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Amazon Customer Review Quotes: Good? Bad? And How to Get Them?
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Thanks for the information. I was impressed with the 'summary of reviews' for my book. Even the 'most helpful favorable' and 'most helpful critical' recaps. It certainly does make the book appear more exciting.
If Amazon continue to prevent "gaming" of the system then I am all for it. Given the amount of blatant fraud and bribery, (a free book/lunch/drinks/hotel room could be considered bribery if not admitted by the reviewer) presented as professional reviews in the industry its surprising any reviews are believed. I'm not sure what the difference is between a review that starts, I'm the Author's mum .... or starts , I received a free copy in exchange for... But both of these are better than, This fantastic book (not even published yet) by the best selling author (no sales recorded) whilst failing to mention the free lunch, drinks etc. at the book launch in a professional review. Maybe another blog coming on.
Back on topic the review quotes system is attractive and good, but for me I wish it would default to newest reviews first. The fact that a reviewer read the book in 1960 (OK I'm exaggerating) and thought it was brilliant doesn't tell me the book is relevant to today. Especially when e-books may have received several updates from when the reviewer wrote that a comma was misplaced... But that's another rant
Philip wrote: "If Amazon continue to prevent "gaming" of the system then I am all for it. Given the amount of blatant fraud and bribery, (a free book/lunch/drinks/hotel room could be considered bribery if not ad..."Philip, what you mentioned about an ebook's update is a good point. Come to think of it: it is at least feasible for an author to churn out a killer short and rack up a few good review before he or she "stretches" it with fillers and "update" it into a full-length which appeals to the mass market, as long as the reviewers did not mention how short the version they reviewed was.
Amazon does not seem to have a monitoring mechanism on that, other than the review "post date."
One area I notice blatant gaming is the "published date" on ebooks. As an ordinary KDP publisher, I am not allowed to enter a future date on my titles. But if you do a search or sort by latest first, you will never see your titles ahead of others'. That's because all the publishers slash Advantage account holders are allowed to "presell" their titles.
But they are not really preselling, they are simply selling their old titles but entering an arbitrary publication date way into the future to make sure their titles appears ahead of others. It is ridiculous for Amazon to actually take those publication dates seriously.
As to the free lunch/drinks, I do not have budget to do that. Even if I do, I would have to look at the ROI before jumping into the water.
I read on some site that KDP would cancel your book and account if you pay for reviews. I can't find the site now. I'm looking at publishing with KDP once the copyright office opens again so I've been looking at reviews.
J.J. wrote: "I read on some site that KDP would cancel your book and account if you pay for reviews. I can't find the site now. I'm looking at publishing with KDP once the copyright office opens again so I've b..."Given that all the major publishing houses effectively pay for their reviews I'm not so sure. It has been reported that they delete reviews by family and friends or fellow authors, but that doesn't seem to be a consistent policy. I have not experienced it but then again I don't have many reviews!
J.J. wrote: "I read on some site that KDP would cancel your book and account if you pay for reviews. I can't find the site now. I'm looking at publishing with KDP once the copyright office opens again so I've b..."Not true. Paid reviews have been around for a hundred years. Before that, you paid minstrels to sing about your exploits :) The leader in paid reviews is Kirkus Reviews and they've been around since 1933.
They meant sock-puppet reviews, or reviewers who wrote rave reviews without reading the work.
Andrew, does Kirkus reviews help sell the books? Or do authors buy that just to get an ego-massage?
Philip wrote: "I'm not sure what the difference is between a review that starts, I'm the Author's mum .... or starts , I received a free copy in exchange for..."If you're not sure, then let me explain:
Every professional reviewer in the media reviews books 'provided by the author/publisher'. However, since this custom is universally acknowledged in the business, professional media do not have to post the FTC disclaimer with their review to distinguish their review from the reviews by paying customers.
Since the advent of amateur reviewers (like Amazon and GR), the FTC requires reviewers who received a free review copy to post a disclaimer, as by law:
"Beginning today, bloggers, Twitterers and others who write online reviews or endorse products using new media must disclose it when they receive free merchandise or payment for writing about an item. The guidelines update the F.T.C.’s 1980 guide addressing the use of testimonials in advertising, remapping marketing rules for the digital realm, where it’s hard to know if the exclamatory musings of fashion hounds and best-disposable-diaper posts by suburban moms are inspired by a great product or a free product.
“Endorsements in print ads or on television are clear, because it is obviously the company’s advertisement,’’ says Mary Engle, the F.T.C.’s associate director of consumer protection. “It became very clear to us when we began our regular periodic review of guides in 2007 that because of all the social media going on we’d need to update them.’’"
