Most authors ask, even beg, readers to leave reviews for their books in the hope their kind words might inspire others to give their novels a chance. But how much sway do reviews really hold?

The majority of genre readers spend a lot of cash every year on books, and they demand well edited reads that leave them emotionally satisfied. How do they know if what they’re buying is right for them? Let’s assume the buying decision starts with an exciting cover and an engaging short description, also known as a blurb.

Right. The price is fair, the cover’s gorgeous, and the blurb is amazeballs. Check, check and check. What is the next step for our hypothetical reader?

Reliable book reviews, perhaps?

Most online retailers and book sites allow readers to share their opinions on their latest reads. Goodreads is where many rate books, typically without giving reasons for their ratings. Barnes & Noble is struggling a little at the moment and as a result features comparatively few reviews, so maybe this is not an ideal source of information, but what about iTunes or Smashwords or other retailers? And what about that giant of giants, Amazon?

Recent changes by Amazon have upset bloggers and authors alike. Amazon has never allowed friends and family to post book reviews (and uses questionable algorithms to determine who is and isn’t friends with an author), and its policy now seems to extend to readers who review a lot, most notably bloggers. My heart goes out to them. A lot of effort goes into writing an interesting review, let alone the time it takes to read the book, and they have seen years of work deleted from the Amazon website. Authors are just as annoyed, since reviews are currency. Even a single sentence makes a difference. But maybe it is this rigorousness that makes Amazon the most reliable source of reviews.

But does any of this matter? Do readers even check out reviews before purchasing? And if so, how much do other people’s opinions influence their decision?

The Poll

To this end, I posted a poll on Facebook with the following scenario.

Assuming a reader has found a book of around $4 with a great cover and blurb, is he convinced already, or is more research required before buying it?

The options were as follows:

Twenty-three readers responded. Not a huge number, but the results are convincing nevertheless.

8 out of the 23 cited Amazon reviews as their next step in deciding whether to buy the book or not. That’s about 30%. Some readers admit to focusing on negative reviews more than positive ones, which makes sense. If someone doesn’t like humor in their fiction and therefore didn’t enjoy my books, that’s fair. I can live with that. And if the next reader is not put off by this “flaw” and does in fact love humor in their novels, all the better for everyone involved.

Can we assume that the remaining 15 of our respondents avail themselves of a mixture of the other options? Actually, no. Instead, a staggering 14 out of the 23 said they don’t read reviews at all. All they need before making a decision are the blurb and the cover.

Only one respondent said she uses Goodreads to help her make up her mind, and she cited Amazon as her second choice.

I have always suspected that not many use Goodreads before buying a book. GR strikes me more as a social platform that helps readers keep track of the books they’ve read. These results seem to confirm my hunch.

Still, this outcome wasn’t at all what I imagined. I expected a much wider spread.

To complete the picture, I should mention that three respondents gave more than one answer: the second answer was Amazon in two cases and iTunes in the third.

There you have it. Readers seem to either seek information about a book from Amazon reviews, or more likely than not, they will buy the book on the basis of the cover and the description alone.

I will therefore encourage my readers to leave reviews on Amazon. That said, if you have something nice to say, I don’t mind where you post it. 🙂

Disclaimer: This does not answer the question of where or how readers discover books, of course. This will be the subject of a different poll.

So, let’s talk about this. Am I the only one surprised by this outcome? If you’re an author, will this change the way you promote in future? If bloggers are no longer allowed to leave reviews on Amazon, are blog tours still worth their money? And if you’re a reader, would you agree with the outcome of the poll?