By Glen Hopkins
 Your prospects are looking for information, and Amazon is one place they turn to in order to find that information. But how do they know which books to choose?
Books, especially self-published books being sold on Amazon, need credibility the same way sales letters need testimonials. That's what reviews are: testimonials for books. Shoppers rely on these reviews to make their buying decisions.
In stores, they can see the book, flip through the pages and make a confident decision about whether or not it's worth the price. Buying a book on Amazon, however, is a little riskier if you've never heard of or seen the book anywhere else.
You can help lessen that risk by providing reviews of books in your niche.
Anybody can choose to review a book and have that review posted at the bottom of the sales page for that book. Along with that post is the reviewer's name and a link to "see all my reviews."
That's right. Book reviewers get their own home page on Amazon that lists
all their reviews along with a personal profile and their Amazon ranking.
Just like with their books, Amazon has a ranking system for their reviewers. Ranks are based on the number of reviews a person posts as well as how helpful readers found the reviews to be.
How does any of this help you bring traffic to your site? Well, if you provide a good review for a book in your niche, you help targeted prospects decide whether or not to buy the book.
If your review of a good book provides a comprehensive summary and shows how the reader can benefit from buying the book, they are grateful for the advice. If your review of a bad book helps them decide not to buy, they are grateful to you for saving them both time and money.
Either way, they're grateful!
They like what you had to say, so they visit your home page to see what else you have reviewed. On that page, you get to include information about yourself and a link to your site.
Becoming an Amazon book reviewer costs you nothing and is as simple as clicking on the "Write Your Own Review" at the bottom of the page of any book. All you have to do is fill in the form, and you are officially a book reviewer.
Here are tips to making this traffic tactic work for you:
1. Read books in your niche, then write a paragraph or two about the book. The best reviews are 75-300 words and tell why you did or did not like the book and why. Focus on the book's content and context.
2. Include as much information about yourself as possible on your reviewer profile page. This helps the readers come to know, like and trust you. You're establishing rapport with them before they even reach your main site!
3. Tell why you're an expert on your profile page. Sharing about your business explains why you are qualified to review such books.
4. Be authoritative. Give specific, helpful information. The more specific you are about your reasons for liking or disliking the book, the more helpful your reviews will be. The more helpful your reviews, the more the reader of the review will like you and want to learn more about you.
5. Providing good reviews makes the reader obligated to give something back to you. He'll feel obligated to read your profile and then visit your site. It's the principle of reciprocity at work. You give freely of your expertise, and you'll get traffic.
6. Review as many books as possible. The more reviews you have on your Amazon home page, the more credible you appear as a reviewer.
7. Don't review anything you haven't read!
Increased traffic isn't the only way you benefit when you review books on Amazon. You also increase your knowledge. You need to be reading, learning and growing in your area of expertise anyway. The more you know, the more value you'll be able to deliver to your customers.
Plus writing about the book locks in the learning. When you read knowing you have to share what the basic concept of the book is, you read with a purpose and get more out of the learning process.
Finally, when you are a book reviewer, you learn who your competition is and find potential partners. You can contact the authors and possibly create Joint Ventures with them. And that can lead to a massive flow of traffic to your site.
Glen Hopkins is a Best-Selling Author, Information Marketer, Speaker, and Consultant. Glen specializes in teaching struggling entrepreneurs how to turn their small Online businesses into thriving money machines using specific systems that will allow you to work less and earn more. Get his List Building Report and Web Traffic CD (valued at $97) for FREE at http://www.GlenHopkins.name
For Website Marketing: Back-Door Strategies to Stand Out From The Crowd
By Cathy Goodwin
 As a web site marketer these days, in the 21st century, you have to work harder than ever to stand out from the pack. Everybody's sending out ezines. Nearly all of us hold teleseminars.
Add your ezine and teleseminar and you're joining a parade down Main Street. Sometimes you can generate leads even more effectively if you also run through the alleys and knock on back doors.
Often these back-door "sneaky" strategies seem too easy to be effective. But simplicity can be deceptive. You need to plan carefully to avoid wasting time. Used incorrectly, the back-door approach can backfire. You have to play by rules that change overnight and that aren't easy to figure out.
Strategy #1: Contribute to a discussion list related to your topic.
For lead generation, join a group whose membership matches your target market as closely as possible. Choosing the right group can be challenging. For example, you may be eligible to join a forum after attending a workshop or purchasing a manual. Or you may pay to join a mentoring group. These groups create forums and discussion lists directly related to your interests, but moderators tend to be extremely cautious about self-promotion.
You can also search through yahoo or google for groups. For example, you can search on "professional women discussion list" or "work at home dads discussion list." Some websites feature lists of discussion groups, often arranged by topic. Searching through listings takes time but, with patience, can produce some good results.
Tips:
Once you join a forum or discussion lists, it's a good idea to "lurk" for awhile. Get a sense of the group's mood and style. Introduce yourself. Evaluate your responses. If you sense a lack of interest (and occasionally even hostility), consider withdrawing from the group.
The challenge is to draw a fine line between contributing proactively and becoming a nuisance. Success depends on finding just the right blend of asking questions and providing expertise.
Example 2: Write reviews for online bookstores.
As an avid and eclectic reader, I began writing reviews for one of the online bookstores. Originally, I was just having fun and actually felt guilty for taking time from my "real" work. I wrote about everything: mysteries, business books, nonfiction.
To my surprise, these book reviews began to attract subscribers, clients and invitations to be interviewed by professional reporters and writers. Recently one of my reviews was quoted in a blog, giving me valuable (and totally unexpected) publicity.