The FTC disclaimer reviewers need to post is:
"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from [author/publisher}. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Check this link: michaelhyatt.com/five-ways-to-comply-...
In order to come back to your original statement, the difference is that being someone's mom is a clear sign that the review will be biased in favour of the author. Reviewing a free copy, like every professional reviewer in history, does not mean the reviewer is biased by a 'relationship' to the author/publisher, or that he has received payment beyond the author/publisher providing him with a free book.
Martyn wrote: "Philip wrote: "I'm not sure what the difference is between a review that starts, I'm the Author's mum .... or starts , I received a free copy in exchange for..."If you're not sure, then let me ex..."
Thanks for the clarification so FTC applies to USA does it require the professional to admit to the free book launch nibbles and drinks, the travel expenses and so on.
I have occasionally seen reviewers admit to getting a free copy but not all. The professional reviewers and critics are being paid to review I would be much happier if they had paid for the book, movie ticket, etc
Philip wrote: "I have occasionally seen reviewers admit to getting a free copy but not all. The professional reviewers and critics are being paid to review I would be much happier if they had paid for the book, movie ticket, etc."I don't put a lot of stock in reviews, unless I 'know' the reviewer and can more or less 'judge' their 'impartiality'. However, I know that publishers will try to 'game' the system by paying reviewers. It's not the only thing they do. Ever wonder why some books will by in prime position at the bookseller and others are relegated to a dusty shelf in the back? Or why publishers/editors allow agents to pick up the tab for their business lunches?
The whole system is rigged, but that's how it works. Disclaimers just help providing a little bit more clarity, but I don't believe in impartial professional reviewers. In that sense, I'd rather trust the impartiality of an amateur reviewer on Amazon or GR, whose compensation is merely receiving a free copy (which is not really a compensation, since the 'savings' are probably lower than minimum wage), then the impartiality of a professional reviewer who gets a salary to review books.
Martyn wrote: "Philip wrote: "I have occasionally seen reviewers admit to getting a free copy but not all. The professional reviewers and critics are being paid to review I would be much happier if they had paid ..."That was the point I was trying to make, but you have done so more eloquently. The salary of a professional reviewer is at least known, the perks are not. There is a tendency in western society to believe that corruption in all it's forms is not prevalent whilst criticising developing and other cultures for corrupt practices such as commissions for introductions. Yet the entire marketing industry is riddled with corrupt practices. A free lunch is just as much a bribe as a brown envelope stuffed with cash. I'm not trying to ban free lunches just get the reviewers to admit what inducements they were offered or received.
Whether a review can be believed or not is harder to judge, but a reader who has paid for the book and then rights a review good or bad should be treasured above any other.
Maybe reviews on sales sites should be categorised accordingly. Amazon lists verified purchase that at least tells you someone has paid for the book, TV etc.
Philip wrote: "Whether a review can be believed or not is harder to judge, but a reader who has paid for the book and then rights a review good or bad should be treasured above any other."Maybe, but paying for a book doesn't make anyone qualified to 'properly' review a book. For instance, I consider a five-star 'This book is so awesome' review by a paying customer less influential on my decision to read the book, than a 1-page review by a reviewer who received the book for free for the purpose of reviewing it.
As it is, I think most GR reviewers either pay for the book or receive a free review copy, but I doubt if they get paid for positive reviews.
In the end, the validity of a review goes up with the frequency of reviewing (similar books) and whether the reviewer finds the same points salient. If a reviewer reviews mainly sci-fi and reviews a romantic comedy negatively, the reviewer might not be the romantic comedy's intended audience.
I'm currently reading a romantic suspense novel that messes up my suspension of disbelief to a level that I'm inclined to review it just to point out all the mistakes, but I feel that I'm not the intended audience, since many of the salient points of my review would deal with the lack of realism...
Andrew wrote: "J.J. wrote: "I read on some site that KDP would cancel your book and account if you pay for reviews. I can't find the site now. I'm looking at publishing with KDP once the copyright office opens ag..."It's very different for a publication to pay its reviewers than for an author to pay someone to write a review.
Marcy wrote: "Andrew wrote: "J.J. wrote: "I read on some site that KDP would cancel your book and account if you pay for reviews. I can't find the site now. I'm looking at publishing with KDP once the copyright ..."Marcy, it is a salient point; however, in this day and age, an Indie author is usually his or her own publisher.
"The professional reviewers and critics are being paid to review I would be much happier if they had paid for the book, movie ticket, etc "That's unfair, IMO. Pro reviewers would go broke if they had to buy every book they review. Usually a publication, like the NY Times, receives a book, or galleys, and assigns it to a writer, giving him or her the book free. It makes perfect sense, and I highly doubt many people write positive reviews bc they got the book free! I speak as someone who wrote dozens (maybe hundreds?) of reviews for the SF Bay Guardian and other pubs between 1990-2000.
