Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "amazon"
Quick Tip About Reviews
Doing reviews is an important part of having a presence online as an author. Whether you do them on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, or some other site, they should be simple and easy to follow. Many writers fall into the trap of trying to be too clever when they do reviews. This is not the place to show off your writing skills, it’s a place to describe, in simple terms, what you thought of a book! Save the fancy stuff for your personal works, but don’t try to impress someone when writing a review. It makes you look pretentious, ridiculous and over-the-top!
DON'T DO IT!
I know I have visited the subject before, but I have to do it again because I am absolutely aghast at the sheer number of writers who self publish or were published through a small press and then IMMEDIATELY begin to devalue their work by sending free copies of their book hither and yon to anyone and everyone in order to get a review. This does not get you anywhere!
Yes, reviews are important. And it takes a while to get them. There have also been some interesting business models to come along that seemed like they would produce legitimate reviews, but end up being disastrous. However, regardless of the many different things you might try, the worst thing you can POSSIBLY do is shove your books at people for free in exchange for reviews. This is equivalent to going down to a local tattoo shop and having "Desperate" stamped on your forehead. It's demeaning. PERIOD.
It's the tendency of every new writer to do this, because the author is thinking "okay, my book is out there now. If I get a few good reviews, I'll start selling a bunch of copies."
That's just not how it works.
I have 40 reviews on Amazon. It's technically 55, but I was caught in the crossfire of several of Amazon's infamous "review purges" (where they allow software to determine that this review and that review is "fake" and delete them.) Nevertheless, at the moment, I'm sitting at a net of 40 reviews. I also have quite a few sales. The majority of the sales did NOT come from the reviews. They came from MARKETING the book. And all the reviews that are on Amazon are from people who PURCHASED the book. So there is living proof that you do NOT have to give your book away to get reviews. If you do proper marketing, and encourage the people who VALUED YOUR BOOK ENOUGH TO BUY IT to also leave a review, the reviews will eventually take care of themselves.
Focus on advertising, because ultimately, ADVERTISING is the ONLY way to get your book into the hands of the people you most want to reach, which is readers with a true interest in your genre, and who are willing to pay for it like everyone else.
Yes, reviews are important. And it takes a while to get them. There have also been some interesting business models to come along that seemed like they would produce legitimate reviews, but end up being disastrous. However, regardless of the many different things you might try, the worst thing you can POSSIBLY do is shove your books at people for free in exchange for reviews. This is equivalent to going down to a local tattoo shop and having "Desperate" stamped on your forehead. It's demeaning. PERIOD.
It's the tendency of every new writer to do this, because the author is thinking "okay, my book is out there now. If I get a few good reviews, I'll start selling a bunch of copies."
That's just not how it works.
I have 40 reviews on Amazon. It's technically 55, but I was caught in the crossfire of several of Amazon's infamous "review purges" (where they allow software to determine that this review and that review is "fake" and delete them.) Nevertheless, at the moment, I'm sitting at a net of 40 reviews. I also have quite a few sales. The majority of the sales did NOT come from the reviews. They came from MARKETING the book. And all the reviews that are on Amazon are from people who PURCHASED the book. So there is living proof that you do NOT have to give your book away to get reviews. If you do proper marketing, and encourage the people who VALUED YOUR BOOK ENOUGH TO BUY IT to also leave a review, the reviews will eventually take care of themselves.
Focus on advertising, because ultimately, ADVERTISING is the ONLY way to get your book into the hands of the people you most want to reach, which is readers with a true interest in your genre, and who are willing to pay for it like everyone else.
Drop the Snake Oil and Step Away
I think almost everyone has purchased some type of snake oil at some point in their life. Well, they’ve invented snake oil for authors, and sadly, they buy it by the gallon. One of the worst things a newly published author can fall for is what I refer to as the “Secrets Scam.”
Your book is out, you want it to do well, you figure there’s a whole lot of information out there concerning how to get sales and reviews, and you set out to find it. After a quick Google search, you discover hundreds of links offering to “let you in on secrets” for a certain amount of money. These “secrets” may concern marketing, they may be about getting reviews, or how to get your book to rank Amazon etc. etc. There are OH SO MANY “secrets” out there for sale. Here’s the reality check:
In the real world, also known as Unknown Author Planet, this is how it actually works...You have to get a good advertising and marketing plan and pay to promote your book. There’s no shortcut. There’s no way around it, there’s no way under it, there’s no way over it. You have to make an investment of time and money. Naturally, you do all the "free" things that make sense, such as sharing it on social media, and posting it wherever you can, but that alone will not propel you to stardom.
What you should NOT do is spend your hard earned money on “secrets to success.” They don’t exist. Whatever information these people and organizations are selling is information you can find on your own. There is no secret shortcut to becoming a best-selling author and IF THERE WAS, someone you never heard of would NOT be on Facebook selling it for $79.
