OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
In the last few weeks, there have been scandals about so-called sock puppet reviews, when authors have paid for fake reviews or even created them under false identities. Whatever your thoughts on this type of thing, there's no doubt that having great reviews can help your book sell.
We all want more book reviews but until you have a huge readership waiting for organic reviews can be… well, a long wait!
One way to get more high quality, (usually) well-written and highly regarded reviews is to ask the ‘Amazon Top Customer Reviewers' to take a look at your book.
Why target the top Amazon reviewers?
While I've seen some reviewers with 7,000+ reviews, the Top Customer Reviewer award is not only about the number of reviews one person has churned out. At the time of writing, the #1 top customer reviewer on Amazon has only (!) 671 reviews under his belt.
As always, Amazon uses a complex algorithm to determine this ranking – this top spot is also determined by the number of “helpful” votes the reviews have received (our #1 guy has 39,414) and “percentage helpful” (97%).
Since that #1 spot is highly coveted, and quite the achievement, you can be sure that the Amazon top customer reviewers put a lot of thought and energy into their reviews. That’s good news – these are the best and most compelling kind of reviews!
As a result, aiming at the Top Customer Reviewers is a good strategy to curating well-written, meaningful and thorough reviews for your book. Here are some more pros for putting in the time and energy to solicit these:
1. These reviewers have proven themselves to be fast, consistent reviewers who read fast (often a few books a week) and will therefore most likely have a quick turn around
2. They understand what makes a good, helpful review
3. They may also have a book blog/ large social media following or other online presence that can bring you additional exposure
4. An endorsement by one of these guys looks GREAT on your Amazon page. Remember the whole third party validation/ social proof thing from your Economics class? Well this is it exactly! Validation from someone who takes reviewing seriously and is therefore 100% objective. Here's how the review listing will look on your Amazon page:
In fact, according to the results of the recent self publishing survey by Taleist.com, Authors who submitted to popular reviewers on Amazon received 25% more reviews than average and earned 32% more revenue for their latest release. Not necessarily a case of cause and effect but a good sign nonetheless.
With the positive there are some potential downsides, and it's only fair to mention those as well:
– Doing this research, and doing it well, DOES take time and energy. You’ll be led down some dead ends, and some reviewers explicitly state that they don’t like to be pitched.
(But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it right? This is the kind of stuff that gets you ahead of the game!)
and…
– They may well be more critical/ harsh. That's why it's super important to really do the research and only target those who would be interested in your book. Otherwise you're asking for trouble!
How to contact Amazon's Top Reviewers
Here are some step by step instructions on how to contact Amazon's Top Customer Reviewers to offer your book for review:
1. Head over to http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers
2. Click on any name or reviewer profile that takes your fancy!
3. Look at the books she/ he has reviewed in the past (be aware that some of these reviewers will not be book reviewers at all, some may focus solely on electronics, clothes etc)
4. Look at his/her interests for relevant info (if this section is filled out):
5. Look under their profile picture to see if their contact information is public (I have blacked it out for privacy reasons here). Also look to see if there are any common interests or a location that you can mention when contacting them.
6. Send them a short, brief pitch stating:
– How you found them
– Why you think they'll enjoy your book (mention other books they loved or genre preference)
– Offer a free copy of your book
– Thank them for their time, whether they decide to take up your offer or not.
Don't forget these people are busy (as everyone is these days!), and most likely receive hundreds of requests. Keep your pitch short and sweet to make sure it’s read.
7. Aim to contact at least 3-4 times more reviewers than the actual number of reviews you are looking for since some will pass or you won’t hear back from them.
8. Wait for your replies 🙂
High quality and plentiful reviews can go a long way to driving book sales.
It does take time and effort though but the payoff is big.
Have you tried contacting Amazon’s Top Customer Reviewers? Why not share your experience by leaving a comment below.
*** UPDATE: Comments are now closed – Jan 2015 **
Laura’s latest offering is ‘Fire up Amazon & Leave it on Autopilot!’, a video tutorial course on how to tweak Amazon to it’s full potential. When she's not glued to her laptop you can find her walking her dog, practicing yoga or “testing” out coffee shops in Seattle. Connect with her on http://twitter.com/LauraPepWu and say hi!
