I’ve been involved with Kindle for a while, now.<\/p>\n
Not only my own books, but as a partner in another business, where sometimes hundreds of books per day are sold — gathering dozens of both good and bad reviews.<\/p>\n
And after a while, you see a pattern.<\/p>\n
Especially with the 1-star reviews.<\/p>\n
And that is very few are genuine.<\/p>\n
Most are just from comment trolls with an agenda.<\/p>\n
Take for example this blue flame special who left a 1-star review for my “How To Write, Produce And Profit From Print Newsletters” book:<\/p>\n
I can’t believe that someone Gary Bencivenga endorses would slap this crap together like this. It doesn’t even do well construed as only “theory”. C’mon man.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Amusing stuff.<\/p>\n
And, predictable, too.<\/p>\n
These types of whiney reviews are popping up more and more.<\/p>\n
And in 9 out of 10 cases they are from some loser who is jealous, a competitor or someone who simply has too much time on their hands, so they prance around Kindle leaving 1-star reviews on products from people they don’t like.<\/p>\n
How do you tell if they’re genuine or the ravings of a loser?<\/p>\n
Well, here are a few signs:<\/p>\n
1. Emotional<\/strong><\/p>\n
A real review (whether 1-star or 5-star or anything in between) is “just the facts” like a weather report — where it’s either raining or sunny, and here’s what to expect etc.<\/p>\n
Not a commentary on how crappy the weather is.<\/p>\n
Or, how they feeeeel about it.<\/p>\n
Yet, that’s what the little comment troll above did.<\/p>\n
No specifics.<\/p>\n
Just empty complaining with no real point.<\/p>\n
Which brings us to…<\/p>\n
2. Axe to grind<\/strong><\/p>\n
You can tell the one above is from someone with an axe to grind. Maybe he’s a goo-roo fanboy I’ve offended (good!) Or maybe he’s a competitor. Or, maybe he’s just angry at the world.<\/p>\n
Who knows?<\/p>\n
One thing is for sure:<\/p>\n
He sounds like he’s got an axe to grind.<\/p>\n
It sounds personal for the little troll, not business.<\/p>\n
Thus, it hurts his review’s credibility.<\/p>\n
3. False Info<\/strong><\/p>\n
Another red flag is dropping misleading information. For example, when did Gary Bencivenga ever “endorse” me?<\/p>\n
Answer:<\/p>\n
Never.<\/p>\n
But (presumably) the troll thinks saying so helps his case.<\/p>\n
Of course, it doesn’t.<\/p>\n
Just makes his review misleading…<\/p>\n
4. Spiteful<\/strong><\/p>\n
Calling something “crap” without any specifics whatsoever is like when someone knows they’ve lost a debate (cuz they have no facts), so they pathetically resort to profanity or name calling.<\/p>\n
I’d venture to guess 90% of 1-star reviews do this.<\/p>\n
At least, the ones I’ve seen…<\/p>\n
5. No Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n
The little troll says it’s not even good “theory.”<\/p>\n
Which is interesting for two reasons:<\/p>\n
First, he’s not a verified purchaser.<\/p>\n
(As of this writing, at least.)<\/p>\n
So probably he didn’t even read it.<\/p>\n
(i.e. just has an axe to grind)<\/p>\n
And secondly, there isn’t any actual “theory” in the book.<\/p>\n
It’s the exact formula I used to launch, sell and publish 2 successful print newsletters as witnessed by hundreds of collective paying subscribers over the past 3+ years. He likely knows this (and if not, then he should do at least a modicum of homework before spouting nonsense in reviews). But since he has no facts to back up his complaints, he thinks lobbing insults will help his case.<\/p>\n
Which, of course, it doesn’t.<\/p>\n
Especially when weighed against the other reviews.<\/p>\n
(Which are positive reviews.)<\/p>\n
So there you have it.<\/p>\n
The anatomy of an Amazon comment troll.<\/p>\n
You’ll get these eventually if you sell on Kindle.<\/p>\n
Might as well expect it…<\/p>\n
Okay, one last thing:<\/p>\n
I’m obviously a big fan of print newsletters.<\/p>\n
And, wish there were more (good ones) out there.<\/p>\n
So if you’d like to check this book out, go to:<\/p>\n
If you’re in the US:<\/p>\n
www.bensettle.com\/print-newsletter\/us<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
If you’re in the UK:<\/p>\n