People who have had smashing success with a book are busy managing their life and their success, they’re not telling everyone how they did it for a great bargain price because they “like to help people.” It would be nice…but it's just not the way life works. There’s nothing that you’re going to buy and read and then implement that will propel you to success with your novel. You have to go the long road and market and advertise. I wish I could say it’s easy, but it’s not. It is worth it, though. Just do yourself a favor, leave the snake oil where you found it.
Your book is out, you want it to do well, you figure there’s a whole lot of information out there concerning how to get sales and reviews, and you set out to find it. After a quick Google search, you discover hundreds of links offering to “let you in on secrets” for a certain amount of money. These “secrets” may concern marketing, they may be about getting reviews, or how to get your book to rank Amazon etc. etc. There are OH SO MANY “secrets” out there for sale. Here’s the reality check:
In the real world, also known as Unknown Author Planet, this is how it actually works...You have to get a good advertising and marketing plan and pay to promote your book. There’s no shortcut. There’s no way around it, there’s no way under it, there’s no way over it. You have to make an investment of time and money. Naturally, you do all the "free" things that make sense, such as sharing it on social media, and posting it wherever you can, but that alone will not propel you to stardom.
What you should NOT do is spend your hard earned money on “secrets to success.” They don’t exist. Whatever information these people and organizations are selling is information you can find on your own. There is no secret shortcut to becoming a best-selling author and IF THERE WAS, someone you never heard of would NOT be on Facebook selling it for $79.
People who have had smashing success with a book are busy managing their life and their success, they’re not telling everyone how they did it for a great bargain price because they “like to help people.” It would be nice…but it's just not the way life works. There’s nothing that you’re going to buy and read and then implement that will propel you to success with your novel. You have to go the long road and market and advertise. I wish I could say it’s easy, but it’s not. It is worth it, though. Just do yourself a favor, leave the snake oil where you found it.
There Are No Secrets
Here is something I have touched on before, but I want to reiterate. It pains me when I see so many newly published authors falling for scams and gimmicks, so I will make this very short and not so sweet. I’ve been making a living as a writer for about 16 years so I was ready for the influx of spam once my book was published. Unfortunately, not everyone has experience and some people are just a bit too trusting overall. Here it is straight: there are no “secrets” to making your book a bestseller that you can “learn” from someone online because they are “passionate about helping other authors.” Don’t be naïve in this life. If there was some “best kept secret” about “how to make your book a bestseller on Amazon in 30 days,” NOBODY would be selling it on Facebook for $99.
PERIOD.
Therefore, NEVER give money to ANYONE unless it is for a legitimate add targeted to your demographic. And yes, advertising is expensive, but legitimate advertising is also effective and the other stuff, well, all I can say is use the money to go to a concert or dine out! At least that way you'll get something out of it. The end.
PERIOD.
Therefore, NEVER give money to ANYONE unless it is for a legitimate add targeted to your demographic. And yes, advertising is expensive, but legitimate advertising is also effective and the other stuff, well, all I can say is use the money to go to a concert or dine out! At least that way you'll get something out of it. The end.
Fans and Other Beings
A trap I’ve seen a lot of writers fall into, especially new ones, is to sit there wondering why they don’t have more momentum since they have so many “fans.” I think this is primarily a conceptual interpretation problem. Believe it or not, I think a lot of people just don’t know what a fan actually is.
You can have a mailing list that just won’t quit. You may have hundreds or thousands of people who get your newsletter every month. You may have your own YouTube channel or podcast with a decent number of followers. You may have thousands and thousands of social media “friends.” Unfortunately, that’s not a fan base for your book. Especially if all those people were in place BEFORE you even wrote it.
Fans are very specific people. Number one, as elementary as it may sound, they have to be people who read your book. Everyone on your mailing list, all your social media connections, and your podcast and blog subscribers probably didn’t read your book, did they? Therefore, they can’t all be fans.
Fans are people who read and enjoyed your novel, are interested in you as the author, and are hoping for more of the same in the future. Ask yourself how many of THOSE there are. If you’re just starting out, it’s probably not that many. But never let that discourage you. A certain percentage of people who read your book will like it. It may be a large percentage or it may be a small percentage, but you WILL get fans if your book gets read. So don’t put the cart before the horse, focus on getting your book READ as opposed to trying to get fans based on your “resume.” It just doesn’t work that way.
Even your author page on Amazon is irrelevant until someone likes your BOOK. Once they like the book, THEN they want to know more about YOU. If you’re trying to do it the other way around, well, that’s only going to work with mom.
Selling books is all about marketing and distribution. Once sales are where they should be, fans will be there too. As far as reviews? Good luck and God bless you with that one. Even most fans don’t leave reviews. Not sure why. But that’s a topic for another day. Properly market and distribute your book, and this time next year, you will have fans. I guarantee it. Write on!
You can have a mailing list that just won’t quit. You may have hundreds or thousands of people who get your newsletter every month. You may have your own YouTube channel or podcast with a decent number of followers. You may have thousands and thousands of social media “friends.” Unfortunately, that’s not a fan base for your book. Especially if all those people were in place BEFORE you even wrote it.
