Are Paid Reviews The Future?
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I have already covered how some authors know how to game Amazon’s ranking system to push their books higher and get more sales. It is not that difficult to do as long as you don’t have a problem gaming a reputation system and moving your book over other titles that may be more deserving. The idea of paid reviews is nothing new either. People can buy paid reviews, +1 votes, Facebook likes, and everything in between online these days.
Mr. Todd Rutherford is quite familiar with this. His website, GettingBookReviews.com would review books for $99. People who need more than just one positive review could have them for as low as $499. As the New York Times has reported, Mr. Rutherford was taking in $28k a month at some point. That means many folks were willing to pay him to get positive reviews.
This business model is not exactly sustainable considering that the FTC has tough guidelines for paid endorsements. There are plenty of other places authors can buy positive reviews. Just because we do not hear about them, that does not mean this business model does not exist or is not lucrative. We have all seen glorious 5 star reviews on Amazon and other sites. Unfortunately, not all reviewers know how to review what they own objectively. At the end of the day, negative reviews seem to be much more reliable than positive ones.
What’s your take?
