To help authors promote their work, here are 3 new ways authors can get more book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. The Goody Business Book Awards were created to help authors stand out in a sea of 46+ million books on Amazon. Getting book reviews can also make a huge difference in your Amazon sales and rank.
For authors, why would you spend a year or more writing a book, and then not promote it by encouraging book reviews, submitting to book awards and getting media interviews? When your book is published, your work is only just beginning.
When potential readers are deciding whether to buy your book, they often read reviews. Consumer also look at the number of reviews. So please read this blog because Book Reviews Really Matter!
So what are 3 key ways to get more book reviews?
1. Beg for Book Reviews
Yes, while it may be awkward, you must beg your family and friends to write book reviews for you. This ask is especially important when you first launch a book to build the initial buzz, but it’s never too late.
Your friends and fans do not need to buy the book to write a review. They can also just give it a number ranking, and not write about it.
However, it’s best if they buy the book and write a paragraph because Amazon will highlight it as a “verified review”. These book reviews have more meaning and weight in the Amazon algorithm that will impact if your book shows up in their search results. Keep in mind that Amazon is a search engine like Google (we will share more to this story in another blog).
The other thing you should do is ask your friends and family to write the review using the SAME EMAIL Amazon account that they used to buy your book. Some people have multiple Amazon accounts, and if they write the review using a different account, it will not show up as a “verified review.”
Your book rank on Amazon will also get impacted by reviews. Your rank number is another thing that readers may check before buying your book. To become a bestseller, ask friends and fans to buy your book on the same day to drive up your rank. Anything that is ranked 1-100 in a category (example: Business Books, Public Relations Books, Health) is considered an Amazon Bestseller.
2. Do a Book Review Swap with Authors
Because authors share a common interest in promoting their books, you can also get more book reviews by offering to do an author swap. Simple, buy another authors’ book, write a book review for them, and then politely ask if they will write one for your book? You cannot make this exchange a condition for writing a book review for you. However, in most cases, authors will write a review in return.
Being an author can be hard, especially when trying to promote and attract book reviews. Most authors want to help each other. You should approach people who you already know, or meet an author event. For example, we’ve met many authors at the National Publicity Summit, where many are open to a book review swap.
We also follow the #AuthorsSupportAuthors hashtag on Instagram, and are always looking for new ways to support other writers. The Goody Business Book Awards was specifically created for this reason to “Uplift Author Voices” above the sea of titles in their niche subject area.
3. Ask for Book Reviews during Media Interviews
The other thing that you should do as an author is nicely ask for book reviews during your earned media interviews on TV, radio, print and podcast interviews. This request may be harder to make on TV or live radio, but is pretty easy to fit into a blog or podcast interview that is more of a long form.
During a podcast interview, when the host asks you at the end, “where can people find you?”, this is a great time to bring up book reviews. Simple give 1 website URL, and then ask in a humble way. For example, you might say, “We’d appreciate you if you’d buy our book and write a review on Amazon.”
BONUS TIP 1: Get Professional Book Reviews
As a bonus tip, you should also consider getting professional book reviews. An ideal scenario is a book review in a major publication like Publisher’s Weekly or Reader’s Digest, which are very selective. Many other book review companies offer professional book reviews for a fee, which we did for our “8-Second PR: New Public Relations Crash Course” in Book Life. They offer objective and credible reviews that can be quoted.
There are also many book bloggers such as Great Books Great Minds, where founder Michael Scott actively supports the community with inspiring author stories. If you can tie your book into a timely media topic, that can be a big help too. For example, Great Books Great Minds recently published a book review story about “The Wisdom of Morrie – Living and Aging Creatively and Joyously” by Son/Editor Rob Schwartz and Morrie Schwartz (beloved subject of “Tuesdays with Morrie”) for Fathers’ Day.
BONUS TIP 2: Nominate Your Book for Goody Business Book Awards by September 30th!
As a final bonus tip, consider nominating your book for Goody Business Book Awards by the upcoming September 30th deadline. There are 50 categories to give more chances to win a book award. And there will be a Winner and Finalist in each category.
You can then post your book award on your Amazon book page, which may also attract more sales and book reviews.
