Thursday 8 September 2011

iOSDev UK: Handling the Press

Chris Phin, Editor, Tap! Magazine, @chrisphin

Or, “How to get five-star reviews, sell millions of apps, and retire six months from now — guaranteed!”

  • Getting an app noticed:
    • Exposure
    • Endorsement
    • Tap! magazine really want to embrace developers
    • Purchase
    • 91% of readers buy recommended apps
  • UK magazines make money from selling issues
    • In the US it’s more based on advertising
  • How reviews are chosen?
    • Gut feeling from the editors
    • Fitting in to specific sections
  • How to piss off an editor?
    • Not knowing the magazine title or anything about it…
    • Unfocussed pitching
    • Aggressiveness
    • Choosing the wrong comms channel (email/SMS/phone)
  • How to make an editor happy?
    • Devs with passion & high standards
    • Personal connection — trust other devs’ feelings
  • Freelancers
    • e.g. Craig Gennell — Tap! mag contributing editor for games
    • Some are integral part of team; some are chancers…
    • But help them as much as possible
  • Press releases
    • Same rules as any other content — first line should be who made the app, its name and what does it do
    • Links — to the web site and the app store
    • Contact details
    • include twitter
    • After all this, can put in description of company (but not before)
  • Website
    • What it is — in as few words as possible
    • Price — including details of promotions (if poss)
    • Screenshots — equinux.com does a good media room
    • Contact details — again, specific media details if poss
    • Contact forms not so good as the sender can’t track the outgoing email
    • So have an obfuscated email address on the page
    • Reviewers’ guide
    • Often hooked around a narrative
    • Opportunity to guide the review — pick out USPs, etc
  • What to do when you get a review
    • Read it! Not just the score…
    • Take any feedback
    • app reviewers see a lot of apps, so maybe a little more informed
    • but they are just another individual user!
    • Shout about good reviews
  • Other ways to get in a magazine
    • Not just full reviews: app roundups, features, updates
    • Building relationships leads to tweets etc

Q&A

  • innovative ways of catching attention
    • direct mail involving cookies!
  • press area
    • often include reviews from other magazines (but that’s not useful for reviewers)
    • screenshots, hi-res logos, videos
    • useful to have a zip
  • beta builds
    • interesting from bigger apps (well-known, anticipated)
    • Chris loves TestFlight
  • mailing out
    • really targeted, passionate, individualized approach to 5 or so key targets
    • mailshot out the rest
  • screencasts?
    • prefer image galleries as can skim them
    • otherwise, 20 seconds max!

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