Have you had a review pulled from Amazon and wondered why? I mean grandma should be allowed to give a review. Let me share the rules Amazon has that could get your review pulled and a few tips to help writers inform their reviewers.

1. No reviewers can use associate links. These are links to your blog, website or publisher’s page. That is considered compensation. If someone checks out your site and buys your books, then you got paid for doing a review. Don’t use Amazon book reviews to promote your own books or other products.

2. Reviewers must have purchased $50 or more in products from Amazon to post any kind of review. (Amazon is a business. This is their way of ensuring you’re not just posting a review for a friend or are a paid reviewer.) Might be wise to ask your reviewers if they do business with Amazon to avoid their review being pulled.

3. You can receive an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) for review. However, near the end of your review, you must mention it’s an ARC and you were given no compensation for your unbiased, honest review. Never use the word FREE. A free copy denotes payment.

Let’s recap.

Encourage your reviewers not to add links. They must be customers of Amazon. And carefully word a reference to receiving an ARC copy without using the word free.

Consider this

4. What email address are they using? If George, Mary and Junior Jones use the same email or same Amazon account, those will be deleted. This appears as if the same person posted multiple reviews.

No influencing allowed

5. Don’t expect your chosen reviewers to give you a 5-star rating. That’s called influence. Influencing their opinion in any way is forbidden. Asking them to please post a review if they enjoyed your book is fine. Someone can enjoy your book and still give it a 3-star rating for formatting issues or cover design for example.

No duplicating

6. Be sure the reviewer uses their own words. Don’t provide a template. Also, too many “I liked it” or “It was good” with 5 stars rating sounds fake. Coaching them to mention what they like about your book will help them write something unique.

“The setting was breathtaking.”

“I learn so much about myself.”

The reviews don’t have to be long or fancy—just truthful.

Final thoughts about content.

Encourage your reviewers to double check their wording and their star reviews. Leaving out words can make the review sound odd. Misspelled words are not good. Ten dollar words are even worse. No one will understand if the reviewer truly enjoyed your book. Their verbiage might disguise their true feelings. I looked up some unfamiliar words I found in a review of a book I was considering. They weren’t flattering. Another important tip: sometimes the star rating function doesn’t end where you want it. A friend of mine had an awesome review of her book, but it had a 1-star rating. Check and double check before posting.