How To Get Amazon Kindle Book Reviews Without Breaking the Rules

Get the free checklist: the 12 steps I follow for every book I publish.

To get Amazon reviews without breaking the rules, ask your readers for an honest review and offer nothing in return. Put a request at the end of your book, ask your email list, and use an advance review team. Do not swap reviews, buy reviews or ask close friends and family. Below is why reviews matter, what is allowed and what has gotten authors in trouble.

Why do reviews matter so much?

No reviews means few sales. When I started, my sales were so small it was embarrassing. I was thrilled that anyone wanted the book. But why would a stranger trust a book nobody has reviewed? Reviews are social proof, and they are often the first thing a buyer looks at.

I knew my books were useful, with steps that help people fix problems, but nobody would read them without reviews. So I tried many methods. Some followed Amazon’s rules and some did not.

Negative reviews arrive easily, because people who have a bad experience are more likely to say so than those with a good one, and some people only leave negative reviews. You will not get only five stars.

What does Amazon allow?

KDP says reviews are posted only once Amazon’s Community team confirms they meet its guidelines. You can give away free or discounted copies, but you may not require a review in return, and offering anything else, such as a gift card, invalidates the review (KDP customer reviews).

So the safe approach is simple: ask for an honest review, and let the reader write what they think.

1. Ask inside your book. Add a page at the end: “Thank you for buying this book. If you found it helpful, would you leave a review?” Do this in every book.
2. Ask your email list. Whenever I publish a new book I ask my list for honest reviews. It is slower than swapping, but it does not put my account at risk. I use MailerLite for the list. See creating an email list for self-publishers.
3. Build an advance review team. Give a copy of the book to readers on your list so they can read it and review it if they choose. They must be free to post what they honestly think, with no requirement that it be positive. For every 100 people on the team, about 4 leave reviews in my experience, so you need a list.
4. Run ads. Ads bring buyers and sales without reviews, and some of those buyers will review. See Amazon ads for authors.

What breaks the rules and can get you banned?

• Review swapping. You review my book and I review yours. Amazon can see authors who exchange reviews, and the usual result is a warning, removed reviews or a ban on reviewing.
• Virtual assistants swapping reviews. Reviewers who post across many genres also confuse Amazon’s systems, which do not know where to place your book.
• Close friends and family. I asked mine early on. They are connected to me on Facebook and elsewhere, Amazon sees that, and reviews like these get taken down. Friends and family also can’t give a fully honest review.
• Paid reviews. Do not pay people on freelance marketplaces or review sites for five-star reviews. Amazon has sued fake review brokers, including the administrators of more than 10,000 Facebook groups in 2022 (Amazon, 19-Jul-22), and it can close the accounts of authors who buy.
• Review services that pay reviewers or give free books in exchange for reviews. Some are a gray area and get warnings. I won’t name any, so research carefully and avoid any that sell reviews.

It is not only Amazon. The FTC’s Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule has applied since 21-Oct-24. It bans buying and selling fake reviews, paying for reviews that must express a particular sentiment, and hiding an insider’s relationship to the business. Incentives are not banned in themselves, but an incentive for a five-star review would break the rule, and courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations (FTC rule Q&A, Nov 2024).

I am not a lawyer, so check the current Amazon guidelines and FTC rule before any review campaign.

What about free promotions and bad reviews?

Free days through KDP Select can bring many downloads, but they attract readers who are not your audience, and that can bring negative reviews. Read does KDP Select promote your book before you plan one.

A rating of three or four stars can still sell, because readers see that some loved the book and some did not. If you only get one-star reviews, there is a problem: proofread, format properly and make the book as good as you can before you ask for more reviews.

Why do free downloads bring so few reviews?

Because many people who download a free book never open it, and some cannot review it even if they do. KDP does not publish how many free downloads get opened. Amazon also says a customer must have spent $50 on Amazon.com with a credit or debit card in the past 12 months to write a review, and that promotional discounts don’t count towards that (Amazon Community Guidelines). A reader who mostly picks up free books may not be allowed to review yours.

What brings reviews is asking. Put a short request on the last page of the book, where the reader who finished it will see it. Then give the book before launch to people who want it, as I explain in setting up an advanced review team. Free days are good for reach, not for reviews.

Why does my book have sales but no reviews?

Check the simple causes first. KDP says Amazon checks each review against its guidelines before it appears, and that these checks can take a few days. KDP also says reviews are shared between Amazon stores only where the same ASIN and format is live, and that this can change over time, so a store may show fewer reviews than another. If you upload a new version of the book, the reviews stay only if its details match the old version, so a changed title or author name can leave you starting again (KDP customer reviews).

The rest is my view, not KDP’s. Most buyers never leave a review, so a quiet book can still be a good one. Ask once, at the back of the book, and tell your email list when a review would help. Offer nothing for it. That is slower than it feels, but it keeps your account safe.

How much risk should I take?

Decide for yourself, but my advice is to stay inside the rules, because losing an account costs far more than any review is worth. Following the rules means reviews come slowly. Ads can bring sales with zero reviews, and an email list of real readers brings honest reviews over time.

If you want a plan for ads, an email list and honest reviews for your own book, grab the free 12-step self-publishing checklist. Do you have a system for getting reviews? Tell me in the comments.

Listen to this episode on Spotify

Start with the free checklist

The checklist is the 12 steps I follow for every book I publish, from choosing a topic that already sells to setting up the book's marketing. It is free, and you get it straight away.

Get the free checklist

You get the free checklist and Chris's emails. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy policy

Not sure yet? Book a free 25-minute call