It was one of the hardest, most time-consuming things you’ve ever done. But it’s finished. You’ve written your first eBook. Now it’s time to reap the fruits of your labor as adulation and sales come rolling in. But wait, your work, while it feels like you’re done, has just begun. You’re self-publishing, so now your marketing effort has to begin. A key part of any book marketing effort is acquiring critical acclaim. However, unless you know how to get reviews for your eBooks, this part might be more difficult than writing the book in the first place.
First, The Usual Advice
Most guides to writing and marketing ebooks recommend seeking out people who might have an interest in your topic before writing and enlisting them as an advisory board of sorts to help you compose a useful tome. You’ll then keep those people apprised of your progress and send them a copy to peruse when the book is done in exchange for an honest review. This can work, but it’s rather limited in scope. So, do this and…
Approach Book Bloggers
In most cases, there is already a community of people focused around the topic your book covers. It is also highly likely they have digital watering holes around which they congregate. The alphas of these groups (the bloggers) have a lot of influence. If you can get their seals of approval, you’ll have a ready audience of individuals hungry for your thoughts on the subject. Find these people; offer them a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Then lather, rinse and repeat—on every relevant blog you can find.
Keep In Mind
Most ebooks online stores have very strict policies regarding paid reviews. If you offer any incentive other than a free copy of the book, it could be viewed as pay for play and your book could get banned from the site. So, before you fall into the trap of paid reviews, remember the path of least resistance is usually a dead-end street. There are guides to lists of legitimate reviewers you can consult, but never offer a reviewer cash to read your book—that’s not cool.
The Road Less Traveled
One of the best pieces of advice we’ve ever seen for those trying to get their first reviews comes from self-proclaimed Kindlepreneur Dave Chesson. His strategy involves mining existing reviews on Amazon of books similar to yours, looking for people who tend to review regularly and offering them a copy of your book in exchange for an honest appraisal. To speed the process, Chesson recommends a platform called Book Review Targeted. Now before you read this as an endorsement of the product, please know we haven’t ready familiarity with it, but it looks like a solid alternative to the drudgery of begging for reviews. Either way though, the basic premise of Chesson’s strategy looks sound and could be successful for you.
It Takes Time
In truth though, when it comes to how to get reviews for your ebook, there’s no fast way to go about it legitimately. You’ll need to look for relevant reviewers, approach them with polite and succinctly composed personalized email messages, ask for their co-operation and give those who agree to do so time to get it done. Patience, a good nature and diligence are the watchwords here. But hey, you just accomplished the most difficult thing you’ve ever done. How hard can this be after doing that?
