After posting Podcast Episode 44: How to Get Free Book Reviews from Popular Reviewers Who Have THOUSANDS of Followers!, we received several requests from listeners asking us to post the to-do list here.

Here ya go! 🙂

1. Today, we’re going to teach you how to find prolific book reviewers who review books in your genre.
2. We are also going to teach you how to find the contact information for those reviewers.
3. And, we’re going to teach you how to approach those reviewers in ways that will give you a far better chance of receiving a response.
4. We are also going to teach you the correct way to ask your current and past readers to leave reviews.

If you’re wondering how these book reviewers make money (they do!) while not charging authors, listen to this episode. 🙂

Before we get started, there are a few things we need to explain.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF AMAZON REVIEWS, AND HOW AMAZON HANDLES THOSE

An Amazon verified review is posted by someone who purchased your book from Amazon.

While anybody can post a review on Amazon, in order to post a verified review, the customer also must have spent at least $50 at Amazon in the previous 12 months.

An unverified review is from somebody who posts a review for your book, but who did not buy it from Amazon.

Amazon gives more weight to Verified Reviews, of course. Unverified reviews do not help or enhance your book’s positioning or placement on Amazon. If you’re using Kindle Unlimited (which we do NOT recommend!), that also does not affect your placement.

Only verified reviews affect Amazon‘s algorithms.

How Amazon’s Book Algorithms Work

1. Amazon’s ranking systems boost books that show consistent daily sales, rather than books that have large sales over a short period of time. (See The Old Amazon Best Seller Scam is Still Happening! Don’t Be Sucked In!!)
2. If someone buys your book along with another author’s book, Amazon’s algorithms can insert the “already bought” loop, meaning they may feature both books together for future readers.
3. Amazon’s algorithms reward authors who are directing people from their website or social media links directly to a specific product page on Amazon.
4. Reviews don’t affect a book’s sales rank, but they can directly affect the number of people who actually buy your book.
5. Amazon’s algorithms also favor detailed reviews that mention the theme, plot, and other specific things. Those are used by Amazon’s search engines for people looking for specific types of books. Prolific book reviewers know this.
6. Amazon’s algorithms also consider reviews as a sign of trust for potential buyers. They call it “social proof.”

For more information on why it’s IMPERATIVE to have people go to your website FIRST, listen to Episode 55 of the podcast, where we interview Gary Sturgis, the international bestselling author of SURVIVING GRIEF – 365 Days A Year. Gary has published seven books through BookLocker.

Amazon’s Strict Review Policies

This is the most important rule to follow! Do NOT ask your friends and family to review your books on Amazon!! Amazon may remove the reviews, or even terminate your account completely, and ban you for life if they suspect any personal ties between you and a reviewer. They mention shared households, financial ties, and direct family relationships. They even mention co-workers!

How does Amazon know everybody you know?

If you have ever purchased anything on Amazon for your Aunt Bertha, and then if Aunt Bertha leaves a review for your book, Amazon knows you are connected. She’s in your address book on the site. They will remove that review, and they could shut down your account. Oh, and when Amazon KDP does that, they also keep your past two months of unpaid royalties. Do NOT use Amazon KDP! Use BookLocker.com instead!!

However, if Aunt Bertha buys your book, even if she’s a verified purchaser, they can still remove the review and ban you from the platform.

How does Amazon know who your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers are? Think about that. Amazon Cloud—officially known as Amazon Web Services (AWS)—is the world’s most comprehensive cloud platform. Trust us. Amazon knows far more about you and everybody you know, and your connections, than you want them to! But, that’s not all!!!

Their algorithm tracks IP addresses, billing information, and social media links to flag and remove suspicious or biased reviews.

OKAY, GRAB YOUR KEYBOARD, OR A PENCIL AND A PIECE OF PAPER!

HOW TO FIND THE MOST POPULAR BOOK REVIEWERS

You’re going to need a GoodReads.com account for this.

But, first, you’re going to want to start a spreadsheet. Like all good marketers, you’re going to be tracking who you’ve contacted, and how, and if they’ve responded, etc.

1. Go to Amazon.com and search for bestselling books in your genre. Here’s an example: best selling romance novels 2026. Look at the first book.

The top-selling romance novel on Amazon as of this writing is Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. Since we recorded the podcast episode just a week ago, Carley has gained another 3,000 reviews on Amazon! She’s now up to 94,567! Go Carley!!

Page down a few times on Amazon until you see Product Details. In a column on your spreadsheet, copy and paste the 13-digit ISBN, along with the book’s title and the author’s name.

Now, go to GoodReads.com and copy and paste that 13-digit ISBN into the search box.

Voila!  There are 98,900 reviews for Carley’s book on GoodReads! Incredible! She has more on GoodReads than she does on Amazon!

Click on the strip of reviews at the top. Then, click on the box that shows 5-star reviews.  That will make the system show you the 5-star reviews first. And, you want to approach reviewers who post 5-star reviews.

