The Savvy Book Marketer

8-Step Plan for Landing Book Promotion Endorsements

by Dana Lynn Smith

Endorsements are recommendations from authors, experts or celebrities, in other words people whose opinion can influence sales of your book. These are the quotes you typically see printed on the covers and inside of books and they are sometimes referred to as "blurbs."

Having a well-known person endorse your book lends credibility and can really impact sales, so it's worth the time and effort required to land important endorsements.

But why would a high-profile individual do you the favor of giving you an endorsement? In a word: publicity. The person giving the endorsement gains exposure from endorsing quality products. And, of course, many people (especially other authors) are happy to help out an author who has written a good book.

Here are eight steps for landing powerful endorsements:

1. Schedule well in advance.

If you want to print your most important endorsements on your book cover or inside the book, you'll need to build time into your production schedule. It can be time consuming to track down well-know people and get their endorsement, so start at least 60 to 90 days before you need the text.

2. Go for the gold!

The next step is to make a list of potential endorsers who are a good fit for the topic or genre of your book. Do not be afraid to aim high! You have nothing to lose but a little time and perhaps the cost of mailing a book. And the rewards of scoring an endorsement from a highly influential person can be great.

What Should I Do About a Bad Review on Amazon?

by Dana Lynn Smith

It's frustrating to get a bad review, but it happens to most authors sooner or later.

My advice for authors is to try not to take it personally and to remember that books (especially fiction) are subjective - some people will love your book and others won't. And many book buyers realize that most books will have some negative reviews, even if most of them are positive.

If a review contains factual errors (for instance stating that a nonfiction book was missing important information) you can click the "comment" button on the review and leave a note. But be very careful not to sound defensive - just state the facts. (e.g. Perhaps you missed chapter 6 where I discussed that topic in detail.)

If you think a review was really unjustified, you can also click the "no" button next to "Was this review helpful to you?" 

If a review violates Amazon's terms you can ask Amazon to remove it. Amazon will not remove a review simply because it's unfavorable or you think it's unfair, but they sometimes remove reviews that are reported for violating their terms.

Also focus on getting more good reviews to offset the bad ones.

And finally, take an objective look at negative reviews and see if there are any legitimate comments that you might use to improve your writing.

For in-depth advice on getting book reviews and profiting from them, see How to Get You Book Reviewed, available in paperback, Kindle, Nook, and PDF format. 

How To Get Massive Publicity For Your Book Without Spending A Cent

In today's guest post, Jonathan Gunson shares some great advice about how to find new readers through book bloggers.

I find it extremely encouraging that so many authors are now embracing the reality of modern publishing, and acknowledging that they are responsible for creating the buzz around their books.

Those who publish their own ebooks understand that the more publicity they can get, the more copies they will sell.

But even those looking for traditional book deals are starting to see the truth – that publishers now only pick authors who demonstrate they can help with promotion.

The problem is, most writers hide under the desk in terror at the thought of ‘marketing’, because their skill set is writing, not selling. The reality is that all writers need that elusive book publicity, but don’t want to become the literary equivalent of a used car salesman.

Nor can they afford to spend a fortune in the process.  What to do?

The Solution: Get Reviewed By High-Profile Book Bloggers

Book bloggers are high on the trust list for readers, which means they’re among the most influential connections we can make. These bloggers read a large number of books, and have an audience of readers collectively amounting to millions. Their subscribers trust their opinions and buy the books they recommend.

This makes them an incredibly powerful source for promotional help.  In fact, they can make an author famous, almost overnight sometimes. I’ll talk about that in a moment, but first, let’s look at a real life example of someone achieving incredible success from using this tactic…

Virtual Book Tour for How to Get Your Book Reviewed

The virtual book tour for How to Get Your Book Reviewed continues through September 23 as top book marketing experts post my articles about getting book reviews, do interviews with me, write reviews of How to Get Your Book Reviewed, and do giveaways for free copies of the book.

To get a link to each day's tour stop delivered by email or feed reader, subscribe to the tour feed by email or subscribe in a feed reader

Here's the complete tour schedule:

Thursday, September 8, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time
Live Q&A Interview, hosted by Terry Whalin, The Writing Life
Click here to get access to the teleseminar replay and free report. (Just enter “no question” in the space designated for questions for the teleseminar.)    

Friday, September 9
Book Giveaway and Article: Help Authors by Posting Book Reviews
Random Acts of Publicity Week, hosted by Darcy Pattison on the Fiction Notes blog   

Monday, September 12
Review and Book Giveaway, hosted by Tony Eldridge, Marketing Tips for Authors
   
Tuesday, September 13
Podcast Interview and Book Review, hosted by Jan Bear, Market Your Book

Wednesday, September 14
Article: Walk a Mile in a Book Reviewer's Shoes
hosted by Penny Sansevieri and Paula Krapf, Author Marketing Experts

Thursday, September 15
Review and Book Giveaway, hosted by Shelley Hitz, Self-Publishing-Coach.com 

Friday, September 16
Article: 7 Ways to Get Your Book Reviewed, hosted by Roger C. Parker, Published & Profitable

Monday, September 19  
Podcast Interview, hosted by Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn   

Tuesday, September 20
Interview, hosted by D'vorah Lansky, Authors Marketing Circle

Wednesday, September 21
Review and Book Giveaway, hosted by Nick Daws on Nick Daws Writing Blog

Thursday, September 22
Article: What Authors Need to Know About the Book Review Process
hosted by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Sharing with Writers and Readers

Friday, September 23
Article: 6 Common Myths About Book Reviews, hosted by Yvonne Perry, Writers in the Sky

Free Teleseminar September 8 - Get Your Book Reviewed

The virtual book tour for How to Get Your Book Reviewed kicks off on Thursday, September 8, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time with Terry Whalin hosting me for a lively Q&A session. Register for this free session here and ask me your most important question about getting book reviews. If you're not available on Thursday evening, you'll have access to the recorded version afterward.

