, we’ve got a special update brewing in the lab. Soon you’ll be able to customize your currency to practice counting with Australian, Canadian, Euro, or British coins and notes for Marble Math and Marble Math Junior.

I told you we had some treats for you.

Stay tuned for more goodies from Artgig Apps!

FREE Apps This Friday!

What better way to follow up a Back to School Sale than with...another Back to School Sale.

I may have to talk to our Marketing Department about this one.

I mean, let's at least call it something else.

Like...

"Return to Learn"

Run with it.

See you this App Friday at Moms With Apps.

Return to Learn Sale This Friday, August 17th!

Happy Birthday Shake-a-Phrase! App Update & Sale!

How time flies!

Shake-a-Phrase, our fun little grammar app turns one today.

Its been downloaded over 25,000 times.

It's an iTunes featured Storytelling App.

And we just updated the parts of speech Quiz to add prepositions and conjunctions.

That's our gift to you.

Shake-a-Phrase is a funny little educational app - people seem to either love it (thank you, loyal and vocal educators), or hate it (because it doesn't do your laundry).

I personally love it.

Every now and then when I shake it up, it's bound to give me something unexpected that brings a smile to my face.

And if that isn't worth a measly .99 (on sale today), I don't know what is.

Much more on the way from Artgig Apps, so stay tuned...

Get Shake-a-Phrase

Shake-a-Phrase is an Apple Staff Favorite!

Q: What do NASA, MOMA and Shake-a-Phrase have in common?

A: They're all featured Staff Favorites in the App Store Education category.

It's always nice to be featured by Apple.

And celebrating the launch of the new iPad with some App Store stars in the Staff Favorites lounge ain't a bad way to spend the day.

More shrimp cocktail?

Why yes - don't mind if I do.

Oh look, there's Dr. Seuss - gotta run!...

(Stay tuned for the launch of a trio of game apps we're working on for a client - instant game company!)

Shake-a-Phrase 

The Alien Buddies Have Landed – On Cafe Press!

This Just In:

The Alien Buddies have landed on Cafe Press!

That's right, we're having so much fun with our cute and quirky App Store friends, we decided to open a store to share and wear them!

Have a "New and Noteworthy" baby to shop for?

No problem!

Or maybe you just want your BFF on a shirt!

If you're looking for your favorite Alien Buddies on a plethora of products, we've got you covered!

Just look for Artgig on Cafe Press and follow the signs.

And it's 20% off right now with coupon code NOEL20.

As our Alien Buddies are fond of saying...

Sweet!

Artgig Cafe Press Store

Shake-a-Phrase App v.1.3 - a Peek Under the Hood & a Party Invite!

Our latest Shake-a-Phrase update, v.1.3, went live in the App Store yesterday.

What you get:
Improved vocabulary and a better Starter theme!

(You can stop here, or read on if you want a peek under the hood and a party invite...)

When we first came up with the idea for Shake-a-Phrase, we thought the content would be relatively cheap - we were wrong.
We started with an open source dictionary but the definitions were lousy and not age appropriate so we ended up rewriting all of them.
With each update and testing, we take a good hard look at the overall quality of the phrases generated, along with user feedback, and make improvements where we can.
If someone is offended by a phrase due to a word in the mix like "drunk" (adj) - we take note and edit the dictionary for the next update.
We've been adding words, tweaking definitions, and deleting words to keep the fun, random silly stuff, but minimize the completely nonsensical phrases so you get a higher percentage of quality phrases.

Since Shake was released, we've been going theme-by-theme to tighten up, and make each theme as strong as it can be.
We updated Monsters for Halloween, and Fairytales for Thanksgiving.
The Sports theme was a big effort because many of the words in our dictionary take on a different meaning in the context of sports - so we gave Sports a separate dictionary.

For this update, we overhauled the Starter theme.
It's been long overdue - the Starter theme has been a bit like the wild west with lots of object nouns in the mix.
So we reclassified some words to make them location nouns ("on the bike", instead of "with the bike"), deleted some words, and we added a whole bunch of new people nouns for more human interaction.

It's not the kind of thing where you can easily point to any one thing and say "that changed" - but rather an overall sense that things are just better.
That's quality.