Fans are very specific people. Number one, as elementary as it may sound, they have to be people who read your book. Everyone on your mailing list, all your social media connections, and your podcast and blog subscribers probably didn’t read your book, did they? Therefore, they can’t all be fans.
Fans are people who read and enjoyed your novel, are interested in you as the author, and are hoping for more of the same in the future. Ask yourself how many of THOSE there are. If you’re just starting out, it’s probably not that many. But never let that discourage you. A certain percentage of people who read your book will like it. It may be a large percentage or it may be a small percentage, but you WILL get fans if your book gets read. So don’t put the cart before the horse, focus on getting your book READ as opposed to trying to get fans based on your “resume.” It just doesn’t work that way.
Even your author page on Amazon is irrelevant until someone likes your BOOK. Once they like the book, THEN they want to know more about YOU. If you’re trying to do it the other way around, well, that’s only going to work with mom.
Selling books is all about marketing and distribution. Once sales are where they should be, fans will be there too. As far as reviews? Good luck and God bless you with that one. Even most fans don’t leave reviews. Not sure why. But that’s a topic for another day. Properly market and distribute your book, and this time next year, you will have fans. I guarantee it. Write on!
The Author Didn't Do It–Honest
Just a quick word about reviews: some people are under the impression that it is AUTHORS who delete reviews from Amazon. Let me be very clear about something. Authors cannot access reviews with regard to deleting them or approving them. Amazon’s software does that. All we, as the authors can do, is read them. Even if a review is nothing more than a spiteful person saying something nasty because they don’t like us, we still can’t do anything about it.
So, rest assured if you left a nice review for an author who is not well known yet and it disappeared, it was NOT the author deleting it. Similar to what many other companies have done, Amazon has fallen into the trap of allowing software and apps to decide what a “real” review is and what a “fake” review is. Naturally they get it wrong most of the time. That’s because a robot can’t do a human’s job, but because companies make more money using software than paying people, that kind of stupidity is here to stay.
The funny thing is, I have almost 50 reviews and all except five of them are from perfect strangers. I lost 19 to Amazon’s ridiculous software and review purges, but the five that were from people I knew are still there. I kind of wish the software HAD worked because it would have left me 14 to the good. Who knows what the big deal is anyway? Do they think it’s impossible for someone you know to read your book and like it? I guess so because it’s automatically assumed that those reviews are “fake.” Anyway, I digress. Bottom line is, if you have ever left a nice review for an author you like, rest assured that author did not delete it… faulty software did.
So, rest assured if you left a nice review for an author who is not well known yet and it disappeared, it was NOT the author deleting it. Similar to what many other companies have done, Amazon has fallen into the trap of allowing software and apps to decide what a “real” review is and what a “fake” review is. Naturally they get it wrong most of the time. That’s because a robot can’t do a human’s job, but because companies make more money using software than paying people, that kind of stupidity is here to stay.
The funny thing is, I have almost 50 reviews and all except five of them are from perfect strangers. I lost 19 to Amazon’s ridiculous software and review purges, but the five that were from people I knew are still there. I kind of wish the software HAD worked because it would have left me 14 to the good. Who knows what the big deal is anyway? Do they think it’s impossible for someone you know to read your book and like it? I guess so because it’s automatically assumed that those reviews are “fake.” Anyway, I digress. Bottom line is, if you have ever left a nice review for an author you like, rest assured that author did not delete it… faulty software did.
Secrets or Scams?
Here is something I have touched on before, but I want to reiterate. It pains me when I see so many newly published authors falling for scams and gimmicks, so I will make this very short and not so sweet. I’ve been making a living as a writer for about 16 years, so I was ready for the influx of spam once my book was published. Unfortunately, not everyone has that kind of experience, and some people are just a bit too trusting. Here it is straight: there are no “secrets” to making your book a bestseller that you can “learn” from someone online because they are “passionate about helping other authors.”
Don’t be naïve in this life. If there was some “best kept secret” about “how to make your book a bestseller on Amazon in 30 days,” NOBODY would be selling it on Facebook for $99. PERIOD. Therefore, NEVER give money to ANYONE unless it is for a legitimate add targeted to your demographic. And yes, advertising is expensive, but legitimate advertising is also effective and the other stuff, well, all I can say is use the money to go to a concert or dine out! At least that way you’ll get something out of it. Write on!
Don’t be naïve in this life. If there was some “best kept secret” about “how to make your book a bestseller on Amazon in 30 days,” NOBODY would be selling it on Facebook for $99. PERIOD. Therefore, NEVER give money to ANYONE unless it is for a legitimate add targeted to your demographic. And yes, advertising is expensive, but legitimate advertising is also effective and the other stuff, well, all I can say is use the money to go to a concert or dine out! At least that way you’ll get something out of it. Write on!
