If you had the pleasure of attending my webinar last month then you got to meet my wonderful friend @Shayna Melissa Stockman who I was very grateful to have as my moderator. Shayna recently opened her own community here on Skool. If you or someone you know is living with autoimmune issues, please join her group here. Shayna is a great example of using her book to gain speaking opportunities and sell author copies. She attends events regularly, not just to promote her book but also to use them as a doorway to bring people into her program. ➡️ CHECK OUT HER BOOK ON AMAZON

One thing that surprises many new authors is that getting book reviews on Amazon is NOT just about asking people to leave reviews. Amazon heavily monitors reviews, and if something looks suspicious, the review can get rejected or removed. Here are some book review best practices: ⭐ Don’t leave a review the same day you buy the book: If someone purchases your book and immediately leaves a review within minutes or hours, it can look suspicious to Amazon. It’s better to wait at least 5+ days after purchasing before leaving a review. ⭐ Reviews can take time to appear: Some reviews show up quickly, while others can take several days to process. If a review disappears or never posts, Amazon may have flagged it. Sometimes the reviewer can edit and resubmit the review to get it approved. ⭐ Don’t use AI-generated reviews: Amazon has become much stricter about detecting fake or low-quality reviews. AI-written reviews are more likely to get filtered out or rejected. Encourage readers to write honest reviews in their own natural voice. ⭐ Avoid asking people in your household to review your book: People sharing the same address, Wi-Fi network, payment methods, or Amazon Household connections can trigger review issues. Even legitimate reviews may get removed. ⭐ Don’t do review swaps with other authors: “You review mine and I’ll review yours” violates Amazon’s review policies and can put both accounts at risk. Amazon monitors suspicious reviewing patterns between accounts. ⭐ Verified purchase reviews usually carry more weight: A review from someone who actually purchased the book through Amazon tends to look more trustworthy than a non-verified review. ⭐ Short reviews are completely okay: A review does NOT need to be long to be helpful. Even 1–3 honest sentences can make a difference. ⭐ Avoid overly promotional wording: Reviews that sound like advertisements can sometimes get flagged. Genuine reader experiences tend to perform best. ⭐ Focus on getting REAL readers: The best reviews come from people who genuinely wanted the book in the first place. This is why building an audience and targeting the right readers matters so much.