Producing an interesting, well-functioning, nicely-designed app is the best way to improve your chances of getting featured. There's no guarantee, but half the battle is really just standing out from the incredible amount of crap apps released on a daily basis.

My first app, Foodmatic, actually got featured in New & Noteworthy as well when it launched. Unfortunately, sales fell off as soon as the feature ended and the app was kind of a failure haha. But no doubt getting featured can be a huge factor in the success of an app.