How to Get Book Reviews Without Begging, Buying, or Breaking Amazon’s Rules
EPISODE ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN
If you’ve been staring at your Amazon page wondering how you’re supposed to get more book reviews without pestering readers, paying for them, or accidentally crossing one of Amazon’s rules, this episode is for you. Because the answer isn’t to chase harder or give away more copies and hope for the best. There’s a much smarter way to build legitimate reviews over time, and it starts with changing what you’re focusing on in the first place.
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Transcript
Have you ever sent out a stack of free copies of your book, waited for the reviews to come in, and then… almost nothing happened?
Maybe 30 people asked for an ARC and five left a review.
So now you’re wondering whether you need to follow up again. Ask more directly. Give away more books. Maybe pay for one of those services promising to help you get reviews.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that, you start worrying, “Wait. Does Amazon even allow this?”
That’s what I want to clear up today.
Because there is a completely legitimate way to get more book reviews without buying them, pressuring readers, or doing anything that puts you on the wrong side of Amazon’s rules.
But the biggest shift I want you to make is this:
Stop chasing reviews. And start building a process that creates more opportunities for the right readers to read your book and choose to review it.
I’m Jenn Hanson-dePaula. I’ve spent nearly 20 years helping fiction and nonfiction authors simplify their marketing, connect with readers, and sell more books.
And today I’m going to walk you through what that process looks like, what Amazon currently allows, what you absolutely want to stay away from, and what to look at if you’ve already given away a lot of books and the reviews still aren’t coming.
What Reviews Can and Cannot Do
Before we talk about getting reviews, I want to make sure we put them in the right place in your book marketing.
Because reviews are important.
Someone finds your book, likes the cover, reads the description, and now they’re trying to decide whether they want to spend their money and time on it.
Reviews can give them another piece of information that helps them make that decision.
But reviews cannot do every job in your marketing.
If hardly anyone is finding your book in the first place, adding ten more reviews probably isn’t going to solve that problem.
If people are finding the book but your cover is signaling the wrong genre, reviews won’t fix that.
If your description isn’t creating interest, reviews can’t completely compensate for that either.
Think of reviews as part of the evidence a reader might consider when they are looking at your book.
That distinction is important because I see authors spend an enormous amount of energy trying to increase their reviews when the bigger problem is somewhere else.
So if your ultimate goal here is more book sales, don’t automatically assume:
“I need more reviews.”
Ask:
“Are people getting far enough in the buying process for the number of reviews to be the thing holding them back?”
Because if the answer is no, you may be trying to fix the wrong problem.
What Amazon Actually Allows
Now let’s get into the part that makes authors nervous - what does Amazon actually allow?
Amazon does allow authors and publishers to give readers free or discounted copies of books.
And those readers are allowed to review them.
So yes, ARCs (or Advance Reader Copies) are allowed.
The important distinction is that you cannot require the review in exchange for receiving the book, and you cannot try to influence what that review says.
That means there is a major difference between saying:
“I’d love to send you an advance copy of my book. If you decide to leave an honest review after reading it, I’d appreciate it.”
As opposed to saying:
“I’ll give you a free copy if you leave me a review.”
The first option gives someone access to the book and lets them decide what they want to do.
The second option makes the review the payment for receiving the book.
That’s the line you want to pay attention to.
Amazon also prohibits compensated and incentivized reviews. So you don’t want to offer money, gift cards, refunds, another product, a service, a future discount, entry into a giveaway, or some other benefit in exchange for somebody creating, changing, or removing a review.
And obviously, you cannot require a positive review.
You cannot tell an ARC reader that they can keep receiving future books only if they give you good reviews.
You cannot arrange a review swap where you positively review another author’s book and they positively review yours.
Amazon also prohibits reviews from people who have certain personal or financial connections to the author or product, including close friends, relatives, employees, and business associates.
So your best review strategy is not:
Who do I know who will say something nice about my book?
It’s:
How do I get this book in front of more ideal readers who are a good fit for it?
That’s both safer and much more useful.
Because you don’t need manufactured praise.
You need actual reader response.
Build a Reader Pipeline, Not a Review Campaign
The next thing we need to focus on is building a reader pipeline, not a review campaign. This is where I think authors make getting reviews much harder than it has to be.
They treat reviews as this separate marketing event.
They publish the book and suddenly think:
“Oh no. I need reviews.”
So they scramble to find 50 people, hand out copies, ask everyone to review, and spend the next three weeks watching their Amazon page.
Instead, I want you to build a simple process.
There are three parts.
Find the right readers.
Give them an opportunity to read the book.
Then make it easy for them to leave an honest review if they choose to.
That’s it.
And notice where reviews come in.
At the end.
You’re starting with readers, not reviews.
For a fiction author, that means you’re not looking for anyone willing to read a free novel.
You want people who read and already love books like yours.
If you write cozy mysteries, you want cozy mystery readers.
