With over 600,000 apps on the App Store these days, it’s a tough sell to get people to check out yours, rather than the 599,999 other options. We’ve heard countless tales of well-done apps that failed to generate enough buzz to sell well.

For many apps, the key to their success is getting noticed by Apple, and getting featured somewhere prominent on the App Store. According to Matt Drance, an ex-Apple engineer who worked in their developer relations team, there’s some simple steps you can take to make sure Apple notices your app when it comes out.

In an interview with Business Insider, Drance lays out five steps that he says will get your app noticed by the powers that be.

No 1.Pitch the publications that Apple employees actually read. “Apple employees are very similar to Apple fans. They read a lot of the same websites. If you are on Daring Fireball or MacWorld, there’s a pretty good chance Apple employees will see it. You don’t just want to do a PR blast. There’s nothing wrong with it, but don’t make the mistake that it’s enough.”

No 2. Focus on the app’s execution. ”In terms of getting Apple’s attention, they are looking at execution. It doesn’t matter what the app does as long as it does it well and is well-designed.”

No.3 Make a good demo video for the app. ”I think that people really underestimate the power of a video demo. The video should be about the app. People do too much with comedy.”

No 3.Build an app that uses Apple’s newest features. ”Using new stuff immediately definitely gives you a shot at getting someone’s attention at Apple. Apple is probably going to be very interested in highlighting transit apps in their next event. So that’s not too hard a crystal ball to read.”

No 4.Try to attend Apple events whenever you can. ”You can meet Apple employees at events like WWDC or tech talks and get an app on their radar. If they think it’s cool, they will start showing it to people in Cupertino. There’s no secret handshake. It’s a fairly organic process.”