Amazon book reviews are not purely for your validation as an author, although a good one certainly feels amazing. They also help in marketing your book and you as a writer.
Let’s be honest, how many times have you held back from buying a book on Amazon just because you didn’t find sufficient and helpful information about the author whom you only came across for the first time? When there’s just no available discussion of the author’s writing style, how good they are, and how much their works are worth looking out for? Many times, I bet.
Amazon book reviews inform new readers about you and also show that your published work is actually being enjoyed by others.
Table of Contents
Book quality
We certainly cannot judge a book by its cover, but we can certainly read through Amazon book reviews from previous readers to gauge if an interesting book is worth purchasing.
Organic and verified Amazon book reviews are especially credible to potential buyers since it informs them that there’s a good number of readers out there who appreciate your work.
Improved SEO
When your readers leave Amazon book reviews, they will likely use words and phrases that describe your book, its title, and its genre. With more occurrences of relevant keywords and phrases, your book has an increased chance of appearing in your target customers’ results. Amazon book reviews can improve your book’s relevance in search engines.
How do you get Amazon book reviews?
You can set up your own book’s launch team
You can get off to an efficient start with a book launch team.
This will require some form of investment on your part, but having a professional team who understands the ins and outs of Amazon book marketing can help you gain great book reviews sooner than if you do everything by yourself.
A launch team will be competent at using the appropriate platforms to get the word out about your book, attract the right readers to purchase your book on Amazon, and engage with these buyers/readers, increasing your chances of receiving verified Amazon book reviews.
Hiring a full marketing team who can handle all PR aspects is also a viable option.
Leaders Press can help you with that, along with a bunch of other things that any author might need. You can check out our services here.
Earn reviews from bloggers/book influencers or independent reviewers
The world wide web has allowed most of us to carve our own spaces online. Whether it’s through the growing utilization of personal websites, social media pages, short-form content, or vlogging, the world has seen a boom for the creator economy where content creators for countless niches are finding livelihood and fulfillment in creating engaging, entertaining, and helpful content for anyone who knows how to use the Internet.
This means that book reviewers are no longer limited to high-society and professional literature-reviewing publications. Being able to express opinions and reviews on all kinds of books is now an option available to everyone.
Book or specific genre enthusiasts who also create review content online are a dime a dozen. It’s easy to identify reviewers, bloggers, and influencers who have good credibility, massive following, engaging brands, and authentic content.
Reach out to these individuals by introducing yourself as an author, sharing highlights of your writing journey, and presenting your book as a piece they might enjoy.
Share a personal message in the back page of your book that kindly requests for reviews
No matter the purchased, whether it’s fashion retail or books, buyers always appreciate personal and heartfelt touches.
One of the most effective ways to get your readers a fresh and insightful Amazon book review is to tell them that you would love to hear what they think about the book.
Imagine, your readers just finished reading your book and they have barely left the world of your story yet. Their thoughts and feelings are still fresh and alive in their minds– thoughts and feelings that you would love to hear as the creator of the story.
At the end of the book, express your heartfelt gratitude towards your readers for allowing you to take them on a journey, for their time and interest. Share that you are looking forward to meeting your readers through their reviews, that it was a privilege to write for them, and it will be an absolute pleasure to hear their thoughts about your book.
Ask your support system for honest reviews
Who else would be immensely supportive of your literary endeavors but your own friends and family?
At the start of your writing journey, I’m sure there are a few souls you have confided in about your work. If this is not your first book, you might have already told some of your closest and dearest about your new book. It would be natural for them to root for you and support you in your journey; promises of book purchases are inevitable.
And because they are your most trusted people, don’t hesitate to ask them for continued and valuable support by encouraging them to buy your book from Amazon and to enjoy it. Tell them that a subsequent review of your book from them, posted on the book’s review page, will help you a lot in getting more readers and success on Amazon. That is, unless they share the same address as you do since their reviews will be flagged down by Amazon.
Engage with your followers and readers on social media to remind them about reviews
There is no better time for you to make the most of social media as an author than now. Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter are having a consistently massive moment since the late 2010’s especially for marketing.
Build your social media assets by creating public/business profiles for you as an author. This is where you can promote your works and you can directly engage with your readers. You can also create individual pages for your books. If this sounds too tedious, you can create hashtags for your books instead.
