How Book Reviews Influence Book Sales

How Book Reviews Influence Book Sales, guest post by Kevin McNamara

Are you a book writer? Well, chances are you’ve heard the words "book reviews" once or twice in your creative circle. What you probably did not know is that a book review can either make or break your book sales. No matter how amazing you may think your novel is, if your readers are using their social media platforms to speak ill of your hard work, it may not do its best.
At this point you may be scratching your head wondering, "How is this so?" In our attempt to be honest and positive, here are few reasons why book reviews will earn you great success:
✓     Positive Attention - As your satisfied readers buzz about your book, this touches the ears of influential websites like Amazon.com. Amazon recognizes the positive feedback and your book gains value in their eyes. For this reason you will want the maintain an excellent reputation with your consumers. The best part about awesome feedback is it is free marketing for more potential customers!
✓     Building Trust - There are thousands of potential customers floating all over the web. Many of those who purchase any item online usually rely on positive reviews. Positive reviews are excellent because they give testimony of what others are questioning. Few may be wondering , "How good is this book? Do others enjoy it? Is this purchase worth my money?" All of these questions are answered after viewing reviews and ratings. Without these key ingredients, customers are more prone to scan right past your book and on to another. Consider getting your customers to recommend your product on their social media.
Now that we have tackled the reason why book views influence book sales, we want to share how you can get started. Understanding the potential gain is not enough. You have to put the pedal to the metal and actively pursue the following steps.

How Do I Increase Book Reviews?
1. Ask customers to review your book It is as simple as that. Suggest your customers to review their newly purchased book. Certain online websites have already incorporated this into their regimen like Kindle and Amazon Prime. For these sources, as soon as the reader is finished reading, a small prompt appears on the screen reminding them to send a short review. This does not have to be a difficult task. You can ask for a few lines of their best take-away point or part of the book. Your customers enjoy questions, only keep them to a minimum.
2. Seek influence not sales
If you are reading this article this far, chances are you are interested in boosting sales for your work. This is not a bad aspiration. It is completely normal to want to make an excellent earning for the work you put in. However, if making money is your motivating force, you may find that your book sales suffer greatly. The reason for this ties into what editors are looking for. Editors are not seeking the next best book more than they are for quality content that connects with the audience. For this reason, be sure that your book includes a deeper message that leaves others inspired.
3. Seek Top Bloggers
There is no secret -- blogging is effectively influential. Bloggers are known as influencers that provide inspirational content. Their content could range from sports to fashion. If you do your research, you can find a blog on just about any topic. This offers book writers a great chance of connecting with those that have a rich online presence. However, in order to connect these influencers, you must have the right approach. Avoid tones that sound like you are begging for a review. Instead, try to establish a relationship with the blogger. Show support. Subscribe to the blog. Post meaningful comments that show you have a genuine interest in their content. This will help you learn the voice of the blogger and how you can pitch to them. This will impress them as you took out your time to make a genuine connection. This will do wonders for your book sales.
4. Seek Book Clubs
The great thing about the internet is that there are a ton of resources at your fingertips. Do your research and check out book clubs you may want to connect with. There are plenty online and offline ones that will help improve your book sales and exposure. Consider offering incentives like contests or giveaways. Your potential fans will adore you.
5. Write a book review  yourself
Being a writer, you must be reading a lot of books on a daily basis. You have to be up to date with new releases, so it’s a good idea to express your opinion about someone else’s book. By writing book reviews for other people’s books, you’ll gain some exposure and maybe even get them to write a review for your book. Win-win here. Make friends among the industry, it will benefit you in many other ways.
6. Conduct a giveaway
Just to piggyback off of the last point, try a creative approach in reaching potential readers and conduct a giveaway. Thousands of authors are using this method today to gain exposure to their eBook. Try giving away your book. In order to do so, consider Freebooksy or Bookbub which give you an understanding of what readers enjoy.
7. Give fun samples. There is a large audience that you have not yet reached. They may not know your book or what it is about. To give them a chance in interacting with your content, consider providing video trailers or audio clips.
There you go! We hope these tips will help you promote your newest book

How Book Reviews Influence Book Sales, guest post by Kevin McNamara
Kevin McNamara is a content writer and blogger, who likes sharing his thoughts with people through words. https://twitter.com/kevinmcnamara00

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