Reviews Q&A January 7th. Takeaways
We had a great, deep conversation yesterday. @Christian Kursch asked very important question about getting out of authors' bubble to get reviews. There are answers ready, but we will announce it next week. The full video recording for Premium members is available in the Classroom. And those are my takeaways from the meeting: Amazon’s Aggressive Review Sweeps - Historical Context: While Amazon typically increases scrutiny during the holiday season, the recent "swipe" was exceptionally aggressive, with some publishers reporting 30% to 50% of reviews deleted. - Algorithmic Targeting: Amazon's systems have become almost entirely algorithmic, searching for "outliers" from normal human patterns rather than specific individuals. - The Virtual Assistant (VA) Problem: A primary cause for recent account terminations is the use of VAs from platforms like Upwork or Fiverr who post fake reviews using flagged or low-activity accounts. - Risk Indicators: A key indicator of a flagged account is the "pending approval" time. While the standard is three days, accounts under scrutiny will see longer wait times. Adriano suggests never having more than two reviews pending approval simultaneously. Best Practices for Review Safety - Prioritize Verified Paid Purchases: Verified purchases (at price points like $0.99 or $2.99) are the safest way to show Amazon a real transaction has occurred. - Avoid Unverified and KU Reviews: Standard unverified reviews and Kindle Unlimited (KU) reviews are currently heavily targeted. - KU Limitations: Kindle Unlimited reviews often do not show as "verified" unless the book is read on an official Amazon device or app; reading via the Kindle Cloud Reader (web browser) will not trigger verified status. - Natural Review Timing: Reviews should ideally be posted between 5 and 7 days after purchase to appear natural.