When these readers came, they were highly motivated. Unlike readers of ezines, they were prepared to pay or resources. After all, bookstores don't give away books! I suspect many hold a credit card in one hand as they surf with the other.
Tips:
Choose best-selling books related to your topic -but not exclusively.
Write carefully, using correct grammar and style. I've found that I get the most response by being edgy but thoughtful, and not too long or too short.
Follow the guidelines concerning what you can disclose about your business. Your review can be edited or removed entirely if you appear to be selling or if you use inappropriate words.
Bottom Line: Often we find our most successful back-door strategies by accident. But applying those strategies callsapplyin for planning, flexibility and responsiveness to change.
FREE 7 Best-Kept Secrets of Websites That Really Attract Clients: My Special Report gives you insider tips to convert tire-kickers to buyers and earn money while you sleep. From Cathy Goodwin, The Content Strategist, at Website Marketing Strategies
Book Reviews Book Reviews Sell Books
By Reader views
 Every author wants glowing book reviews with quotable sentences to use as testimonials. A good review makes readers flock to the bookstore to buy the book.
But how do authors get their books reviewed? While the process is not difficult, the book review industry is changing. Todays authors must designate a portion of their marketing budget for book reviews, and they must know how to use those book reviews to sell books.
Why Are Book Reviews Important?
More than 200,000 books are published each year. Less than 2% of those books sell more than 500 copies. Weve all heard the saying, So many books. So little time. People dont want to waste time or money reading books they wont enjoy, so they rely on book reviews to help them make buying decisions. Your book will stand out if it receives positive reviews from reliable reviewers.
Where Do I Get a Book Review?
There are five top book reviewers: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, Midwest Book Review, and The New York Times; however, if youre self-published, it is unlikely your book will be reviewed by any of them. Reviews from local newspapers and magazines will only help you sell books locally. Furthermore, print publications are phasing out book reviews. So where can an author still get a good book review? The Internet.
Online book reviews are becoming standard, and your books review will reach a wider audience on the Internet. Online reviews level the playing field for self-published authors. Today, people are less inclined to read paper magazines and newspapers. They go online for information. Reviews posted at Amazon and other online sites are more accessible than print reviews. Reader Views and RebeccasReads are examples of reliable online book reviewers of both traditional and self-published books.
Free vs. Paid Reviews
Authors generally expect free book reviews; that was standard in the twentieth centuryadvertisements paid for the book reviews in print media. Today, however, authors must cover the cost of book reviews. A book reviewer may spend hours reading a book and writing a review, and he deserves compensation for his work. Consequently, authors must budget for the cost of book reviews. Authors are recommended to budget for mailing out a minimum of twenty books for review.
How Do Paid Book Reviews Work?
Paid reviews have multiple advantages. Most publications that offer free reviews do not guarantee a book review because of the volume of books submitted. Only by paying for a review can one be guaranteed. Reputable book reviewers will provide a review within a specific timelinetwo weeks is standard. They will also provide a review tear-sheet for your use, and give you permission to quote the review, provided you credit them. Many reviewers will also post your review online at such places as their own website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ezine Articles, Goodreads and Authors Den.
Several online book reviewers, such as Reader Views, will give you the option of a free or paid book review. Reader Views will review the book for free provided one of their reviewers is interested in it. If no one opts to review it after three months, the book is returned without a review. If authors do not want to wait three months for a review, an express review can be purchased to guarantee a review within two weeks.
Several book reviewers, including Reader Views, also offer various publicity packages ranging from a single book review, to written and podcast radio interviews, virtual book tours, and book videos. Such packages allow authors the opportunity to get book reviews and publicity within their budget.
Just because you pay for a book review does not mean a good review is guaranteed. It is better to receive an honest review than one that gives false praise. The reviewers reputation is at stake here; readers will not appreciate being misled to waste their time and money on a book that does not meet their expectations.
How Do I Use a Book Review to Sell Books?
Before you do anything with your book review, make sure you know what permissions the reviewer has given you for using the review. Are you allowed to use it in whole or only a certain percentage? Can you reprint it or quote from it?
Once you know your rights, some suggestions for using the review to help sell books are:
Post it to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ezine Articles, Authors Den, Goodreads, Myspace etc. if the reviewer has not already done so.
Quote from the review on your book cover and the inside end papers. (If your book is already printed, use the review when you run a second printing).
Include the review in your press kit to gain more media attention.
Post and distribute the review at your book signings.
Post the review on your website.
Send copies of the review in your email newsletters.
Final Comments
More information about book reviews will be covered in future articles. But for now, here are a couple closing points:
1.Be professional. Send the reviewer a thank you note. Whether you receive a positive or negative review, the reviewer has done you a favor. The reviewers comments will help you improve your next book or the next edition of your book. Even a negative review can be used to build a positive relationship with a reviewer, who will appreciate your professionalism. The book world is a small place and you do not want word to spread that you are difficult. Seek to build long-term relationships with book reviewers, and through them, with your reading audience.
2.Be prepared for the book review to increase your book sales! A good review is worthless if you do not have copies of books to sell. Be prepared to fulfill your book orders so your customers are satisfied. After all, you want your book to be a bestseller!
Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. is the Associate Editor at Reader Views, he has interviewed over 130 authors, written more than 50 book reviews, and edited and evaluated manuscripts for publication. Reader Views is one of the most respected and fastest growing online author publicity services today. For more information visit www.readerviews.com.
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