Why Writing a Review is a Cool Thing to Do


writing a review

When you buy something on Amazon (or any other online retailer), do you skip reading the reviews, or do you use them to help you decide whether you should hit the “buy” button? Do you make a habit of writing a review for books, products, and services you buy?

Over 95% of us check the reviews before buying. In fact, if a product or business has at least 5 positive reviews, a customer is 4 times as likely to purchase than if there are fewer. [1] Yet, 31.5% of consumers say they never get around to writing a review.[2]  Reviews are important. They are important if you are a prospective customer and they are essential if you are an author or any other seller, online or in person.

So, writing a review is the right thing to do!

It helps people decide whether or not they want to spend their hard earned money on a given product. If there are two or more products that a buyer is trying to choose from, reviews will likely be the deciding factor.

Writing a review is a way to say, “thank you.”

Have you ever been really impressed with a product? Have you ever closed the cover of a book a little sad it was over, but so glad you were able to read it? Hard work goes into delivering that kind of product. Writing a review allows you to acknowledge those efforts and reward them. Most businesses and authors personally read the reviews that their customers write. As an author, I can tell you that it means a lot to me when people take the time to read my work and tell others what they think of it.

That’s actually a great way to look at writing a review. You are giving your opinion on something, just the same way you would recommend a book or product to a friend or family member—just the same way you would warn a family member or friend away from a lemon of a product or a snoozer of a book.

Negative Reviews

People are more likely to leave a review if their experience with a product or service is negative.  Yet, a lot of people hesitate to leave negative feedback, especially for a book. My husband is one of these people. He told me that he never leaves a negative review for a book, no matter how bad it is. He was concerned about the author’s feelings and earning potential and hadn’t thought about how valuable his review might be to prospective buyers. I completely understand this, but…

The author also has something to gain from a (well-written) negative review.

They can get insight into what works and what doesn’t work in their book. This information can be used to improve a revised edition of the book. It can also help them ensure their future books are up to par.

Other writers within the genre will also read reviews to learn what their prospective audience wants. One example of writing a review that includes constructive criticism is this one that I wrote for a book about time management. As you will see, I was less than impressed with the book.

3 out of 5 stars – Good principles, but a lackluster book

“This book highlights good time management principles, to be sure. Unfortunately, they are only highlighted. There was plenty of ground the author could’ve covered, but she instead, skimmed across the surface without going into any depth. This seems to be a problem in this genre (perhaps because the author is trying to save time). I will point out an important principle she highlighted in this book. “Efficient isn’t always effective.” If you can do both, great. But it’s not worth sacrificing effectiveness for efficiency. That’s what happened here. It’s not a terrible book, but an ineffective one.”

My goal when writing a review

I certainly didn’t relish writing a review that was less than enthusiastic about this book. In fact, one of my favorite things is to write a positive review. But, it was also my opinion that the book was a total waste of money. Still, I wanted to let people know why. After all, if someone was only looking for a brief overview of time management principles, this might be a good fit. Whether I write a positive or a negative review, it is my goal to let people know what to expect from the book or product. From there, they can decide for themselves whether it is a purchase worth making.

Bonus Reason for Writing a Review: Free Books or Products!

This is a completely legitimate reason to write a review. I’ve sold hundreds of copies of my book Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone who has Cancer. Yet, there are currently only 13 reviews on its sales page. That’s a pretty typical percentage. There are many reasons why people choose not to write reviews.

To help up the odds, companies and publishers often have programs in place in which they give consumers a free product or book in exchange for the consumer writing an honest review. Often they require that the review is posted on Amazon, Goodreads (if it’s a book) and your own website and/or social media account. My favorite book review program is through Net Galley. They have certain requirements, but if you meet them, it can be a great way of getting advance release copies of books for free. Plus, you have the opportunity to help an author get the word out about their upcoming book.

In the coming weeks we will look at:

  • The easiest way to write and edit your reviews on Amazon.com
  • Different styles of book reviews
  • How to create your own review template (plus, I’ll give you one of mine)

What Are YOUR Thoughts?

How often do you review books, products, or services? Why do you or don’t you do it? I’d love to hear in the comment section, below. I appreciate my readers as well as the writing community. To show that appreciation, I use Comment Luv. Just leave a comment below and your latest post will get a link next to it. Thank you!

About Heather Erickson

My Family
The Erickson Family, Photo by Everbranch Photography

I am an author, writer, and speaker and homeschooling mom of 3. Since doctors diagnosed my husband, Dan with stage IV lung cancer in 2012, I’ve focused my writing and speaking on helping cancer patients and their families advocate for themselves and live life to the fullest, in spite of their illness. My goal is to help people face cancer with grace. My books are available at Amazon.com:

The Memory Maker’s Journal 

Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone Who Has Cancer

Facing Cancer as a Parent: Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer

I also blog about living with cancer at Facing Cancer with Grace.

Footnotes:

[1] “How Online Reviews Influence Sales – The Medill IMC Spiegel Research Center.” Speigel Research Center, spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/online-reviews/.

[2] Blumenthal, Mike. “How Willing Are Consumers to Leave Reviews?” GatherUp, 19 June 2017, gatherup.com/blog/willing-consumers-leave-reviews/.

Have any questions or comments? I would love to hear from you! By commenting, you agree to the terms of my privacy policy.

10 comments on “Why Writing a Review is a Cool Thing to Do

Good post. You summarize the important points, Heather. RT.

Thanks, Jacqui. You are one of the best reviewers I’ve read, so that means a lot!

I always mean to leave reviews, but when it comes time…

But I know from experience how good reviews can be. For my Etsy shop, it’s really nice to hear that someone liked my stuff. And it does help a one-person shop. It lets people know that they’ll get what they expect.

Hi Liz, Even a short review of a couple of sentences is encouraging (if it’s positive) for the writer/seller, and helpful (if it’s honest) for potential readers/buyers.

Good thoughts–I agree with you. It’s hard to write a negative review, but important for both the reader and the author. The place I struggle is when I know the author. It’s easy when their writing is good, but there’ve been times when I haven’t known what to do. I don’t want to hurt their feelings or make them mad, but I can’t in good conscience leave a glowing review. Have you run into that? What did you do?

Hi Nancy, One time I agreed to write a review for a book that was just awful. I wrote an email to the writer explaining that I was really struggling with the book and didn’t feel that my review would be helpful, so I as bowing out. This is an option, although not one that helps the writer or the readers. Since I’ve been using a template, I have been far more successful at looking at the positive aspects of the book and then explaining what could be improved. If you are specific, readers can decide for themselves what they are willing to endure. I will be sharing my template on March 6th. It’s important to remember that your review can be critical while not being negative. It’s all about tone, and I have a feeling you are good at setting the right one. Bless you!

I was just exploring this as part of the A to Z Challenge book tour! I read J Lenni Dorner’s book about writing book reviews as an author. I always felt like I should leave reviews, but I never knew how. His book served as a great guide for me. I am making a conscious effort now to review everything I read, at least on Good Reads, if not everywhere I can!

Thanks for the recommendation, Jayden. I’ll have to check it out when Writing Book Reviews as an Author, is released on March 26, 2019. Have a wonderful month!

this is really good and informative post for all customers and digital marketers.thank you for sharing

Thank you, Alex. It is concerning, though, that your website sells Google reviews. Google, Amazon and other sites are smarter than that and their enhanced algorithms can fettet out illegitimate reviews. It’s also not serving the potential customers who read reviews as they choose what to spend their money on.

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