If you've created a mobile game and hope to get someone in the media to write a great review, get in line: 75 percent of journalists say they get an average of 20 pitches from developers a day, according to Big Ideas Machine. The marketing firm launched an unusual research report that surveyed nearly 70 members of the press about the app review process.
- Eight percent of app reviewers said they received over 50 requests a day, which would mean 13,000 requests a year.
- Mobile games receive twice as much attention from reviewers than any other category of app.
- Nearly 60 percent of app reviewers said they ignored a pitch from a developer because their app or mobile game was irrelevant to their audience.
- Fewer than one in 10 requests to review an app result in an actual review.
- While most media are active on social media, only a small proportion--8.5 percent--were happy to be pitched via Twitter. Instead, email remains the preferred contact method
"Even a great pitch, fantastic screenshots and a relevant app for the readers will fail in comparison to an app which has a genuine X-factor," the report says. "With so few app reviewers expected to cover so many apps, it's only logical that the reviewers will focus on the 1% that either really stand out, or capture the zeitgeist."
Though the sample size isn't huge, this is an interesting study for app developers, given how often experts say that gaining coverage from bloggers and games media is one of the best ways to get discovered and drive installs. This could be used for indie developers who want to handle promotion of their apps or mobile games on their own, or it could be used as a starting point to guide a developer studio that wants to work with a public relations agency or third-party service. The bottom line here is that "making some noise" isn't any easier with the mainstream bloggers or media than it is to get great user reviews within the app stores.
For more:
- get the study here
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