As a new author, you’ll want a compelling website Book page that draws in your audience and makes it easy for them to purchase your book. So, you’ll need to speak directly to your audience, entice and engage them, and convince them that your book is worth taking a chance on.
How do you do all that, you ask? Well, all this is possible by including the right elements in the right way. We’ll cover all of this below, so that when your potential readers arrive at your Book page, they’ll be convinced they need to buy your book!
Social Proof is Part of a Compelling Website Book Page
Remember, the goal is to entice and engage the reader and to make your book easy to purchase. First, let’s go over how you can create a compelling website Book page by including reviews, blurbs, accolades and other social proof. As a new author, this social proof will convince your readers that your book is worth taking a chance on.
If you already have good reviews, gracious blurbs, and/or book awards or other accolades, they should be included on your website’s Book page. Use only the best, and choose snippets, if necessary, to save space. You don’t want the page to appear crowded or overwhelming, so choose wisely. A professional web designer can help it all come together.
If you don’t have any of this type of social proof, you can seek it out. Submit to book awards, solicit reviews and ask the right people for a blurb. If you’re a non-fiction author, you can also (and should) establish social proof via your expertise on your topic. This is especially important if you write in the Business or Self-Help genres.
You can read more about getting blurbs here. There are many ways to get book reviews and you can find out more about that in this post by our founder, Jeniffer Thomspon. As far as book awards go, here is a list of submission options.
Below are some examples of Book pages to give you an idea of what compelling ones looks like.
A non-fiction guide to investing by a wealth strategist
Children’s book about a brave French Bulldog
Speaking Directly to Your Audience Will Draw Them in and Keep Them Engaged
A compelling website Book page will speak directly to your audience. If you know your genre well, and the audience for that genre, your website’s colors, fonts, tone, and language will all reflect that. That’s why doing your research is so important. These design clues and choices come into play with your book cover and your website design choices should match.
If something is not quite right, your audience will notice this and it will turn them away.
The right choices will speak to them and keep them engaged. On the topic of speaking to your audience, next we’ll go over the elements that make up your Book page’s marketing copy.
A Compelling Website Book Page Entices Your Readers with Great Marketing Copy
Just like your back cover copy, what you choose to include( or in some cases, leave out) helps create a compelling website Book page. This is where your book’s marketing copy has a chance to shine!
If someone is considering purchasing your book online, they won’t be holding it in their hands and turning it over to read your book description. So, you’ll need to add that here. Or, you can use a longer, shorter, or otherwise adapted version. What you use will depend on the space you have and your overall design details, but the purpose is to intrigue the reader. You can view the different marketing copy style choices on the website samples we linked above too.
Don’t fill empty space with empty words! Make everything you add here count.
If you’d like to know what makes for good book marketing copy, we wrote a blog on the topic. Here it is.
We also have a copywriter on our team if you need some help with this aspect of your Book page.
Add Visual Appeal and Access to Pique Their Curiosity
Another part of what makes a compelling website Book page, besides eye-catching design, is high-quality book images. This means clear, professional renderings of your book cover such as 3D mockups and other PNGs. We love using 3D cover images because they literally stand out against the backdrop of your website design. A 3D image looks as if they could almost hold your book in their hands, which makes it very appealing. You can see examples of these types of images on the Book page samples we provided above.
If you want to read about image placement and more tips on what makes for a fantastic Book page you can do that here.
Tip: You can also add features like a sneak peek inside your book, or offer a free download of a chapter when they sign up to your email list. This is what is known as a reader magnet. Not only does this offer proof of the quality of your writing, but it instantly takes them into the world of your book. It draws them in and increases their curiosity, making them want to read more. And growing your email list by offering a reader magnet keeps them engaged.
Finally, You Increase Your Conversion Rates by Making it Easy to Purchase
Of course, the purpose of all of this work towards making your website’s Book page so compelling is to help sell your book, right? Well, these days you have to make it as easy as possible. Readers want an quick and obvious path to purchasing. This means you’ll need to make your book available to purchase with a click or two. It also means you’ll want to guide them right to those Buy Now buttons. You can use CTAs to direct them where to buy.
Options help too. Give your readers a choice besides Amazon. Add buttons for your favorite bookstore, for instance. And provide an option to purchase via BookShop, so they can support their favorite bookstore.
You can read more about Buy Now buttons right here.
Some Other Tactics to Increase Conversions
Another smart move that will guide your website visitors towards purchasing your book is adding links to your Book page on your other web pages. Not everyone will land directly on your Book page, but you can guide them there this way. It should be noted that a well-designed website, with a clear menu, good metadata usage, and solid SEO practices will help get them there in the first place too.
And though it’s the longer path to conversion (some people really need to be convinced) you could also add your contact and/or subscribe forms to your Book page. This way, you’re building trust and growing your audience. This also leads to creating a loyal fan base, especially if you blog regularly or stay on top of newsletter publication.
In the end, a compelling website Book page is all about your audience. If you give them what they want and expect, speak directly to them and draw them in to keep them engaged, you’ll not only have a savvy, professional looking website, you’ll boost your conversion rate and sell more books!
As with all your book marketing efforts, it comes down to every little thing working together to form the whole. But we know it can seem overwhelming when you don’t know where to start. That’s why we put out this blog regularly. We want to answer the questions you have and guide indie authors to success. So, search our blog for topics you have questions about. You’ll probably find an answer there. If you subscribe, you won’t miss out on future posts.
Don’t see the answer to your questions in our blog? Leave it in the comments!
Feeling like you could use some professional help? Reach out and see what our team can do for you!
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