Hi all!
This week I'm going to talk about another marketing tool, giving out copies of your book in exchange for reviews. Although I've never done this myself, I have been given a few books in exchange for an honest review. It's good to drum up reviews when you need them, as many promotion sites won't advertise your book unless you have a certain number of reviews.
Pros.
More reviews.
This is the obvious one. The more reviews your book has the better it looks to prospective readers. Not all of those reviews have to be positive either, having a few different reviews shows that it's not just your friends and family rating it.
Advertising.
You can use these reviews to advertise your book. As I said earlier, a few promotion sites won't even look at you without a specific number of reviews. Some even ask for 25+ with an average of 3.5 stars. Giving your book out can help you get some of those reviews.
Getting a range of opinions.
Your book will look more professional to new readers when it has more reviews. Some readers buy books based on reviews alone, so having a range of them can help you.
Extract of a review from entering the Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Cons.
You may not be able to afford it.
Especially giving out paperback copies. Ebooks are easier to give out than paperback, as you can just email it straight to the reviewer. With paperback you have to purchase an author copy and mail it to the reviewer all out of your own pocket.
There's a chance you won't get a review.
Despite giving the book out, the person may never read it. If they do, there's a chance they won't review it. Then you've given a book away for free and received nothing in return.
Not all the reviews will be good.
Asking people to give an honest review means what it says on the tin, honest. If they don't really read books in your genre or don't like of they are required to say so. Be prepared to get some reviews that not are glowing five stars.
People who love freebies are more likely to be receiving books than regular readers.
People who only seek free books are more likely to approach you for a free copy in exchange for a review. Just be careful as these people usually receive books in bulk and rate them lower due to the tiniest things.
That's it for this week! I hope this has helped those who are considering giving books out for reviews. See you next week!
