What is “social proof” and why should you care about it?<\/p>\n

“Social proof” is marketer-speak for public\u00a0evidence that people won’t be wasting their money if they buy your book.<\/p>\n

That evidence comes from reader reviews on retail sites that include Amazon and Goodreads, testimonials and endorsements on your website, and book information shares on social media sites.<\/p>\n

When positioning yourself as a topic authority, it extends beyond book feedback to how often people share content you create and what they say about it, too.<\/p>\n

Social proof for authors is important<\/h2>\n

Because there are now so many opportunities for readers to provide public feedback, this kind of social proof has become important.<\/p>\n

For example, I loved my friend Laura Laing’s book, Math for Writers: Tell a Better Story, Get Published, Make More Money<\/em><\/a>, so after I “blurbed” it, I shared the news on social networking sites. In each case, I shared an image of my blurb and included a link to more information about the book.<\/p>\n

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