How to Leave a Verified Review on Amazon

When it comes to Amazon book reviews, they are necessary to proactively marketing your book.

There'due south about naught equally important as Amazon reviews when it comes to generating consistent book sales month later on month and creating an constructive book marketing strategy.

It'southward non enough to publish your volume and hope reviewers volition find yous. They about certainly won't. You lot need to piece of work difficult to find them and convince them to review your book.

But even that isn't enough!

If you go nigh getting reviews the wrong way, you run a risk incurring the wrath of Amazon. Your book will sink earlier it e'er stood a chance of succeeding.

Related: Amazon Self-Publishing

And so how tin you become the reviews you demand in an ethical and effective way?

Nosotros've gathered together everything y'all demand to know.

This guide to Amazon book reviews covers:

1. Why are Amazon book reviews important?
2. How many book reviews do I need on Amazon?
3. How to get your volume reviewed on Amazon
4. Tin I review my own book on Amazon?
5. Volume review services
6. Can I contact the top reviewers on Amazon?
7. Does Amazon back up editorial reviews
8. Guidelines for Amazon reviews
9. Why does Amazon remove book reviews?

Why are Amazon book reviews of import?

If you lot're new to the earth of cocky-publishing, it might exist unclear why at that place is so much importance placed on getting Amazon reviews for your book.

After all, if you create a adept volume, produce an bonny comprehend, and write a catchy description, shouldn't that exist enough?

As much every bit we might run into our book as special, Amazon won't.

At to the lowest degree, not at first. And neither will the vast bulk of book browsers.

Why?

While the benefits of self-publishing are well-known, there are also some challenges you demand to overcome in club to experience success.

One such claiming is the affluence of books released on Amazon.

The vast bulk of books are lost amidst the noise. New titles are added to Amazon every few minutes, and in that location are endless titles already available.

What does this mean for you?

If y'all want to see your volume accomplish the right readers, you need to do everything in your power to go information technology in front of them.

One of the near powerful ways to do that is by ensuring your book has reviews.

A lack of reviews harms your volume's prospects in 2 ways.

First, a book without reviews is unlikely to even go noticed past the vast bulk of volume browsers.

2nd, even if people practise somehow stumble across your volume, they are unlikely to borrow or buy it without a apparent number of reviews.

Here are the befits to make your reviews worth it:

1. Trust. Volume reviews are especially of import when you lot're but starting out equally an author on Amazon. Put yourself in the shoes of a customer. Why should they trust your volume? They nigh certainly oasis't heard of you. Reviews overcome this trouble. When people see that others have been helped or entertained by a volume, it gives them the confidence they will feel the same outcome.
2. Algorithm. Amazon is famous for having one of the well-nigh powerful and effective algorithms out at that place. The company explores and experiments with every possible way to become customers to spend more. Reviews are a huge signal to Amazon that your book is worth promoting. Without a respectable number of reviews shut to the fourth dimension of launch, your book will miss out on the immense power of Amazon'south promotional machinery.
3. External promotion. There are enough of promotional services out at that place willing to assistance innovate your volume to readers who are probable to benefit from it. Yet, most of them require you lot to have a certain number of positive reviews before they will fifty-fifty consider your book. Y'all can as well promote this on your author platform.
4. Feedback. Reviews are also a valuable source of feedback on your piece of work. Yes, fifty-fifty the negative ones! You can get a sense of what readers did and did not like most your book and take this feedback on board for your future releases.

When it comes to success on Amazon, information technology's almost impossible to overstate only how of import reviews are.

Now that you lot know the benefits of reviews for your volume, let's have a closer look at exactly how to get them.

How many book reviews do I demand on Amazon?

Getting people to accept the fourth dimension to review your book isn't ever like shooting fish in a barrel, especially when you're new to the self-publishing scene.

Given the difficulty of getting reviews, it'due south natural to wonder just how many yous need.

No matter what people might say, there is no magic number that you need. It varies from book to book.

However, there are some proven principles and guidelines you lot can use to inform the number of reviews you aim to get.

• Check competing books. Have the time to check out other books that your ideal reader might be interested in. For example, which books rank for your keywords? Which books are selling well in your intended categories? Try and look for books of similar stature to your own. How many reviews do they accept? How many would you need to seem respectable in the eyes of a buyer choosing between your book and a competing title?

• Aim for x minimum. 10 reviews seems to exist the number that starts to movement the needle for a lot of authors. When you're putting together your initial strategy, make 10 volume reviews the minimum number you lot aim for.