If you write dark romantasy, a reader whose normal bookshelf is contemporary women’s fiction probably isn’t your ideal ARC reader just because she said yes to a free book.
You can go even deeper than genre.
What tropes do your readers love?
What authors do they already read?
What kind of emotional experience are they looking for?
The closer the fit, the more likely they are to want to read the book in the first place.
For nonfiction, you’re looking for people who already care about the subject.
If you wrote a leadership book, don’t just recruit “people who read nonfiction.”
Look for people dealing with the leadership situations your book addresses.
If you wrote about navigating a major life transition, find people relevant to that topic.
The question is always:
Would this person want this book if it weren’t free?
That is a much better ARC reader.
Why Your Free Copies Aren’t Turning Into Reviews
Now let’s talk about the part that frustrates authors the most - you send out the ARCs, and hardly anybody leaves a review.
This happens all the time, and the first thing I want you to understand is that receiving a free book and reading a free book are not the same thing.
And reading a book and reviewing it are not the same thing either.
You can send 50 copies into the world and you do not suddenly have 50 committed readers.
Think about a free sample table at a grocery store.
People will take something because it’s there.
Because it’s free.
Because they’re mildly curious.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they would have walked into the store looking for that exact thing.
ARCs can work the same way.
So when very few ARC copies become reviews, don’t immediately decide you need twice as many ARC readers next time.
Look at the process.
First, look at reader fit.
Were these people actually interested in your kind of book?
Or were they mostly people willing to take a free one?
Those are not the same audience.
Next, look at commitment.
How did people join your ARC group?
Did they actively opt in because the book sounded like something they really wanted to read?
Or was the offer simply, “Who wants a free copy?”
There’s a subtle difference there, but it is important.
Then look at your follow-up process.
Did readers know approximately when you hoped they would read the book?
Did you tell them when it became available for review?
Did you provide a simple link so they didn’t have to go hunting for the book again?
You can absolutely remind someone that reviews are appreciated.
The review itself simply needs to remain optional and honest.
And finally, look at your expectations.
This one is important.
Not every ARC recipient will finish your book.
Not everyone who finishes will review it.
And that does not automatically mean something went wrong.
Your job is not to force every free copy into a review.
Your job is to make sure the people most likely to genuinely enjoy the book have the opportunity to read it, and that the people who want to share their opinion know exactly where and how to do it.
Reviews Should Keep Coming After Launch
And here’s another thing you need to remember: reviews should keep coming after your book launch.
That’s another big mistake that I see.
Authors think gathering reviews happens before and during the launch.
Then the launch ends and so does the process.
But your book has a long life ahead of it.
New readers will continue to find it.
And some of those readers will review it.
So keep making that easy.
You can include a simple request in the back of your book letting readers know that if they enjoyed the book, an honest review helps other readers decide whether it’s right for them.
You can occasionally mention reviews to your reader community.
You can continue building an audience and putting the book in front of new, relevant readers.
And if you have another launch coming, you can build a stronger ARC process based on what you learned from the last one.
What I don’t want you doing is waking up every morning thinking:
“How do I get five more reviews?”
That turns reviews into another exhausting number you’re chasing.
Instead ask:
“How do I keep bringing ideal readers into contact with this book?”
The more qualified readers your marketing consistently reaches, the more opportunities you create for more reviews over time.
Your Simple Review System
So if you want something practical to take away from this episode, here’s the simple review system I’d use.
First, identify where you can find people who read books like yours.
Not people who simply like books.
Your readers.
Second, offer free or advance copies without making the book conditional on a review.
Make it clear that any review is optional and that you want their honest opinion.
Third, give readers enough information up front to know whether the book is a good fit.
For fiction, that could include the genre, tropes, themes, tone, or emotional experience.
For nonfiction, explain who the book is for, the problem it addresses, and what the reader can expect from it.
Fourth, follow up appropriately.
Let them know when the book is available for review, provide the link, and make the process simple.
No pressure. No guilt. No promises of something in return.
And fifth, keep bringing new readers into your world after your launch.
Because your review strategy shouldn’t depend on one giant group of people doing you a favor during one particular week.
It should grow alongside your readership.
And here’s what I want you to remember:
You’re not trying to collect compliments.
You’re creating opportunities for readers to experience your book and share what they really thought about it.
That’s a much healthier way to approach reviews.
It’s also a much better long-term marketing strategy.
And if the reason you’re focused on reviews right now is because your book isn’t selling and you’re trying to figure out whether reviews are the missing piece to your marketing strategy, start with my free Book Marketing Blueprint.
It walks you through the six essential pieces of your marketing so you can identify where the actual gap is before you spend another month fixing something that wasn’t causing the problem.
You’ll find the link in the description for this episode.
And in the meantime, stop measuring your review strategy by how many free books you can hand out.
Start measuring it by how consistently you’re getting the right book into the hands of the right reader.
That’s where the reviews start.