The Land of 10,000 Reviews
We’ve probably all gotten a request from a writer to do a review.
Clearly, people believe that reviews equal sales…you know, unless they just genuinely want the criticism. ;)
However, when we look at the books with the most reviews at Amazon (I figured out and reported on a way to sort search results by most reviews here: New search tip: sort by Most Reviews), you’ll find that they don’t match up with Amazon’s
USA Kindle Store E-book Bestsellers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)
The reason for that is pretty simple.
Reviews are forever. ;)
Well, not quite forever….sometimes, rarely, a review is removed from a Kindle book.
Amazon may do that if they suspect a financial or other inappropriate connection between the reviewer and the publisher/author.
Amazon completely has the right to do that, of course…contrary to what you might hear, that has nothing to do with free speech.
Free speech has to do with what the government can restrict…not what a business decides to do.
A store doesn’t have to carry your book; Amazon doesn’t have to run your review.
That said, Amazon tends to be pretty unfiltered in terms of reviews, from what I’ve seen. If they were eliminating them to boost sales (getting rid of negative ones), or because of writing quality (don’t get me started), you wouldn’t see a lot of what you see now.
I do use Amazon reviews, but not necessarily at face value.
I’m getting some home automation for the first time, to get the experience of that with our
Amazon Echo (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)
and a reviews said that one outlet had such a bright “ready light” that the reviewer wouldn’t put it in a bedroom. I have extra good night vision (possibly related to my color vision deficiency), and that would likely bother me, so I got something else.
That was useful. :)
No, reviews don’t tend to be removed…so if you have over 10,000 reviews at Amazon (which is true of fewer than 100 books in the USA Kindle store), you also need longevity.
I say “also” because you need both: engagement and longevity.
So, the books in the 10,000 plus club include Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and 50 Shades of Grey…all of which were on the bestseller list for some time, and all of which are still selling.
I’d say there are a few other factors:
- Books with media tie-ins, especially movies, tend to have more reviews
- Books aimed at younger readers (not children necessarily, but Millenials and younger) also get more…I think that group has more online social engagement
- The books tend to be newer…even if you love a book you read twenty years ago, you aren’t likely to write a review at Amazon
I may add to this post later today with more specifics, but I did want to share this awareness now. :)
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* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. 
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.
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