You can write and publish an incredible book, but that doesn’t mean anyone will read it. They have to find it first, and once they do, if there aren’t any book reviews, they will probably keep scrolling. So how do you get book reviews?
When I launched my first book, The Book on High Ticket Sales, I racked up 100 book reviews in my first month – and you can too! But it takes some work and forethought.
Today I will teach you how to follow in my footsteps and reliably achieve tens of Amazon book reviews – FAST.
7 tips for getting more book reviews after launch
Here are seven steps to follow to ensure plenty of book reviews and a successful book launch:
1. Build a large launch team
If you want to get a lot of book reviews fast, my best advice is to form a large launch team. And I don’t just mean 20 or 30 people. I mean 100+ people to support you.
Don’t confuse your launch team with your friends and family, either. Your book launch review team can be assembled from:
- Your social media following
- Your email marketing list
- Your professional network
- Clients in your business
You get the idea. Your launch team will be a group of people who will read your book in advance of publishing, and then leave a review immediately after you launch your book.
This means you should start putting your team together as soon as your manuscript is close to being finished. Provide your team with a free digital copy of your book and give them plenty of time to read it before your publishing date.
You should also give them some simple instructions on how and when to leave their book reviews. Remember, these need to be honest reviews (not people you paid to give you good reviews) or you will be going against the Amazon Terms of Service.
By having a large launch team, you are pretty much guaranteed to have 10 to 30 book reviews on Amazon straight away.
2. Make your book do the work
If you want to get as many reviews as possible, it’s a good idea (but not necessary) to include a personal note in the back of your book requesting reviews. This will take a lot of the work of personally asking for reviews off your shoulders.
For example: “Thanks so much for reading my book. If you found any value in reading it, please consider leaving a review online or sharing it with friends and family. Your feedback is sincerely appreciated.”
You can make this as long or short as you like and talk about your writing journey or what inspired you. Of course, this is completely optional, so if it doesn’t feel right to you, don’t include it.
3. Reach out to book bloggers
Many bloggers and social media influencers offer book reviews, so it’s worth searching out book bloggers who frequently read books in your genre. Look on #bookstagram and #booktok.
If you find someone who you think would love your book, reach out to them to see if they would be willing to give a review if you send them a free copy.
Reedsy has a great list of book review blogs if you don’t know where to start. Just make sure you meet their review requirements.
4. Follow up with your members
Whether they are part of your launch team, or people who bought your book through pre-order on Amazon, it’s important to follow up for reviews.
Many people think about (or even plan on) leaving a review, but get distracted or busy. You can use your author newsletter as a way to subtly remind people to leave book reviews, or even reach out to them personally if you feel comfortable.
Don’t be afraid to keep asking! Sometimes people need to be reminded more than once.
5. Do a review exchange
One great way to get more book reviews is to exchange reviews with other authors. Facebook is one of the easiest places to find authors who are willing to do a review exchange. You can look for author communities among the Facebook groups.
Once again, these are honest reviews. You aren’t agreeing to write good reviews for each other, and you should steer clear of anyone who suggests something of the sort.
Of course, Facebook isn’t the only place you can exchange reviews. There are plenty of other companies and people in the industry who can give you trade reviews for your new book.
6. Use editorial reviews
If you want to garner more attention with your book, it’s a good idea to utilize the “editorial reviews” section of your Amazon book page.
An editorial review is an objective, third-party review of your book that is written by an authority on your book’s topic or genre. This could include a professional critic or editor, a famous author, or an important social icon.
You will often see quotes from editorial reviews as part of a book’s cover design, so if you would like to have editorial reviews featured for your own book, it’s best to get these done prior to your official book launch.
If you aren’t sure who you would like to review your book, take a look through some editorial reviews for other books in your genre, and reach out to the people whose reviews you like.
7. Never stop asking for reviews
Most people stop trying to get book reviews after their launch week. This is a mistake! If anything, you should be focusing on your launch YEAR.
Set a goal of at least 10 new reviews a month and keep trying to get them.
If your book was already published by the time you found this article, don’t worry! It’s never too late to get more reviews for your book. You can even release a new edition for your book with a Forward section or enhanced content so you can get a second shot at the book launch process.
And, if you haven’t even written your book yet, or are struggling with how to launch it, why not reach out for some extra help? The team at selfpublishing.com can walk you through every step of the self-publishing process, from solidifying your ideas to clever book marketing strategies.
If you want to ensure you have a successful book launch, and can get as many book reviews as possible, why not reach out to our team for a free strategy call? We can help you to sail smoothly through the self-publishing process, so your book receives the attention it deserves.
Did you know that the team here at selfpublishing.com likes to do book reviews too? As avid readers ourselves, here are some of our top picks: