Mail to review sites
Hi!
Just want to ask what do you usually write in your e-mails to review sites (like TA or 148apps)? Just description from the App Store, or maybe something more? Do you add screenshots as mail annex? Are there any rules, or tricks to get your app reviewed?
Thanks!
Just want to ask what do you usually write in your e-mails to review sites (like TA or 148apps)? Just description from the App Store, or maybe something more? Do you add screenshots as mail annex? Are there any rules, or tricks to get your app reviewed?
Thanks!
Comments
cheers.
Come up with a reason why your game stands out and why people should buy it.
Cheers,
Ludwig
Lump Apps and My Assets
I don't think trying to catch someone's attention is an issue if you use a proper Press Release service and write in the PR format. Look at it this way -- people running gaming websites are scanning for all potential stories that are relevant for their particular audience. PRs are a reliable formalised channel for that, where the ideal is that you agree to submit in the PR format and in return they check each PR. If one site's particular thing is portable device gaming, they're not going to miss your game's existence if they see your PR just because its headline wasn't hypey. They MIGHT miss it if the headline was not relevant to the aims of their site.. EG A portable gaming site could miss your PR if you didn't mention your game was for portables in the headline. A pretty basic point.
After they do have your PR, the real issue is whether your game actually interests them personally if they try it. That's what really leads to a review.
What can be a less sure thing (but not always!) is if you just email a site directly and skip the PR channel. If you do this, you're skipping the unspoken PR contract. So, you haven't necessarily agreed to the PR format, and therefore they aren't necessarily going to read your unsolicited email. This is a case where yes, you may need to get their attention with cheap attention-getting subject line tactics. It's not like you should never email anyone directly, but I think the most basic, effective single piece of promotion you can do for your game is a real PR written in the proper format, and use a real PR service to put it out there. You don't need hype to get reviews this way - in fact it's best to accurately describe your game. Know what it's good at, who you're aiming it at, and simply write the PR headline so it signals those people, leading them to read more of it. Your PR will also cross the desks of a pile of websites you never even heard of (which I don't mean in a bad way
Here's a release I wrote for a game I consulted on. This was sent out directly to my mailing list and I included a personalised message saying that if they wanted a promo code to please reply to the mail.
Subject: "2012’s Weirdest Horror Game"
"Days after a virus turns most of a small town into crazed killers, one man
struggles to find a cure before it spreads to the outside world".
Thursday February 9, 2012: Vancouver Canada
End Night, this years weirdest survival horror game hits the app store for iPad.
End Night brings the hardcore survival experience to mobile with fast pick up and play controls, dynamic missions and an emergent gameplay experience.
“We wanted to make something that created the heart pounding experience of survival horror games but allowed people to experience it in smaller chunks on a mobile device.” said the game’s creator Ben Falcone.
Working out of your safe home lab you’re concocting a vaccine for the virus. Outside the night air is filled with groans of infected townsfolk, all drooling for a piece of you...If you set a toe outside it’ll only be a matter of seconds before they pounce, hacking away at you.
End Night’s Gameplay Features:
* Decide how you survive the night by deciding which resources you need and where you need to go to find them.
* Dynamic missions that change depending on your choices.
* Loot weapons, ammo, healthpacks and more to stay alive and survive.
* Collect infected samples to discover a cure for the disease.
* Find bathtubs to wash infected blood off you.
End Night is more about resource management than fast twitch controls. Your decisions are where to go next and what you’ll need to loot to ensure survival. One bad choice, like deciding to go to a heavily infested area without looting the gun store for ammo and armor first, will probably see you end up in an early grave.
End Night also humanizes the survival horror genre putting you in the place of the last man in an infected town:
* Feel remorse after killing - find booze and bibles to wash away the pain.
* Keep your lab assistant happy so he can keep working on finding a cure
* Wash blood and gore off your body to avoid getting infected
* Doubt your actions as the infected leave you messages scrawled on walls pleading with you to stop killing them.
Falcone, talking about the game design said, “End Night” offers a dynamic experience that plays out in a cool emergent way - A good example is killing an enemy up close. If you use a shotgun you're going to get smeared in infected blood. If you also have a wound that hasn't been wrapped in a bandage you have a good chance of getting infected. So now your new sub mission becomes to get to a bathtub and clean your wounds and since the world is full of infected townsfolk, finding one is a dangerous task on it's own but not cleaning the wound will damage your health progressively.”
End Night is a creepy suburban nightmare brought to life by visual effect artists who worked on movies like Tron: Legacy, 300 and Sweeney Todd.
* Optimised for iPad 2 running at a smooth 60 FPS and utilising advanced MSAA for smooth graphics.
* Advanced lighting effects create an eerie mood
For more information please visit the game’s website at www.endnightgame.com
Details:
Game Title: End Night
Developer: SKS Games
Platform: iPad and iPad 2
Release Date: February 9, 2012
Price: US $2.99
iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/end-night-hd/id498102948?ls=1&mt=8
Website: www.endnightgame.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EndNightGame
Youtube Trailer:
Contact: mick@endnightgame.com
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Need Help Marketing Your Game? http://www.5MinuteSiesta.com
We receive 30+ app submissions a day and the larger sites probably get 100+.
Basically, you get 30 seconds to get the review site interested. I prefer direct submissions to Press Releases as they are usually sent in ad copy format as mentioned.
Do mention name. price, iTunes url, short description of the app why it stands out from all the rest.
Don't write a 500 word essay on the history of how you made the app and all the features etc. Keep it focused.
Make it interesting and help the review site sift the good from the bad. I think there's a huge market for someone or some marketing company to set themselves up as screeners for the review sites and get themselves a reputation as only submitting quality apps.
You can download the interview and the sample pitch over the link mentioned above.
Hope it helps!
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Submit your app for review here: http://www.tapscape.com