ROUND # X - ANNOUNCEMENT - FEB 28th TARGET

[rkjock1]

Oh never mind. Can't sleep so I did all 11.

[drmirage]

Nice!

Great to hear that fans are willing to take a step up without earning any incentives / rewards.

How much time did it take to do all 11 reviews. Also did you do UK and Canada.

Oh never mind. Can't sleep so I did all 11.

[rkjock1]

Nice!

Great to hear that fans are willing to take a step up without earning any incentives / rewards.

How much time did it take to do all 11 reviews. Also did you do UK and Canada.

Oh never mind. Can't sleep so I did all 11.

Maybe 2 hours. In that ballpark. And no, only US for now.

[brucehartshorn]

Here's a thought

Since Phoenix8008 set the end of Feb. as a deadline for this voluntary round, may I suggest a goal of 50 reviews for each of the 11 trades so that these achieve maximum exposure on Amazon per Elery's initial post? It's very ambitious I know, but over the last two years we have seen what the members here can do when they put their minds to it, so let's see if we can achieve this by the self imposed deadline. As Elery said, it would be HUGE for VEI and I have unbounded faith in the members here soooooo.......GO TEAM

Being the data geek I am, I DID make note of how many reviews each of the 11 TPBs had when this started so that at the end of Feb we can gauge how we did, just for our own edification (and bragging rights for everyone).

(Have to admit that it's kinda fun to be here helping with this project again with my bud Elery. You folks and he have ALWAYS been the highlight of these speaking for myself)

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!! MUCH APPRECIATED

[Shadowman99]

I'll review the books without a doubt.

I've got one or two little bits and bobs going on at the moment that're keeping me occupied, not least of all my university studies, but if these books aren't reviewed by the time Summer break begins, you know they'll be done by the time it ends

[brucehartshorn]

Just put up my Armor Hunters, XO 7, and Rai reviews

And, copied all three to the Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.uk sites as well

ALL great reads that nobody should miss!

[Keith]

Submitted my reviews for X-O 6 and Armor Hunters on all three sites. More to come.

[jmatt]

Posted a brief review for AA #6 tonight.

EDIT: And Armor Hunters tonight. It only takes 5 minutes, everyone should be tossing up a quick review when possible.

[bygranddesign]

I did a review for Rai ... Slowly but surely I will get these done

[jmatt]

Did AH: Bloodshot today. I think I can manage a few every week.

[nycjadie]

I'm going on a long business trip at the end of next week, and I'm taking a HUGE stack of TPBs. I WILL DO THIS! I'll probably need until the end of February, but it will happen.

[brucehartshorn]

Love seeing the continued reviews coming in as fans do their bit to support VEI and the stellar work they do Keep it up

[jeremycoe]

I posted a review for Armor Hunters: Harbinger on all the sites. I have my Delinquents review written, but it's not eligible for reviews yet.

[brucehartshorn]

Just put up my review for X O Manowar 6 at US, CA, and UK Amazon sites

Just FYI: When Elery posted this announcement on 1/19 there were 28 USA reviews for the 11 TPBs mentioned. As of 2/3 that total is up to 57 reviews for the 11 TPBs Good job.

A reminder that Round X had a member imposed deadline on it of 2/28.

Keep up the good work and keep helping out VEI with those reviews. It DOES matter!

[Phoenix8008]

A reminder that Round X had a member imposed deadline on it of 2/28.

If you're talking about my 'deadline' from page 1 of this thread, technically I said February 29th, which doesn't happen until next year. That was part of the gag though, and I suppose by you typing that there is a member imposed deadline of the 28th... and you're a member... then you just set your own deadline totally separate from mine!

[x-omatic]

I have never done a review of anything. I am just not a good writer. I have read all of the trades out to date and have even brought them in for one of my co workers to read. We both agree that Archer and Armstrong is our favorite and Rai a close second. Followed by X-O.

Now I did create a tweeter account just to do the Valiant Fan Art Fridays. Maybe I will try my hand at some reviews.

[Shadowman99]

I have never done a review of anything. I am just not a good writer. I have read all of the trades out to date and have even brought them in for one of my co workers to read. We both agree that Archer and Armstrong is our favorite and Rai a close second. Followed by X-O.

Now I did create a tweeter account just to do the Valiant Fan Art Fridays. Maybe I will try my hand at some reviews.

I don't think a review really has to be particularly in depth, if it's writing ability you're worried about. I'm sure that something like "Thought the book was really cool, definitely recommend giving it a read" is a good as anything. Even something ultra-basic like that gets your opinion across, so why not challenge yourself to step outside the comfort zone a bit and try writing some reviews, even if they're just simple little things like that? One can only improve through practice

[drmirage]

Likewise, I'm also NOT a good writer myself. I could not write anything if my life depended on it.

These Amazon reviews do help shoppers in making informative decisions on purchasing. This is a FACT because I (myself) personally look through reviews and ratings (most reviews and highest ratings) and I purchase those items in that order of criteria. The stars ratings, and quantity of reviews tell potential shoppers everything about a product before a shopper makes a purchase. (If its good or a bad purchase.. this also includes Value for $)

(On a tangent, Its interesting when I am looking for a new restaurant, I always look at YELP for reviews filter the highest rating first) I'm not sure if anyone does the same here.

