Selling Books

Your Guide to Writing, Publishing and Marketing Books and Ebooks

  • Blog
  • Free Newsletter
You are here: Home / Amazon.com / How to Send Kindle Ebook Review Copies

How to Send Kindle Ebook Review Copies

February 8, 2012 by Cathy Stucker

Reviews can help sell more copies of your books, including Kindle ebooks. However, many authors are unsure about how to send review copies of Kindle ebooks to potential reviewers. It turns out that Amazon provides a simple way to send copies of your ebook to anyone. The above video explains it in more detail.

To send a review copy, get the email address of the reviewer’s Amazon account. Go to your book’s page on Amazon and click on the “Give as a Gift” button near the buy button. Enter the email address of the person to whom you want to send the book. They will receive an email that the ebook has been gifted to them. When they accept it, the ebook will be delivered to their Kindle device or app. One caution: they can decline the ebook and elect to receive a gift certificate instead. Make sure you only gift books to people who have expressed a willingness to receive, read and review your book.

You will pay full price for the book, but you will receive a royalty. That means that your net cost is the sale price less your royalty. If your ebook sells for $2.99 with a 70% royalty, your cost will be just over $.90 (Amazon’s 30% plus a small download charge, usually a few cents). That is a small price to pay, especially when you compare it to the cost of printing and mailing a paper book.

There is another reason to choose this method instead of simply sending a file to the reviewer. When their review is posted to Amazon it will include the notation, “Amazon Verfied Purchase.” There are authors who post fraudulent or paid-for reviews on Amazon, so showing that the reviewer actually received the book from Amazon gives more credibility to their review.

(Note: Paying for reviews is against Amazon’s terms of service. However, providing a free copy to a reviewer is specifically allowed.)

Related Posts :

4 Free and Effective Ways To Market Your Book
How Important is Visual Communication in an E...
An Easy Way to Multiply Your Book Sales
What is the Best Book Writing Software?

Filed Under: Amazon.com, Book Reviews, Cathy's Blog Tagged With: Ebooks, kindle, review copies

Comments

  1. WritersWritingWords (Eleni) says

    February 10, 2012 at 4:06 am

    Very helpful comment.
    I will soon use Kindle for distributing my books and I was definitely planning on asking reviews — this method seems to have advantages.
    WritersWritingWords (Eleni) recently posted..The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (Part 2 of 2)My Profile

  2. Jesper says

    March 7, 2012 at 11:28 am

    I didn’t know that, but it’s a great way to market a book. Thanks for the advice.

  3. Shawndra says

    July 14, 2012 at 2:23 pm

    Thanks for this great information! Question: Does the book show up as a “sale” as well? I think based on your “Amazon Verified Purchase” comment that it would, but I wanted to make sure.

    Thanks again!

  4. Cathy B Stucker says

    July 15, 2012 at 12:03 am

    Shawndra, it will show up as a sale after the recipient redeems the gift. Think of is this way: You are actually sending the recipient a gift card for the amount of your book. When they “spend” it to buy your book, it counts as a sale. (You should remember that they can choose not to spend it on your book. You are sending cash, and the recipient may use it any way they wish at Amazon.)

  5. Tony Tovar says

    August 24, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    That’s actually great advice. I’m going to gift copies to reviewers. Considering that they may also way better than if I were to simply ask someone to review the book without getting a “verified amazon review” attached to the review.

    Great post!
    @NicheMonger
    Tony Tovar recently posted..To Self Publish For Kindle Part #2 – Cost Of Publishing An EbookMy Profile

Sell More Books!

FREE! Sign up Cathy Stucker's Selling Books newsletter. You will get useful tips and techniques for writing, publishing and selling books, plus member-only exclusives such as free webinars.

BONUS! Get instant access to Cathy's audio program on how to Build an Effective Author Platform!

I respect your privacy & will NEVER sell, rent or share your email address. More than a policy, it's my Privacy Pledge.

Recent Articles

  • FAQs About Children’s Book Illustrations
  • 5 Posts Every Author Should Write on their Website
  • Reducing Everyday Distractions So You Can Get More Writing Done
  • E.S.Danon – Moon in Bastet
  • Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue – Complicated Heart
  • OLUWAmuyiwa Omole – Re.Think CULTURE
  • Dale S. Rogers – Lighthouse on Tortola
  • What’s in a Name?
  • Sebastian Schug – A Guide to Exploring Abandoned Churches
  • Camille Cabrera – Catalina’s Tide

Pages

Contact
Contribute Articles
Contributing Authors
Free Newsletter to Help You Sell More Books
Get Interviewed
Publishing Resources
Subscribe/RSS
Privacy/Disclosure Policies

Categories

Agents Amazon.com Article Marketing Author Interviews Author Platform Blogging Book Business Book Design Book Marketing Book Proposals Book Publicity Book Publishing Book Reviews Book Signings Bookstore Book Titles Book Tours Cathy's Blog Children's Books Content Marketing Copyright Copy Writing Ebooks Editing Fiction Writing Freelance Writing Get Published Ghostwriters Internet Marketing Marketing Fiction Motivation Networking Non-Fiction Writing Oprah Winfrey POD Publishing Public Speaking Research Resources for Writers Running Your Publishing Company Self Publishing Social Media Special Sales Video Marketing Writers Block Writing

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2006 - 2021 Cathy Stucker · All Rights Reserved

Log in to your account