Reviews are crucial for the success of your book, positive reviews not only provide social proof about how great your book is, but also influence potential readers to purchase your book, having at least one positive review for one of your books can increase drastically your sales and royalties, and of course the first positive review is always a fulfilling experience for anyone in the self-publishing business, earning these goods reviews can be challenging, sometimes you can get 50 sales, and get no reviews at all, that’s where you will need a good strategy to encourage your readers to share a honest review, here I will give you some tips on how to get reviews for your book at amazon KDP.
There are websites out there offering honest review packages and believe me, they do a good job delivering very positive reviews, but you have to pay, and of course, there are two things you can’t hide when buying reviews, first, if you have a low-quality book, readers will not buy anything from you anymore, and second, buying reviews is not as fulfilling as earning them, so at least for your first 3 books, try to go the hard way for some time, a good example of these sites is selfpublishingreview, here you can buy honest review packages for a price.
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Leverage Advance Review Copies
Advance review copies or ARCs, are pre-release copies of your book that you distribute to a select group of readers, beta readers, reviewers, influencers, or industry professionals, choosing the group to read your ARC to get reviews is up to you, of course, these reviews will be great to improve your book status and to promote sales.
Plan your ARC distribution strategically, aiming to generate buzz and build anticipation before your book’s official release, you can ask some of your readers to post some stories about your book on their social networks, send out ARCs several weeks in advance, allowing readers enough time to read and review your book before its launch, identify people who are likely to be interested in your book based on their reading preferences, genre preferences, or online presence, consider reaching out to book bloggers, reviewers, bookstagrammers, booktubers, and influencers who have a substantial following in your book’s genre.
Its very important to give detailed instructions on how to do a review to avoid mistakes or negative, sometimes you have to direct them to post their reviews on platforms like Amazon, Goodreads, or their personal blogs, try to include links and any specific hashtags or tags that will help promote your book, send a follow-up email or message to your ARC recipients to check if they have received the book and remind them about the review deadline
Remind your audience that you value their genuine opinions, whether positive or critical, authentic reviews contribute to the credibility of your book and help potential readers make informed decisions.
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Run Promotions and Giveaways
Promotions and giveaways are the answer for how to get reviews for your book at amazon, at least, the most popular method you can use, and there’s something magical about getting stuff for free, offer limited-time discounts, promotional campaigns, or free giveaways for your book, and by doing this you will generate buzz around your work, you increase the chances of garnering more reviews, encourage people that had some of your promotions to leave a review after reading your book.
Promote your book offers through your website, social media channels, and email newsletters, this will help you attract new readers who are more likely to leave honest reviews, especially if they discover your book through a promotional campaign, you can host these giveaways on platforms like Goodreads, social media or your own website, always try to encourage participants to leave honest reviews.
Create a sense of urgency by running time-limited promotions. For example, you can offer a special discount or bonus content to readers who purchase and review your book within a specific timeframe, this incentivizes readers to act quickly and leaves a shorter window for them to post their reviews, this will make your sales to scale even more.
Participate in Author Forums and Writing Communities
Join writing forums and communities, such as Goodreads or Reddit, where authors and readers come together to discuss books, here you can ask whatever you want to, you can get beta readers, and meet small and big influencers, sometimes you will need to follow some rules, but, you can get good reviews and even sales with these groups. Engage in conversations, provide helpful insights, and connect with potential readers, just remember to follow each community’s guidelines and avoid excessive self-promotion.
Look for online forums and communities that cater to authors, readers, and reviewers in your book’s genre or niche. Platforms like Goodreads, Reddit, or specific Facebook groups dedicated to book discussions and reviews are excellent places to start getting an audience, and even to get some ideas for future projects. Be authentic, genuine, and respectful when engaging with other members of these groups, avoid coming across excessive promotions, and focus on building connections and participating in discussions.
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Actively participate in discussions, share your insights, and offer valuable advice or recommendations, establish yourself as a knowledgeable and helpful member of the community, of course, you can’t solve every problem, but you can become popular from just one of your comments, by adding value to discussions, you’ll gain the trust and respect of other members, making them more likely to consider reviewing your book.
There are some author forums and communities that have designated sections or threads where authors can request book reviews. Follow the guidelines provided by the community and respectfully request reviews for your book. Be sure to provide relevant details such as the genre, synopsis, and any specific requirements for potential reviewers.
Engage with Book Bloggers and Reviewers
Not everything is writing, take the time to research and identify book bloggers and reviewers who specialize in your book’s genre or target audience, look for bloggers who have an active following and regularly review books similar to yours, and pay attention to their review policies, submission guidelines, and preferred contact methods. Personalize your messages for every person you try to reach, especially influencers or bloggers, avoid sending generic emails or mass pitches, it’s awful, and mention specific details about their blog or previous reviews that caught your attention. This demonstrates that you have taken the time to research and are genuinely interested in their work.
Try to create a compelling and concise book synopsis that hooks your audience and encourage sales, this summary should be captivating enough to catch the eye of book bloggers and reviewers. Make sure to highlight unique aspects of your book that set it apart from others in the genre. Try to stay connected with bloggers and reviewers on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or Goodreads, social media interactions can increase your chances of getting noticed and considered for a review.
Always express your gratitude to book bloggers, and send a thank-you note or email to show your appreciation for their efforts. Building positive relationships with reviewers can lead to long-term support and potential reviews for future books.
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Encourage Readers to Leave Reviews
At least now that you are starting your self-publisher career, you have to include a call-to-action at the end of your book, urging readers to leave an honest review on Amazon. Remind them how valuable their feedback is to you as an author and how it can help other potential readers make informed decisions, consider offering incentives like bonus content or exclusive access to engage readers further, you can use these phrases at the end of your book:
“Thank you for reading, If you have the time, please consider leaving an honest review of this book. Reviews are invaluable to authors, and I’d greatly appreciate it!“
“If you enjoyed reading, consider writing an honest review of this book on Amazon, I would love to read what you think!”
“Leave a review of this book and get early access to the sequel as soon as it goes live”
Build an Engaged Author Platform
Establish a strong presence online through a website, blog, or social media platforms dedicated to your writing. Interact with your audience, engage in discussions, and foster connections with potential readers. By building a community around your work, you create a loyal fan base that is more likely to provide reviews.
Write a great book everyone wants to read
Let’s be honest, every effort made will not be enough if your book is trash, so get serious, being a full-time self-publisher author is great, you will have the time to do a lot of things, but you need to put in hard work on it, first, planning an outline and your book structure, crafting a great story, writing a phenomenal manuscript and editing at least 2 times every word you have written, last but not least, creating a great, eye catchy cover that helps you make some sales for itself.
If you start a book saga, you can think about giving early access to the second or third part to your reviewers, then, start using social media and blogs to give some free chapters of your sequel books to everyone who writes a review, you can do a lot of things here to ensure your books will be receiving some reviews that can of course impact sales.
Conclusion
I hope this short guide on how to get book reviews on amazon was helpful, writing and publishing a book all by yourself can be hard, but getting reviews can be an overwhelming task, and of course, getting no sales is tough, but you can do a lot by yourself without spending any money, but time online, once you start making sales I recommend yo start spending some money on adds, but you can start now joining to some Facebook o forum groups related to your book niche to grow your audience and once you finish your book, you start making sales.
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