Amazon book reviews help drive your sales and establish your credibility as an author. In this article, we’re going to look at the importance of having good book reviews and how to get them.
Importance of Good Book Reviews
Let’s take a minute to understand the importance and benefits of good Amazon book reviews.
1. Increase Book Sales
The formula is quite simple: more positive reviews plus potential readers equals more sales. Good Amazon book reviews leave a mark on your potential readers and paint your book in a positive light. So, avid readers of your genre will be more likely to purchase a copy of your book.
2. Establish Authority and Gain Visibility
Good book reviews will have the dual effect of establishing your credibility as an author and gaining potential readers who are missing out on your book. In other words, your current followers will be happy they’re fans of your work, and new readers will become new followers.
3. Influence Search Algorithms
Amazon’s algorithm demands a steady flow of reviews for your book to rise above the ranks. To put it simply, if you want continued sales of your book, you need a steady source of new book reviews.
How to Get Book Reviews for Free
Here are six ways you can get free book reviews:
1. Connect With Top Amazon Reviewers
This is time-consuming, but it could get you two to three reviews from Amazon’s top 1000 reviewers. These are people who review products through the Amazon Vine Program.
To find a reviewer, follow these steps:
- Go to the Amazon’s Top Customer Reviewers list.
- Look for customer reviewers who’ve reviewed books, specifically those from your genre.
- After compiling a list of reviewers, reach out to each of them individually to request a review.
- Wait for a reply. If you don’t get one, reach out to them again or look for other reviewers.
This can be a tiring process, but if you find one reviewer, you can save their contact information should you need them to review your next book.
2. Post a Link on Your Website/Page to Prompt a Review
One simple way to get reviews is to simply ask your readers for one.
Your current readers are your biggest supporters, so they’re the people who are most likely to leave a positive review for your book.
On the day of your book release (maybe a day in advance), post a social media announcement or send an email to your reader list about your upcoming book. Embed a link to the review page of the book while kindly requesting them to leave a positive review if they liked your book.
If you have a good following, you should be seeing several reviews being generated only a few days after your book release.
3. Free Book Review Websites
There are several book review sites where you can find reviewers for your book.
Here’s a small list of some free review sites:
- Rain Taxi Review of Book
- Compulsive Reader
- The Rumpus
- Affaire de Coeur
- American Book Review
Make sure you first look at the submission guidelines to get an idea of their dos and don’ts.
4. Ask For It in Your Book
Another simple way of getting readers to leave a review for your book is to ask for it . . . in your book.
Dedicate a page in the back of your book where you personally address your readers.
First, thank them for purchasing your book and making it all the way to the end. Second, advertise yourself. Take a few lines to mention upcoming books and how readers can connect with you. Third, kindly request them to leave a review if they liked your book.
Mention how important it is for you and your upcoming books that they leave a review. And then sign off by thanking them in advance.
In your print book, make sure to give instructions on how they can leave an Amazon review. For an eBook, make it easy and leave them a link.
5. Reach Out to Your Network
A few months before your book launch, reach out to a network of trusted individuals to whom you can send a copy of your manuscript.
Request them to read through it completely, and on launching day, leave an Amazon review.
Perhaps you can reward them with a discounted copy of your book (by setting the price on KDP to the discounted amount for a period of time) in return so “Verified Purchase” appears next their review.
6. Relaunch Your Book
If you begin to notice your book sales drop and your reviews slow down (or stop), then it might be time to remove your book from Amazon and relaunch it.
Think of your book as fire. You need to keep feeding it so the flame doesn’t die out.
Relaunching your book will allow you to tackle previous errors (like editing mistakes), rebrand your book (a new cover design, perhaps), and add new content which you can advertise on your website. It also gives you the opportunity to start off with a new launch team.
All of this will help recreate a sense of interest in your book.
FAQs
How Many Book Reviews Do I Need?
You should try and get at least twenty reviews within the first two months of releasing your book. Getting around 50 reviews is a good standard to aim for.
How Long Does It Take for an Amazon Review to Go Live?
Amazon reviews are usually posted within 72 hours after submission. Sometimes, it may take a little longer because Amazon has a system that filters out fault reviews.
Go, Get Those Reviews
Now that you’ve written your book and are ready to publish, it’s time to show current and potential readers that your book is worth reading with the help of book reviews.
Connect with Amazon’s top reviewers to get the ball rolling. Take the help of your current reader base. Request them to leave a book review on the day of your book launch, and set a reminder in your book when they reach the end.
Take advantage of the many free book review sites.
Finally, don’t worry about relaunching your book if sales go down. Sometimes, it helps taking a few steps back before running in for a big leap.
