How To Be A Top Reviewer on GoodReads

Have you ever wanted to know how to be a top reviewer on GoodReads? Then, you are in the right place!

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Lisa of Troy, and I am currently rated as the #4 US book reviewer and #7 in the world according to GoodReads. So how did I do it? In this article, I will teach you my three-point strategy for being a top reviewer.

Before we get into that, what exactly is a top reviewer? Every week on Wednesday, GoodReads publishes a list of its top reviewers. GoodReads rates each reviewer based on number of votes. What is a vote? A vote is every time someone clicked “Like” on a review.

So how do you get these votes? Take a look at my three-point strategy.

1. Friends

You need lots of GoodReads friends and followers. Presently, GoodReads allows people to have 5,001 friends. Great. How do you get friends? Every day, I would send the maximum number of friend requests permitted by GoodReads.

So should you just start friending people willy nilly? Nope. Definitely not. You want to look for two things in a potential GoodReads friend:
A)People who are active on GoodReads (not someone who last signed in 3 years ago or someone who only signs in once a quarter) AND
B) Someone who has the same interest in books as you (For example, if you only read fantasy books and your potential friend only reads romance books, it is going to be really difficult for you to comment and like each other’s reviews).

You should also send a friend request to all of the top GoodReads reviewers. These people are also looking for votes, and you will likely be able to give each other votes.

Will everyone accept your friend invite? Nope. Some people will not accept your friend request, and that’s ok. You will need to make the first move if you want to be a top reviewer though.

2. Engagement

To receive votes, you need to give votes. I return every single like that someone sends me. You can also go through your feed and like your friends’ reviews. Additionally, you can lookup books on GoodReads and like reviews that you enjoy.

Comments do not count as votes. However, comments are helpful because depending on the commenter’s settings, they might push your review to their feed. For example, someone with 1,000 friends comments on my review. This review is then published to that person’s feed, and an additional 1,000 people are now viewing my review. This is great exposure!

If someone leaves a comment on your review, make sure to respond. This is a nice way to acknowledge some of your most loyal fans. If you are starting out, consider leaving a thoughtful comment on some of the top reviewers’ reviews.

3. Content

This should be no surprise here, but if you want to be a top reviewer on GoodReads, you will need to read books (and regularly).

Do you have to read a book every single day? No. Some reviewers will repost old book reviews. However, if you repost 10-30 old book reviews daily, your friends and followers will likely become angry with you for filling up their feeds in such an over-the-top manner, and they will defriend you.

Personally, I read about 100-200 books per year. I highly recommend reading books that you want to read, not following others or chasing the buzzy books if you don’t want to burn out.

This large quantity of books can be rather expensive so I would recommend obtaining free books from NetGalley and Libby. NetGalley is a website where you can request books that have not yet been published. If you are approved, you will be provided the book at no cost in exchange for leaving an honest review. Libby is an app that is through your local library. You can checkout eBooks and audiobooks for free!

Information on Being a GoodReads Top Reviewer

Caution

In addition to these three tips, I will offer a word of caution. If you want to be #1, you could spend all day and night, reading and sending out likes. You might want to determine at the outset how much time you want to devote to being a top reviewer on GoodReads.

Compensation

As a GoodReads top reviewer, there is no compensation. Many top reviewers have book blogs and/or YouTube channels which might be monetized. As far as myself, I have received $0 in compensation, but I have received many, many free books (both physical and eBooks).

Paying a Top Reviewer to Review Your Book

Can you just pay me to review your book? No. Why not? If I read a book, I need content for my channel. If your book is horrible, I will still have to post a review. Can I just lie and say your book is great? No. My integrity isn’t for sale. My friends and followers depend on me to tell them the truth. If you want someone to read your book, I would suggest utilizing NetGalley.

If you have any questions about how to be a GoodReads top reviewer, please let me know in the comments! Need more bookish thoughts? Check out my article on What’s Wrong with GoodReads!