Julie BroadYour Non-Fiction Sidekick for Writing, Publishing & Marketing a Book That Builds Your Brand and Grows Your Biz

The Truth About Amazon Reviews (Friends & Family) #marketing #authorproblems

25 Jan 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:26

Julie Broad explains Amazon’s policy on reviews from people with close personal relationships, highlighting that household members, close friends, and anyone with financial ties (like publishers or co-authors) should not review. ARC or free-copy reviewers are acceptable if they have no close relationship or incentive beyond the book. Amazon detects suspicious patterns via shared IP addresses, last names, billing info, and social links. Authors should aim for organic, varied reviews (including mixed star ratings and substantive comments); a CTA invites viewers to the free School Book Launchers community.

Chapters

Book reviews are a hot topic always over here, but one thing we haven't really dug into is this specific clause that Amazon has in their policy. Now it's their second bullet we want to focus on in today's video, which is a review by someone perceived to have a close personal relationship. How close is this relationship and how does Amazon even judge this? So anyone sharing a household with you, they don't want close personal friends or anyone with financial ties like your publisher or co authors. What this means is if you live with someone, definitely do not have them review the book. If someone has financially benefited from the book, don't have them write a review. Reviews from people who get a free copy or discounted arc an advanced reader copy are okay as long as there's no close relationship or incentive beyond the book itself. Amazon explicitly okays this for early buzz. Amazon's algorithm is a big beast and it is trained to spot patterns like shared IP addresses, last names, billing info, or even social media links. A review from a friend won't auto delete just because you're connected on Facebook. It has to look promotional or overly glowing, without substance or just part of a coordinated push. Utilizing your network isn't cheating, it's bootstrapping. As long as reviews feel organic with a mix of stars, detailed thoughts, the odd three star and one star review is also to be celebrated because it helps mix this up. If you want support, join our free community over at School Book launchers.com school.