From time to time, acknowledge your readers and thank them for their support. You can address your followers and ask them for their feedback through Amazon book reviews because you would love to hear about how they experienced your story.
Share how humbling your experience has been in gaining them as readers and that you read and appreciate every honest Amazon book review that they leave. Highlight some of the best Amazon book reviews on your social media pages (stories, reels, tweets) to also encourage new readers to participate in this kind of engagement too.
Utilize a Mailing List
When your readers purchase your book or visit your website, you have the opportunity to collect their email address which you can compile for a mailing list.
You can initially send a message of gratitude for their interest and purchase and express how you hope they enjoyed the book. You can also introduce other works that you may have and then you can ask them if they can share their thoughts on your book. Share your book’s Amazon review page with them and tell them that it would be a privilege for you to read their review in case they can spare the time to write a review.
Never force – or have a dictating tone – when encouraging your readers to leave an Amazon book review. Remember, Amazon’s SEO is top notch and reviews stating that they felt obliged to write will do your brand more harm than good. Don’t forget to always provide an easy email list unsubscribe link for your readers whether it’s a simple thank you message or a newsletter.
Write a weekly or monthly Newsletter for your fans
And because you have a mailing list of your supporters and curious readers, you can also use this to distribute insightful newsletters through email every week or every month.
You can include the following in your newsletters, excerpts and links to blogs that are currently talking about your book, stories of how you were inspired to write your book, your travels and experiences as a writer, the people and the stories that inspire your journey, real people who inspired the characters of your book or interviews with people whom you mentioned or referred to in your book if it’s non-fiction.
Don’t forget to market your book/s in your newsletters and to encourage the reader to share their thoughts about your book on its Amazon review page.
Reach out to prolific and top book reviewers on Amazon
We have talked about book influencers and individual book reviewers who are a valuable group of content creators in the literature world.
But don’t hesitate to also reach out to big names and top institutions when it comes to book reviews. I understand that it can feel intimidating, but there is nothing more rewarding for professional reviewers than to discover new wonderful writers and their works.
Send a well-written email or message to reputable Amazon editors and book reviewers (you can research and create a list.)
Create a special link that goes straight to your book’s Amazon review page
A common mistake many authors make is when they request for someone to give their book a review on Amazon, they just send the person a link to purchase their book, making the person browse around (if they are invested enough) until they finally find the review page where they can write.
Because of this, readers will likely not follow through. I know, I fell through so many times in the past.
However, what if you could create a special link that you could send your readers and it would take them straight to the review page of your book? All they will have to do is click on that link and write the review.
Here’s how you can do it:
Step 1. Depending on the media format that you want your readers’ reviews to be directed to, you can either find your ASIN for the eBook, or the ISBN -10 for the visual book, or the ASIN for the audio format.
Step 2. Use the link below, and add your number from step 1: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin= + (ASIN or ISBN 10)
Step 3. Not that the link above is only for the US market. If you want to target a different demographic, you just have to change out the “.com” to the appropriate one like “.de” for Germany, or “.au” for Australia, and so on. However, this is mainly for published books and isn’t the usual case for self-published ones. Just double-check to be safe; you don’t want your links to fail.
Now, any time you request a review in an email or newsletter, you can send them that special link to your book’s Amazon review page.
Ask your book’s genre community to check out your book on Amazon
Let’s say your book falls under adult science fiction; there are several online and offline groups out there, even just in your own city, who are dedicated to enjoying and sharing science fiction titles. Many reader groups are highly social and meet up for book club discussions and for book exchanges.
Reach out with a positive attitude to these groups. Avoid hard selling your book; instead, introduce yourself, share a bit of your story as a writer and introduce your book to them. Tell them that you would be grateful and happy if any of them choose to give your book a read, and you are looking forward to their honest review on Amazon.
This way, you start to build your network of acquaintances and followers as an author, become part of the community, and you hasten your way towards gaining new readers and reviewers for your book on Amazon.
You can build a group of beta readers to help you start getting Amazon book reviews
A beta reader is someone who will read your manuscript with the goal of providing you feedback. They can help you improve your work by pointing out inconsistencies, errors, plot holes, or unclear wording.
Your beta readers may be your own friends or acquaintances or strangers you’ve met in genre circles as I’ve mentioned in item #10.
