Did you know that the average app has only a 1 in 3 chance of getting reviewed? Or that the top app reviewers get over 13,000 pitches a year? In this first ever survey of app journalists, we explore what kinds of apps get reviewed, and what make for a successful pitch.

1. welcome.
January 2015
2015 APP
REVIEWER SURVEY
Insights from app reviewers
and what they really want
www.bigideasmachine.com

2. The explosive growth of apps shows no sign of
aba4ng, and that means there’s a rising number
of developers trying to get their apps no4ced
by journalists. There’s one small problem: how
can a finite number of media outlets possibly
write about the millions of apps already out
there -­‐ with hundreds more launching every
week?
This online survey was conducted in late 2014.
Of the app review media that were approached
to take part, 69 responded, including journalists
from high traffic sites such as The Guardian,
148 apps, Gizmodo, IGN, Pocketgamer and
Slide To Play.
We invited responses from blogs and sites
around the world but the majority came from
the US -­‐ s4ll the biggest app market, and
therefore the country with the highest
concentra4on of media covering apps. Despite
the journalists who responded mostly focusing
on mobile games there was a spread of other
types of app being reviewed by them too -­‐
including kids/family and educa4onal apps.
Throughout this report, you’ll see quotes from
real journalists who kindly shared their opinions
with us. We’ve included as many as we can -­‐
but have leW them unaXributed as many wished
to remain anonymous.
“how can a finite number of media
outlets possibly write about the
millions of apps already out there?”

4. The focus on reviewing games over and above all other types
of apps reflects the reality that games make up the majority of
all apps on all the app stores. Whilst we all have plenty of
social and produc4vity apps that we use regularly, no other
category of apps has the same popularity or the same volume
of new app launches as games -­‐ leading to a much higher
propor4on of column inches.
Aside from games, journalists covering new app launches in
other categories are clearly looking for products that catch
their aXen4on regardless of what kind of app they are. But
with with so much of the media’s focus being on games, it
means that other kinds of apps need to be really special to get
coverage.
When it comes to app review media, games receive
more than twice the attention of any other category.

6. Respondents were also asked what opera4ng systems
they covered. Over 90% covered iOS whilst just over
60% covered Android. The volume of media that
covers other formats such as Windows and Blackberry
is rela4vely small as would be expected. The small
percentage of ‘other’ included outlets that covered
Mac and handheld gaming such as 3DS and PS Vita.

7. On average, how many review
requests do you receive a day?
Around 75% of the journalists who took part in
the survey said that they receive fewer than 20
requests a day. Although this may sound small,
that’s equal to 100 a week, more than 400 a
month, and close to 5,000 a year. And this is at
the lower end of the scale; at the other extreme,
almost 8% said they received over 50 requests a
day, which is a staggering 13,000 requests a year.
“almost 8% said they received over
50 requests a day, which is a
staggering 13,000 requests a year.”

9. Unsurprisingly, the most important
considera4on for any app reviewer was
whether the app in ques4on was a good fit for
the site or magazine’s reader; in a nutshell, is it
relevant? As we’ll see in a later ques4on, it
seems that not enough developers and PRs are
considering this issue of relevance when
approaching the media, with too many using a
scaXergun approach in the hope of geeng
something to s4ck, which ul4mately is not
actually working.
The second most important factor is what the
app looks like based on its screenshots. Firstly,
screenshots show the graphical quality of an
app, which is a good indicator of overall quality,
and secondly, it’s easy to see from a screenshot
whether the descrip4on of the app in the pitch
or on the app store is accurate. So as well as
showcasing the app, screenshots are a litmus
test of whether the app lives up to the hype or
not.
Interes4ngly, the least important factor was
whether the app is based on a known brand or
license -­‐ perhaps indica4ng that, when it comes
to apps, big brands don’t automa4cally mean
high quality.

11. The biggest lesson here is relevance; sending a pitch
about an app that’s not relevant to readers was cited
by 58% of the journalists surveyed. Beyond that,
major reasons for not considering an app for review
were related to not sending through the right
informa4on, or pueng together a pitch that was
poorly wriXen or structured.
When you have at best a couple of minutes to go
through an email pitch, the posi4ves need to be clear
and concise, otherwise nine 4mes out of ten that
email won’t make it further than the trash.

