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A step-by-step playbook for indie authors who want 50 to 100 honest reviews before launch day. Includes a free outreach tracking spreadsheet.
Most indie authors think about reviews too late.
By the time your book goes live on Amazon, the window for building a strong review base has already closed. The bookstagrammers have a full content calendar. The BookTokers have a TBR pile six months deep. The Substack authors you want to reach are already committed to other reads.
The authors who arrive at launch with 50, 80, or 120 reviews did not get lucky. They started five months out. They reached out to hundreds of people. They made it easy to say yes. And they had a system.
This guide is that system.
What is inside:
The Ultimate Guide to Getting ARC Reviews is a 28-page strategic playbook built specifically for indie non-fiction authors. It covers every stage of a serious ARC campaign, from building your outreach list to getting verified purchase reviews on Amazon before your hard launch date.
You will learn exactly how to find ARC readers on Instagram, TikTok, Substack, and LinkedIn, with step-by-step search instructions for each platform, the specific hashtags and search terms that surface readers in your genre, and guidance on how to vet accounts before you spend time pitching them.
The guide covers eight non-fiction subgenres in dedicated sections: self-help and personal development, business and entrepreneurship, memoir and narrative non-fiction, health and wellness, personal finance, parenting, spirituality and mindfulness, and true crime. Each section includes platform-specific hashtags, Substack search terms, LinkedIn notes where relevant, and genre-specific outreach tips.
You will also get the full strategy for the soft launch approach that generates verified purchase reviews, the ones Amazon trusts most and is least likely to remove. This involves a three-day free Kindle promotion before your hard launch date, timed so your ARC readers can download the book at no cost and leave a review that carries a verified purchase badge. The guide walks through the exact steps in your KDP dashboard to set this up. This strategy is for KDP Select authors only; the guide is clear about that.
What you get:
A 28-page PDF guide covering the complete ARC campaign process from six months out to four weeks post-launch, including outreach timeline, ARC file preparation, delivery tool options, platform-by-platform search instructions, pitch templates for Instagram, TikTok, Substack, LinkedIn, and email, the KDP Select soft launch strategy with step-by-step dashboard instructions, follow-up sequences, and a genre-by-genre breakdown for eight non-fiction categories.
A free ARC Outreach Tracking Google Sheet with 1,000 numbered rows, built-in dropdown menus for platform, contact method, and response status, automatic colour coding, and a live campaign dashboard that counts your contacts, responses, ARCs sent, and reviews posted as you go. Download it, make a copy in your own Google Drive, and your campaign is already organised before you send your first pitch.
The maths:
The average conversion rate from ARC request to posted review is between 5% and 10%. That means if you want 100 reviews at launch, you need to get your book in front of at least 1,000 people who have agreed to read it. The tracking sheet has 1,000 rows. The guide tells you exactly how to fill them.
This guide is for you if:
You are an indie non-fiction author with a book releasing in the next four to six months and you have not yet built your ARC reader list. Or you have a book that launched with fewer reviews than you hoped for and you are planning a relaunch. Or you are six months from your first publication date and you want to do this properly from the start.
This guide is not for you if:
You are publishing wide across multiple platforms and not enrolled in KDP Select, in which case the soft launch strategy does not apply to you, though everything else in the guide does.
A step-by-step playbook for indie authors who want 50 to 100 honest reviews before launch day. Includes a free outreach tracking spreadsheet.
Most indie authors think about reviews too late.
By the time your book goes live on Amazon, the window for building a strong review base has already closed. The bookstagrammers have a full content calendar. The BookTokers have a TBR pile six months deep. The Substack authors you want to reach are already committed to other reads.
The authors who arrive at launch with 50, 80, or 120 reviews did not get lucky. They started five months out. They reached out to hundreds of people. They made it easy to say yes. And they had a system.
This guide is that system.
What is inside:
The Ultimate Guide to Getting ARC Reviews is a 28-page strategic playbook built specifically for indie non-fiction authors. It covers every stage of a serious ARC campaign, from building your outreach list to getting verified purchase reviews on Amazon before your hard launch date.
You will learn exactly how to find ARC readers on Instagram, TikTok, Substack, and LinkedIn, with step-by-step search instructions for each platform, the specific hashtags and search terms that surface readers in your genre, and guidance on how to vet accounts before you spend time pitching them.
The guide covers eight non-fiction subgenres in dedicated sections: self-help and personal development, business and entrepreneurship, memoir and narrative non-fiction, health and wellness, personal finance, parenting, spirituality and mindfulness, and true crime. Each section includes platform-specific hashtags, Substack search terms, LinkedIn notes where relevant, and genre-specific outreach tips.
You will also get the full strategy for the soft launch approach that generates verified purchase reviews, the ones Amazon trusts most and is least likely to remove. This involves a three-day free Kindle promotion before your hard launch date, timed so your ARC readers can download the book at no cost and leave a review that carries a verified purchase badge. The guide walks through the exact steps in your KDP dashboard to set this up. This strategy is for KDP Select authors only; the guide is clear about that.
What you get:
A 28-page PDF guide covering the complete ARC campaign process from six months out to four weeks post-launch, including outreach timeline, ARC file preparation, delivery tool options, platform-by-platform search instructions, pitch templates for Instagram, TikTok, Substack, LinkedIn, and email, the KDP Select soft launch strategy with step-by-step dashboard instructions, follow-up sequences, and a genre-by-genre breakdown for eight non-fiction categories.
A free ARC Outreach Tracking Google Sheet with 1,000 numbered rows, built-in dropdown menus for platform, contact method, and response status, automatic colour coding, and a live campaign dashboard that counts your contacts, responses, ARCs sent, and reviews posted as you go. Download it, make a copy in your own Google Drive, and your campaign is already organised before you send your first pitch.
The maths:
The average conversion rate from ARC request to posted review is between 5% and 10%. That means if you want 100 reviews at launch, you need to get your book in front of at least 1,000 people who have agreed to read it. The tracking sheet has 1,000 rows. The guide tells you exactly how to fill them.
This guide is for you if:
You are an indie non-fiction author with a book releasing in the next four to six months and you have not yet built your ARC reader list. Or you have a book that launched with fewer reviews than you hoped for and you are planning a relaunch. Or you are six months from your first publication date and you want to do this properly from the start.
This guide is not for you if:
You are publishing wide across multiple platforms and not enrolled in KDP Select, in which case the soft launch strategy does not apply to you, though everything else in the guide does.
