A couple years ago we were required to sign out of iTunes and log in to each individual country's iTunes store to see reviews from other countries.
Today there are three reliable services we can use:
One subscription, one comes with purchase, and the third is a free WordPress plugin.
Monthly Subscription
I'm a big fan of Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity To Podcast. He created a service that offers multiple membership levels:
- Free: One monthly update for one podcast via email (iTunes reviews only)
- $5 a month: Weekly updates for two shows including Stitcher reviews
- $15 a month: Daily/weekly updates for seven shows (Stitcher too)
- $25 a month: Daily/weekly updates for fifteen shows – and Daniel will shine your shoes at Podcast Movement (Ok, the shoe thing was a joke)
Another benefit to his paid plans is the sorting and filtering features. Very cool.
Find more information, including a walk-through video, at MyPodcastReviews.com
Tons of Cool Features with Purchase
I've been using Simple Podcast Press on MoneyPlanSOS.com for a few months now.
What I thought was a very simple podcast player with cool subscribe buttons turned out to be so much more!
Included in the package is a display on your dashboard for all iTunes reviews.
I don't remember setting it up – one day it was just there!
Free for WordPress
I just discovered this one: iTunes Podcast Review Manager plugin for WordPress. I just installed it on one of my sites and it seems to work as promised.
Time will only tell but they are on version 2.1 so I expect they have some history behind it.
You can download this plugin from wordpress.org/plugins/itunes-podcast-review-manager or just search for it from your plugin dashboard.
Do reviews matter?
I will be the first to admit: 5-star reviews stroke my ego.
Most podcasters like myself are so starved for feedback that a written review puts us on Cloud 9.
However, here are reasons you want to check podcast reviews from multiple countries:
- To say thanks for the review on your show (everyone likes to be thanked)
- Social Proof (it lets others know you have listeners other than them)
- More Social Proof by posting reviews on your site (like testimonies)
- Use the helpful criticism to improve your show (just don't let them bully you into changing)
- To remind you there are listeners in other countries (don't assume Croatians know what Black Friday is)
And, of course, it gives you something to brag about to your other podcasting friends.
I wouldn't recommend you fixate on reviews. They do help your show rank higher in iTunes but serving your audience should come first.
Give your listeners what they want (value) and they will eventually give you what you want (5-star reviews)