• xx is platonic. If you're capable of proactively getting 10 people to leave an Amazon review of your book, you lot're more than than capable of getting xx! Just double downward on what yous're doing. Nosotros'll explore exactly how shortly.

• Don't go overboard. After a certain number of reviews, yous're unlikely to experience much extra do good. The effort needed to seek out reviews is not commensurate to the benefits you will experience. Also, later getting a large number of reviews, buyers are likely to review your volume of their own accordance. Yous won't need to seek them out. 30-50 reviews is a good guideline hither, only a lower number may suffice depending on the books you are competing against.

• Your promo strategy. Many authors make book promotion sites or services an integral part of their marketing strategy. If you accept a detail promotional site you want to exist featured on, yous're probably going to need a certain number of reviews to exist eligible.

Even though in that location isn't a item number of Amazon book reviews that's right for every book, at that place'southward definitely a number that's right for yours.

Employ the above ideas to find it and make this a target you strive to hit.

Tin can I review my own book on Amazon?

Sadly, no. Some authors might call back information technology's a good idea to review their ain volume to get an initial momentum going for their reviews, just that'due south against the rules specified on Amazon's Guidelines.

How to become your book reviewed on Amazon

So how should yous become well-nigh getting the reviews yous need for your volume to succeed?

Seeking out reviews in the right way isn't just a matter of doing what'southward probable to get results.

It's also a matter of respecting Amazon's rules and regulations. If y'all fail to do so, you run the hazard of having your reviews removed.

If you lot're unsure of how to get the reviews your book needs, here are some constructive techniques.

• Fix a review plan prior to launch. A lot of authors learn the difficult way that you can't get out book reviews to chance. You need to have a clear program in place style ahead of your book launch. This should involve a clear approach to striking your review target number equally shut to the fourth dimension of your book going live every bit possible.

• Reach out to existing readers. Do you lot have an electronic mail list of readers? Accept you lot written anything in the past? Even if yous don't accept books out, do you take a web log with readers? Could you leverage your author network to promote your book to another writer's fans? Existing readers, either your own or another author's, are a cracking potential source of book reviews.

• Use social media. While social media is a valuable source of potential reviewers of your piece of work, you lot should approach it with caution. If Amazon's algorithm deems you lot to have a shut connection with people on social media, their reviews of your book may be removed. In spite of that, information technology's notwithstanding worth utilizing options such as Facebook reading groups, relevant hashtags on Twitter or Instagram, visual platforms like Pinterest, and even Tik Tok if y'all have a younger audience, to seek out people who might exist interested in your book.

• Consider offline readers. Near authors will focus their review arroyo on the online earth. Past seeking out book clubs, library groups, and other interested communities offline, you open up the door to a rich source of potential reviewers that many other authors aren't enlightened of.

• CTA in your volume. At that place'southward no damage of request for book reviews within your volume itself. Y'all can besides include a link in the ebook version to brand it as straightforward as possible.

Be aware that by asking for reviews in any of the ways mentioned, you are seeking something of value from them. To make them want to take the time to assistance you, you demand to frame your request in the right way.

Related: Amazon Volume Description HTML: Making Words Look Better

Instead of coming beyond equally cocky-serving or even desperate, why not base of operations your review request around:

• Feedback. If people respect your work they are likely to want to help you out as an writer. If yous make them feel like their feedback is valued, you lot are more than likely to get a review.

• Helping other readers. Some other angle to take is appealing to a sense of community among readers. Rather than making your asking for reviews about yourself, make it about informing fellow readers nearly a book that might benefit or entertain them.

• A promotional toll point. Information technology's human nature to honey a skillful deal. By emphasizing your book existence offered at a low toll point for a limited fourth dimension, yous tap into the psychological appeal of both value and scarcity, making it more likely that people volition run into information technology every bit worthwhile to review your book.

Combining the right sources of potential reviews with the correct type of request is the best way to get your book the review score it needs.

Book review services

As well as seeking out relevant readers past yourself, a range of professional book review services exist.

While this tin class a valuable part of your overall approach to reviews, yous need to exist careful.

Amazon is known for being incredibly strict most people selling reviews. Many people on Fiverr have experienced this firsthand!

The Amazon review guidelines are elaborated on a little later in this guide, but as a full general principle, always avoid paying for a review directly. That includes offering a souvenir of some type.

