This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
A listener is self-publishing her book on Kindle Direct Publishing and hopes to drum up reviews. She understands how important it is to have some reviews, especially in the beginning, but she's wondering, can she contact customers who've left reviews for other authors in the same genre? Now she'll explain a little bit more in her question. First of all, welcome to Side Hustle School. I'm so glad you're here.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. Every single day I'm making this podcast. I've been doing it since January 1, 2017. It's for people like you who are busy, have a lot of responsibility, a lot of stuff going on, but like the idea of creating more than one source of income, like the idea of building some dependents away from their employer, who like the idea of being able to pursue a creative project, do something they enjoy, perhaps write a book in this case, but also get paid for it. So that's the common thread.
That's what links everybody who's part of this community. If you have just recently stumbled upon Side Hustle School, I am so glad, as I said, I'm so glad you're listening. Thank you for being part of it. I hope it's gonna be helpful and interesting and inspiring to you over time. So can you give people a book in exchange for reviews?
That's what we're talking about. I have several thoughts on this. So let's hear from our listener after this quick shout out to our sponsor. Thank you, sponsor. Thank you, listeners.
[Music]
Hey there, Chris, this is Jamie from Oakland, and I found your show last year and have been enjoying the content and the puns. My question is, can I contact people who leave online reviews? I'm self-publishing a novel using Kindle Direct Publishing, and I have an idea to contact people who've left positive reviews for authors in a similar genre. Can I offer them a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review? It seems like they're the perfect readers for me, but I don't wanna get in trouble with Amazon.
Looking forward to hearing from you. [Music]
Hey, Jamie, thank you so much for listening. Congratulations on your upcoming book. A lot of our listeners have used Kindle Direct Publishing, and had a range of outcomes, just like anything else in life, right? Like some have done well, some have had some learning experiences from it.
So I wish you every success. And let's talk about reviews, 'cause it's really smart that Jamie's thinking ahead about how can she get reviews. Super important, especially in the beginning of a book launch or really any product on Amazon, even if you're selling something using the Fulfilled by Amazon platform. Reviews are everything, or maybe they're not everything, but they are a lot, okay? So will you get in trouble with Amazon for doing this?
Probably not. Amazon is really not going to care, especially if you're doing it on a very small scale, especially if you're asking for honest reviews, which Jamie mentioned. So that's not really my concern. However, there's a few challenges. The biggest challenge is it's a lot of work, okay?
Like I have a friend who's actually done this, and he wrote to me about it once, and he's like, look, look, Chris, here's this amazing process. He actually has written to a lot of different people and sent out free books, and has always been really clear and transparent about the process, not telling people what to say, et cetera. But still, I'm like, man, I'm glad that you got these reviews, but this is a lot of work, 'cause Amazon doesn't publish reviewers' contact info for obvious reasons, so you have to go and find that. Then most people you contact probably aren't going to reply. Many of them won't follow up, even if you send them a book.
And granted, the cost is lower with sending them a digital copy of the book than with sending them a physical copy, which is what my friend did. But still, it's a lot. And then speaking of, I had another conversation recently with a different author, and we were talking about reviews, and he said, it's like pulling teeth to get people to leave reviews. It's so, so difficult. And I was like, you know what, that's actually true.
I feel like this is something that has changed, despite the fact that it's easier than ever to leave ratings and reviews on platforms like Amazon. There must also be this kind of review fatigue that sets in, which I suppose I ordered my food from DoorDash or Uber Eats or one of those services just about every day, and they're always asking me to rate the driver and rate the restaurant. And I try to do that 'cause I know that reviews are important, but I realize I'm being asked for reviews all the time. So perhaps that's what it is. People are just resistant to it, so it takes some extra prodding and such.
So nothing wrong with prodding people, nothing wrong with trying to get as many reviews as you can. I just, I think it's gonna take some effort. Also, one more challenge here, Amazon gives much greater weight to people who have purchased the book or product through their platform. And that's why with every review, it will say verified buyer or something like that on a review when that person has actually purchased it. And in some cases, they might not even publish other reviews that don't go through their system.
And I wouldn't be surprised if it actually becomes a policy at some point, like every review posted on Amazon has to come from a verified purchase. So I don't think that has happened yet, at least not across the whole platform, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does at some point. Now, all that said, it is important to have a good number of reviews for your book. So if you're up for it, go for it. I just might start with a smaller circle.
I might start with some other people you know or any networks that you're in, forums or Facebook groups or other networks. There are a bunch of those out there. I might start with that first just because it might be a little bit easier. Well, that is my take on that. Thank you so much again, Jamie.
Thank you listeners, all of our listeners who are trying to write a book or pursue some creative project. I'm thinking of you, I'm cheering you on. Keep going. And if you have a question of your own, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. I'm excited to keep bringing them to you throughout the year and I hope you'll keep tuning in.
All right, that's all for today. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
