By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Many of us are buying our books online. Occasionally I do walk into a physical bookstore but most of the time I buy my books online. Through the years I’ve written over 1,000 reviews on Amazon and over 900 reviews on Goodreads. You do not have to buy the book on Amazon to write and post a review. I review books that I check out of my local library and after I have read them, I write a review on Amazon. Here’s one of the critical reasons (not among my four below) to do the work to gather and encourage book reviews. According to bestselling author and psychologist Robert Cialdini (Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion), 98% of people who purchase a product (not just a book) online have read a review before they buy it. I hope this statistic pushes you to do more to gather book reviews for your books—but also write reviews for other people. Your actions make a difference.

Recently I noticed a short video from one of my author friends. She was headed to a bookstore for an event and book signing. As I watched her video, it was news for me that the author even had a book. I went over to Amazon, the largest online bookstore on the planet, and typed her name into the search tool. In an instant, I found several new books which had been released about two months earlier.

Immediately I noticed the incomplete Amazon listing. The page had no book cover, no detailed information about the book and no book reviews. I hope this author had gathered a good crowd at her book signing (which can be lonely experiences). I’m still amazed at the lack of reviews because this person “should” have known the importance of book reviews on Amazon but had zero reviews. It sends out the wrong message when people view the book on Amazon. I want to highlight four reasons book reviews make a difference.

1. Shows Others Are Reading Your Book. When I go to the book page on Amazon and it has no reviews (or only three or four), it makes me wonder if others are buying and reading the book.

Sometimes there are many reviews on the Amazon page for another reason. For example, journalist Megyn Kelly released her book, Settle for More. I listened to the audio book. Two or three days after the book was released, I went to the Amazon page, there were over 200 reviews. Many of the reviews were one or two stars and obviously from people who disliked Kelly and had not read or heard any of her book. Amazon has recently cracked down on these reviews. I reviewed the audio book and posted it on Amazon, but my review was not “a verified purchase” since I didn’t buy the book on Amazon. I looked for my Five Star review of Kelly’s book and Amazon has removed it—the first time this has happened to me that I know about. With all of the controversy tied to this book, I can see how removing reviews which were not purchased directly on Amazon was a way to thin out the reviews.

2. Prove You are Promoting Your Book. It’s one step to publish your book (traditional or self-published). Every author needs to be promoting your book and if you have reviews (positive and negative but honest), it is proof of your marketing efforts.
3. Encourage Additional Book Sales. Millions of customers are buying books every day on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book.com and other websites. Reviews help those customers’ buying decisions.
4. Show You Have On-going Readers. Maybe your book has been out for a while. Is it getting new book reviews? If so, these reviews are proof that people continue to gain value from your book. A few weeks ago, Brent Sampson, founder of Outskirts Press reviewed my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. While Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams has been out for several years, a new review shows readers the book is continuing to help others. As you read or listen to books, you can still write a review on Amazon and Goodreads (even if you did not buy the book there). I encourage you to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. It’s a simple way you can support others through writing honest reviews.

Your Call to Action

Thousands of new books are published every day. This number includes the self-published books, but it is a massive amount of new material entering the marketplace.  I love books and I’ve been publishing for years because books change lives. In addition, each of us as readers and writers has influence in our world. What actions are you going to take to write more reviews of books that you read? What actions are you going to take to encourage others to write reviews? If you take action, you can make a difference, but you have to take action. What steps are you going to take?

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com