One great way to keep your website interactive and reader-friendly is to include testimonials from actual readers on your author website. Not to mention the fact that new visitors are more likely to buy your book when they see that others have enjoyed it.
But that’s easier said than done… after all, how do you get readers to send you testimonials, anyway?
Here are a few ideas for doing just that:
1. Scour Amazon: There may be a reader testimonial or review of your book submitted on Amazon. Keep your eye on your Amazon page and feel free to grab any reader review (or segment of a review) and duplicate it on your website.
2. Remind readers to review your book. I like to recommend that we include a “call-out” on every author website encouraging readers to submit their own comments for possible inclusion on the site. Most people would not even think of submitting their own testimonials unless you put the idea in their minds.
3. Pose questions on your blog. Use your blog to pose questions to readers about what they thought of your book. You can ask general questions, like “Did you like it?” or more specific questions, like “What did you think of the surprising twist at the end?” Any interesting responses can be duplicated as reader reviews elsewhere on the site.
4. Offer rewards. If none of the above methods seem to work for you, then it’s time to pull out the big guns. Have a contest on the site where you ask people to submit their own reviews of the book. You could offer a free, autographed copy of the book (or some other goodie) to anyone who submits a review. Just be careful … there could be some legal pitfalls with this. For instance, does a two-word review count? What about a scathing review?
Reader reviews are well worth the effort, so do what you can to get them. And if you have any other ideas on how to get them streaming in, please do share them here.
Happy New Year, all!