This thread has saddened me greatly. I guess I'm kind of trusting, but I usually believe reviews by pro's. And I myself always told the truth--with the possible exception of simply not reviewing novels I hated--which is a whole story to explain. I mostly reviewed non-fiction. Do people really think that when someone like Phillip Roth reviews a book in the NY Times that is positive, that he did so because the author bought him lunch? That seems so ridiculous to me. Maybe in the world of self-publishing and amateur reviewrs it happens a lot, but I wouldn't call it widely practiced at higher levels.
Marcy wrote: "This thread has saddened me greatly. I guess I'm kind of trusting, but I usually believe reviews by pro's. And I myself always told the truth--with the possible exception of simply not reviewing no..."I would not wish to tar all professional reviewers with the same brush, however, when I see publicity surrounding a book launch I do wonder who are all the people there. Do they all work for the publisher getting a well deserved reward. How do those authors get on the TV slots to sit on a sofa and mercilessly plug their offering helped along by the host(s)
For years we were told that the music chart was a true reflection of sales only for it to come out later that the music publishers and producers had the list of stores and sent people out to buy the singles just to manipulate the chart so that they could get on a national radio play-list, and in the UK, onto Top of The Pops.
Traditional retailers sell space to publishers for the publishers preferred book. I used to think that the little cards in Waterstones were actually from the staff until I saw the same comments repeated in a different branch. Perhaps it was still a proper comment from a Waterstones staff member but not in that branch.
Now we have cut and paste reviews provided by Publishing house staff using false accounts on Amazon and other sites.
Yes a professional even-handed review should be welcomed but the angle should be declared and the newspaper, radio, TV show should describe how it selects and issues books for review. Look how often a good review comes out next to an advert for the book/car/tv/movie. No connection?
I appreciate that this a deeply cynical take on our (I mean that in the loosest sense) industry. But my faith in all professional reviewers is like my faith in bankers and politicians agnostic at best atheist in general, I simply don't believe what I am told. I close with a short true story. My father used to provide village news for our very local newspaper. He showed me what he had sent in once then what had appeared in the Newspaper. In a one hundred word article the names were misspelt and ages mentioned incorrect. Copy error/printing error possibly, conspiracy certainly not, but I have remembered that all my life. If they can't get your name and age right why do your think anything else is correct?
Philip,Great observations. I love your characterization as being an agnostic about reviews. You have to be, and never more than when the review is anonymous! The creation of an avatar, though it is so common, is a real bummer if one is looking for accountability and transparency. That's why the Amazonian policy to verify a purchase is a step in the right direction, in my opinion. It's not much, but it's something that raises the credibility of the review.
Thanks again Philip and Marcy for a great discussion. Authors need to figure this stuff out!
Reply to message 17/Marcy: I agree with you. I think people like Phillip Roth would do a review because he wanted to - for good or bad. And I tend to believe reviews myself. But at the end of the day, I'm more influenced by the description of the book/story and if it's a genre that appeals to me. I always look at that first, then read the reviews.
Folks, what about Amazon VINE™ VOICE reviewers? Do they carry special weight in books? I know they are highly desired and coveted for non-book products on Amazon; do they carry the same weight on books?I've just received an unsolicited, glowing review from an Amazon VINE™ VOICE on my book KDP's Best-Kept Secret Revealed: How to Embed Videos and Widgets in Your Book Description.
The VINE™ VOICE badge carrier, Mr. Jon Cardwell, certainly speaks with a highly confident voice. Here's what he has to say about my book:
In the first three chapters, author M. Eigh provides the background and reasoning behind a stellar description when publishing your Amazon Kindle book. Some readers may already know how important a good description is for a book and M. Eigh acknowledges that right up front.
Chapter Four begins the meat and potatoes of the book, providing ways to dress up your description through your Author Central site. Frankly, I knew some of these things but did not have the full scoop and was unable to incorporate them. KDP's Best Kept Secret Revealed delivered and how.
If you are a habitual speed reader as I am, you'll want to slow down and read the instructions carefully. I am familiar (not an expert by any means) with HTML code and I needed to pay close attention; nevertheless, Eigh uses images and page snapshots in his Kindle book to walk us through.
Are you totally and completely clueless about HTML? Then perhaps the purchase may be premature, but if you're an independent Kindle author, I recommend you get it now and if you have to outsource the work with the instructions from the book so you can have it uploaded.
