ASO Ninja - Free ASO book

It’s the bane of every app developers that rely on app reviews and ratings. Reviews are not new to app marketing. In the last few years, we have been able to participate in the conversations that happen between users. App reviews are just an extension of word of mouth marketing. It’s a record of our users’ thoughts of your app much like social media.
The worst part has no app reviews, or having negative reviews because these are imperative to your app’s growth and popularity. It is one of the factors that decide which gets to be “that app” among the rest.
In iTunes as well as Google PlayStore, it’s very hard to figure out how to solicit for an app review effectively.

Check out these five strategies that are proven to work to get positive reviews for your app:

1. Kindly ask your users to review your app and don’t forget to thank them.

In app marketing, or in any business, personality matters. Pop-ups can be annoying at times. However, these can be beneficial to both the service provider and the users. A lot of people like the idea of Peach, but what if there’s a bug that prevents it from being a perfect app? If users can tell what’s wrong, the developers can then fix the issues and make their users happy. The Peach app will get better and the users will reap all the benefits. It’s a win-win situation. If your users can see the impact of their opinions, they will gladly help.
You must pay attention to the quality of your app; your app rate request is not just a pop-up. Make your users feel that they are also your contributors. It’s an opportunity to get closer to them. Make them feel that you care. It will help set you apart from your competitors.
Your pop-ups presentation must be simple. It’s better to be basic as per se. There are only three options to give your users: Yes, No or Later.
Check the sample below. Awesome eh?

“Showing us some love on the App Store or Google Playstore helps us continue working on the app to make things even better!”
This sounds like you care and more of a personal conversation than directly asking “Hello, Please rate our app.” A sense of contribution is also intensified among users. It will undoubtedly increase your chances of getting your app reviews significantly. A little effort goes a long way.

2. Social media

Beyond your usual email marketing strategy, you should also mention your best converting and favorite social media outlets for your app to your users. Not directly for reviews, but for user engagement. Reviews will follow suit or it will come with commitment.

Start with these questions:
Where do you get the most involvement?
Is this a new app? If so, where do your competitors see more engagement?
Don’t just use Facebook and Twitter because you “should.” Once you have determined your converting communities, mention them to your users in all parts of the life cycle.  

Remember, promoting your app to your online communities and integrating the mentions into the whole lifecycle will lead to more app reviews, and it will roll in naturally.

3. Look Further Than App Store Rating

App store reviews aren’t the only medium to get positive reviews to boost your app ranking.
In-app FAQs and Support is also an excellent way to gather feedback without having to depend on app store reviews. It will also encourage your users to rate your app.

You may try Helpshift as it is being used by a lot of startups and companies to help them with their in-app services. Their services include in-app FAQs and Support. With this you’re your users can message your team directly for assistance, which can increase user engagement and boost customer satisfaction.
Helpshift identifies loyal customers first, and it will ask them to rate the app later. This way, your users won’t feel forced to rate your app.Perfect timing needs to make sense.

4. Incentivize Your Users

Are you familiar with Jelly Jumble? In this game, the user gets rewards for rating the app, and it makes everybody happy. The best things in life are indeed FREE.
However, try to avoid forcing users to rate your app five stars. Yeah, it’s not illegal, but it is much better not to. What we want here is an honest feedback to improve your app or services, not bubbles. The lowest and the highest star ratings tell you nothing (1 or 5-stars). It’s the 3s and 4s that matter, and you should pay more attention to it.

5. Build a High-Quality App

For me, this is the important part. If your app is not of high-quality, people won’t use or buy it. Without a solid user base, there’s nobody there to rate your app.
So what to do? Well, develop an excellent app and deliver only the best services. Make your users happy and satisfied. Believe me, people will rave themselves because they know you deserve it.
What do you think about these strategies to get positive reviews for your app or game? Which of the tips above is the most efficient way to get more positive app reviews? Did you successfully approach your app users or gamers? We’d love to hear your views and opinions below.  You can also send a tweet/ send a message to me at @gabrielmachuret.