The book tour continues through September 23 as other top book marketing experts post my articles about getting book reviews, do interviews with me, write reviews of How to Get Your Book Reviewed, and do giveaways for free copies of the book.

You can see the complete tour schedule here. To get a link to each day's tour stop delivered by email or feed reader, subscribe to the tour feed by email or subscribe in a feed reader

 

Do Reviews in Online Bookstores Matter?

Reviews and recommendations in online bookstores are a powerful promotional tool. Many shoppers read book reviews before making a purchase in online bookstores and reviews can be the tipping point that causes the customer to click the Buy button.

Even if someone came to the site looking for a specific book, they may still read the reviews to validate that they are making a good purchase decision. Reviews are important for all types of books, but they are especially critical for nonfiction books, where shoppers often compare several books on a topic before making a decision.

In my new book, How to Get Your Book Reviewed, I cite a study by the Yale School of Management concluding that book reviews on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites affect sales of individual books, and also increase total sales on the sites.

I came across this interesting commentary on the blog of author Laura Pepper Wu, and it's reprinted it below with her permission:

“Reviews are the reason Amazon is where it is. The other day I was in a brick and mortar store and I was struck by the lack of info I was getting about the books I was browsing. I needed social reassurance, because I grew up in the 90′s and 2000′s and that’s what I’m used to receiving.

Perhaps my parents relied on word of mouth recommendations from friends and family – the current generation depends upon several detailed written reviews. Without book reviews, all we can do is judge a book by its cover, and that’s a tough task. We crave something more. We crave the nod from more than a handful of people saying this is worth spending your hard earned money on. Or, don’t waste your time.

We live in a review-driven society (who doesn’t check out hotels on Trip Advisor or restaurants on Yelp), so having a review or several is going to drive book sales (providing they are positive of course) like nothing else.”

It's important to encourage reviewers and customers to post reviews on Amazon, and make it easy for them to do you this favor by providing a link to your book's sales page.

Learn more about how to get reviews and testimonials in online bookstores and a variety of other venues in How to Get Your Book Reviewed. 

The Power of Book Reviews - How to Avoid Huge Ships

My friend Fiona Ingram, who is a children's book author, recently sent me a link to the Amazon sales page of an out-of-print book called How to Avoid Huge Ships, published nearly 20 years ago.

What's remarkable about this book is that How to Avoid Huge Ships has 143 reviews on Amazon as of this writing, most of them recent and many of them hilarious. The top review on the page has more than 1,100 "helpful" votes and 37 comments.

It seems that writing and sharing reviews for this book (which is on the serious topic of how small watercraft can avoid being run over by huge ships) has become somewhat of a sport. The review phenomenon for How to Avoid Huge Ships has even been discussed on the Publishers Weekly blog.

"These funny reviews are pushing this obscure book slowly up the sales ladder. It shows how reviews can grab the public and how they tap into the social network, which does more for any book or product than advertising can," says Fiona  Ingram.

There's an old saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity. These irreverent book reviews are getting attention for the book, and with asking prices on the Amazon Marketplace for this out-of-print book starting at $74.95, it appears that someone is actually buying it.

If you want a good laugh, read through some of the reviews for How to Avoid Huge Ships. And remember the power of book reviews and social sharing.  Learn more about how to promote your own book with book reviews in my new ebook, How to Get Your Book Reviewed.

Book Reviews Sell Books!

It can be a real challenge for books to get noticed in today's crowded marketplace, and book reviews are one of the very best ways to get attention and sell more books.

The more reviews you have and the more places your reviews appear, the more exposure and selling power you have!

Some authors wonder if reviews are worth the effort or if they should still be pursuing reviews even after their book has been out for a while. If you doubt the power of reviews in publications, blogs, online bookstores, websites, promotional materials, and online reader communities, consider this:

• Book reviews get your book noticed, bringing it to the attention of people who might never have seen it otherwise. Each new review multiplies your exposure.

• Reviews, endorsements and testimonials offer "social proof" – they show potential customers that others think your book is a worthwhile investment of time and money, and they can be the tipping point that causes customers to buy.

• Book review journals have tremendous influence. In fact, librarians and bookstore buyers base many of their ordering decisions on reviews in the major book journals.

But you must be proactive in securing great reviews for your book. Are you:

• Intimidated by the prospect of asking for reviews?

• Looking for new sources of reviews for your book?

• Wondering how other authors get those big-name endorsements?

• Not quite sure how to get started or take your reviews to the next level?

Learn how to harness the selling power of book reviews in my new ebook, How to Get Your Book Reviewed. It's the ultimate guide to profiting from book reviews, with everything you need to know to confidently pursue endorsements, testimonials, and reviews. But don't take my word for it – see what others have to say about the book!

Reviews are an absolutely critical part of any book marketing plan, whether you're promoting a new book or a book that's been out for a while. Make sure you are taking full advantage of this powerful book promotion tool.