  Since it takes time and effort to put a new product or service on the market,
one would like to predict whether it will be a success. In general this is not
possible, but it is possible to follow best practices in order to maximise the
chance of success. A smart contract is intended to encode business logic and is
therefore at the heart of every new business on the Ethereum blockchain. We
have investigated how to measure the success of smart contracts, and whether
successful smart contracts have characteristics that less successful smart
contracts lack. The appearance of a smart contract on a listing website such as
Etherscan or StateoftheDapps is such a characteristic. In this paper, we
present a three-pronged analysis of the relative success of listed smart
contracts. First, we have used statistical analysis on the publicly visible
transaction history of the Ethereum blockchain to determine that listed
contracts are significantly more successful than their unlisted counterparts.
Next, we have conducted a survey among more than 200 developers via an
anonymous online survey about their experience with the listing process. A
significant majority of respondents do not believe that listing a contract
itself contributes to its success, but they believe that the extra attention
that is typically paid in tandem with the listing process does contribute.
Finally, based on the respondents' answers, we have drafted 10 recommendations
for developers and validated them by submitting them to an international panel
of experts.
