Hello everyone, today I wanted to focus on those on the other side of Booktok, the readers and reviewers!
They are literally what drive Indie Authors, we have many in our Discord server and are always welcoming more! So, I will also be focusing on book reviewers, arc and beta as well as different formats for April. We will focus on readers and then continue to post at least one reader/reviewer topic monthly. I hope you all will enjoy these posts I have had a lot of fun putting them together. I think they have a lot of great info and I tried my best to keep them as short as possible!
Newsletter Subscription
Before you do ANYTHING you want to have a newsletter subscription page set up. Social sites come and go, (look at the TikTok issues happening now) but a mailing list is forever! I recommend using whatever is the easiest for you, for me if I can’t just send an email then it’s too much of an issue for me. You don’t even have to send a newsletter, just collect the emails of those interested in getting your updates and you can always use the newsletter function later.
There are several things you can include in your newsletter reviews are just the beginning!
Homepage
The homepage is your introduction to your viewer it should showcase the most important things you have on your site. This could include a newsletter sign-up, a short welcome message, and even a featured review. You could also talk about how to submit books for consideration if that is something you do, and also how you decide your grading system.
About Page
A perfect spot to discuss your interests, both in books and outside reading. You may want to include what you prefer to read and what you don’t want to read ie triggers. You can also include a photo, any experience you have, your likes, dislikes or the reason why you like to read. Anything you can think about can go here! You’ll also want to make sure you link your social media accounts.
Review Archive
A categorized and searchable archive of your book reviews. Organize reviews by genre, author, or any other relevant criteria. If you use WordPress there are plugins that you can use to have your library on your site. Be sure to include the information about the books along with your reviews and a link to purchase. If possible, I would suggest using an affiliate link!
Rating System
Make sure your visitors and those who may request a review know how you grade your books. Whether this is a star system, or just how you feel about the book in general. You will also want to keep in mind things like darkness or spicy levels. You will also want to include what the levels mean for you – for some a three-spice level is a lot of spice, for others, it’s just open-door sex scenes etc.
Featured Reviews
Highlight some of your best or most recent reviews on the homepage. This can provide visitors with a quick overview of your writing style and the types of books you review. If you have reviewed a famous or popular book it could also help to pull readers in!
Review Guidelines
Clearly outline your review guidelines, including the criteria you consider, the aspects you focus on (plot, characters, writing style, etc.), and any disclosure policies. This is a great space to mention what you will review, how you get review suggestions and what you will not read. It is usually best to niche down. If you like romance your blog could be about all kinds of romance or just paranormal romance.
Author Interviews
Conduct interviews with authors to add a personal touch to your site. Authors often appreciate the opportunity to connect with readers through interviews. The Indie Author arena is huge and there are a lot of authors out there who would love to do interviews with you whether it’s on video, or written.
Book Recommendations
Create lists of recommended books based on different themes, genres, or reading preferences. This is a great way to boost views as everyone loves the quite listed posts. You can also change it up. If you have a favourite author who has a series you can rate those books and choose your top picks, or perhaps the heroes or heroines in those stories as well. Top ten types of posts are a great way to get people to read your content and is an even better way to link to other reviews on your site and get people to continue reading!
Reading Challenges/Bookish Events
If you’re participating in or hosting reading challenges, provide details and encourage your audience to join in. This adds an interactive and community-oriented element to your site. Keep an updated calendar of book-related events, such as book releases, author signings, literary festivals, and other relevant dates.
Discussion Posts
Write discussion posts on book-related topics to engage your audience. Encourage comments and create a community around your site. If you write romance reviews you could talk about your favourite tropes but also talk about why____ is an overused trope etc. There are several areas of reading that you can use as discussion posts.
Book-to-Movie Comparisons
Compare books to their movie adaptations. Discuss the differences, strengths, and weaknesses of each, and invite your audience to share their thoughts.
Guest Reviews
Allow guest reviewers to contribute to your site. This can bring diverse perspectives and expand the range of books covered.You can also work with other reviewers to do special events, blog hops and contests between your sites to help drive up engagement and views!
Contact Information
Offer clear contact information in case authors, publishers, or readers want to get in touch with you. This can include an email address or a contact form.
Affiliate Disclosures
If you use affiliate links, clearly disclose this information to your audience. Transparency builds trust with your readers. That being said the more you engage with your community the more likely they are to trust your opinion and be willing to click those links!
Regularly update your book review site with fresh content, respond to comments, and engage with your audience to build a community around your love of books. For authors, we have created a similar post on how to make your website awesome, a lot of those principles can also apply to book review sites. I would suggest checking that out as well!
