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Reach Your Audience Through Book Reviews

Book reviews are one of the best ways to get the word out about your new book. They are essential to every author’s marketing strategy and prove you are reaching your target audience. Booksellers also use them to gauge readership interest.

How Can Book Reviews Help?

Close to 900,000 new books (both print and e-books) were published. Cutting through all that clutter to gain a reader’s attention is what a good review does. Although it is rare for reviews and word of mouth to propel a book to best-seller status, it does sometimes happen. A good example of this is 50 Shade of Grey, which started out as an e-book and print-on-demand offering. The online buzz ignited the book’s sales, catapulting it into the hands of readers everywhere, not to mention into a movie deal.

What are Book Review Blogs?

A book review blog is a gathering place for book lovers. It is the internet’s version of a book club, just with more reach. Many such blogs cover industry news as well as writing advice and opinions. Subscribers of this type of blog narrow down their reading selection by perusing the many reviews on-site, and this exposes authors’ works to a wider audience.

How to Find the Right Review Blog for Your Book

Blog Nation and Book Blogger List have compiled a catalog of blog sites that accept books for review. Many of these blogs have passionate fan bases that possess clear understandings of their genres. These are the readers you need in your corner; a mention from them gets your name spread to other potential readers.

Research Review Blogs

Many book review blogs do not charge for their services but require that you meet certain qualifications to pitch your story. Start a list of blogs you want to approach, and use that as part of your marketing plan. Include blogs outside of the book world that share the same interests expressed in your book. They may also want to review your work for their site. Before you submit your book for review, find out how many subscribe to the blog, as well as the size of the blog’s social media following.

Offer Your Work up for Review

Book review blogs are your way to tap into a legion of potential readers whom you otherwise wouldn’t reach. Reviews widen the scope of your audience. They introduce new fans to your work and entice them to follow your career. Book reviews are key to your marketing plan’s success, so share your book with these blogs. Open your world to their passionate readers and their opinions.

What Can You Expect from a Book Review?

Don’t expect overnight success. You are building a brand, and that takes time. What you want is name recognition and more readers visiting your author page or website. Your book sales probably won’t soar because of a book review, but don’t lose hope; you will add new followers to your social media pages and will increase your mailing list. Slow and steady wins this race.

Why Dog Ear?

With more than 50 years of traditional publishing experience, Dog Ear Publishing understands what it takes to get your book in front of the right audience. We can assist in marketing your book to your target readers. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will guide you throughout the publishing process and help you achieve the results you desire. If you want your book to be a quality reflection of who you are as an author, visit our website at dogearpublishing today and take control of your publishing destiny.