Acquiring Book Reviews, Pt.3

By M.J. Moores on February 6, 2015 • ( 0 )

Publicity Tip #71 ~

The biggest market for writers these days is Goodreads – because that’s where our audience is. Did you know that you could directly connect with reviewers on Goodreads? It can be done in two ways:

1) By searching books that are similar to yours and seeing who’s reviewed them. [Scroll down to the review section, look for 4 and 5 star reviewers, read their review, click on their name and then send them a nice message – see below.]

2) By doing a general search for avid reviewers and seeing what they like to read. [Go to the down arrow beside the Explore tab, select the category People, look at the list on the right hand side of the screen and select top reviewers, pick a reviewer and send them a polite message offering a free copy of your book in exchange for an honest review.]

Regardless of how you find these potential reviewers it is integral that they don’t feel like you’ve simply assigned them a number and slapped the same ol’ message down for everyone you’re requesting help from. You need to create a personal connection and the best way to do that is to read more of their reviews, check out their profile and see just how well you fit together. If you both love the same books, mention that. If you found something they said in a particular review insightful or inspiring – tell them. Share a very short anecdote about your own reading experiences(s)…

…just be sure to make the effort or you could get reported for spamming members.

It’s not easy to find the right people who are not only willing to read your book but are interested in telling other readers what they think about it. Working the system means building relationships and connecting with readers – if you don’t have the time to do that, maybe paying for reviews is the right way to go (https://storycartel.com/about).

Happy connecting 😀

An important note from Goodreads:

(If you’ll notice, though, they mention “aggressively promoting” and that’s not what I’m advocating above… it’s all about trying to establish a connection and any mention of your book would be at the end “in passing” and not as a main sell. That being said, I feel you should be aware of the concerns of this approach.)

Sending private messages. Don’t be “that author.” You know—the one who makes unwanted advances, aggressively promoting himself or herself at the slightest indication of interest. Since it’s hard to determine which readers want to hear from authors and which would prefer not to, err on the side of caution and don’t send private messages plugging your books. To anyone. Ever. Instead, join groups that interest you and strike up conversations there; it’s akin to going to a cocktail party where people are looking to meet other people. Never harass or spam anyone on Goodreads. When in doubt, don’t.