When’s the last time you bought something on Amazon? Did you glance at how many reviews the product had? Did you skip over an item that only had a handful or none at all?

According to a 2023 survey by PowerReviews, 93% of consumers say that online reviews affect their purchasing decisions. Book reviews ARE affecting your sales, either in positive or negative ways. But what if you don’t have enough reviews? 

Here are three ways to increase the social proof on your book and grow your reviews:

1. Run a sale. The fastest way to get legitimate and verified reviews and ratings is to put your book on sale. Discounting the price or setting the price to free will boost its number of reads. As a result, your reviews count will increase within a couple of weeks of the sale. 🥳
2. List it on a review site. There are some great websites that can offer your book (for free) to their thousands of reviewers. All of these sites charge for the service but can be a quick and easy way to boost your reviews.
   
   1. Booksprout. $9/month and up.
   2. Booksirens.  $10/book and up.
   3. Netgalley. This co-op through Victory Editing is $58/month.
   4. Hidden Gems. $20/book plus a per-reader charge.
   5. Reedsy Discovery. $50 for one review and promotion.
3. Ask for reviews. Don’t be afraid to ask for the review in your back matter of your book and in any emails that you send to your readers. Let them know how much you appreciate and read every review and how powerful they can be to a book’s success.

Reviews take time, but with the above actions, you will see them grow. The first step is the fastest – don’t be afraid to have a 99¢ or freebie sale for a few days to help get some fresh eyes (and ratings) on your book. 

I hope you’re having a great week and that all the words are flowing. 🤓

Sincerely,

Alessandra