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We have a bunch of content that want people to read and have added reviews to the content to help others understand what is more valuable than other content. We are about to launch this feature and currently don't have any reviews on our content. The star ratings for reviews appear on the content cards and next to the title on the detail page, so they are pretty visible.

Does anyone have any strategies at launch? Should we completely hide the star ratings but still ask for reviews until there are at least 15 or should we leave it exposed? Or should it say "Not Enough Reviews"?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

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    I'd copy the big boys. Apple, Amazon, etc. They tend to always show the star rating to indicate that you can rate it. If there aren't enough ratings to show, then they usually have something along the lines of "no reviews for this product, be the first to review!"
    – DA01
    Commented Feb 4, 2015 at 17:41
  • Since you note that you consider hiding it until there are atleast 15 review I assume you're worried about 1 bad review from the start deterring others. To that I'd say make sure you have a number of reviews label next to the stars such as *****(1) that way people know only that one person thought it was bad.
    – DasBeasto
    Commented Jun 23, 2015 at 15:19

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As DA01 suggests, Apple and Amazon have probably done most of the research for you.

"Be the first to review this!" adds a little cachet that is likely to appeal to some users.

If your users are also signed in with a social network to the level where you can monitor their connections you might also be able to use "Be the first among your friends to review this!" which would also add a small sense of social competition.

As far as hiding data goes - don't do it. If someone has taken the time to write a review or even just gone a little out of their way to click on a star rating then they will want to see the result.

To speed up the seeding of reviews, once someone has left one, you could always offer them the chance to bask in a small moment of glory by suggesting that they share the review by way of a handy button that ensures it's linked back to your site.

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