Posts Tagged ‘dell swarm’

I received this note with a product I bought on Amazon the other day. Leaving aside the horrendous grammar, I got to thinking about the algorithms behind Amazon’s product rankings that render buyers’ reviews and ratings so crucial to sellers (this note asks me to give a favourable seller rating, but I’d like to focus on buyer reviews). Take Kitty Thomas for example. On her blog, she clearly explains why, as an author, Amazon reviews are important:

“When an author gets at least 20 reviews for their book on the site, Amazon starts actively recommending that book to people. And the page gets seen more. And this isn’t just a benefit that dries up. The more reviews you have, the more you get recommended.

There is never a point in time where you can have “too many Amazon reviews” unless there is a point in time where you can have “too many sales” and I’ve yet to meet an author or publisher who thinks you can have too many sales.

This is why I ask for Amazon reviews. It is not to feed my vanity or to make me look cool. It’s because it helps sales. I want my book to be seen and I want my book to be bought. I worked hard on it.”

Read full post

3 Comments