Images: Top Bigstock Customer Survey or Review, the rest provided by Laura Pepper Wu
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1 2 3 … 13 Next »good stuff. Would you know how to send books to people through the Amazon Vine people? These are people that review things for Amazon when they get the products:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help
Hi Mike,
I *believe* that Amazon chooses the products for the Vine peops to review. Not 100% sure, that's just been my impression based on the products I have seen them review :)
Yes, I think this is a paid for service that publishers and marketers use - not something available to everyone ...
I do not think you can request reviews but I know that it is NOT A PAID REVIEW from publishers as several of my cookbooks have been reviewed by vine members and I never paid or solicited these reviews.
I assume that the reviewer chooses what they want to review and I believe they get it for free.
That's a great tip, Laura. I never even thought about that. There are so many things to remember in the publishing world, but of course this makes a LOT of sense! Thanks ladies!
Thanks for reading, Laura!
Not sure why I'm getting the little grey man! Is this working now? I just updated my gravatar :)
Had no idea there even was a top 500 reviewer list on Amazon. Pretty cool and they definitely should be contacted.
Laura, have u gotten a top reviewer to rate your book?
Hi Shaquanda,
I worked with a few authors this last year who we tried this with, and it worked great. The reply rate is quite low versus other reviewers since they tend to be so busy! A Top 500 Reviewer looks great on your page though, especially with all this sock puppeting going on. I have a new book out next week that I will be trying this with. Let me know if you have any luck with it!
It would look fantastic! Do you think having a top amazon reviewer on your page will boost your rating on Amazon too? In terms of being suggested to other customers?
Thanks for this article. The links to Authorlicious loop back to this page, however.
I just checked and they are fine for me but here's another link http://www.30daybooks.com/authorlicious-wordpress-theme-preview-page/?hop=creativep
Thanks for hosting me, Joanna!
If you are following this advice, DO make sure you get the gender of the reviewer correct. The #1 Amazon reviewer, Chandler, is female (her photo is a bit of a clue).
I'd also suggest not confining yourselves to the Amazon Top 500 list. I've seen Chander comment that she gets several requests each DAY, and refuses them all. There is actually a Top 10,000 list - you are much more likely to get a positive response if you target lower down the list, because those people get asked less often.
There are also various Book Blogger Directories that categorise reviewers by genre, which can save you slogging through all the game, app and music reviewers as you seek someone to review your romantic space opera.
Hi Iola, thanks for adding to the discussion with a good point - top 500 is certainly not the only way to go. It is extra prestigious, however. Please note this post was written a few months back when Chandler was not the #1 reviewer and a male was :)
Laura,
Acutally I was #1 in all of 2011 as well and you did say "Chandler" next to "he" and "him" several times.... I've been there for over 4 years now. Not to be petty, but Iola had a point as the stats you mentioned were actually mine...I think you confused that I was a male because of my name,Chandler, since you mentioned me by name. I really am a female as my profile shows, and you were referencing me. I'm not offended, just aiming for clarity since it was mentioned and when I bathed this morning, Iola was correct.
That said, I do accept products for review, as my pages will show since I mention when I am given an item for feedback, but I do not accept book reviews because, due to the time it would take to read them all, I simply wouldn't be able to give them the proper attention so I tend to a agree that someone lower on the list might be able to give a BOOK more attention. I agree with Iola on that as well.
I do accept products I'd actually buy. I do NOT accept cash or any payment or guarantee a positive review but because I don't accept products I don't have genuine interest in, that likely helps eliminates some potential negative reviews. I don't care about the cost of an item: I resell nothing...if I don't want it or need it, I don't accept it. I do try to value my position as an ethical one which I why I stick to this so, yes, many emails---most, actually, I simply can't answer. If I answer, it's with acceptance. But those are quite few for reasons mentioned.
chandlersreviews@yahoo.com
I hope that didn't sound snarky. I have dry wit. :-) I certainly am not offended. It's not the first time the mistake has been made!
Chandler
#1 Reviewer
Amazon
How did I not think about this??!!??? :)
Love it. Certainly some research to be done me thinks...
Matthew (Turndog Millionaire)
Good luck Matt!
This is a great idea and one that never occurred to me! Thanks Laura!
I'm excited to start this approach. Thanks for sharing!
Robert, Mr. Denault is a big fan of yours. I know you're probably declitriaamly opposed to the book business (art vs. commerce and all that), but there's a good piece in this week's New Yorker on the state of the book business.
Looks like all this stuff is related to fiction. My book is non-fiction and the only valid review would be by peers, which are very difficult to find given my credentials. Check them out on my Author's Page of my lising for WHAT ALL AMERICANS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ECONOMICS.