Make it easier for readers by giving them a direct Amazon review link they can use to write an honest reader review.

I’ve created a short video that shows how to send them directly to the review form for your book on Amazon.

Finding your direct Amazon review link

All it takes is a few clicks. Here’s how to do it:

Abbreviated transcript/instructions:

1. On your book’s sales page, go to the review stars at the top under the book title. (No reviews yet? I cover that later in the video.)
2. Hover your mouse over the stars. Click on “see all customer reviews.” That takes me down the page to my reviews.
3. Underneath the summary of reviews, you’ll see the option to “review this product.” Click on “write a customer review.” It takes your readers to the review template. This is where readers review your book.
4. To share that specific link, go to top of your screen and copy the URL. Use a URL shortener (I use bit.ly but there are others) to make a shorter version.
5. When you don’t have reviews already, from your sales page, scroll down to customer reviews. (You’ll still have the customer review section.) You’ll see the “write a customer review” link. Click on that.
6. Copy that URL and shorten it.
7. Share the link with readers. In particular, include it when you give them the Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Form.
8. Add it to the end of your book so readers can click on it in the e-version or  type it into a browser for the print version.

Why this is important

Like it or not, reader reviews are the “social proof” readers look for when making a decision about buying a book.

Most authors struggle to get reviews, so the easier you make it for readers to write a short, honest, and meaningful review, the more likely they will be to support you with a review.

For help finding readers who write reviews, be sure to read “9 places to look for readers to write reviews” on this site.

What’s your best tip for getting reader reviews? Please tell us in a comment! 

They’re the social proof you need to convince people to buy your books.

But did you know you can make glowing reviews work harder for you?

Give your five-star reviews new life by incorporating them into your book marketing and promotion campaigns and material. Here are nine ways to use reader reviews in book marketing. You can get started using them immediately.

EDITED TO ADD: Helpful commenters below remind us that the reviewer owns the copyright on the review, so ask for permission before using it.

1. Add them to social media headers.

Use one (or two!) in your Facebook page cover image, Twitter and LinkedIn headers, and Instagram profile.

Here’s how Jamie Jo Hoang showcases a starred Kirkus review of Blue Sun, Yellow Sky in her Twitter header.

2. Showcase them on your website.

Where you place them on your site depends on your site design and purpose, but many authors can find a home for a good review next to a book cover image on the home page.

Do you have a page on your site for each of your books? Add the positive reviews there, too, in a large font.

3. Create quote cards with them.

I’m a big fan of using quote cards (also known as “image quotes“) to share good news on social media. They’re perfect for every social network you use.

I created several from the positive reviews of the new Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Forms. Here are two of them.

Here’s one for The Wife Between Us. (Scroll down the page at that link, too, to see more of them that the publisher created.)

Create them using Canva.com or with a smartphone app that combines images and text. I like using WordSwag.

4. Print them on bookmarks.

Bookmarks are probably the most commonly used book marketing materials. They’re easy to create today, thanks to online services that include Moo.com (affiliate link).

A pithy reader review quote is one of my top five elements for a bookmark. The others are the book title, cover image, your name, and your website URL.

5. Add them to postcards.

No, printed postcards are not passé. Because more and more (and more and more) marketers have shifted away from postal mail to email marketing, printed marketing materials get noticed in a traditional mailbox.

Yours will make the best impression possible when you include a glowing reader review. You can order them online with VistaPrint (search online for a coupon code to use with your order) and Moo.com (affiliate link).

6. Add them to the back pages of subsequent books.

Each time you write a book, add reviews of earlier books to the back. This will help readers discover your “backlist” — your older books.

If you are stopping at one book, but will publish an updated edition, add those reviews to the front of the newest version. They will add the social proof you need for someone flipping through your book in a physical store or online.

7. Use them to improve your book’s description.

Did a reviewer describe your novel’s character in a positive, memorable way?

Did a reader add an observation about your credibility and expertise to a nonfiction book review?

When it makes sense, update your online description with this new information. For example, if a reader describes your twenty-something amateur sleuth protagonist as “a millennial Nancy Drew,” use it in the book’s description.

In the mid-1990s, when a journalist described me as “the Ermba Bombeck of the ’90s,” the publisher added that phrase to my first book’s back cover description.

8. Incorporate them into your next book’s marketing campaign.

Readers considering your new book are influenced by what others have said about your previous works.

Use that to your advantage by adding positive reviews on earlier books to:

• The inside pages of your newest book
• Printed marketing materials such as bookmarks and postcards
• Website
• Facebook page

Introduce those reviews with this simple sentence: “Here’s what readers have said about (AUTHOR NAME)’s previous books.”

9. Let them guide what you write in your next book.

Reader feedback can provide important insights into what your fans want from you.

For example, if readers adore one of your secondary characters, you can capitalize on that by giving her a bigger role in your next book.

Perhaps fans of your instant pot cookbook rave about your vegetarian recipes more than anything else. Give them a vegetarian instant pot cookbook, too.

Need help getting those reviews? You’ll love the Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Forms. There’s one for fiction, another for nonfiction.