And tomorrow, you can download Shake-a-Phrase for just .99 (50% off) for the Appy Holidays Party.
We'll be there with Benny and our Alien Buddies hanging out under the mistletoe, giving away promo codes and getting into the punch.

Stop by for great app deals and giveaways from lots of fantastic developers:

Appy Holidays Party!

Enjoy.

Lots Shakin' at Artgig Apps!

I was going to say it's a bit of a stew today at Artgig Apps but a stew isn't nearly fast or exciting enough - it's more of a salad, one that is tossed together quickly but expertly, and comes together with just the right balance of complimentary flavors.

And avocados.

I love avocados.

As lunch quickly approaches, we're buzzing, making final launch preparations for our new Pre-K and Kindergarten educational app, Alien Buddies.

The Final build goes out to testers tonight and we're planning to submit to Apple next week so  (fingers crossed) we can be in the App Store by the end of the month!

Speaking of testers, we've got some really good kids, parents, and teachers working this app over and giving us great feedback and ideas, and I cannot thank them enough.

This app has been a lot of fun to build because it hits a sweet spot for lots of little kids I know and the testing gives us great confidence that we've got something special to share with you and your children.

And let's not forget about our other apps - Shake-a-Phrase and Being Benny were both updated last week!

We love tinkering with Shake-a-Phrase - every time we crack the hood we can't help refining and improving the vocabulary for the best possible user experience.

We also added some slick new sharing features, so you can share your favorite phrases by SMS or take advantage of the iOS 5 Twitter integration to tweet all about it.

And we're not done tinkering!

The chefs at Artgig Apps added an extra dash of holiday sprinkles to the Fairytale theme for some festive fun with phrases, and we'll be pushing yet another Shake update this week (v. 1.3) - so stay tuned!

We really want to hear from you, so please drop by our Facebook page and/or leave an app review for us in iTunes - all of our apps have a direct review link to tell us what you think.

Some of the changes we just made to Shake-a-Phrase are a direct result of user feedback!

We've also been hearing from a lot of teachers about using Shake-a-Phrase in the classroom for creative writing exercises, so we're serving up some stories to inspire your own school lessons!

Check out "Shaking Up The Classroom With Shake-a-Phrase," on the Shake website, to read about a 3rd Grade class using the Monster theme to shake up some spooky Halloween tales.

Whew!

I'm starving!

Shaking Up The Classroom With Shake-a-Phrase

How We Roll

What was all that white stuff that blanketed our town and crippled the Artgig command center for nearly the entire week?

It's too soon to say the "s" word out loud, but this week was a trip down Artgig memory lane.

Once upon a time, before Artgig got all fancy with a brick and mortar studio, we all worked from home.

As legend has it, way back in the days before Skype, the Artgig gang would meet around town, alternating between the diner and Jean Jacques, when we all needed to be in the same place to discuss really important things – like becoming a brick and mortar business.

When we arrived for work Monday morning and found a tree had knocked down the building power line, we assumed it would be a minor disruption and it really wasn't so bad taking Halloween off to spend with the kids.

Four days later, it had turned into a beard growing contest between me and Jim (I won), and I was ready to fire my one and a half year old co-worker for continuously ignoring my orders to stop eating my Wacom stylus.

Despite the challenges of work and home lives colliding, amazingly, I am happy to report we reached a new pinnacle of production before power was finally restored yesterday.

It seems with less pressure to do things like shave and bathe, our app output actually increased!

In a few short days we cranked out a nearly-final Alien Buddies app build, a sweet Shake-a-Phrase update with new words and sharing features, and a Being Benny update.

All while juggling client projects and grocery shopping duties!

That's how we roll here at Artgig.

Check out Artgig Apps

Tease or Treat? A Halloween Invitation From Artgig Apps...

Hmmmm, that's a tough one, do I want to be teased?

Or would I prefer a nice treat?

What if I told you you didn't have to choose.

Because we're gonna tease you anyway, whetting your appetite for our soon-to-be-released (fingers crossed) Educational Kids App.

Then, we're gonna give you a treat by revealing who is hiding behind those masks (big image here).

Check out the the Moms With Apps Halloween Facebook Party this Friday, October 28th, at 1PM EST to find out more!

