7 Ways to get your next ten reviews!

Reviews are the pulse of an author’s book.

You need them to keep your book sales going, get certain promotion deals, and they help readers decide whether your book is for them or not. 

What you don’t want to do is partake in unethical ways of procuring reviews, like exchanging something other than a free or discounted book for a review in an attempt to influence or manipulate the reviewer. 

Amazon will also delete reviews they believe were written by friends and family, and that may include your author friends. There are ways around this, but more on that later. 

So how then, can you get your first (or next) ten reviews?  

Glad you asked ;) 

The number one way to get reviews for your book is to ASK. Most readers won’t have a problem leaving a review, but they don’t because it’s either not convenient (they believe they should summarize your entire story), they don’t know what to say, or they don’t understand how important reviews are for your career.  

By asking, you communicate the importance of a review, and all that’s left to do is remove any other obstacle holding them back.

So where to ask? 

SEVEN WAYS TO GET YOUR NEXT TEN REVIEWS 

01. The back of your book 

Ask readers to share their thoughts right after your book ends when the story is still fresh in their minds.  

Make it super easy by linking directly to the review page. Scroll down on your Amazon book page to customer reviews.

Note that when you’re on your book page and you click on the write a customer review button, Amazon will give you an error message. That’s just because you’re kind of not allowed to write reviews on your books so don’t be alarmed. You can always test it on a family member’s account if it makes you uneasy. 

The idea is to make it as simple as possible for readers to leave a review.

02. Ask your email list 

Your email list is your number one asset in your author business because it provides you a direct link to your fans. It’s perfectly acceptable to email them and ask for a review. While not everyone will, every single review counts! Make a habit of including a review email one or two weeks after every book launch and promotion campaign. And be sure to remind your readers why it’s important and leave them detailed instructions! 

03. Ask on social media 

This is another great place to ask for reviews. You can even do a short little video for your readers to make it more personal. Don’t forget to post in both your feed and stories.  

Then there are reader comments . . . you know, when a fan comments they loved your book. If you’re comfortable, ask them if they would mind leaving you a review. If they say yes, shoot them a link to your book. If they say no, send them love and thank them for supporting you nonetheless!  

04. Ask book bloggers 

Make a list of book bloggers in your genre and submit your book for review. This may take some time and effort, but the great thing here is they will post their review on their blog with links to your website or book. Always a good thing! 

Start with the top 10 bloggers, take the time to tour their blog, and compose an email for them with a dash of personal touch.  

05. Ask in your welcome sequence 

Now, you won’t actually be asking for a review since chances are the readers signed up because of your reader magnet, but this IS the perfect place to build your Review Team and have them leave reviews whenever a book launches. 

If you’re not doing this already, I highly recommend that you do! 

06. Booksprout 

Booksprout is a service where you can upload your Advanced Reader Copy and get some readers on the platform to review it. What’s great about Booksprout is that you can indicate all the places where reviewers should leave their reviews.  

This is a slow-building process, so don’t expect hundreds of reviewers to flock to your book. 

07. Reedsy

Reedsy is another platform where you might find reviewers. This is also a paid service. Note: You are paying to Reedsy for the use of their platform. You are not paying the reviewer.

Hidden Gems and Booksirens are also services you can consider. 

There you have it! Do you have other ways you’re getting reviews not listed above?