As of this writing, the first reviewer to pop up is Marianna Moore. She has posted 534 reviews on Goodreads. And, this is important! Again, as of this writing, she has 85,600 followers on Goodreads! Click on her name to go to her Goodreads profile. Next to her name on that page is a website link. It goes to her YouTube page. Click on that. On her Youtube profile, she has her website listed:

https://mariannaspantry.org/mariannasreads

She’s clearly a prolific reader and reviewer, and she has a LOT of  followers who read her reviews when she posts them! When you click on her website, there’s a little envelope icon. When you click on that, it gives you her email address. You now have everything you need to contact her.

NEXT STEP!

On your spreadsheet, under the column with the title of the book you chose (in your genre) on Amazon, start a new row that includes different columns for:

1. The reviewer’s name

2. Their Goodreads profile link

3. Their email address

4. Their website address

If you find their Facebook or Instagram links, include those in cells as well.

Just for fun, let’s find another one under that same bestselling book on Goodreads.

Maditales has reviewed 624 books, and she has 37,000 followers on Goodreads. When we click on her name on that book’s page on Goodreads, it takes us to her profile. Next to her name is the direct link to her website. We clicked on that, and there is also an envelope icon on her website which, when clicked, shows us her email address.

We added her to our spreadsheet as well.

Remember that, when a popular book reviewers posts a review on GoodReads, his or her followers are notified!

FIND MORE BESTSELLING BOOKS IN YOUR GENRE TO ADD TO YOUR LIST

After you’ve added several reviewers under that first bestselling book on your spreadsheet, you can look up other bestsellers in your genre on Amazon as well.

Start a new section in your spreadsheet for that new book, and then find reviewers for that one, and add those under that bestselling book on your spreadsheet, etc.

Easy peasy!

After you’ve collected perhaps 20 or 30 reviewers (you’ll definitely want to add more later to your spreadsheet), you’ll need to decide on one of the following (or a combination of both).

NON-BLIND PITCHING VS. BLIND PITCHING

Non-blind pitching takes longer, but gets a better response. 

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Before you start sending out emails asking for reviews, do what every other author is NOT doing. Show the reviewer some love! You’re going to cozy up to them before you send them a pitch later.

1. Click on their website in your spreadsheet. Then, click on their social media links. Start following them, and post thoughtful comments under their posts. Since you nor I have all day long to do this on every social media platform, I recommend following them on Facebook and Instagram only. Those are the two most popular social media platforms in the world.
2. “Like” their posts, include comments under them, and share that person’s best posts with your followers.

After you’ve engaged them for awhile, and when you do approach them with your first email, let them know you’re following them on Facebook and Instagram, and mention one or two of their most recent posts. Let them know you shared those with your followers as well. At the end of your email, include a question for them that might entice them to respond to your email.

If they do not respond to you, you can blind pitch them later because, at that point, you won’t have anything to lose.

If they do respond, have a conversation with them, and later, after they know you’re a real fan, you can send out your pitch letter. Since you’re already familiar with him or her, make your pitch about your book more personal by mentioning something else they’ve recently posted. And, don’t forget to tell them you’re also following them on Goodreads, and that you noticed they reviewed a specific book. Tell him or her about your book, and explain that it’s in the same genre.

That’s when you want to ask if they’d like to review your book as well, and include the link where they can download it for free from your website.

Blind pitching is faster, but has a lower response rate. 

If you don’t want to follow reviewers online, leave comments under their posts, and share their posts, you’ll be doing blind pitching. That means the reviewer is going to hear from you out of the blue. He or she may receive emails like yours all day long, so you can expect a lower response rate.

DO NOT SEND OUT SPAM EMAILS! NEVER, EVER SEND OUT EMAILS EN MASSE! You will get blacklisted to kingdom come.

The good news is, if you’re contacting a list of reviewers who all reviewed the same book, you can send them the same email, but with just the name (or a few other personal details) changed. For example, you might want to send them a quote from a book review they wrote.

You’ll want to create three different form letters that you’ll be sending to the reviewers in an attempt to get them to review your book. Using three will give you the opportunity to see which of those gets results, and which ones don’t. This should go without saying but do NOT send all three emails to one reviewer.

After you address them by name, and mention his or her review of the previous book, and how much you enjoyed it, you can professionally but kindly ask them if you can send them a private link to a free copy of your book to review.

One author who received a 50% response rate, which is unheard of, used an email subject line that was a bit confusing. He said doing that resulted in the most successful “open rate.”

He used his email program’s “delivery confirmation” and “open confirmation” options, and he kept track of those in his spreadsheet.

While explaining the odd subject line he used, the author said it was natural for people’s brains to say, “Huh?” when seeing the subject line, and for them to click. However, the subject line also had a couple of technical words related to his non-fiction book. And, the reviewers he was contacting had reviewed similar books, so they knew what those technical words referred to.

He began his email subject lines for the other two emails with:

• Your opinion counts!
• Your opinion will make a difference!

But, he also included some of the technical jargon after those words.

What you do NOT want to do is make it so generic that people will think it’s spam. For example, “Review My Book!” would be a HORRIBLE subject line to use!

