Soliciting Targeted Review

[Ankari]

I just read the article entitled How To Get Endless Amazon Reviews For Your Book or Product. In it, the author suggests to target reviewers of competing books on Amazon and offer them your free book in exchange for an honest review. Here is a little excerpt.

The good news is you can get tons of reviews on Amazon for your book or product in a legitimate and honest way. The key is to proactively seek out reviewers. There are a number of people on Amazon who have bought and reviewed products or books that compete with yours. If you simply identify who these people are, and then offer to send them your product for an honest review, they are likely to do it. And since they already reviewed a competing product to yours, their review is highly credible.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone considered doing this?

[BWFoster78]

I definitely plan to do this.

My concern is the following: contacting reviewers takes time. An Amazon review seems to only impact people who are already viewing your Amazon book page. My main concern is how to attract people to that book page in the first place.

Book Blog Reviewers, on the other hand, have a built in following and expose your book to new people.

I'm still unsure, however, on if there is inherent value in building up a quantity of Amazon reviews beyond a certain point. I am also unsure as to whether or not people "follow" reviewers, thus giving them the potential to attract new views to your book page.

Which should be the focus: Amazon reviewers or book bloggers?

BTW, another great source of Amazon reviewers is the top lists for reviewers. These people actively compete to see how many reviews they can do.

[Dan Latham]

It seemed a bit gimmicky to me. However, I would be interested in the results of this experiment. I don't know my way around Amazon that well but the article was very specific in how to recruit reviewers.

[BWFoster78]

It seemed a bit gimmicky to me. However, I would be interested in the results of this experiment. I don't know my way around Amazon that well but the article was very specific in how to recruit reviewers.

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by gimmicky. Basically, it's just showing you a way to find people who might be willing to review your book.

From something that I just read: 1 star reviews do far more damage than 5 star reviews do good and your book can be perfectly successful with as few as 6 reviews though less than that is a kiss of death.

[gavintonks]

why not spend the same energy getting readers?

[Ankari]

why not spend the same energy getting readers?

That is exactly the goal. As the article points out, the more reviews you have the more likely you are to get readers buying your book.

[BWFoster78]

why not spend the same energy getting readers?

Huh?

Please enlighten us as to just how exactly to accomplish the goal of getting readers.

From my research, ads don't work. The impact of social media is iffy at best as to whether it's worth the time cost.

The only agreed upon method of gaining readers that I've found are:

Search Engine Optimization
Getting exposure on blogs
Getting reviews

[Dan Latham]

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by gimmicky.

By gimmicky I meant a complex method for gaining attention, not gimmicky as in cheap or tricky.

I will most likely use this method to solicit reviews. However, I'll wait until my WIP is finished. My belief is time marketing is better spent when you have more than once book for readers to choose from.

[BWFoster78]

By gimmicky I meant a complex method for gaining attention, not gimmicky as in cheap or tricky.

Okay. Gotcha.

I will most likely use this method to solicit reviews.

I'm not sure there is an easy way to solicit quality reviews. Bloggers and Amazon reviewers are pretty much your best options.

My belief is time marketing is better spent when you have more than once book for readers to choose from.

I can certainly see your point. Personally, I think I'd get depressed if my book didn't sell, though. I pretty much have to do something to move them.

[gavintonks]

Marketing is very simple, find person and sell if you are serious and want the hard work, get a stall at a book show if they have them in your area, go to a book show and ask them to have an authors half hour.
The malls are full of people have a little stall they rent them here per day and promote your book to the people in the mall.

People like to buy from people, there are often programs at libraries as well that opens your network. From here if your work is digital you can guide them to facebook or who ever, but getting people to know the author behind the story is always first prize.
My local newspaper did an article on me when I published my poetry book [for free] they put it under local news, and the book stores carried some copies.
I believe if you wish sales go for sales, and build up a readership around you then use their platform to grow.
We have hundreds of reader circles where a group buys one book and 10 to 12 people read it, the book stores encourage them as they are always buying some up to 8 books at a time to keep members happy, there are ideal areas to get your name and work known