You add blurbs to the cover, online sales pages, and several other places where your target audience will see them.

Like reader reviews, they’re social proof that tells us that the book we’re thinking about buying is a safe purchase.

The “right” person is key

They only make a difference, though, if that endorsement is coming from the right person – someone with a logical connection to the book, the genre, or the topic.

Let’s say that you think you can secure an endorsement from someone you admire and respect but who has no connection to your topic and won’t be recognized by your ideal readers.

Should you ask that person to endorse your book?

I vote “no.”

An inappropriate endorsement:

1. Won’t help sales
2. Will confuse people
3. Takes up back cover space you can use for the book description

The reader reaction you want

You want meaningful testimonials from people your ideal readers admire and respect.

That means that when people in your target audience see your blurber’s name and credential (book title, job title, employer, etc.), they:

• Recognize the person’s name, or
• Recognize the organization the person works for, or
• Recognize the individual’s book title when the person is an author, or
• Respect the endorser’s credentials even if they don’t know their name, and
• Are impressed

The person you ask to endorse your book if it’s fiction isn’t the same as someone you’d ask for a nonfiction testimonial. Let’s break it down.

Fiction endorsers

The best fiction testimonial sources include:

• Well-known authors in your genre
• Lesser-known authors in your genre
• Trade/literary/media reviewers

If you write historical fiction, for example, your dream blurber might be Anita Diamant, author of The Red Tent or Lisa Wingate, who wrote Before We Were Yours and The Book of Lost Friends. Genre fans will most likely recognize their names.

You certainly know the names of authors in your genre who are not as successful or well-known, too. You want them on your list of potential blurbers because they will be more accessible than the genre stars.

Your list can include published fiction authors you know, as well.

Excerpts from editorial reviews generated by advance review copies sent to professional reviewers at magazines, newspapers, and respected online sites also qualify as influential blurbs.

Nonfiction endorsers

You have more options with nonfiction, but that doesn’t make it easier. Possibilities include:

• Recognized topic authorities
• Industry thought-leaders
• Satisfied customers who have applied principles outlined in the book
• High-ranking officials and executives
• Authors of other books on your topic
• Celebrities with a connection to the topic, which might be a disease, issue, cause, hobby, or location

It’s never too early to think about who these people might be, so start a file for them no matter where you are in the publishing process.

It’s a numbers game

How many people should you contact?

The answer depends on how many endorsements you want. Determine a reasonable and realistic number, then multiply that goal number by three.

You want to contact plenty of people because some won’t respond while others will decline.

What if you have a high goal and you hit it? No problem! Add them to the “Editorial Reviews” section of your Amazon sales page and the book’s inside front pages.

And don’t be concerned about the opposite – a less-than-thrilling response to your request. You only need one really good testimonial for the front or back cover.

Worst case scenario

What if nobody says “yes” and you’re left without any blurbs, endorsements, or testimonials?

That’s okay.

You won’t get the extra juice that comes with an endorsement, but there are worse things that can happen to your book.

They include doing nothing to promote it. Your book deserves marketing support, with or without endorsements. Keep working to make sure the people you wrote it for know about it.

Get your questions answered

Not sure how to research potential blurbers or ask for an endorsement? My popular training program, “Blurbs, Endorsements, and Testimonials: How to Get Experts, Authorities, Celebrities, and Others to Endorse Your Book,” includes everything you need to get the best book endorsement possible from important and respected people that your book’s readers like and admire.

Thanks to detailed instructions with examples, sample requests that worked, tracking files, and more, you’ll discover that getting a testimonial from people your readers respect is easier than you think! Learn more here.

Who’s your dream endorser? Tell us in a comment!

One of the best ways to do this is with images. (Yes, that’s an image of my dream book blurb on the right. It’s a corner of the cover for the first book I wrote, WHY CAN’T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN?)

Images built around book endorsements combine two things that get liked and shared the most on social networks:

1. Images
2. Quotations

When you overlay a pre-publication book blurb — also known as an endorsement or testimonial — on a photo or an illustrated backdrop, you generate an attention-getting image you can post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and elsewhere.

Because this presentation of your dream book blurb is visual, it will attract more attention and generate more interaction with you and your connections.

Tips for creating images with blurbs

During the teleseminar, we spent some time talking about two options for creating them — PicMonkey and InstaQuote — but there are many more. Get specifics on how to use these and other options from an earlier blog post, “How to create shareable images with quotes.”

Here’s one I’ve created in the InstaQuote app with a pre-publication blurb for Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book; the blurb is one of several showcased on the book’s sales page:

It took me less than two minutes to create. I spent more time playing with different fonts than I did anything else; if you’re more decisive, you’ll be able to do this in under 60 seconds.

Share your image!

Explore the options you can use to create your image on the how-to blog post mentioned above, then let it work hard for you by following these steps to share your blurb/image combo:

• Share it on the social networks popular with your book’s audience.
• Include a relevant comment when you share it. Maybe you want to tell people that you’re excited about this early feedback, note where on the cover you’ll use the blurb, or comment on the endorser’s impressive reputation. Is this your dream endorser? Say so!
• Whenever possible, tag the endorser in your comment accompanying the image so that person’s followers see the image, too.

Create a unique image with individual endorsements as they arrive in your inbox so you build a small image library of blurbs. On Facebook, collect them in a photo album; on Pinterest, create a board for them.

Interested in learning more about how to get influential pre-publication blurbs for your book? Listen to the recording of our free teleseminar online, then check out the endorsements for the Build Book Buzz training program, Blurbs, Endorsements, and Testimonials: How to Get Experts, Authorities, Celebrities, and Others to Endorse Your Book, on the course site.

Not planning ahead to make sure that you get them from the most impressive and influential people possible.

While you can completely “cold call” the rock stars of your genre or industry and get cover blurbs that will make your mother proud, you’ll have a greater success rate – and work half as hard at it – if you take a few steps in advance.

Why? Because you’re more likely to get a positive response from someone who knows your name than from someone who has never heard of you.

Here are three things you can do now that will pay off when you’re ready to make that important request.

1. Socialize online.

Connect on social media, but make sure that you’re using the right social media networks. Going after high-profile foodies or chefs? Look on Pinterest. Are the people who will blurb your book in the business world? Check out LinkedIn. Looking to connect with Millennials? Try Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr.

Follow them. Retweet or share what they share. Comment on their status updates and blog posts.

2. Socialize in person.

Is your dream blurber making a presentation near where you live? Attend it and introduce yourself before or after. Compliment the speaker and presentation in a follow-up e-mail, mentioning something specific that resonated with you.

Attend networking events where you might meet someone who will be an ideal endorser. Register for key conferences, seminars, and trade shows where you will meet the right people while you learn even more about your topic and audience.

3. Ask for introductions.

Do you know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody? Ask for an in-person or virtual introduction. (This is a particularly good approach when you want blurbs from celebrities and other famous people.)

Don’t even think of leveraging the introduction to request a favor immediately, though. Be generous with your time and information before ever expecting anything in return.

How do you start?

My  multi-media training program, “Blurbs, Endorsements, and Testimonials: How to Get Experts, Authorities, Celebrities, and Others to Endorse Your Book,” takes the guesswork, uncertainty, and mystery out of this important process and shows you how to get the blurbs of your dreams.

Step-by-step instructions, an insider interview about snagging celebrity endorsements, tracking files, and sample queries give you everything you need to succeed. Check it out — I think you’ll be surprised at all that the program offers for a super low price.

What’s holding you back from going after your dream endorsement? What’s your biggest obstacle?