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There are a couple of ways developers can entice you to buy their apps. They can give a great description, with an ample supply of pictures on the app store. In addition, it’s always nice to see a link to a full website with a video walk through, though not as many do this. And plenty of good reviews with a high star rating help to make that purchase a little more informed. This can, and does, work for many apps, but there are other ways.

Read on to learn what they are, and to find out how you can find the best deals (or even get apps for free).

Another strategy is for an app to be released in two versions; typically a lite or free version, along with its paid counterpart. The lite or free versions are usually like demos. This gives you, the potential buyer, a way to try out the app to see if it really is fun or does what you need it to. I like this strategy, and is the reason I ended up buying the full version of Labyrinth.

The final strategy I could pick out is sale pricing. App Store developers are able to change the price of their app at any time. Recently, developers have offered apps initially for free (like Crazy Lighter, BreakClassic and Whip), and then, after a period of time, they charge. This boosts their position on the Top Paid Apps list, even though many of the app users didn’t pay a thing for their app. Developers can also reduce the price of apps as a sale, of sorts, at any time.

Here’s a quick tip. If you want to get a good deal on an app, keep checking the App Store for updates. You may find a gem for free when it’s first released, or a sale on an app that’s been around a little longer. Often, sales happen when the app is updated; though special pricing is sometimes used for early adopters. A great, albeit slow way of checking these is by going to the App Store in iTunes and clicking on either All iPhone Applications or All iPod Touch Applications, depending on your device. This should default to sorting by Release Date, which is further sorted alphabetically. If you want the free ones, it’s best to check all of the apps released or updated today.

Ultimately, I think we’ll see a lot of developers using the two version style of selling apps. People don’t want to pay for an app they will end up never using, and if that’s a fear that a consumer sees in a particular application, that often will be enough to keep him/her from hitting that buy button. The lite or free versions of apps are popping up mostly for games right now, but I hope to see this spread to all apps. And, if an app simply can’t be stripped down for a demo version, I’m hoping the video walkthrough will catch on a little more as well.