Anatomy of an Amazon review troll

I've been involved with Kindle for a while, now.



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.



And after a while, you see a pattern.



Especially with the 1-star reviews.



And that is very few are genuine.



Most are just from comment trolls with an agenda.



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:



"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."



Amusing stuff.



And, predictable, too.



These types of whiney reviews are popping up more and more.



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.



How do you tell if they're genuine or the ravings of a loser?



Well, here are a few signs:





1. Emotional



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.



Not a commentary on how crappy the weather is.



Or, how they feeeeel about it.



Yet, that's what the little comment troll above did.



No specifics.



Just empty complaining with no real point.



Which brings us to...





2. Axe to grind



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.



Who knows?



One thing is for sure:



He sounds like he's got an axe to grind.



It sounds personal for the little troll, not business.



Thus, it hurts his review's credibility.





3. False Info



Another red flag is dropping misleading information. For example,

when did Gary Bencivenga ever "endorse" me?



Answer:



Never.



But (presumably) the troll thinks saying so helps his case.



Of course, it doesn't.



Just makes his review misleading...





4. Spiteful



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.



I'd venture to guess 90% of 1-star reviews do this.



At least, the ones I've seen...





5. No Facts



The little troll says it's not even good "theory."



Which is interesting for two reasons:



First, he's not a verified purchaser.



(As of this writing, at least.)



So probably he didn't even read it.



(i.e. just has an axe to grind)



And secondly, there isn't any actual "theory" in the book.



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.



Which, of course, it doesn't.



Especially when weighed against the other reviews.



(Which are positive reviews.)



So there you have it.



The anatomy of an Amazon comment troll.



You'll get these eventually if you sell on Kindle.



Might as well expect it...



Okay, one last thing:



I'm obviously a big fan of print newsletters.



And, wish there were more (good ones) out there.



So if you'd like to check this book out, go to:





If you're in the US:

http://www.bensettle.com/print-newsletter/us





If you're in the UK:

http://www.bensettle.com/print-newsletter/uk





Of course, I'd appreciate it if you left a review.



Yes, even if it's a 1-star review.



All I ask is it's a *legitimate* review.



Not a troll review like the one above...



Ben Settle



P.S. I'm experimenting with a way to turn 1-star reviews from

comment trolls into sales. If it works (and I won't know if it will

or not for a while) I'll not only not care if trolls leave reviews,

I'll profit from them.



If it does work, I'll teach it to my "Email Players" subscribers.



Fun times ahead...









Ben Settle

Email Specialist

Settle, LLC

www.BenSettle.com



Copyrighted & published by Settle, LLC.



All rights reserved.





Settle, LLC | P.O. Box 437 | Gold Beach, OR 97444



To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:

http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TAwsrCwctCzsnKycjAzstEa0jOzszOzMzMw=