Releasing a book and just getting people to read it is not as easy as you might think!

I mean I have my book on Kindle and an Author Page on Goodreads. I have run an advertising campaign, promoted my work on my Facebook and Instagram pages and even have a website. My book is currently free on Kindle for readers enrolled in kindleunlimited and people are still not reading it!

Honestly, I know there is a ton of competition: I am publishing in a seriously popular genre and I know the statistics – it’s not easy for budding authors to get their books read.

As a self-published author, I am in charge of my marketing and advertising campaign and garnering readers. This allows a lot creativity, but also a lot of work, through trial and error testing of campaigns, to find out what actually works. It can also cost a lot of money, such as the paid adverts on Facebook, Instagram and Amazon.

 There are endless suggestions online for activities you can do to raise awareness of your work and drive sales.

A seemingly easy suggestion for self-published authors is reviews. The idea is the more reviews that you get – the more likely people are to read your book.

This makes sense, right? Online (paperback, hard back or eBook) the first thing a reader will see after the book title, cover and cost is the reader reviews: the no. of reviews a book has received and where these reviews have placed the book out of 5 stars.

In theory the more reviews and particularly 5* ratings, implies the popularity of the book and the fact you should probably read it. Amazon Kindle knows this and promotes these books to drive sales and ultimately increase their own profits.

There are number of ways that readers can review books online that are not just your random impulse buy:

• The easiest way is to get friends and family to read the book and leave a review. In desperate situations, perhaps they do not even read book, perhaps the author buys them the book and asks for a review in return.
• Pay someone to read the book, YES! You can actually pay someone to read a book and then review it online.
• Utilise online bloggers and influencers in a book’s genre. They will read and review books, usually for free. For example, a search online found Under the Covers Book Blog when I searched for New Adult Romance bloggers.
• Third Party Reviews – usually for traditional publishing where publishing houses have a long standing relationship with promoters.
• Include an additional page to the back of the book, asking readers who have enjoyed the story to leave a review at the site, whilst providing a link to click through, in order to do so.

Unfortunately, with all of the above – there is no guarantee that the review will actually be positive. Professional reviewers all have reputations and others may not have enjoyed the book. Readers buy books based on their reviews and the downfall – it may not actually be a review that the writer wants.

“On average you can expect 1 Amazon review for every 1,000 free downloads and 1 review for every 100 sales.” h

Nicholas Erik, Mini Guide: How to Get Legitimate Amazon Reviews for Your Books

I have had only one 5* review on Kindle and 3 star-ratings averaging 4.5/5 on Goodreads – that is it! Every time my book is viewed, potential readers will look at single review, see what it says and decide if they want to read it. It makes sense, like everything I buy online. I always read the reviews and star ratings, then compare pricing, before I decide to buy an item. I place a lot of faith in those online reviews and there is a lot of information in their favour:

According to Leonard Tillerman:

“Readers want to be sure that a book is unique compared to its counterparts in the same genre and that it is worth buying… which is why book reviews are so important.” h

Leonard Tillerman, Why are Book Reviews Important for Authors?

More reviews definitely mean more visibility. As Leonard states:

“Book reviews are a form of organic marketing for an author’s books” and “Book reviews help to establish an author’s overall reputation.”

Leonard Tillerman, Why are Book Reviews Important for Authors?

But surprisingly, there are also statics, which imply reviews are not as important as it would seem:

“You need at least 100 reviews before potential readers will begin to see your book as vetted”

Quote from Writing/ publishing manual:Write. Publish. Repeat.

H. Duke, Why are Reviews as Important as Book Sales for Indie Authors

Interestingly, Rebecca Bradley ran a poll on Facebook to see what readers felt about book reviews when buying a book on Amazon. Rebecca asked the following questions:

Q. Do you read reviews before you click to buy?

41% of people surveyed said Yes.

Rebecca Bradley, What Impact do Book Reviews have on Sales?

Q. If you read reviews before buying a book, do the reviews influence whether you buy or not?

43% answered sometimes.

Rebecca Bradley, What Impact do Book Reviews have on Sales?

These were some of the reasons why:

“If a book appeals to me whether it’s a bad review or not, I like to make up my own mind.”

“Books are so subjective – what some love, others loathe and vice versa. I could never be swayed on whether or not I should read a particular book, based on its review”

However, it seems reviews are far more important for newbie authors compared to established authors:

“If it’s a new author to me, then I’m likely to be deterred from buying if there are a lot of bad reviews.”

I wonder if star ratings influence potential readers? This would be an interesting question to ask too.

 Even more interesting:

Rebecca Bradley ran a poll to see if readers thought that social media sold books:

85% of people polled did buy books after seeing them on social media – a huge response, which suggest social media is far more influential than book reviews.

Rebecca Bradley, Can you Sell Books via Social Media?

In conclusion the evidence implies that the volume of book reviews doesn’t really matter: You need a kick arse cover, a compelling back book blurb and perhaps a few reviews that are a good quality: giving the potential reader a feel for the story, without giving too much away. People are still far more likely to read a book based on the fact they like what they see, not just the amount of reviews.