Instead of paying for a review on Fiverr, consider using one of these services:

• Goodreads book giveaways
• BookRazor
• Rainbow Book Reviews

If you lot're considering paying for a review service, make sure to check both of these two things before investing your money:

1. Compliance. Ensure any review service you lot're considering is compliant with Amazon'south rules and regulations. Otherwise, yous risk losing your money, having the review removed, and possibly fifty-fifty worse consequences if Amazon feels you're being particularly underhanded.

2. Results. Check out what kind of results a review service promises, and what kind of success they've had in the past. Have they produced good results for books similar to yours? What kind of ROI can you wait?

Book review services tin can be a valuable mode to aid your volume get the momentum information technology needs. Just brand certain you're dealing with a reputable and effective service provider.

Can I contact the top reviewers on Amazon?

No, the height Amazon reviewers are no longer available.

In the past, a popular fashion of seeking book reviews involved trying to find and contact the pinnacle reviewers on Amazon.

This may accept worked well dorsum in the day, just it'south non really something to pursue in the hither and now.

Why?

The height Amazon reviewers no longer have emails available to reach out to. Fifty-fifty when they did, the odds of having a top reviewer take the time to cheque out your work was pretty slim.

Does Amazon support editorial reviews?

What exactly is an editorial review, and why does information technology matter for your book?

So far, nosotros've talked about customer reviews, which are exactly what they sound like. A client reads your book and leaves their opinion. If they purchased information technology from Amazon, this would count as a verified review.

The other type of review to utilize is the editorial review. This involves a trusted source such as a magazine or publication giving their have on your book.

While editorial reviews aren't included in your book'south review score and don't evidence up with the customer reviews, this is actually a practiced thing.

Some of the main benefits of editorial reviews are:

• They won't get lost in the middle of the (hopefully) large number of customer reviews your book has

• Y'all can add them to your Amazon Author Key page

• Yous are allowed to leverage your connections as Amazon tin't remove these in the way that they tin remove customer reviews

• A reputable publication or private may bear more weight in the mind of a potential book buyer than an unknown customer reviewer

There's no denying the value of editorial reviews, but recollect of them every bit icing on the cake.

Brand customer reviews your priority, at least initially, equally they will motility the needle in terms of the Amazon algorithm.

Guidelines for Amazon reviews

Spend some time around the indie author community and you'll come beyond some adequately angry writers.

A common source of frustration is the seemingly e'er-irresolute Amazon review rules.

In reality, the Amazon review guidelines aren't every bit bad as you lot might accept heard.

You tin can check out the total picture here, merely some basic principles include:

• You lot can't pay for reviews. Information technology's admittedly prohibited to commutation money for a review of your book.
• You tin can't enquire for conditional reviews. Although it'southward completely fine to ask for someone to review your book, yous cannot request they review it in a sure way. Asking for an honest review is the best approach.
• You tin can't review a rival volume. If Amazon feels someone is negatively reviewing a rival product of any type, they will remove that review.
• You can't rely on friends and family. Amazon country that reviews from close personal connections are not immune. This tin involve beingness friends with people and interacting on social media.
• You can't offer gifts. It'south not permissible to over an Amazon gift bill of fare or annihilation else whatever in exchange for a review. You lot tin offer an ARC of your book but that's all.

While it's definitely worth respecting the Amazon review guidelines, try not to worry too much. As long as you're operating from a place of skillful faith, the worst that will happen in the bulk of cases is Amazon volition remove some of your reviews.

Why does Amazon remove volume reviews?

Amazon tin remove reviews for violations of whatsoever of their guidelines mentioned above.

Withal, some of the about mutual reasons for a review to be removed are:

• Y'all accept reviewed your own book
• Someone with the aforementioned accost with you has reviewed your volume
• A reviewer has attempted to leave multiple reviews of your work
• The review is obscene, defamatory or otherwise unacceptable
• The reviewer is a customer who has spent less than $50 on Amazon
• The reviewer appears to be a spammer who leaves too many reviews in a short space of time
• You have reported the review to community-help@amazon.com and Amazon agrees it is unacceptable

Having some reviews removed is a fact of life for most authors. Although it might seem frustrating, attempt and see the system as beingness in place to preserve the integrity of the entire procedure.

We promise you've plant this guide to the dos and don'ts of Amazon volume reviews useful.

If you have any tips on getting volume reviews ethically, or warnings about Amazon'due south rules and regulations, experience free to leave a annotate and help your fellow authors out.

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P.J McNulty is an author, content creator, and digital nomad from London making his mode around the world. He writes for sites including The Good Men Project and is working on his debut novel, 'Stupid Prizes', due for release in Winter 2021. You tin grab him in an independent java shop with an iced Americano and his trusty Moleskine notebook.

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