How to Get Free Book Reviews (With No Blog or Email List)

Getting book reviews can feel impossible when you’re just starting out.

You know you need them… they build trust, boost visibility, and help convince readers to buy. But how do you get reviews when you don’t have an audience, a blog, or a giant email list?

Most advice out there assumes you already have a fanbase or deep industry connections. That’s great… if you do. But for the rest of us, it leaves a big question unanswered:

How do you get reviews when no one knows who you are yet?

That’s exactly what this guide will cover. I’ll show you legal, ethical, and proven ways to get book reviews, even if you’re a brand-new author with zero following. No begging friends. No trading favors. No shady tactics that could get you in trouble with Amazon.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• A step-by-step process for getting free reviews
• How to find readers most likely to leave thoughtful, positive feedback
• Ways to speed up the review process without breaking Amazon’s rules
• The real Amazon guidelines around reviews (and how to stay compliant)

Whether you’re launching your first book or your fifteenth, these strategies work. And yes, a few affiliate links are sprinkled in. They don’t affect your cost, but they do fuel my coffee habit so I can keep writing guides like this.

1. Create Special Links to Go Straight to Your Review

One of the biggest mistakes authors make when asking for reviews is sending people a generic Amazon book link. That forces the reader to click around, hunt for the review section, and figure out where to leave feedback. Most people won’t bother.

There’s a better way: create a direct review link that takes readers straight to the form where they can start writing. Fewer clicks means more reviews.

Here’s how to set it up:

Step 1. Find Your ASIN or ISBN-10

• eBooks and audiobooks: Use your ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number).
• Paperbacks: Use your ISBN-10 (not ISBN-13). You can find these on your book’s Amazon product page.

Step 2. Build Your Review Link

Add your ASIN or ISBN-10 to the end of this URL:

https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=YOUR-ASIN-HERE

For example:

• US: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B0041JKFJW
• UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/create-review?&asin=B004H4XAXO
• DE: https://www.amazon.de/review/create-review?&asin=0765365278
• etc…

Pro Tip

If you’re a Brandon Sanderson fan like me, you can test it out with his audiobook’s direct link above. It jumps straight to the review page. Pretty slick, right?

Step 3. Adjust for International Markets

If you want reviews from other Amazon stores, simply swap .com for the appropriate domain (like .co.uk or .de). Just double-check the ASIN or ISBN-10 for that specific marketplace. They’re usually the same for self-published books, but it’s worth confirming.

Use Your Link Everywhere

Whenever you request a review (in an email, a message, or anywhere else), include this special link. Make it as simple as possible for readers to leave feedback, and you’ll see a noticeable boost in review conversions.

Caution: If Your Link Isn’t Working

• You can’t review your own book, so test the link with someone else.
• Amazon requires reviewers to have spent at least $50 on Amazon within the past year before leaving a review.
• Use this direct link for the rest of the strategies in this guide. It’ll save you (and your reviewers) time.

2. Design a Book Review Ask in Your Book

This one small tweak can make a huge difference. When you ask readers for a review inside your book, you’ll not only get more reviews, but you’ll usually get better ratings too.

When I added a short review request to one of my books, my conversion rate (the percentage of buyers who left a review) tripled. And it’s stayed that way ever since.

Here’s why it works:

Most authors know how valuable reviews are. Most readers don’t. They don’t realize how much weight a single review carries, or how much it helps an author. By asking, and asking the right way, you dramatically increase the odds they’ll follow through.

And when you create your review ask, a few tactics can make it even more effective:

Humanize Yourself

Remind readers there’s a real person behind the book. Share a little about what it took to write it.. the late nights, the sacrifice, the passion. You don’t need to overshare, but giving readers a glimpse of your world makes the request feel personal.

Pro tip: Adding a candid, unstaged photo of yourself or your family here can make a big impact. It makes you relatable, not just “the author.”

Explain Why Reviews Matter

Don’t assume readers know. Tell them how reviews help other readers discover your book, and how they support you as an author. When people understand their review has real value, they’re more likely to leave one.

Let Them Know You’ll Read Their Review

This is powerful. When readers believe you’ll actually see their review, two things happen:

1. They’re more likely to leave one because they know you’re counting on them.
2. Their tone usually softens. Criticism tends to become more constructive when people know you’ll read it.

An Example That Nails It

Author Ken Lozito does this beautifully in his First Colony series. In his audiobook, he shares the personal sacrifices he made to become an author and some behind-the-scenes struggles in getting that series out. He hits all three points above (humanizing, explaining, and connecting) without sounding desperate or pushy.

By the time I got to book seven, where he included this message, I didn’t just give it five stars. I also took the time to write a thoughtful review. It felt like the least I could do.

The key is balance: ask without begging. When done right, you’ll see more reviews, better ratings, and a stronger connection with your readers.

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3. Free Book Review Sites

There are websites out there where some fans of a genre or subject loves to read books and leave reviews. Many of them have different reasons for this, but overall, they can be beneficial.

