by Dan Walsh, @DanWalshAuthor

A few months ago, I reached a new milestone with one of my novels, Rescuing Finley. It broke the “1,000 mark” on Amazon, meaning it had received over 1,000 customer reviews. And it did so, maintaining a 4.8 Star average. It’s particularly satisfying for two reasons. First, the book has been out for only 2 years. And second, it was the very book my publisher had rejected (after publishing 12 others), saying they didn’t think the story would sell very well. I disagreed and thought my fans would love it, so this book solidified my decision to start writing as an indie.

But this post isn’t about me or some important personal milestone. It’s about the importance of customer reviews for authors. And why you should actively seek to increase yours (but only if they’re good ones). I am convinced, good reviews (and plenty of them) are a big factor in increasing book sales.

I mentioned my decision to start writing books as an indie. One reason I did was to have the freedom to market my books in more creative and effective ways…to try things my publisher simply wouldn’t do. Which introduces my first suggestion or tip. I’m a big advocate for the importance of Back Pages. I’m talking about the pages at the end of your book that follow after the reader finishes the last page of your story.

Think of these as the “Marketing Pages.” To me, they are every bit as important as the cover.

These pages should be all about keeping your reader engaged with you while their level of interest is high. If they loved the book (and if you make it very easy), many will do things like leave a positive review and/or read a sample chapter of your next book, and then order that book, too (if they like it and there’s a link provided right there).

So, one of my FIRST back pages is titled, “How You Can Help This Author.”

On that page, I take a few well-crafted paragraphs to thank them for reading the book and explain how important reader reviews are to book sales, and how important book sales are for me to be able to keep writing more books (just like the book they enjoyed. Then I politely ask them to consider writing a brief review (saying, even a few lines will help) and provide a link for them to click on, so they can do it now (again, while the interest is high).

Does this work? Apparently so. Rescuing Finley is Book 1 of a 3-book contemporary series. Book 2 already has over 300 reviews 18 months after its release (also averaging 4.8 Stars). Book 3 has 169 reviews just 7 months after its release (averaging 4.9 Stars). I started a second series in 2015 (romantic suspense – a new genre for me). Book 1 in that series, When Night Comes, has received 568 reviews so far, and Book 2 has 566 reviews. Book 3, Unintended Consequences, just came out 13 months ago and already has 270 reviews (avg 4.9 Stars).

Now, in an effort toward full disclosure, I must admit…several of my traditionally published novels have received over 400 customer reviews, some over 500. They don’t have effective “back page marketing” in place. But it’s also true that these novels have been out 5-7 years, or more. My indie novels (with the effective back pages) have been out for less than 2 years. I think this idea of inserting a specific page asking readers to write a review really matters.

Why is this so important? Because readers PAY ATTENTION to these reviews in a big way, especially when evaluating a book by an author they don’t know. I know I do. I don’t read all the reviews, but I always read at least a dozen or so to help me get a sense of whether this book will be a good fit for me, before I click on “Add to My Cart.” And I don’t just read reviews of books, but everything I buy online. A few months ago, we were shopping for a spa to help my wife with chronic back pain. I must have looked at 15-20 spa models online, and the decision about which one to buy (as well as ones to avoid) was heavily influenced by reading reader reviews.

Another thing that supports my belief in the “Power of the Review” (besides the back pages), is to always include a graphic that highlights these reviews in any ads or promos I create (see the jpg I created for Rescuing Finley). And I make a big fuss whenever I reach some new book review milestone on social media.

The final tip I’d like to offer is this: The best way to insure a reader will want to leave a positive review is to work hard to craft a great, climactic ending for your book. Nothing will generate strong motivation to leave a good review than a good book with a great ending.

Sadly, I’ve run out of time to explain anything more. I’ll pick up here next month.

Unintended Consequences (Jack Turner Suspense Series Book 3)