Julie Broad and Efren Delgado explain why authors shouldn't reply to one-star Amazon reviews publicly. Instead, mine them for real feedback, celebrate the good reviews, and remember that negative attention still means your book matters.
You've poured your heart, your soul in countless late nights into your book. And then it happens. A one star review. It's sometimes worse than someone saying your kid is ugly or you look fat in your favorite clothes. But here's the thing. Every author, even the greats, has faced that dreaded one star slap. So if you want to know how to handle a one star review like a pro, this video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers, your first choice for nonfiction publishing. Helping you write, publish and promote a nonfiction book to grow your business and your brand. Now, once you've calmed down, it's time to put on your detective hat and ask yourself, does this review have constructive feedback? Sometimes, buried in the sting, there's a nugget of truth you can use to grow. But here's the catch. Now not all one star reviews are created equal. Some are just trolls, others are having a bad day, and a few just might not vibe with your writing style. And that's okay. Your book isn't for everyone. And that is a good thing. Check out my one star review for Self publish and succeed. Maybe I've developed thick skin all my days on YouTube where people have said everything from you have a dog face to I hate your voice to get to the point and stop blabbering about stuff nobody cares about. Maybe all those kind things people say has hardened me a bit, but this review actually makes me laugh. Erica posted this review, but how do you even know that it was meant for me and my book? There's nothing specific or useful or constructive in this review. For all I know, she's decided to post this on a bunch of people's Amazon pages. Now, I am one of those people who click on their name on Amazon to see what else they've reviewed to see if they're mean to everyone or just me. And I can see from this that she probably did mean it for me. But when it comes to books, she has two categories, the five star category and the one star category. And I wasn't five star for her, which meant I was automatically a one star. Now, I can dwell on this, I can respond, or I can move on. As you can probably imagine, I moved on and I forgot this review even existed until I was looking for a one star review. Example, this video. But if it's the first time someone anonymous has been mean to you online, that advice of moving on, it's not useful. So here's what not to do. Do not respond publicly to that review. I know it's tempting, but trust me, this will only make things worse. Defensiveness does not look good on anyone, especially an author. Instead, let it go and focus on what you can control. Writing your next amazing book or or getting a whole bunch of people who do love your book to post reviews. Now, if you want to take this to the next level, you can do what Efren Delgado, author of the Opposite Is True, did when he got his first one star review.
Well, I think this should be celebrated because if you have a one star review, that means people are paying attention. Firstly, your book is not for everybody and it shouldn't be. If anything, you're refining who your reader is and the negative reviews. If somebody's actually posting, remember, emotionally, logically, never mixed one of the concepts. Look like whatever triggered them. To hate your book and have the energy to post it means you're probably getting somewhere. And like enemies are triggered when there's some reality to what you're saying. Otherwise they wouldn't care. And the posting is actually what made you show that whatever you're saying is relevant. I actually made a whole video about it because I celebrated it and I articulated that some of the criticisms were baseless that illustrated some of the points of our book. So I used it in my favor.
I know that was filmed in the middle of a busy author nation and it's not super easy to hear everything Efren said. So let me just highlight some of those things that he said that I want to make sure you take away. And that first of all is that your book is not for everyone. So a one star review either means Amazon sent them a shoddy book and they're mad the pages fell out, or that person was clearly not your ideal reader. And that is okay. And you can think about how can you tweak your marketing to ensure people know the book isn't for them so they don't buy it or read it. Now one other thing he said that I love is he said celebrate those one star reviews because your book is getting noticed. And of course the fact that someone has written a one star review means you're hitting buttons with your book, which isn't a bad thing. Efren's approach is next level. And you might not feel like celebrating that one star review, but really you should. If nobody cared about you or your book, you wouldn't get a review at all. Now let's flip the script. For every one star review, there are likely plenty of glowing ones that you haven't celebrated enough. Go read those thank them on social media. Remind yourself of the readers who did connect with your work and let them know it matters. Like Carter, Beth, Troy and Dave here who have recently reviewed my book Self Promote and Succeed. It's the white one hiding underneath the yellow one. Thank you so much, so much for your thoughtful and kind reviews of the book. The fact that you've taken time to share your thoughts to help other readers decide if the book is right for them matters a lot and means so much to me. And here's the silver lining. Even a one star review means someone read your book. Well. Unless they didn't and something about them just triggered them. Which can happen too, and you'll never know. And that's why I'm telling you to just move on. The one star review is more about the reviewer than it is about you and your book. You've accomplished something most people only dream of. You got your story out into the world and that alone is worth celebrating. And if you need to have friends in this space, well, I do hope you've subscribed to this channel and are commenting below. The YouTube besties here at Book launchers TV will definitely support you and you can join our free group on Skool for help with writing and publishing your next nonfiction book. I'll put the link in the description down below. So to recap, here's your action plan for handling a one star review. Number one if you the feels but don't dwell. 2. Look for constructive feedback if it's there. 3. Stay professional. No public responses. 4. Celebrate the readers who love your book. 5. Connect with other authors for support. Remember, a one star review does not define your book or you. It's just one person's opinion and you've got so much more to share with the world now. I am curious though, how do you handle your 1 star reviews? Drop your best strategies in the comments. I'd love to hear them. And if you want help getting more book reviews to counter that one star review, check out this video on a new service I am loving for getting more book reviews. And there's this video on reviving a book that isn't selling on Amazon to help you get more momentum and new reviews as well. Both are great and I'm excited to see you over there.
Should You Skip Amazon When You Publish Your Book? #digitalmarketing #amazonauthor
