HOW TO GET BOOK REVIEWS
Reviews are helpful when you’re are buying an online product. Whenever you purchase a product online, you probably see the reviews and ratings. It’s true for most people and even for me.
But, do you know reviews have multiple benefits if you’re an author and thinking about launching a book?
The people who have used the product give reviews and feedbacks, they may like it or even dislike it and they share their experience through the review. Reviews are both positive and negative and both have their own advantages.
Here are some common myths and question about reviewer-
Are reviewers paid for their work? Yes, most of the reviewers get paid.
Can reviews be fake? Yes, reviews can also be paid and fake too.
Are review units can be free? Yes, some sites give free reviews to books. I have mentioned the name of sites down below.
Getting reviews is a lot harder than you think but as I mentioned above, it has its own advantages and I’m sharing a lot of techniques so that it will become easy for you.
Here are the advantages of having a lot of reviews-
Visibility- Amazon prefers books that have more reviews than lesser reviews. Hence, the Amazon algorithm supports the book and makes it more discoverable.
Time save for reader- It saves time and describes the content of books even more. Most of the time people decide to buy a product based on ratings and reviews because people as reviewers describe the product even more clearly.
Credibility- Reviews help a lot in increasing your credibility and it makes you look like you’re an authority.
Now, one question that pops up in everyone’s mind is- how many reviews do I need?
Answer- If you’re launching your book in a month, you will need at least 20 reviews for a good start. But it is the number of minimum reviews you should get. If you have 50 reviews within a month, then it is better for you as amazon will start preferring your book.
So, the minimum number of reviews is 20.
For a good start, the number of reviews should be 50.
Which kind of reviewers do you need?
They are two kinds of reviewers, i.e. Verified and Non- Verified.
Verified reviewers- These are the people who have bought the book from Amazon and then they have reviewed the book. Amazon prefers these kinds of reviewers more because they are authentic and not fake.
Non-verified reviewers- These are the people who bought a book from a local shop or during the launch of the book, and not directly from amazon. So, Amazon doesn’t prefer them even though the review is not fake. Amazon has strong policies, and terms and conditions against paid reviews or fake reviews.
Now, the question arises that if amazon doesn’t prefer non-verified reviewers, how you can ask for genuine reviews.
Here are some of the tested techniques to get reviews for your book on amazon-
1) Build a launch team
The launch team comprises peoples who agree to review after reading your book. People have to buy books from Amazon and then genuinely give reviews to your book.
It is based on long-term relationships. Make them your friends and communicate with them. Try to make a genuine relationship.
How you can build a launch team?
Connect your friends and family members first, as they are genuine, and ask them if they can invite their friends to the launch team too.
Don’t buy reviews from fiver as Amazon is strictly against fake reviews.
You can connect people from Facebook to your launch team but make sure they will not cheat you and as well as Amazon.
Make a list of potential readers among them. Look for people who are interested in joining your launch team.
Make a list in the excel sheet for potential readers among the launch team.
2) Contact the Top Reviewers.
We all know that one person gives a full detailed review of products. It is shown to you as a top review. You probably have seen top reviews a lot of time on amazon.
But, how top reviewers are helpful for you?
They can also give a review of your book on Amazon!
Here is how-
Search the trending books related to your genre.
Watch for detailed reviews and make a list of reviewers.
Check the reviewer’s profile for contact details.
And finally, Contact them. Here is one thing I want to mention that Reviewers remove their personal emails because of spam and request. They also reply very late so wait for a week and if you didn’t get the reply, contact them again.
3) Book Review Site
Book review sites are best when it comes to reviews. By reading this blog post, you know that how important is to review and some experts know this.
These sites have a vast list of potential readers connected to them or you can say they have review committees. Some of them are free of cost while some are paid.
Some of the sites are-
BookRazor
Kindle Book Review
Rainbow Book Reviews
KO’s Stuffed Shelf
The Kindle Book Review
All of these sites promote genuine and honest reviews from their potential list of readers. Considering one of them can be beneficial for your book.
4) Ask for reviews
Attached a page or include a page with thank you inside your book and asking your reader to review your book. It is the most important and well-worked technique for many authors.
Make sure that you have given the amazon link to your book on the thank you page. You can also add a cute illustration character and it is asking for a review. It looks super cute.
You can also insert a small bookmark inside your book for the reader. The bookmark should be cute and attached to your book with a thread.
Ask them to give a review through the cute bookmark. Many leading companies like Snapdeal, Flipkart use this technique in India to gain more popularity and reviews.
Please do comment and lets discuss, if you have any difficulty or solution for aspiring authors!
It would be great if you spare your time to check the book " Learning Together with Sally and Kate"!
6) Relaunch your book if….
The sales of your book suddenly go down and you’re not getting proper reviews. What should you do now?
I have mentioned a lot of techniques in this blog. Sometimes it doesn’t go well or authors make some mistakes while doing the techniques. If the techniques mentioned above don’t work, relaunch your book with newly added chapters and a new launch team.
It will help you add new values and Amazon will prefer your book even more as your book will have more reviews from the new launch team.