How To Work With Book Bloggers [Marketing Tips]

Welcome back my friends!

I’m super excited to bring you a new post today! I hope you find some huge value in it, and learn a bunch of tips on how to work with book bloggers. I went to twitter last week, and asked for advice and tips from my fellow book bloggers, and below is a culmination of my own experiences and advice from other bloggers. I hope you enjoy!

Can you believe I’ve owned The Picky Bookworm for almost 4 years now? I seriously can’t believe it some days. I started as a hobby blog (on free WordPress) in May of 2019. All I wanted was a space to talk about books. I had started plenty of blogs in the past, and while I love blogging, I had trouble staying on a particular subject. I had no idea about book blogging as a niche, or working with authors on reviews, or blog tours, or anything. In fact, my first review was pretty much a dumpster fire.

Related: The 15th Affair by James Patterson Book Review

My reviews didn’t get much better, for a WHILE.

When David Billingsley contacted me to ask if I would review his book, The Connection, I got so happy that an author was reaching out to me, specifically for my opinion! It felt SO good, you guys. I honestly thought I had ARRIVED, and I was going to end up a popular book blogger with tons of page views.

One of those things happened. I’m happy to say I am popular in the book blogging community, but I’m still waiting on those coveted page views.

Through my experience with David, I learned about the indie book community, and haven’t looked back. I still read the occasional mainstream book, but I’m way pickier about the books that I give my time to. I’d rather use my time to promote amazing, less-well-known authors and books.

I have also learned a ton, through working with authors, on how to best approach a book blogger to either get a review, get some promotion, or simply get a social media mention. Book bloggers work for pittance most of the time, and many of us are just happy to get a free book once in a while. I’m a different creature in that regard, but bear with me.

Don’t Randomly DM on Twitter, or Any other Social Media

Many authors are guilty of this, and lemme tell ya, it’s not pretty. We don’t like it, especially if we’ve never spoken to you before. Honestly, it comes off as spammy and creepy. Don’t do it.

This is not to say that you can’t contact a book blogger to read your book and write an honest review. We want you to ask us to read your book. For many of us, it makes us feel special. But we want you to ask in a way that respects us and respects our time. When authors do this, it shows that you value us and the blogging niche that we’ve chosen to dedicate our time to.

Do we want you to contact us to read a book we wouldn’t like? Probably not. If other book bloggers are anything like me, they want to focus on those books that make them feel good, and the ones they can rave about (you know, those famed 5-star reviews every author aspires to?).

Read Review Policies

Almost every book blogger has a page on their blog about what genres they prefer, what format they want in a book, and how to contact them for a review. If they don’t have a policy in place (I don’t, but see section 3 for more info), then use their contact page to ask for a review. This at least shows them you tried. You can even let them know you looked for a policy page and couldn’t find one. This gives the blogger a chance to let you know about their policies in advance, and gives you a chance to find out whether that blogger would enjoy your book.

For example, you write historical fiction. You’re proud of your book, and you want tons of people to read it and enjoy it. So, you go to your favorite book blogger’s site, and look for a policies page.

No dice.

Then, you contact the blogger and let them know you wrote this amazing book and ask for their policies. They reply and tell you they’ll read anything EXCEPT historical fiction.

Bummer.

Now you know, though. That particular blogger probably wouldn’t be a good choice to read and review your book, because you likely wouldn’t get the feedback you’re looking for.

Requesting a Review doesn’t Have to be Difficult

Ok, so you’ve found 4-5 book bloggers who review the genre of your book. How to go about requesting a review?

Most bloggers will have a contact page on their website where you can send an email. Use this, if at all possible. If the blogger doesn’t have a contact page, look for an email. Requesting a review through email is preferable to social media, at least for me, because Socials are notoriously unreliable when it comes to notifying people of messages.

And, not everyone practically lives on Twitter, like I do. Most bloggers, however, have mail notifications turned on for their phones, so will get an email pretty quickly.

If you are unable to send an email, you are more than welcome to send through social media, just don’t be mad if said blogger doesn’t reply quick enough for your liking. We all want immediate responses, but life and people don’t always work like that. Patience here is key.

Subscribe to or Follow Your Favorite Book Bloggers

Following or subscribing to a blog where you’ve requested a review isn’t required, but it’s definitely encouraged. This is a courtesy that lets the blogger know you truly enjoy their content, and you’re not just in the review game for yourself. If you’ve seen the quote on my home page, we rise by lifting each other. Sharing and showcasing bloggers’ work that you enjoy, makes us want to create more.

Yes, we can be attention addicts, even if our platform of choice isn’t one where our faces are front and center constantly. Sharing our posts and leaving comments are a couple free ways to support your favorite book bloggers.

Offer a Free Copy of Your Book

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received an email from an author, and the email goes something like the following. “Hello [Blogger], I’ve checked out your website (only once in 10x does this actually happen), and you would be a fantastic choice to read and review [Book Title], my debut novel.”

Author then inserts the blurb from Amazon, and ends the email with this: “thank you for considering my book. Please BUY AND REVIEW.”

Or worse, you get a DM from an author, 10 seconds after you follow them on Twitter: “Thank you for following me. I would appreciate you buying and reviewing my book, [book title]. Have a great day!