Be advised though, most of the review sites out there will read your book and make a review on their website, but that it won’t be an Amazon review (see below to read more about Amazon reviews vs Editorial Reviews). Even without the Amazon review, a book review site’s review can still be a powerful editorial review.

Imagine being able to put in your editorial review for your scifi book, a glowing acknowledgment from Topscifireads.com. Just the domain alone will carry anyone to better belief in your book, then some person or author name they've never heard of.

Here are some of my favorites free book review sites:

• Love Books Group: Reviews books on their site is a easy process to submit.
• Book Page: Must send an ARC 3 months prior to publication date
• The Kindle Book Review: Offers a list of reviews to contact individually based on preferred genres.
• Compulsive Reader: Mainly focuses on literary fiction and poetry, they also review music CDs and other interesting things.
• Crime Fiction Lover: Recommends sending a Press Release (***) and a bit hard to get into.
• Book Smugglers: a highly read book blog that likes to focus on Horror, Urban Fantasy, SciFi, and YA.
• SF Book: Started in 1996, SF books offers a list of Scifi Book reviewers you can contact individually
• Fantasy Book Critics: Lists a bunch of legit book review sites, as well as offers their own in the Fantasy realm
• Top Sci Fi Books: This website lists the best scifi and fantasy books based on certain subgenres. They have a sweet spot though for self published authors.

If you’d like to see more niche-specific examples, Reedsy has done an AMAZING job of curating a list of book review websites, their requirements and even how much traffic each site potentially gets. However, do note, many sites on that list aren’t always free.

I also wanted to mention StoryOrigin.

When you use StoryOrigin, not only do you join a community of other authors, you basically have all the not-so-fun back end of things taken care of by using them. They help you build your email list, find reviewers, deliver lead magnets and more. Be sure to check them out!

4. A Giveaway Contest that is Legal!!!

I almost didn’t include this one, not because it breaks Amazon’s rules, but because you must follow the steps carefully to stay compliant.

When done right, though, this tactic can be a game-changer.

Here’s the idea: you run a giveaway contest, and anyone who clicks the special review link (from Step #1 above) is automatically entered to win. That’s it.

Why it works:

• Clicking the link takes readers directly to your review page.
• Since they’re already there, many will go ahead and leave a review.
• And because entry into the giveaway happens just by clicking the link (not by submitting a review), this stays fully compliant with Amazon’s rules.

Here’s the basic process:

How to Set It Up

1. Create your giveaway. Pick a prize your audience will actually care about (signed copies, merch, or even Amazon gift cards).
2. Make the entry simple. To enter, readers just click the direct link to your review page. No other action required.
3. Stay compliant. Make it crystal clear that a review is not required to enter. Instead, you only a click.

By removing any requirement to leave a review, you stay on Amazon’s good side while still putting readers in the perfect position to write one voluntarily.

How to Build a Giveaway

There are two ways to build a giveaway:

1. Use Your Email System

You can send out an email blast to your readers with the instructions on how to do this. With most email systems like Kit, you can mark which subscribers clicked on the link in the email. Then when the time is up, you can select from there.

2. Use KingSumo

KingSumo is a paid app that is around $49 for life, but it makes creating contests SUPER simple. Furthermore, it handles the legality issues on contests, and you can post links to the contest on Social Media, email, or even embed it on your website.

You can check it out here.

5. Using Launch Teams & ARCs Effectively

Using a launch team or Beta Readers and sending Advanced Review Copies (ARCs) is an important tactic that help with your book’s overall launch by ensuring you have good reviews on day-one of the launch. If you’re unfamiliar with that, then check out this article here.

But the short and simple to this tactic is that prior to launching your book, you send ARCs to people who will hopefully read the book, and or be prepared to leave a review upon your book's launch.

However, working with lots of authors, it’s become apparent that most DO NOT do ARC reviews as effectively or efficiently as they should, creating a super low conversion rate of beta readers who leave a review. Most times, this tactic sounds promising but is actually a complete let down.

Well, not if you do the following extra saucy tips, which will ENSURE you get more reviews out of it:

1. Stop sending mass emails to all Beta Readers:

If you really want people to take action, ensure you talk to them personally. Send each beta reader a personal email asking him or her to take certain actions. They’ll feel more obligated to act when you are specifically emailing them and counting on their review. Whereas when it's obviously a mass email, many will inherently think that it's fine and you won't notice if they don't.

2. Track Your Readers:

I actually develop a spreadsheet listing each beta reader or launch team member, when I last talked with them last, if they've left a review and any other notes. It’s important to keep track of them and that way no one slips through the cracks. You can also use a plugin like WriterWatch to know exactly when someone has left a review.

