The most frequent questions I get from writers are about websites: do I really need one; how many pages should I have; and what should I put on them? Today I’m going to talk about one of the most important pages on your website: your book page.
Some people refer to this as a book landing page. Now, just to get a little technical here, a landing page is a standalone page dedicated to promoting one thing and encouraging people to buy that thing. It’s different to a normal page on your website in that you can’t navigate to the rest of your website from it, it doesn’t have any surplus items like a menu, header, footer. If this still sounds like double-dutch to you, there’s a great explanation here.
Want to grow your audience? You need a compelling brand message.
Now, don’t panic. You don’t need to set up a different website or an actual landing page if you don’t have the know-how, time, resources, or inclination. A page on your site is a great start.
Whether you decide to create a landing page or a book page on your site, there are some key considerations. Yes, there’s a huge range of options – much of which is down to personal style – but talking as both an avid reader and an experienced marketer, here are some of the core elements you need to include. Check these off to take your book page from OK to great.
1. Get clear on your goal
Why do you have this book landing page? What do you want a visitor to do?
Chances are it’s for sales, but it could be to promote an event, or engagement with you, the author. So, you’ll want to include a call-to-action, which is most likely “buy this book,” but you could get creative about how to word that. What about, “be transported to …” “get lost in …” “find out the secret …”
These all reference the emotional engagement a reader will have to your book, making them much more compelling than dry facts. Remember, people don’t buy products, they buy how that product will make them feel.
2. Start with your reader
One mistake I see with book landing pages is that there’s little to no connection with the reader. What do I mean? I mean that the page reads like an info dump. There’s no sense you’ve written this page with me in mind.
Before you start putting your page together, ask yourself, “What does my ideal reader want and need to know? What questions might they ask? Why would they buy this book? What would make them hesitate to buy it?”
3. Think about titles
I don’t mean the title of your book. That one’s probably settled. But try and come up with a tagline for your book landing page. Try and capture what your book is, in one sentence? What’s the key set-up, mystery, question, conflict or tension? What else is it like? Or, how will it make the reader feel? For example, “A harrowing portrayal of …” “Be transported to …”
Use one of the Heading fonts on your page’s theme to make this tagline stand out and be more easily found by search engines.
Think loglines. If you need help writing a logline (don’t we all?), Blake Synder’s writings are a great place to start.
Brainstorm the keywords that sum up your book. For your page to be found on search engines, the SEO (or meta) title and description need to include keywords your readers are likely to use to find similar books to the one they just devoured. This is another reason you need to get inside the head of your reader. What is the genre, theme, location, time period that describes your book? Make sure it’s in your SEO description. Once again, this article helps explain how and why to do this.
4. Include reviews
When you do this, you’re addressing the hesitations, “Will I like this?” “Will it do what it says?” “Has anyone else road-tested this?”
There are a hundred ways of including endorsements: as blockquotes, in a graphic, as text laid on top of your cover picture. The key thing is to add them in.
5. Refine your jacket copy
One failing of some book landing pages is that it’s unclear who the book is for, what it’s like, why I’d read it, how it’ll make me feel, what the key conflict and stakes are. Remember, I’m a reader who wants to find a new book to read. So help me understand what your book is about and why I’ll enjoy it. I deserve to know how your book will make me feel and what it’s similar to.
The topic of jacket copy deserves its own blog post (or 100!), and there are some fantastic resources out there. Avail yourself of them. If it seems like it’s taking you forever to write and re-write your jacket copy, that means you’re doing it right. Sometimes it seems harder to write than the book itself. No, wait. It’s always harder than writing the book!
I start with getting the core elements of my manuscript on the page: the set-up, what the protagonist wants, the conflict and stakes they face. Don’t forget comparable titles, but only if they really are comparable! Don’t dupe your reader.
6. Include buy links
Whether it’s Amazon, a local bookstore, your own e-commerce set-up, link to them on the page. Click on each one to make sure they all work.
Put these links in more than one place: above the fold (in the section of the screen you see without scrolling down) and lower down the book landing page. It’s not pushy to do this; people will be drawn to different elements of the page – the book cover, the reviews, the jacket copy – and that might be the element that attracts them to your book. I’d say two to three locations is enough, though. Don’t over do it, that is pushy!
Want to grow your audience? You need a compelling brand message.
7. Upload a high-quality cover picture
Again, there are many places and ways you can incorporate this: as a banner image, a thumbnail, a full width image … If your cover includes a subtitle and an endorsement, this could take up the majority of the screen. If it’s just a picture and a title, make it smaller: don’t make me scroll down too far to find out what the book is about.
8. Make it easy to share
I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for a book to read I ask friends for recommendations. This happens online too, on Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter. If I see people rave about a book, it goes on my TBR list. Make it easy for buyers to talk about your book by including links to all the platforms where you’re present, whether it’s Goodreads, your Amazon author page, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc.
9. Your author bio
This can be as short as a sentence (with a link to another page on your site if you’re not doing a separate landing page). But as a reader I want to know what kind of stuff you write and why, and what I can expect to get when I open one of your books. Even the most accomplished authors find their bio surprisingly difficult to write: we’re kind of embarrassed to talk about ourselves. That’s why I created the free WRITE A COMPELLING BIO tool. Click here to get your copy.
Avoid a dry bio. Don’t do an info dump and don’t be tempted to be chronological. Knowing that you grew up in Tennessee probably isn’t going to make me buy your book, unless it’s directly related to the topic of your novel. You don’t have to be funny or clever, but do give me a sneak peek into your world. Who do you write for, what do you write about, and why? Include other publishing credentials if they’re relevant, but if this is your debut, be proud of that. Own it!
You can include your headshot as well. Keep it small though, the focus of this page is your book.
There are as many book landing pages as there are books, but the truly successful ones contain the elements I’ve listed. If you do nothing else, put yourself in the shoes of your ideal reader. Just one. Ask yourself what they want to know and see, what they need to know to be able to choose your book. You’ll be amazed what a difference it makes to your copy and design to think like this.
Do you need help putting together your author website or book landing page? Reach out and we’ll schedule a meeting.
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