Both of those approaches are rude, discourteous, and will likely earn you a very swift block. I’ve been known to reply to this spam with my own: “Thank you for asking me to review your book. I’m not accepting submissions at this time, but please check out my blog and my podcast.” With links, of course.

When you offer a free book, you are telling the blogger that you respect their opinion, and you know that their time is valuable. Many book bloggers will not accept payment for a book review, because that brings into question their honesty. This doesn’t mean that book bloggers, especially such as myself, don’t have other income streams to balance out the free service they give authors.

Use a Blogger’s Affiliate Links When Possible

If a book blogger has an affiliate link, for example, share that link with your followers or send it out to your subscribers. If those people want to buy your book, the blogger will get a commission from that purchase. It’s a super great way to help support those who support you. As far as I know, only Twitter and Pinterest allow affiliate links directly in posts, but if you’re more active on other social networks, it would be worth looking into.

If you don’t see an affiliate link, ask if they have one. Offer to share that link, instead of your own link. You’ll get a royalty from purchases, and the blogger gets a commission. Win-win.

Note: Please disclose that the link you’re using is an affiliate link. It’s a legal thing.

Encourage People to Leave Comments on our Blog Posts

This is a personal one to me, because I absolutely ADORE comments on my blog posts! I answer every single one, and love getting to discuss the books I write about! I can’t think of another blogger who feels differently. Not only do we get to talk to people about books, but those comments help our sites build authority, which in turn tells the internet gods to send more people our way. In much the same way that authors love reviews of their books, bloggers love comments on their posts.

Do Not Attack Bloggers for “Bad” Reviews

If a review isn’t as positive as you wish it were, don’t take that as a reason to call out the blogger, attack them in anyway, or send your followers to attack them. Any feedback you see will only make your writing stronger if you take it to heart.

I said, take feedback TO HEART, not TAKE IT PERSONALLY. For example, if a blogger says the book has a ton of typos and grammar mistakes, find an editor or proofreader and see if they can help you. Don’t head over to the blog, and leave comments about how your editing is just fine, and they just don’t know how to read.

I haven’t seen this personally, but I’m sure it’s probably happened at some point.

I wrote a review once that wasn’t the nicest, but I wasn’t rude in my review. I even told my readers they should check out the book. I mentioned a couple things that frustrated me about the book, as well, even though I didn’t say them in any sort of snarky way. I have since reread that review several times, to make sure I was polite and courteous.

I received an email from the author, defending his choices, and even mentioned that one of the things I had issues with was something his editor requested he change, but he refused. At the end of his email, he requested that if I read a future book of his, to please let him know if I was going to rate 3 stars or under.

I haven’t read a book by this author since. And I won’t ever. I felt attacked, and singled out, just for having an opinion. I automatically wanted to rate every book of his one star, just out of petty spite.

For the record, I didn’t. That would be bad reviewer etiquette.

Interact With Us. A LOT.

In much the same way that authors love getting comments and tweets about how much we love their books, bloggers love getting that interaction as well. Engage with us on social media, make friends with us, and share our stuff when you can.

When it comes time to requesting a review, we are more likely to accept ones from authors we’ve spoken to on social media, and from authors who have taken time out of their own busy days to make us feel wanted and important.

Some Additional Tips

• Understand that not every book is for everyone.
• If the blogger says no, this is not a reflection on you.
• I PROMISE, the blogger’s saying no, IS NOT A REFLECTION ON YOU.
• Be patient with a blogger who has agreed to read and review a book for you.
• When possible, share that blogger’s other reviews, and showcase them. Especially if you enjoy their work enough to request a review.
• Use courteous language when asking for a review. Introducing yourself to a book blogger in a way you might at a bar is inappropriate and rude. For example, “Hey beautiful/gorgeous/sexy, I wrote this book that will be right up your alley. I’d love to send you a copy. DM me back and let’s chat!”
• If you love a particular quote in a review, contact the blogger and get permission to quote, and give them credit. Include the link to their book review. We all love those wonderful page views, and we love when an author appreciates our reviews enough to quote from them.
• Unless you’ve worked with a blogger before, pay attention when their policies page states they aren’t receiving submissions. If you email them anyway, they might not be the most polite in their response, if you even get one at all.

Conclusion

We, as book bloggers, are there to provide support for authors, by reading and reviewing their books. We, as book bloggers, are NOT there to cater to authors, or change our opinions because they don’t align with certain views. Please, for the love of all things holy, do NOT attack a blogger, just because you didn’t like their review. It’s not fair, and it’s not kind.

Book bloggers take their time seriously. They want to support authors, and they want to promote amazing books. Following these tips will make your work with book bloggers a much more amazing experience, and hopefully get your book out to more readers!

Did you enjoy this post? I worked really hard on it, and I want it to be as valuable as I can make it. With that said, I doubt I’ve put every single tip on here, so if you think of something, please leave a comment below! Remember what I said about comments? I love them, and answer every single one! I’d be so excited to talk to you!

Until Next Time, Friends!

Thank you to these amazing Bloggers for their Input!

Inkish Kingdoms        Series Book Lover        Bon The Witch        Sue’s Musings

C.C.        Jeff Sexton        Mackenzie Reads        Witty & Sarcastic Book Club