Your beta readers should regularly read books that share similarities with yours— them being familiar and well-versed with your genre will help them identify played-out cliches, overused tropes, or missing important elements from your book. Ideally, your beta readers are good representatives of your target market.
If you’re writing an informative or professional book, you should look for beta readers with a better understanding of your subject matter. Consult experts who have worked in the industry featured in your book. A beta reader well-versed with cultural sensitivity can help you ensure that any depictions of marginalized groups in your book are sensitively and accurately portrayed.
Remember that while beta readers are a fantastic way to network and avail a process of human quality control at the early stage of your publishing process, you should not rely on beta readers for professional editing.
Become part of a relevant Amazon community or forum
There are Amazon communities or forums that have dedicated posts and threads about Amazon book genres and Reviewers. Like social media groups, these forums possess their own unique cultures which you should be observant about.
If you are a relatively new author, participating in these forums and becoming part of these communities can be excellent ways of building curiosity around your book, and introducing yourself to these communities as a promising writer.
Engage with other people within these communities, constantly find opportunities to market your works and yourself as a writer, and to ask reviewers to give your book a chance and a review.
You can hold a free book giveaway in exchange for honest reviews
Although this promises no guarantees of a book review since a lot of giveaway participants can take the freebies and split, you can give this method a try as part of your marketing strategies.
You can share your special link to your book’s Amazon review page, have your giveaway participants visit it, take a screenshot, and send your social media pages their email address and screenshot. Aside from driving traffic and creating familiarity with your book’s review page so they can easily remember to revisit and write a review later, you can also add their email information to your mailing list.
Review the books of other authors whom you never worked for or collaborated with
Every writer starts as a voracious reader. Authors, like yourself, have been inspired a lot by the works of other prolific writers. And because kindness begets kindness, you want to start good Amazon karma by leaving reviews for books that you have purchased from other writers and enjoyed yourself.
Aside from getting in good graces with other Amazon book writers, you can also boost familiarity with your brand and curiosity around your own works if you consistently share your thoughts as both reader and writer with other authors through their books’ Amazon review pages.
Be more active on high-traffic book sites like Goodreads
Some websites with social media elements that focus on books of diverse genres, like Goodreads, allow readers to post reviews on books, find their next read, see what friends are reading, form book clubs, and connect with authors.
These sites are ideal marketing tools for writers where you can gain exposure, find your target niche market, and connect with your readers.
Readers that post reviews of your book on places like Goodreads may not be leaving Customer Reviews on your book’s Amazon page, but you can extract blurbs from these reviews and post them on the Editorial Review section of your Amazon book page. Your potential readers should still see noteworthy reviews outside of Amazon on Amazon.
Reach out to Amazon customer reviewers who review similar books to your work
This method requires effort and research, and tends to be time-consuming. But it can definitely be rewarding as it can help you target the type of reader you are looking to sell your book to.
Look up some of the top books on Amazon in the genre you are in, maybe you can also include your own favorites. Then check the names of those who have reviewed these books. If you find that these reviewers really enjoyed these similar books, they might enjoy your book as well.
Check out these reviewers’ pages since some of them share their social media links or email addresses in their profiles. Reach out to them and introduce yourself and your book. Even if you get only a few purchases and Amazon book reviews this way, every good review helps.
Focus on marketing your book and getting more sales
Getting Amazon book reviews is also quite a numbers game.
Organically, on an average, it is for every 100-150 sales that a book on Amazon receives a verified review. This is why the previous methods I have listed in this article require conscious effort prodding, marketing, and encouraging your readers.
Don’t forget your important business goals too as an author. Market your book extensively; hitting your sales target will also mean getting those Amazon book reviews.
Relaunch your book
Several Amazon experts understand that the site loves new books. Amazon’s algorithm supports new releases for a certain amount of time.
Additionally, readers are curious to see new books being launched. And while covers are no indication of the quality of an author’s writing, with a book relaunch, you have the opportunity to revamp your book, give it a fresh and more intriguing cover, and add sections that can improve your book (including the call-to-action we have discussed in #3). This gets you a boost in getting more book sales, and more Amazon book reviews.
Final thoughts
Getting book reviews is just as important as any marketing tool at your disposal. You need to cover all bases as an author, and nobody expects you to do the job on your own. Remember to explore your options and ask for professional assistance if necessary.