Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have 100 book reviews? Writing involves a lot of numerical goals. Every day, you try to write a certain number of words, and they add up to a certain number of pages, until you reach a finished book. These goals help you measure your progress.
In the same way, setting up a goal for reaching book reviews can help you stay on track with your promotional efforts. What about setting a tough goal, like getting 100 book reviews? That may seem like an impossible number, but going for it will force you to look for creative ways to market and promote your book.
- Why You Need 100 Book Reviews
- Have a Review Kit Ready for 100 Book Reviews
- Approach the Right Reviewers for 100 Book Reviews
- Use Freebies Strategically for 100 Book Reviews
- Start with Amazon and Other E-Platforms
- Create a River, Not a Flood
- What About Bad Book Reviews?
- Use Meta aka Facebook
- The Reviews Are In
Why You Need 100 Book Reviews
You can promote, advertise, and market your book everywhere, but only book reviews will help you:
- Get to the top of the best-seller lists
- Establish your credibility as a writer
- Gain the respect of readers
- Make your writing profitable
Have a Review Kit Ready for 100 Book Reviews
You can’t start your march to 100 book reviews without a book review kit. This is a package you put together before you start contacting reviewers. When you create your kit, spend time making it look as professional as possible. You must inspire busy reviewers and editors to spot your book among the hundreds of requests they get for book reviews.
Your review kit should include the following elements to help you get 100 book reviews.
- Picture of your book cover: Include a full-color picture of your book cover. If you’re sending the kit digitally, add a PDF of the cover.
- PDF of your book or a link to it: If you’re approaching online reviewers, send a digital copy of the book.
- Printed books: Have enough printed books on hand to send them out at the reviewers’ request.
- Cover letter: Use a short letter introducing yourself and your book.
- Press release: Write a professional-quality press release about your book. This should be fact-based rather than promotional. If you need help writing it, use a freelance writer who specializes in press releases.
Approach the Right Reviewers for 100 Book Reviews
To get the right book reviews, you must contact reviewers who are interested in your topic or genre. Choose a mix of print and online reviewers or book section editors. Your contact list should include newspapers, magazines, online publications, book blogs, and book YouTubers.
Before you contact them about doing book reviews, be sure you know how they prefer to be approached. Some reviewers want print copies, others prefer digital books. Also, don’t pester them with frequent follow-ups. Reviewers get dozens of requests every day, and they don’t have time to respond to them all. If you want to get 100 book reviews, you may have to contact 200 or more reviewers.
Use Freebies Strategically for 100 Book Reviews
If you want 100 book reviews, you must give away copies of your book. To reach your goal of 100 book reviews, you need to reach at least 100 people who will be willing to take the time to read it and post a review.
You already know that book blogs and other book reviewers should get hard copies of your book.
You can give away books for free on Amazon and other e-book platforms, when you first launch the book for five days over a 90-day period. These rules routinely change, so double-check with Amazon before launching a book giveaway. This is one of the best techniques for getting 100 book reviews. Yes, it is money you’ve lost by not selling those same books, but it is a giveaway that will pay off. It’s one of the best ways to reach your goal of 100 book reviews.
Start with Amazon and Other E-Platforms
Whether we like it or not, book reviews on Amazon can make or break a writer. Getting honest reviews on this site should be one of your main goals. Once you start gaining reader interest, ask every reader to leave a review. Some writers include a note of thanks in every book they sell, and use the thank-you note to ask for reviews.
You could word it in a way that helps people understand why reviews matter, for instance, “Thank you for buying and reading my book. The best way to thank an author you’ve enjoyed is with an honest review on Amazon or other sites. That’s also the best way to share this work with other readers who are looking for a book like this. If you could take a moment to post a review, I would be grateful.” Keep it simple and sincere.
Create a River, Not a Flood
You might think it would be great to have a sudden rush of hundreds of reviews descend onto Amazon and other e-book platforms. Surely that would work to boost your title’s visibility, right?
Well, you might think that, but in fact, it’s better for your position to get reviews intermittently. If you’ve managed to hit that magic number of 100 book reviews, don’t release them all at once. If you do, your book will get an immediate hit driving it to the top of the lists, but once that first hit ends, you’re right back at square one.
It’s better to release a few each month for six months to a year. That keeps your book relevant and ensures that every few weeks, it will get a fresh boost of interest.
What About Bad Book Reviews?
All right, so you got some reviewers to post their honest thoughts about your book—and their views were less than flattering. Someone didn’t like the main character, someone else thought your writing was amateurish, and somebody else thought your dialogue was weak. Ouch!
How do you cope with the emotional fallout of negative reviews? First, even less-than-stellar reviews add to your overall review count. You always have to take the good with the bad.
There are two approaches you can take to getting bad reviews. One is to look honestly at what the reviewer said, and ask yourself if it’s true. Maybe they have a point about something that’s lacking in your book, and maybe it’s something you can fix in your future writing.
A second way is to remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and even the most popular writers have their detractors. Look up a top-selling author on Amazon, Goodreads, or another review site. During all the glowing reviews, there will be some readers who barely ranked them with one or two stars. Everyone has their detractors, and if you put your words out into the public, you must expect a mix of responses.
Use Meta aka Facebook
If you want to maximize your social media presence—and get your followers to write those all-important reviews—start with your Facebook page. For a professional writer, a business page is better for marketing your book than a personal page.
By the way, is it still called Facebook or is it Meta now? While Facebook has renamed itself to Meta, the social media platform still uses its original name. The name Meta refers to Facebook’s position as part of the overall Metaverse that includes Instagram, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms.
It’s easy to set up a business account on Facebook. To make yourself stand out as an author:
- Include photos of yourself and your book covers
- Keep your page relevant to search engines by constantly refreshing your content
- Invite engagement from your audience with comments and questions
- Use the page to post videos or book trailers
Once you have some followers who enjoy your content, ask them to post reviews of your book.
The Reviews Are In
Your book deserves the best chance of success. Getting reviews is one of the most important ways to get it the attention it needs to become a top seller. Make it a priority when you create a marketing plan. If you need help with any part of the book printing process, work with an expert like Dazzle Printing.