We'll be there in costume, handing out Shake-a-Phrase promo codes and free advice that could really come in handy this Halloween.

You know, like if your friend or loved one gets bitten by a zombie, sorry, you gotta ditch 'em - just leave.

Go.

Fast.

And don't look back.

Okay, you can look now.

If you're really busy shopping for candy corn Friday, you can also keep an eye on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to see what's cooking (and Like us while you're there!)

See you Friday!

Artgig Apps Facebook

Artgig Apps Shaking Up Halloween

Really happy to report we went Gold today on iOS build 14.

"What...is iOS build 14" you ask, leaning in a bit closer.

I meet your gaze head-on. "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you."

I do not blink.

You slowly retreat.

End of conversation.

Well, maybe I can tell you a little something, but we are sworn to secrecy on this so forgive me for being so cloak and dagger.

iOS build 14 is a Universal iPad/iPhone Educational app we've been working on for a client.

The app serves up over 1,600 lessons, featuring over 2,000 videos in English & Spanish - all available via IAP's (that's In-App Purchases with your decoder ring).

And yes, it's good to be Gold!

But we also have a soft spot for the orange and black.

Did I ever tell you how much we like Halloween?

To celebrate, we're shaking up some Monsters in our own Shake-a-Phrase app, all month over on the Artgig Apps Facebook page so check it out and show some love by liking us!

And the gang has conjured up some creepy Shake-a-Phrase logos to decorate so we'll be sticking them wherever we can find a clean, dry surface.

And we'll be making a special announcement later this month about a new app we've got brewing...

Lots to do as the witching hour draws near.

Stay tuned and if you ever kill a monster don't turn your back unless you're sure it's really dead.

Stay Gold.

Artgig Apps Joins A4CWSN International App Party This Weekend!

We're busy this morning putting the finishing touches on our Shake-a-Phrase App, polishing it up to a fine shine, in anticipation of a big App Party this weekend stretching across the globe with hosts in the US,  Canada and on the other side of the world, in Australia!

If there's one guy who knows how to throw an App Party it's Gary at Apps For Children With Special Needs and we're honored to participate.

The goal is simple - let's raise enough money to give 50 kids in 50 states an iPad.

Starting tomorrow and ending Sunday, we're discounting Shake and donating half of our sales to the cause.

Check out the A4CWSN Facebook page for lots of great discounted apps and giveaways all weekend long.

The best part?

You don't even need to pick out an outfit.

PARTY!!!!

A4CWSN Facebook Page (Party Starts Here)

New Shake-a-Phrase v.1.1 Sports Update and Featured iTunes App!

Hey, Shake-a-Phrase is featured again in iTunes as a Back to School "Write Away" App!

And that's not all...

Not one to sit idly on the sidelines, we decided to shake up our popular Shake-a-Phrase app with an all new Sports theme, adding over 350 new vocabulary words and a custom dictionary to the mix.

And there's more...

Our team of content editors analyzed the feedback we've received over the last few months and scrutinized each and every vocabulary word and definition - that's over 2,000 total words, to shape and refine the best possible user experience for all five themes.

In short, it's a much better Shake.

The update is free if you already have Shake-a-Phrase and if you don't, I'll let you in on a little secret - you can get the entire app tomorrow, 8/26, for FREE as part of a special Moms With Apps one day promo.

How can we afford to do all of this free stuff you ask?

Well, it's all part of the master Artgig Apps brand building plan.

We'll make the great apps but we need you to spread the word.

All we ask is that you tell us what you think of the app - leave us an App Store review, like us on Facebook, give us a shout on Twitter - and tell your friends!

We've got another kids educational app planned for the Fall so stay tuned...

And keep it shakin'...

Get Shake-a-Phrase!

Shake-a-Phrase App Featured in iTunes App Store!

See that big "Apps For Learning To Write" banner splashed on the App Store front page?
If you click it, you'll see Shake-a-Phrase featured in the "Storytelling" apps!
I have another Apple story that isn't so happy and feel-goody but I'm going to let that one settle a bit before I mouth off.
Good vibes, good vibes...

Our Shake-a-Phrase App is an App Store "Staff Favorite!"

How about them apples?