Every book sells better with good book reviews, but who do you know who will provide you a great review? Do you know anyone who has the clout to raise eyebrows and gain you the level of attention your book deserves?
When people are browsing Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other online bookstores, they pay attention to what others have said about a book. The choices they have to purchase a book are insurmountable to make a simple choice, so how will you compete with all of the other books available and stand out in the crowd?
I did a brief search for Law of Attraction books and the results on Amazon are 8,893. How to Start a Business has more than 64 thousand results and diet books more than 77 thousand! Any category you choose will show you the competition is stiff.
Book reviews have proven to gain attention of those searching for a book, especially from online resources. Often authors will trade reviews to build up a stockpile of reviews, but the real gems are those reviews written by well know authors and experts in the same field as the book’s topic.
One of my friends sent a request to 25 well known speakers and authors requesting a testimonial for their book and sent along a copy of the book so they would know it was not just a fishing expedition. They received two generic comments about their book, but the names on the comments were priceless.
Another author I met while I was in Arizona told me he sent out 50 review and testimonial requests to well known individuals and received 12 in return. What was the difference? He actually looked through their books, used words they had written and wrote out the testimonial for them. He told them in his request what he had done and if they agreed all they had to do was send the suggested testimonial back signed or with the changes they preferred. He only requested reviews from people who were in the same field he is in and not just random authorities.
The difference in the response was impressive to say the least. Well known people are busy people, often with too much on their plates to read anyone else’s books or to write out a review and put their reputation on the line for someone they’ve never met. When you make it easy for them the results you achieve will be much greater.
There are many other resources for great review results. Newspaper, magazine and periodical editors and reviewers can make an impact on the perception of their subscribers and sway them to purchase your book with a positive review. They are often overlooked in today’s marketplace. One of the best reasons to have them do the reviews is they have the built in audience who already trusts their opinion.
Good book reviews impact Amazon algorithms drastically. It is one area of marketing however most authors shy away from. One method of gaining reviews is to write reviews for other books listed on the online bookstores which are in your genre and you will more than likely receive a reciprocal review in return.
Then, there are paid reviews. You can pay as much as $400 for a well known and respected reviewer. It doesn’t mean your book sales will sore overnight either. You might see an increase, but there are no guarantees. The reviewer will provide their honest take on your book and based on their reaction, it might not be what you are expecting from a paid review.
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