How to Get Your App Reviewed

The app market has never been so competitive. Whether you are checking out Android or iTunes, you will discover that more than a million apps have already been published, many of which are eerily similar to one another. They may differ only in back-stories, characters, and a slight change in the game play. It is because of this very stiff competition that some apps do not make it within the year. If you truly want to maximize your ability to stand out, you have to work on getting your app featured. Based on other app developers’ experience, being featured can increase your downloads to literally thousands. Moreover, even when such figures fall once the app is already out of the featured list, the number still remains considerably higher than the time before your app was featured. But what are the ways of getting your app featured? You can bank on app reviews.

Get the App on a Blog

Can you imagine that? More than 300 million people view and read blogs regularly. I for one am following five blogs DAILY, and I have a friend who says he isn’t into blogs yet has subscribed to two. In fact, blogs have become a huge online marketing tool that companies already have their own. If you are an app developer, it makes perfect sense to have your own website and a blog for your apps, even for the future ones. However, relying on your own blog isn’t practical as far as intensive marketing is concerned because, well, you’re basically giving the audience a very limited space to read about your app. You therefore have to reach out to reviewers, bloggers, and journalists who also have a strong online presence, especially in blogs. To do that, you need a very important arsenal: your app pitch.

Defining the App Pitch

The app pitch can be likened to a press release, as the objective is similar: you want to get the recipient’s attention in the hope he’ll feature your app. The major difference is that pitches usually don’t follow the same structure as PRs and that the main idea is to let the reviewers experience the app and write about it in their blogs or websites. In the process, you’ll get the exposure your app deserves and enjoy it for free. But all this is easier said than done. Some of the best app reviewers and bloggers receive tons of requests daily, and they don’t have time to read each one of them. On average, you have only 5 seconds or even less to get their attention. YOU HAVE ALMOST NO ROOM TO MESS IT UP. So, in a single pitch, you need to make sure that you’ve covered all the essential elements.

How to Write an App Pitch

When creating the app pitch, a couple of essential elements must be present. These include:

• The name of the app
• The developer
• A link of the app from the app stores
• Your contact information
• Correct description of the app including what it does and how it works
• Screenshots
• Video of the app
• Price

When writing the app pitch, you should: Make it short. They don’t have all the time in the world to read it. Create a compelling title. The headline must be properly written: not too obvious, but not too vague. Since it’s the first thing the reviewers see, take as much as time as you can creating the perfect title. Try different titles. Send them to friends. Ask their opinions about which one would work best. Brainstorm with your team. Do not send an attachment. Large file attachments slow down your e-mail. Second, these reviewers may be running a security program that can put your entire e-mail into your Spam folder because of your attachments. Third, go back to our first point: lack of time. Downloading takes time. Instead, copy the entire pitch right into the e-mail. If you’re sending a PR along with the pitch, inform the reviewer beforehand then copy the entire press release. You can just add the link if it’s already published. Customize your e-mail. Never ever send a generic mail. It makes your pitch average, and it’s insulting to the reviewer. Besides, these people have dealt with so many pitches they can easily spot a customized and generic e-mail.