Are book reviews by Amazon Top Reviewers more important?
How much impact an Amazon review has depends mostly on the credibility and helpfulness of the reviewer. It all boils down to this: Does the review help Amazon shoppers decide whether they’re likely to be satisfied with the book? None of this depends on whether the reviewer is designated as a “Top Reviewer.” However, I’d add this: Amazon gives added weight to reviews by Top Reviewers when its system calculates which review(s) are assigned to Spotlight positions (Spotlight Reviews are the one or two reviews that appear above all other reviews, sometimes permanently.) So reviews by Amazon Top Reviewers tend to have more impact simply because they’re much more visible. If an author gets a helpful review from a Top Reviewer — and Amazon gives that review a Spotlight position — that review can do more for your sales than a rave review in Publishers Weekly or a writeup by any other “professional” critic. After all, that Spotlight Review can be read by hundreds of book buyers daily — for th