3. Have Them Notify You When It’s Dropped:

Tell your beta readers or launch team members that once they’ve dropped the review, to let you know so you can read it. It isn’t just the expectation that you’re specifically waiting for their review, but also that you really want to know what they thought. Make it clear that it would mean the world to you. With this, they’ll feel as though you truly care and are waiting on them.

4. Remind them They Don’t Have to Read All of It:

The biggest hang-up I get from Beta Readers is that they couldn’t finish the book in time and will leave one “later” (which they never do). However, remind them that they do not have to finish the book in order to leave a review, and that they can always change the review once they’ve finished it if they’d like. They can instead talk about what they’ve read so far, or even your legitimacy on the subject or genre. This way, there is not excuse to not leaving a review.

If you employ these four tactics to beta readers or launch teams, you’ll absolutely double your conversion rates of reviews left.

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6. Reminder in Your Auto Responder System

If you have an email list, then make sure to use your auto responder to help with your reviews.

Think about it…

If they signed up for your email list, then it means that they read your book and liked it. However, it definitely does not mean they left a review.

Therefore, set in your auto responder an email that specifically uses the tactics of 1 and 2 above to convince them to leave a review. This will help increase your book’s review frequency, its grade, and even help with your email system. Furthermore, employing #2 above, in the email, you'll build a stronger author brand and connection with your readers.

7. Relaunch Your Book

There are a couple of different ways to relaunch your book, and things to think about when doing so. However, let's discuss why this really helps with your book reviews and should be considered.

1. Amazon loves new books: I call this the Amazon honeymoon period. I don't have any empirical data to prove this, but through years of working with books, when a book is launched, Amazon gives preferential treatment to new books.
2. Use a new launch team: Perhaps you didn't effectively use your launch team or beta readers as well as we discussed in step 5. Well, by relaunching, you can. So, employ those steps and see real good come from it.
3. Update some information: Look at your book as it is, and ask if there is something you can do to improve it. Perhaps you've seen some comments brought up in the reviews? Or you know there is a section you should add? These changes will help improve your book's review grades.

Editorial Reviews vs Amazon Reviews

We all know what Amazon reviews are. But do you fully understand what a Amazon Editorial Review is?

On Amazon, there is a section on your book's sales page where you can enter “Editorial Reviews” through you Author Central Account (here is how to setup one if you haven't already). In the editorial review, you can put just about anything here.

It could be from what a website said about your book, a news paper, a verbal recommendation, etc. The point is, you can use what people say outside of Amazon, here. As we showed from a heat map study, readers pay attention to the section. So, therefore, use the tactics listed above in order build a persuasive Editorial Review section for your book.

However, these are NOT Amazon reviews. Amazon reviews are where someone went to Amazon and left a review for your book itself.

Amazon’s Rules on Book Reviews

There is a little bit of confusion when it comes to giving a free book and asking for reviews. In truth, Amazon was a little confusing about how they look at this.

However, I went through all of Amazon's user agreements, FAQ's and even their own memo's so as to give you a definitive answer of:

YES, you can give a free copy of your book in advance for a review.

But there are some caveats and nuisances to this statement. So, check out the video below and learn all about Amazon's Book Review policy and ensure you are continually operating in Amazon's good graces.

Want more videos like this? Then click HERE to subscribe to my YouTube channel

So, here is a list what you can’t do:

1. Pay or Incentive Someone to Leave a Review in any way: This is different from the giveaway because they entered the giveaway by clicking the link and not by leaving a review

2. Offering a free gift if they review

3. Offering to refund the author their money for the review

You can give the book for free to them as an ARC. But you can't cover their costs. While they are both essentially “free,” the second one requires a review in order to make it free, thus incentivizing the review.

The same can be said about offering to send a Amazon gift card to cover the book

4. Swapping reviews with another author

Some Legit Paid Ways to Speed Up The Process

I repeat, you cannot pay or incentive someone in any way to leave a review. But you can pay to promote your book to readers who are likely to leave reviews.

Self-Publishing Review is one example of a service that sells email list promotions designed to result in more sales and more unbiased reviews. If you're looking for opportunities, that could be worth looking into. Use the code KINDLEPRENEUR5 to save 5% on anything from their site.

WriterWatch is another tool I highly recommend for authors who want to track all of the reviews that come in. This makes it much easier for you to know when your ARC readers, for example, have actually left their review. WriterWatch is a completely FREE Chrome plugin and reviews aren't the only thing it tracks. Check it out here.

Now, Let's Go Get Those Book Reviews

Getting reviews can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you’re a new author. But the strategies in this guide make the process simpler and a lot more effective.

Start small. Use the tactics that feel doable right now. Each review you earn builds momentum, increases your book’s visibility, and helps other readers trust your work.

The best part? Many of these approaches open the door to real conversations with your readers. You’ll get valuable feedback, make connections, and start building a base of fans who genuinely want to support you.

It takes effort, yes. But a steady stream of honest reviews can move the needle on your Kindle sales, and it’s one of the smartest investments you can make in your book’s success.