There are many websites that offer advice on how to ask reviewers to review your book. You can find those under the “Links Mentioned in This Episode” RIGHT HERE.

Only if the reviewer responds to your pitch email will you want to provide them with a free link to where they can download a free copy of your ebook from your website. Some reviewers WILL ask for a free print copy. If they are that popular, it will be worth the cost to send that to them.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN A REVIEWER RESPONDS?

First, update your spreadsheet. You’ll need columns for date initial email was sent, response received, link sent, and a cell in your spreadsheet for any notes/comments you want to remember later while communicating with each reviewer.

HOW CAN YOU GET REVIEWS FROM YOUR PAST READERS? (NOT FRIENDS AND FAMILY!)

Here is excellent advice from our number one bestselling author at booklocker, Gary Sturgis:

“The best way to get genuine reviews is to stop thinking about reviews, and start thinking about readers. Every review I’ve received came from focusing on helping people first. Build a relationship with your audience, provide value, answer emails, show up consistently, and write the best book you can. Then, don’t be afraid to ask. At the end of your book, in your newsletter, and on social media, just remind readers that reviews help other people discover the book. Most readers are happy to leave a review, they just need a little reminder. A handful of honest reviews from real readers is worth way more than hundreds of paid or manipulated reviews.”

— Gary Sturgis’ internationally bestselling book is called SURVIVING GRIEF – 365 Days A Year. You don’t want to miss the outstanding advice he gives in Episode 45 of The WritersWeekly Podcast!

IF YOUR BOOK IS NOT YET PUBLISHED, it’s very important to include your email address and/or website contact form link near the front of the book AND at the very end. And, under those, include a note that says something like this:

If you enjoyed my book, it would mean the world to me if you’d post a review on Amazon.com!

WHAT IF YOUR BOOK IS ALREADY ON THE MARKET?

If your book is already on the market, it might be worth it to pay some money to update it, adding your website and email address inside the book (near the front AND in the back!) with the same line of text.

ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Don’t be shy about asking your fans to post reviews on Amazon as well! In your posts, give them the direct link to your website, and have the Amazon link for your book (along with your book cover) appearing front and center on that page on your homepage. Don’t make readers search for it! Make it extremely easy for people to click, and start writing a review.

YOUR PUBLISHER’S OPTIONS

If you use BookLocker, you can submit reviews to the us before and after the book is published. Many authors who come to us to publish their book already have reviews from friends and family. These are treated differently from the people who click the review button on Amazon.

We will add those reviews to your metadata, which is sent to Amazon and thousands of other retailers across the globe through an automated feed. What that means is that, when people see your book on Amazon, and read the description, they will see the reviews you submitted for your book there. Since you’ve submitted those reviews to BookLocker, you already have copies of those reviews from your readers. You know who they are. Do not hesitate to ask them to login to Amazon, and to leave a review for your book that will appear in the Amazon review listings as well AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER, NEIGHBOR, OR CO-WORKER!

FOUR THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN ASKING FOR BOOK REVIEWS:

1. Never ask for a 5-star review. Ask the reviewer for an honest review. You’ll have a much better chance of getting a response from the reviewer.
2. You will need to set up a private link on your website to give to book reviewers so they can download a free copy of your ebook. Don’t give that link to the public. You should also consider putting password protection on that file. Give the reviewers the password.
3. Choose book reviewers who mostly give 4- and 5-star reviews. You can see their book review histories online.
4. Never use the word FREE when you are emailing reviewers. Spam filters will eat those up. In your spreadsheet, keep track of who has responded to you so you don’t make a mistake and send them the first message all over again.
5. If you have more than one book, and if a reviewer gives you a good review, offer to send them your other books as well, and ask them to review those on Amazon, of course.

NEVER, EVER, EVER PAY FOR BOOK REVIEWS!

Per Google: “Amazon strictly prohibits promotional or manipulated book reviews. To maintain unbiased feedback, they strictly forbid paid reviews, review swaps (quid pro quo), and reviews from close friends, family, or household members. Accounts engaging in manipulation face content removal or permanent bans.”

Amazon knows which companies sell and post book reviews!

AND, DON’T MISS THIS!

Why My Books Get So Many Reviews! – by Gary Sturgis, Internationally Bestselling Author of: SURVIVING GRIEF – 365 Days A Year

If you have a book to publish, come on over to Publishing.BookLocker.com, which is in its 27th year, IS located in the United States, and has an excellent reputation.

And, if you need assistance with book promotion, we HIGHLY recommend Clayton Jones.

RELATED

• EPISODE 44: How to Get Free Book Reviews from Popular Reviewers Who Have THOUSANDS of Followers!
• SUCK IT UP, BUTTERCUP! How to Handle Bad Book Reviews
• YOU DECIDE: Is This a Book Review Scam?
• Book Reviewing Authors Furious With Amazon – But I’m Not By Angela Hoy
• How I Made Good Money from a BAD Book Review (and, you can, too!) – By Jennifer Brown Banks
• Never, Ever Argue with a Book Reviewer! By Terri Schlichenmeyer

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!