Reviews help to sell books; this is a known fact. Potential readers will look for reviews when choosing a book and this will help guide them in choosing whether to purchase or not. A book with ten 5-star reviews as opposed to a book with none will sell more copies based upon this fact, therefore reviews do help to gain interest - but the question really is should you ask for them? Well, the answer is yes, and in particular quality professional reviews really do help to sell books. The problem for many authors is that they do not like to ask for reviews as this somehow seems underhand, but it is not. People will in all likelihood be willing to help you and provide a review, and they get a free book in the process.
The next question is where do you go to find reviewers? There are a number of options.
Amazon's Top 1000 Reviewers is a good starting place as all reviewers are well respected and trusted. So request a review and see what happens.
Seek out publications that deal with your own book subject and request a review from them.
It is also well worth checking out the local press. Many local newspapers have a book section in which they print reviews. Find the editor’s name and contact them, asking if they could review your book. It is also a good idea to send a press release detailing your book’s title, ISBN and offering a free copy of the book.
Conduct an internet search of “book reviewers” and see what comes up, but steer clear of any who claim to be paid reviewers as you are more likely to get an honest review from a reviewer who is not paid but who is willing to read a free book and help out the author.
Every author should be a member of Goodreads. They can post their published books as a Goodreads author, that is free to set up, and people can post reviews and star ratings. You are able to contact friends on your friend list and ask them for a review of your book. One way of doing so is by initiating a free book giveaway, especially useful if you have an eBook. Your friends can download and read your book for free and then post a review. You then can also return the favour and review your fellow authors’ books.
As well as asking for professional Amazon reviews, you can also ask people who have read your book to pop a review on the site. Again, this all helps to steer readers towards your book.
What is an even better marketing strategy is that of getting people to read an advanced copy and place a review onto your website, Goodreads and Amazon sites. An "advance review copy” of your book will help to generate a book buzz before it is even published.
So, authors, please don’t be shy about asking for reviews.