Going back to Amazon. Again, these review make such a difference.

------------------------ THIS IS FROM THE Original Post------------------------
Do Amazon reviews actually affect a book’s sales?
I have to be honest with you and tell you that I don’t know for sure. What I heard was something like:
Around 20-25 reviews, Amazon starts including the book in “also bought” and “you might like” lists. This increases your chances of someone finding a VEI title.
Around 50-70 reviews, Amazon looks at your book for spotlight positions and the newsletter. This is HUGE.
Number of reviews may affect Amazon sales ranking. (Again, this is anecdotal. We have no actual proof of it.)
And, of course, readers may read through these reviews and decide to purchase or not purchase the book based on this.
(I personally look for reviews before making an informative decision on purchasing a product)

Likewise, positive reviews tell you what you’re doing right. If people rave about Valiant characters, then that’s likely a good place to keep going.

But I really hated the book! Should I still review it? Yes. Absolutely! How will VEI know where to improve unless someone tells them... So? Yes, it can be painful to read some reviews but is VEI needs to hear what is the truth in their products. No.
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I have never done a review of anything. I am just not a good writer. I have read all of the trades out to date and have even brought them in for one of my co workers to read. We both agree that Archer and Armstrong is our favorite and Rai a close second. Followed by X-O.

Now I did create a tweeter account just to do the Valiant Fan Art Fridays. Maybe I will try my hand at some reviews.

[drmirage]

(I'm making a double post so it doesn't look like one of Bruce's LOOONG Posts)

Gong back to Amazon.com Reviews. Here are the top 100 trade paperbacks currently on Amazon.com (Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels)
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Book ... 3325104011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Amazon Top 100 is updated every hourly.

#1 Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars (762) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721 in Books

#5 Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls
4.6 out of 5 stars (265) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,320 in Books

#6 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
4.5 out of 5 stars (820) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187 in Books

#7 Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls
4.7 out of 5 stars (559) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,750 in Books

#8 Batman: Year One
4.5 out of 5 stars (513) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,706 in Books

#9 Watchmen
4.6 out of 5 stars (1,378) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,778 in Books

#10 Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family
4.6 out of 5 stars (230) Reviwes
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,840 in Books
-----------------------------------

Lets compare this to the following VEI Books:

X-O Manowar Volume 1: By The Sword
4.8 out of 5 stars (85) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,176 in Books

Harbinger Volume 1: Omega Rising
4.8 out of 5 stars (77) Reviews
#74,595 in Books
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,595 in Books

Rai Volume 1: Welcome To New Japan
5.0 out of 5 stars (6) Reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,131 in Books

--------------------------------------------

There's potentially a big customer base out there for graphic novels / trade paperbacks and very competitive as well.

Items with the highest and most reviews get higher visibility and awareness. Therefore Valiant Fans writing these reviews help raise awareness with how VEI's books.

Imagine if 500 individuals each write a 5.0 out of 5 stars on X-O Manowar Vol #1 and Harbinger Vol #1.

There's no reason why anyone would miss that. Shoppers will be curious on why is this book so highly reviewed with all 5.0 out of 5 stars. I have read all the Batman Trades.... I'm curious what is X-O Manowar or Harbinger or Rai.

Like I said in the beginning, not many will know how great these books are if there is little or no reviews. This also applies not only on Amazon.com, but on Comixology, Borders, Barnes and Noble... etc.

There's just no reason why a book with such high reviews get unnoticed.

[Keith]

Just submitted my review of X-O Vol. 7 on the three sites.

[brucehartshorn]

UPDATE:

On 1/19/15 when Elery put this post up, there were 28 Amazon reviews for the subject 11 TPBs.

Today, 2/13/15, a little less than a month after posting, there are now 61 Amazon reviews for the same 11 TPBS This is good news since each of these reviews help VEI with their TPB sales.

The challenge end of "Round X" was the end of Feb. Can we get these up to 110 reviews for these 11 TPBs (or an average of only 10 each)? My belief is that the fans here CAN and WILL do that goal by the end of the month. I know that VEI has seen this thread and is appreciative of the support shown so far. Let's show them just how much support we're capable of here on the board

Thanks as ALWAYS for your continued backing of these efforts

[jeremycoe]

I got reviews for X-O Manowar volumes 6 & 7 posted yesterday on all 3 sites, and one for Delinquents posted on the US site (wasn't available yet on .ca or .co.uk).

[String]

I'm a tad behind, but I got reviews for Rai, X-O volumes 6 & 7 and Armor Hunters posted to all three Amazon sites.

[Phoenix8008]

Starting late, but here's what I've got done (for all 3 sites):

-Archer & Armstrong 6
-Armor Hunters: Bloodshot
-Armor Hunters: Harbinger
-Harbinger 5
-Harbinger 6 Omegas
-Quantum & Woody 3
-Rai 1
-Shadowman: End Times
-Unity 3
-X-O Manowar 6
-X-O Manowar 7


I think that does it!

[jkingman]

halfway done!! some great books to review too!!