How to Ask Readers for an Amazon Review (What Works and What to Avoid)

What Amazon actually prohibits

Amazon's review policy is stricter than most authors realise — and vaguer than it should be. The clearest prohibitions are:

• Offering payment, gifts, or any incentive in exchange for a review
• Asking for only positive reviews — the request must be for an honest one
• Having a direct financial relationship with the reviewer
• Reviewing your own book, or coordinating reviews with people who have a financial interest in your work

The line Amazon draws is between asking for a review and influencing what that review says.

What you're allowed to do

Asking for reviews is fine. Asking specific people to review your book is fine. Distributing advance copies in exchange for an honest review is fine.

The key phrase is "honest review." Amazon uses this language in their own policy. Including it in your ask isn't just good practice — it's what distinguishes a legitimate request from a prohibited one.

You're allowed to:

• Ask anyone to leave an honest review
• Distribute ARC copies in exchange for honest reviews
• Include a review request in your back matter, newsletter, and emails
• Follow up once with ARC readers who haven't posted a review yet

What trips authors up

A few patterns that cross the line, even unintentionally:

• "Leave a 5-star review and I'll send you the next book free" — incentivised, prohibited
• Review-swapping inside a closed author group — coordinated manipulation
• Placing the review ask on a page where you also offer a bonus or freebie — the proximity implies an exchange
• "Only if you loved it" — conditioning the ask on a positive outcome

ARC readers: the right approach

Advance review copy (ARC) programs are legitimate when set up correctly:

• Give the book freely in exchange for an honest review only — no conditions on what the review says
• Don't follow up specifically with readers who gave lower ratings
• Expect reviewers to include a disclosure: "I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review"

Using BookSirens, NetGalley, or your own email list to distribute ARCs is fine. The issue comes when the exchange starts to look conditional — when reviewers feel they owe you a positive outcome.

The safest ask is also the most effective one

The lowest-risk review request tends to work best: short, direct, and consequence-free.

"Reviews help other readers find this book. If you have a minute, an honest one on Amazon would mean a lot."

No pressure. No incentive. No conditions. Just a genuine ask.

The placement matters too — the back matter of your book, timed right after a reader finishes, consistently outperforms any email or social follow-up. Use ReviewLinker's review request generator for ready-to-use wording across all your placements.