I haven't applied all the tips and tricks to all my Kindle eBook descriptions, but I did apply these concepts to many of them.
Definitely worth getting if you publish on KDP. I gave 5 stars because I would have purchased this product at three times the price I paid for it.
And Mr. Jon Cardwell certainly did well with restructuring his book descriptions based on the instructions in my book, embedding a YouTube trailer here right in the book description: http://amzn.to/1cDgjIR.
Don't VINE™ VOICE badge holders get paid to review products? If so, I guess I got a bargain.
Just an update: I found Amazon's official answer on VINE™ VOICE, posted here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help.Apparently VINE™ VOICE badge holders are NOT paid. But they do receive free products, books from publishers and albums from music studios, and stilettos from Jimmy Choo, etc.
Disclaimer: Mr. Jon Cardwell apparently reached into his own pocket to buy my book.
Here's an example of big guy's sway: http://www.amazon.com/Jab-Right-Hook-....The book is selling despite extremely high price for Kindle. It's got no customer reviews except 3 VINE™ VOICE reviews arranged by Amazon. The book is apparently already out but the publisher lists the publication date as Nov 23. If a buyer search by release date, this book will always beats yours.
Big house can also easily plop down $100K to spend on a third party promoter, who in turn can send a book high on Amazon ranking by temporarily "arrange" purchases.
One book of mine has reviews by 2 Vine reviewers, one of whom is an Amazon Top 50 reviewer, and it does not appear to have made any difference in sales. BTW, Neither were paid for their reviews.
M. wrote: "Just an update: I found Amazon's official answer on VINE™ VOICE, posted here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help.Apparently VINE™ VOICE badge holders are NOT paid. But they do receive free produc..."
Well now! A free book is one thing; Jimmy Choo shoes are quite another! Hell, I'd go positive for the shoes; I bet Philip Roth would too! LOL.
What is this VINE VOICE stuff? Never heard of this before.
VINE™ VOICE badge holders are Amazon's mercenaries. Apparently Amazon do not pay them. But they do get free products and they are free to express their opinions free, with no burden of obligation to the vendor of those products.To qualify as a Vice Voice member, one must have a sizable collection of reviews with a handsome percentage of "helpful" votes on the reviews too.
Yes, Marcy I'd like to know what VINE VOICE is too...
I've browsed around and haven't located a similar thread; hence this new topic.
You know what I'm talking about if you have been selling on Amazon for a while. Amazon's system has a automatic digestor that aggregates customer reviews posted under a book continuously; once the "overlapping" index of these reviews hits a threshold, Amazon's digestor posts three quotes that best represent most shared an opinion and present them with eye-catching quotation marks. This feature increases the impact of customer reviews and makes them -- pardon my oxymoron here -- visually audible.
In the case of my book KDP's Best-Kept Secret Revealed: How to Embed Videos and Widgets in Your Book Description, the Customer Review Quotes looks like this:
My experience is that a book sells better with the customer review quotes than without. However, this is one area I do not have any solid statistics and I would really love to hear what other authors have to say.
In terms how an author can get these customer review quotes, I've learned the following, after publishing on KDP for a few months:
1. The Customer Review Quotes normally do not kick in until a book is about one-month old on Amazon. This may reflect an Amazon safeguard mechanism that prevents the auto digestor from jumping to a conclusion. If Amazon does indeed have such a mechanism as I suspect, it is a good measure that prevents authors and publishers from gaming the system with "arranged" or solicited reviews.
2. The Quotes are not triggered by the count of the reviews received. For Amazon's review digestor to abstract quotes, there must be three distinctive opinions that are shared. Each of these opinions must be shared. Amazon's auto digestor must be able to states under each quoted opinion that at least 1 (one) other reviewer made a similar statement.
3. The minimum count of reviews received to trigger the digestor quote abstraction appear to be 5. This is another healthy sanity measure on the part of the auto digestor. If a book has just received a mere three or four reviews and they all say exactly the same things, they reviews are suspiciously too uniform.
Here's my conclusions:
1. Amazon's Customer Review Quotes generation algorithm is brilliant and effective.
2. Try to satisfy the minimum requirement for the auto digestor to generate quotes from your book's reviews (the age of the book, count of reviews received.)
3. Do not ever purchase, guide, arrange reviews or write your own reviews and have someone post it.
Related to point # 3, I am strongly against authors paying so-called "professional reviewers" for their uppity reviews. A real paying customer delivers a gutsy review that is a thousand times more likely to resonate with another paying customer. If you are feeling generous about your money, have a free giveaway to capture that particular group of readers. A fraction of those readers may just return you with a few reviews that instantly build the Amazon Customer Review Quotes!