Q&A: Do online book reviews really help publicize my book?

QUESTION: I read your guide to getting reviews by the top Amazon reviewers. I immediately contacted the top 30 reviewers who I thought might have an interest in my book. A Top 10 and a Top 20 reviewer each requested a copy, which I find very encouraging.

My question: How do reviews from top Amazon Top Reviewers translate into book sales if book readers are unaware of the existence of the book?

ANSWER: I think of this as an art, not a science. The primary benefit of having good online book reviews is it builds credibility for your book. Reviews from Top Reviewers tend to be well-written and influential and they're often chosen by Amazon for the Spotlight position.

Amazon shoppers aren't going to discover your book from perusing book reviews written by Top Reviewers or anyone else. Online reviews don't generate awareness of a book. But once the buyer is looking, reviews help the buyer make his or her decision.

Credible reviews will give some of those browsers a compelling reason to buy your book. If those reviews convert just a small portion of browsers into buyers, you'll rack up healthy sales over time.

But you're absolutely right, people have to become aware of the book, otherwise there's nobody visiting the page and nobody to convert. So in that sense, this is a technique that's most effective if you already have a successful marketing campaign that's resulting in exposure for your book.

Amazon reviews are just one part of a multi-pronged approach. One or two book-marketing techniques probably won't do much for you. Work on a dozen techniques simulataneously, and you'll start getting somewhere.