HOW TO GET GOOD REVIEWS ON AMAZON
By
Theo Rogers
BLURB:
How To Get Good Reviews On Amazon is a simple, no-nonsense guide that teaches exactly what it says it does. Based on both psychological science and thousands of hours of conversation with some of Amazon’s top reviewers, it takes you behind the scenes into the reviewing subculture that has grown up on Amazon’s website. It gives you a deep, insider’s knowledge of how the top reviewers think and operate. It not only shows you what to do: it takes you inside the reviewers’ heads so that you can see for yourself both how these techniques work and why they’re so effective.
Lessons include:
- A simple, four-part formula for writing emails that get your work reviewed.
- Three things never to say when communicating with reviewers!
- How to pick reviewers who are more likely to give you a good review.
- How to reduce the chance that a reviewer you contact will post a bad review – even if it turns out they don’t like your work!
- How people get caught out when receiving reviews from friends and family.
This book teaches an honest, straightforward approach that works. It works because it’s not based gimmicks or tricks but on a real understanding of how Amazon reviewers operate: most of all on what they expect from authors and other sellers. If you want to know how to talk to Amazon reviewers in a way that will make them respect you as a professional and see you as the kind of seller they actually want to help, this is the book for you.
Excerpt
Sellers do quite often turn up on forums on Amazon, specifically asking for reviews. Unfortunately, a while ago Amazon changed its policies to expressly forbid this sort of behavior in all forums but one: the Meet Our Authors forum. The trouble with this is that the Meet Our Authors forum is very largely just a bunch of authors spamming each other. Very few seem to have any real interest in what the others are saying.
Despite Amazon’s rule against using its forums for self promotion, people still do it. And in practice the reception that authors and other sellers get when they post on any of the multitude of forums does vary. To some degree it depends on how the author or seller handles themselves.
The other thing you should always be extremely careful about is paying close attention to the codes of behavior considered appropriate among the forum regulars. Different forums have different levels of tolerance for authors or other sellers seeking reviews, or otherwise promoting themselves. For example, the Romance forum has a reputation as a place you should absolutely never leave this kind of post – unless you actually want to be ripped to shreds. Indeed, the Romance forum has developed a reputation as an extremely hostile place for authors in general. So it is important to do your homework on the specific forum you’re considering using.
Buy links:
Amazon
My review of this thought-provoking title is at this link.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Theo Rogers combines years of coalface experience on Amazon's website with formal training and qualifications in a range of business and social science disciplines. He's spent literally thousands of hours talking with Amazon reviewers, getting inside their heads, and learning what makes them tick. He's spent almost as many hours observing the carnage that so often takes place on Amazon's forums. In the process he's developed a deep insider's knowledge of the reviewing subculture that's grown up on Amazon's website.
He's also seen a lot of authors and other would-be sellers make the same mistakes in their dealings with that subculture - over and over again.
As a result of his experiences, Theo has come to believe that yes, there is a simple formula that works: a way of dealing with reviewers that's honest, powerful, and extremely effective at winning reviewers over, getting them on your side, and making them actually want to help you.
https://www.facebook.com/TheTheoRogers
THE AUTHOR WILL
BE GIVING AWAY a $100 Amazon gift card
to one lucky commenter on the tour. Please leave a comment about whether you write reviews along with a valid e-mail address.a Rafflecopter giveaway
Other stops on the tour:
1 Andi's Book Reviews
2 The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl
3 Sharing Links and Wisdom
4 TeacherWriter
5 Deal Sharing Aunt
6 Book 'Em North Carolina
7 Once Upon a Time...
8 Hope Dreams. Life... Love
9 Travel the Ages
10 My Devotional Thoughts
11 Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
12 Wickedly Wanton Tales
13 Gin's Book Notes
14 The Write to Read
15 A Writer's Life
16 Hywela Lyn - Romance That's 'Out Of this World'
17 Chris Redding Author
18 Perfect Chaos
19 Book Bling Blog
20 The Reading Addict
21 Reviews by Crystal
22 Voicu Mihnea Simandan
23 The Divas of Desire
24 Reading In Twilight
25
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Review:
How to Get Good Reviews on Amazon: A Guide for Independent Authors and Sellers by Theo Rogers is a terrific guide for any author who is trying to navigate the treacherous shoals of Amazon. It is full of interesting insights and comments that combine practicality with good business advice. There are comments and observations that should help authors searching for a way to reach reviewers and gives tips on how to evaluate the usefulness of their rankings on Amazon. A lot of very pertinent information is available in a compact dissertation.
As a reviewer, I am grateful for some of the hints that are couched in polite terms but which remind authors that there is an entire culture of reviewers out there with its own rules and conventions. I was intrigued to recognize various positives and negatives that I have run into during my own experiences as a reviewer. I am in the interesting position of having started as a reviewer and gradually branching out to become first a proofreader and then a copyeditor and editor. I occasionally write a review for a work that I have worked on but I definitely will only do so if I have enjoyed the story. Evidently, that is considered a no-no by Amazon but I find it to be a matter of ethics and I certainly would not praise a book that I don’t think is worth it. It disturbs me that this could potentially harm the author and I will have to ponder what I will do about the reviews I have already posted. I really appreciated the reminder to authors that most reviewers write reviews as a hobby but that we take ourselves seriously and devote countless hours to doing this therefore it behooves the author to be respectful of our time and preferences. The only thing I really don’t quite agree with is the role of 5 star reviews as I rarely confer those, even though I really like a work but that is why I personally give 4.5 stars to many of the titles that I have enjoyed. I think this is a great work that both authors and reviewers would benefit from reading.
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Again, if you are interested in the giveaway (and why wouldn't you be?), please enter the Rafflecopter above and leave a comment with a valid e-mail address about whether you write reviews.
