How do I get my reviews to garner attention?

[KorvaMeister]

I really want to be known as a decent reviewer/curator so...how do i get people to notice my reviews? I want to be seen in the most helpful setction of a game but all my reviews no matter how hard I work on them always stay at 1- 5 people saying this is really helpful. I do have some older really short and unhelpful reviews but those seem to get the most attention. I don't understand. Could any of you see my new reviews or atleast tell me how to get them to have more attention?

[Doc Rock]

Originally posted by -pg- Korva:

.how do i get people to notice my reviews?

This is a question we are often asked and have often asked ourselves. The truth is, we don't really have a definitive answer and the reason is because Steam made some changes over the past 18 months to the entire store platform including how reviews are displayed and such. There really isn't a simple explanation. It almost seems that reviews are randomly displayed on a game's store page at times and other times its a different set of reviews that may be displayed and not always the best or most popular ones.

However, there are some things we can do as curators to help the success of our personal reviews even when Steam seems to be a hindrance. I will list them below (this will not be a short answer) and I hope they can help get you started. There is no shortcut to successs but these tips will help increase your chances.

Review Tips:
==========

• Formatting - this is a powerful tool that often gets overlooked. Dressing up your reviews to make them more appealing to the eyes and attract a Steam user's attention to your work is very effective.
  
• Organization - most people just type out a series of random thoughts about their experiences while playing a game without any sort of cohesive thought process. A solid review should be laid out in a systematic way that makes sense to the reader, much like an essay for a school project or such. Bouncing all over the place as thoughts pop into your head is a way to lose the reader's attention quickly since their brains have to work twice as hard to follow. A great review will have a pattern that allows the information to flow smoothly.
  
• Short summary vs. long review - the majority of gamers on Steam are ages 13-25 and its a known fact that we have much shorter attention spans at younger ages. A way to counter this is to include a brief summarized statement of your recommendation at the top of your review to reach more people since many users will not want to bother reading long reviews regardless of how great they are. It doesn't need to be dull or boring either. Sometimes a jazzed up remark at the beginning of the review can hook their interest and convince them to continue reading. Even if they don't, you have managed to get your overall opinion across to more readers by using this trick.
  
• Gameplay Hours - these will vary depending on the game, but never post a review for a game without having thoroughly played it. Readers tend to skip reviews made by someone who has only played a game for a short period of time compared to others. It doesn't need to be excessive but, your counter should definitely reflect that you have played enough of the game to form a solid opinion with the knowledge to back it up.
  
• Friends, Friends, Friends - this is probably the most important of all tools at a reviewer's disposal. One certainty about a game's store page is that any reviews written by your friends will always be displayed at the top of the review lost for each game. Naturally, more friends will translate to more people seeing your reviews even with the randomness of the Steam store process. Any time you write a new review for a game it will also be displayed on your activity feed so all your friends who check the feed will see it there as well. And, if you really want to make the extra effort, you can even message some or all of your friends and share the review link with them while asking them to share their thoughts or vote it up for you. Having active and engaging friends will always increase your success.

One last thing, even with all of these tools there is no guarantee for success. Some reviews will flourish while others seem to slither into oblivion. There are some users who will troll a game's reviews regardless of what they say since they either love or hate a game and could care less about the info you provide - their only purpose is to help or hurt a particular game. This is a flaw within the review system and Steam has made no effort to remedy it. Don't let this discourage you though. And, keep in mind that the more popular a game is, the more users will visit a store page and that translates into more opportunities for your review to get noticed. Anyways, I hope these tips help. Good luck!

[KorvaMeister]

Originally posted by Doc Rock:

Originally posted by -pg- Korva:

.how do i get people to notice my reviews?

This is a question we are often asked and have often asked ourselves. The truth is, we don't really have a definitive answer and the reason is because Steam made some changes over the past 18 months to the entire store platform including how reviews are displayed and such. There really isn't a simple explanation. It almost seems that reviews are randomly displayed on a game's store page at times and other times its a different set of reviews that may be displayed and not always the best or most popular ones.

However, there are some things we can do as curators to help the success of our personal reviews even when Steam seems to be a hindrance. I will list them below (this will not be a short answer) and I hope they can help get you started. There is no shortcut to successs but these tips will help increase your chances.

Review Tips:
=========

• Formatting - this is a powerful tool that often gets overlooked. Dressing up your reviews to make them more appealing to the eyes and attract a Steam user's attention to your work is very effective.
  
• Organization - most people just type out a series of random thoughts about their experiences while playing a game without any sort of cohesive thought process. A solid review should be laid out in a systematic way that makes sense to the reader, much like an essay for a school project or such. Bouncing all over the place as thoughts pop into your head is a way to lose the reader's attention quickly since their brains have to work twice as hard to follow. A great review will have a pattern that allows the information to flow smoothly.
  
• Short summary vs. long review - the majority of gamers on Steam are ages 13-25 and its a known fact that we have much shorter attention spans at younger ages. A way to counter this is to include a brief summarized statement of your recommendation at the top of your review to reach more people since many users will not want to bother reading long reviews regardless of how great they are. It doesn't need to be dull or boring either. Sometimes a jazzed up remark at the beginning of the review can hook their interest and convince them to continue reading. Even if they don't, you have managed to get your overall opinion across to more readers by using this trick.
  
• Gameplay Hours - these will vary depending on the game, but never post a review for a game without having thoroughly played it. Readers tend to skip reviews made by someone who has only played a game for a short period of time compared to others. It doesn't need to be excessive but, your counter should definitely reflect that you have played enough of the game to form a solid opinion with the knowledge to back it up.
  
• Friends, Friends, Friends - this is probably the most important of all tools at a reviewer's disposal. One certainty about a game's store page is that any reviews written by your friends will always be displayed at the top of the review lost for each game. Naturally, more friends will translate to more people seeing your reviews even with the randomness of the Steam store process. Any time you write a new review for a game it will also be displayed on your activity feed so all your friends who check the feed will see it there as well. And, if you really want to make the extra effort, you can even message some or all of your friends and share the review link with them while asking them to share their thoughts or vote it up for you. Having active and engaging friends will always increase your success.

One last thing, even with all of these tools there is no guarantee for success. Some reviews will flourish while others seem to slither into oblivion. There are some users who will troll a game's reviews regardless of what they say since they either love or hate a game and could care less about the info you provide - their only purpose is to help or hurt a particular game. This is a flaw within the review system and Steam has made no effort to remedy it. Don't let this discourage you though. And, keep in mind that the more popular a game is, the more users will visit a store page and that translates into more opportunities for your review to get noticed. Anyways, I hope these tips help. Good luck!

Thank you very much, I will keep this is mind.

[Vince ✟]

My guess would be to make lots of friends, get active in the feed, and then start pumping out solid reviews like its your thing. I'd also suggest getting your friends to favorite/follow or whatever to keep it active and eventually youll be on top of the list I'd think. Review everything, from free and cheapies to the AAA titles, and don't forget to actually write well. That would probably be the most important yea? Just a hunch though, I dont really know anyone who does it, but its how I'd try I guess. Good luck, I appreciate a good review.

[Doc Rock]

Very good advice right there. There are a few other things as well but these things will definitely get you rolling.

[KorvaMeister]

Originally posted by Doc Rock:

:up: :up: :up: Very good advice right there. There are a few other things as well but these things will definitely get you rolling.

So I got my first review in the most helpful section!
The thing is it's a joke review. Go to Melody's Escape and you'll see my review. I reviewed it when it first came out, and I think that's what made it onto the most helpful section.

[✠ Sigmar ✠]

I suggest pinning those tips on the top of the forum!

[My handsome, what do you want]

Help me riview

[Capt_Blakhelm]

I don't think there is a secret sauce to review optics other than being at the right place at the right time with the right information.

Even with that, I couldn't tell you who is the "Totalbiscuit of Steam Reviews" though having some sort of "semi-Celebrity" status can certainly help.

My review ratings are sporadic. I have one review with 122 helpful ratings. Another with 56. And a handful at the 20-35 range. Most have one helpful rating or zero. I could write a lenghty post onto why, but I don't think anybody is going to read it all (it'll just be rambly anyways)

Ultimately, being a "Top reviewer" is about providing enough info to a potential buyer when they're ready to buy. Somebody like Tamaster provides a detailed review with screenshots everytime, so you know what to expect. That also means having that info when a user eventually scrolls down to the review section to start reading. That can be soon after the game releases, after the game has got enough media attention, after the game got a big update or came up in some news story, after somebody got a raise/bonus and can finally afford more games, or until their next bi-weekly, or monthly paycheck. You could game the system a bit, but at that point, it'd require a large time investment to make it work, so reviewing needs to be a hobby/side job for you almost.

[NeoRider7]

It was interesting to read it. Thank you all for the advice!

[Kiba Snowpaw]

I know this is old, but I still find it relevant. One thing that wasn’t mentioned—and I see many of you not fully taking advantage of—is Curator pages. If you have a Curator page and link the game you're reviewing to your personal review, people are more likely to click on it. If they like your review, they might follow you or your Curator page.

This helps you gain more visibility and followers. Additionally, if they follow your Curator page, your reviews will appear under all games you review, increasing exposure during sales when more people are checking out reviews.

There's also a section called 'What Curators Say,' where your review can appear even to users who don’t follow your Curator page. Using Curator pages effectively can only benefit you in the long run by driving more views and engagement on your reviews.

[Doc Rock]

yes, this is very old and you are correct. We actually updated our guide after this was posted but you do not see it because we did it on Google documents to make it easier for everyone and we added the link info along with a pre-formatted code everyone could just copy/paste into the footer of their reviews.

[Kiba Snowpaw]

Thanks for the clarification, Doc! It's great to hear you updated the guide and made a Google Doc with pre-formatted code—definitely useful for anyone looking to step up their review game.

Personally, I use GPT to help with the setup of my reviews, including the formatting, and since I’m a furry, I like to incorporate my own unique furry style into them. If you have a moment, you should check out my reviews to see the formatting and style I use—I’ve put a lot of effort into making them stand out.

So far, I’ve written over 400 reviews using a single account, which is about a third of what your team has been doing collectively across multiple users. I’ve noticed that 18+ games tend to drive the most activity and engagement, as there are so many eyes on those games. People often check out the reviews, leave comments, and interact with them, making those my most active reviews in terms of visibility and feedback.

It’s all about finding ways to stand out, and it’s great to see that the Google Doc is helping others get started!