Each is a simple, easy-to-use fill-in-the-blanks form that you give to readers to help them write more reviews. Buy one form; share it with as many readers as you want. Learn more on the Reader Book Review Form information page.

How do you use your favorite reader reviews? Please tell us in a comment. 

“Social proof” is marketer-speak for public evidence that people won’t be wasting their money if they buy your book.

That evidence comes from reader reviews on retail sites that include Amazon and Goodreads, testimonials and endorsements on your website, and book information shares on social media sites.

When positioning yourself as a topic authority, it extends beyond book feedback to how often people share content you create and what they say about it, too.

Social proof for authors is important

Because there are now so many opportunities for readers to provide public feedback, this kind of social proof has become important.

For example, I loved my friend Laura Laing’s book, Math for Writers: Tell a Better Story, Get Published, Make More Money, so after I “blurbed” it, I shared the news on social networking sites. In each case, I shared an image of my blurb and included a link to more information about the book.

I do this all the time for books I like. I hope it helps add to that book’s “social proof.”

Social proof checklist

Social proof for authors takes many forms. It’s the:

• Reader reviews on retail sites.
• Media/trade/literary reviews of your book written by review professionals.
• Comments on your blog posts that tell others that people are paying attention to what you’re saying.
• Number of times the information on your website (most likely your blog posts) gets shared by others.
• Opt-in newsletter mailing list size.
• Testimonials from fans.
• Endorsements from people who influence your target audience.
• View counts on your videos.
• Number of connections you have in social media networks.
• Interviews you’ve done with the press and others.
• Badges you can add to your site if your book has won an award.

It can be a little overwhelming, can’t it?

Unfortunately, when you’re marketing a book, you’re running a little business. There are lots of pieces to that little business — and doing as much as you can to reassure customers with social proof is one of those pieces that has an impact.

Fortunately, you can generate and leverage social proof pretty easily.

8 easy ways to present social proof

Here are eight easy-to-implement ideas for showcasing your social proof :

1. Provide content that people will want to share.

Maybe it’s images that people will want to Pin on Pintere  it’s informational blog posts. It could be a killer excerpt from your book, or a free download. But before you can get people talking publicly about your book and information related to it, you have to give them something worth talking about.

2. Add a “share” plugin to your blog.

This shows visitors that others are reading and sharing your comments. I love how mine (AddThis) floats alongside the post so you can share content with your networks whether you’re at the beginning, middle, or end of a post.

3. Make sure your share plugin shows numbers.

There’s no social proof when we don’t know how many people have “liked” your information on Facebook or tweeted it. Social proof needs numbers.

4. Gather and add testimonials to your website.

When someone writes to tell you how much they liked your book, ask for permission to quote them on your site. If you don’t have unsolicited testimonials, reach out to those you know have read your book and ask for them.

5. Ask a question at the end of each blog post.

This helps generate comments and discussion. Reply to each comment because it’s the courteous and appropriate thing to do, but also because it increases the total number of comments.

6. Make sure comments on your blog can be seen by others.

I’ve visited several author blogs recently where the comments are hidden. What’s the point of that? Don’t make people jump through hoops to comment (I’ve seen that, too) or to read the comments of others.

7. Use your social networks to drive the traffic to your site.

The more people who know about and see your content, the more likely  you are to benefit from shares and comments.

8. Provide social proof to other authors.

We reap what we sow. Comment on the content of other sites, share their information, pin their pics. Those authors will repay the favor.

What’s your next step?

You’re probably doing some of this already and just need to add a plugin, make a few changes, or make this more of a priority. Is there anything more you can do?

It’s something I work on constantly. Here’s a quick look at some of the things I do — and I’m sure there’s lots of room for improvement:

• I share links to my blog posts on social media using my site’s social sharing bar. (Finding a reliable blog plug-in for social sharing is an ongoing struggle, though. I’ve had to replace mine at least twice, and still have glitches from time to time. Got any suggestions?)
• When my content gets shared on Twitter, I thank the poster and re-tweet as often as I can without being obnoxious.
• I respond to all blog comments so that people providing that type of social proof know how much I appreciate their thoughts and opinions.
• If someone emails me about how much they like my site, newsletter, or one of my products, I ask if I can use the feedback as a testimonial.
• When I’m a guest on someone’s blog or podcast, I share the link on social media. That helps others see that I’m open to sharing what I know while it helps send visitors to my host’s site.

I need to get better at sharing milestones that could include an unusually high number of Pinterest pin shares, or steady growth of the Build Book Buzz Facebook book marketing group.

For you, it might be achieving a certain number of reader reviews, the number of times your book has been added to shelves on Goodreads, or hitting a target number of book sales or downloads.

Examine what you’re doing now; assess what you can add or improve. Social proof is necessary and important. Make sure you’re demonstrating it.

What social proof do you provide now on your website? What do you plan to add?

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2012. It has been updated and expanded.)

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

For the lovely month of June, it’s the printable Pocket Goddess Gratitude Diary from Leonie Dawson, one of my favorite digital product creators.

When things get a little crazy (as they did for me late last week . . . ), I need to slow down, take a deep breath, and count my blessings. Maybe you do, too?

I thought that if this neat little gift will help me, it might help you, too! Don’t wait to download and start using your copy!