13. Sending out promo codes from the App Store was by far the most popular way to test and review apps,
and Android reviewers are mostly happy to receive app files directly. Half of the journalists surveyed
were also happy to use Teshlight -­‐ perhaps an indicator of what propor4on of reviewers are happy to
look at pre-­‐release game builds and work in progress.

15. Contrary to the view that app reviewers sit aloof on their
thrones in an ivory tower (a view we would never profess
to sharing ourselves), our survey shows that journalists like
to use social media to interact directly with developers.
First and foremost though, our respondents like to use
social media as a discovery and news tool, to keep them
up to date with all the latest releases and announcements.
As well as being open to conversa4ons with known
developers and industry contacts, some of the journalists
use social media as a way to contact specific developers
and companies directly -­‐ we’ve seen this with games like
last year’s sensa4on ‘Flappy Birds’, where the game
became a media talking point without any PR or marke4ng
at all. So for anyone planning on marke4ng an app, it
clearly makes sense to have some form of social media
profile in case a journalist finds it and wants to get in
touch.

16. Please select ONE of the following
statements that best applies to you
When it comes to the best way of pitching an
app, social media appears to have the same
appeal as thrones in ivory towers, with no media
preferring to be contacted via Facebook or
TwiXer. Despite the fact that many journalists
use TwiXer as part of their work, only a small
percentage (8.5%) were happy to use it as a
means of receiving pitches about apps.
Instead, journalists clearly like to keep it
tradi4onal, with 88% wan4ng to get an email,
and handful preferring to be reached via a web
form on their site.

18. How likely is it that a pitch
will turn into a review? Not
very, judging by the responses
we had to this ques4on. Over
40% of respondents said that
fewer than one in ten of the
pitches they receive end up
geeng reviewed.
Taking an average from these
figures we can see that 70%
of journalists who responded,
publish reviews on less than
30% -­‐ giving the average app
a less than one-­‐in-­‐three
chance of geeng coverage.

19. Do you use any newswires as a
source of information?
It can oWen be a difficult choice for developers
and PRs, as to whether using a newswire service
actually helps get trac4on with the press.
However, it’s preXy close to an even split between
journalists that do use them to discover apps to
write about, and those that don’t.
Looking at the different services cited, Games
Press was clearly the favourite -­‐ likely due to the
much higher concentra4on of game reviewers
than any other kind. Aside from Games Press, the
most read wires were the long-­‐established
services PRNewswire and Businesswire, followed
by PRWeb and Marketwire. But even these were
only read by fewer than one in four journalists -­‐
with several other well-­‐known wires geeng even
less recogni4on.

21. The results of this survey -­‐ and the
overwhelming sen4ment received from the
journalists who made the 4me to take part -­‐
reflects what many PR professionals have
known for years, namely that a well-­‐wriXen,
personalised pitch stands a much beXer chance
of geeng read than something poorly worded,
impersonal and blasted out willy-­‐nilly. And
whilst marke4ng professionals and PR people
do offer a valuable service in helping
developers reach reviewers, it’s by no means a
certainty that coverage will result; as we’ve
seen, at best, you have a one in three chance of
making it from a pitch into an actual review.
One of the key factors in all this is quality and
originality. An app that looks and sounds
original will spark a journalist’s interest, and it’s
these apps which tend to dominate the media
coverage given to mobile apps. Even a great
pitch, fantas4c screenshots and a relevant app
for the readers will fail in comparison to an app
which has a genuine X-­‐factor.
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. The
downside of this is that it leaves many, many
disappointed developers whose apps simply
don’t get the coverage that they might deserve.
in summary…

22. Whilst you can’t guarantee success, you can ensure
failure. We hope that the insights contained in this -
the first ever survey of mobile app reviewers - help
developers, marketers and even journalists themselves
focus more on what works, and in that way make
everyone’s job that bit easier and more successful.

23. We are Big Ideas Machine and we love all things mobile.
We market apps and games as well as help technology
companies with their PR, marke>ng, social content and
launch strategies.
about us
App marke4ng is one of the things we’re best at. Not only
do we work with great developers old and new, but we’ve
also been app developers ourselves -­‐ so we really can walk
the walk.
We believe that our experience and specialist knowledge
around apps, mobile games and the wider app ecosystem
sets us apart from other agencies -­‐ and offers an effec4ve
way of self-­‐publishing your app.
Get in touch and find out
how we can help with your
PR, marke>ng or app launch.
hello@bigideasmachine.com
www.bigideasmachine.com
@bigideasmachine