As a blogger who covers books and self-publishing, I have done my fair share of book reviews.  However, over the years, I’ve noticed that just writing about a book doesn’t work.  In most cases, the book is too obscure for people to find your post and in other cases, the book is too well known, and your review will have too much competition.

This usually leaves many a blogger mad with rage as they realize that they can’t seem to be able to cover the books they want and get the traffic they so desperately need.

So, where is the sweet spot?

In truth, it’s a little of both and by thinking about your next book review in this manner, you could gain more traffic and even better sales.  In the following article, I will show you one simple trick that will help you compare books like a pro.

Combining the Best of Both Worlds in Book Reviews

Like I said, the best answer is to do both.  I don’t mean write one review on a popular book and one review on an obscure one.  I’m talking about writing an article that compares the two or a couple.  In this case, you are giving someone a known standard, and you are comparing it to an unknown book.  This gives people a reference and ultimately gives them a choice, which turns out, people like that.

Say, for example, you want to write a review about an epic wizard kid.  Why not compare that book to a Harry Potter book?  For those who love Harry Potter books, they might be on the prowl to find books like it.  With your review comparing the two, you give your readers an ability to make that distinction.  But it doesn’t have to stop there.

Study Guide Comparisons: FSOT

But book comparisons aren’t just for fiction.  They can be stupendous for non-fiction.  In most cases, it’s easier to do a comparison to two non-fictions.  In many cases, a non-fiction works to address a pain-point for the reader.  Therefore, as the reviewer, you just need to figure out which book is better at helping the reader solve their problem, be that stop smoking, become more effective, etc.

The FSOTPrep.com did an excellent job of comparing some non-fiction books.  In the list of the best FSOT study guides, they compared 3 of the best Foreign Service Officer Study guides and ranked them #1-3 with #1 being the best.   This is a great method because those who are about to take the Foreign Service Officer Test are probably looking to figure out which FSOT study guide is the best fit for them and, of course, the stumble upon this beauty of a list.  In essence, the writer has made it super easy for the reader to look at all the pertinent FSO exam study guides and figure out which one is best.

Do you think those Amazon buttons are Amazon Associate links?  Of course, they are.

To Sum It All Up

So in short, we reviewers need to stop being so linear in our thoughts.  We need to look for things to compare with.  This, in turn, will give your book review more exposure, more reach, and a set standard in which to help your reader base their thoughts on the book.   This simple tactic will help you to get more traffic and even better sales conversions, which is what we book review bloggers want most, right?