Regardless of the type of book you are writing; you will need a book sales page. With the ease of online book publishing, many writers today believe their job is done after it is published. In other words, they are ignoring the book marketing phase altogether.
Have you not seen how many books are being offered online these days? Writers of every genre must understand that they must seek ways to stand out from the crowd if they hope to succeed.
In the old days, writers pitched their work to publishers. And what that was done, the publisher became the book marketer as well.
However, the trade-off for easily self-publishing your own book is that you now have to market it yourself. This is why so many book writers today are fizzling out. They either have no interest or desire to sell their books or simply don’t know how.
Marketing your book can start with the crafting of a book marketing sales page. I recommend creating an author blog that would feature a separate sales page for every book you write. This way, you can promote your blog and drive all traffic to that blog – where people can see all of your books at a glance.
3 things that every book marketing sales page must have
As we craft our book sales page, let us examine the three things that every one of your sales pages should have. Keep in mind that this is the minimum requirement.
Don’t get hung up on the number of words – that doesn’t matter. It all depends on how badly the reader wants to read your book. Sometimes that will only take 400 words; other times, it might take 2000 words.
A clear explanation of what your book is about
Readers are buyers, and they must know what they’re buying. Thus, you must go beyond the title and identify essential things like the genre, enough of the plot to entice them.
Let them know right away if they are dealing with science fiction, thriller, or intrigue. The last thing you want to do is waste their time. You will never convince a romance novel lover to read your political thriller – so don’t try.
Don’t re-invent the wheel
One of the best approaches to marketing your book is figuring out the most exciting things about the story and using it to entice readers. One of the best things that today’s writers have going for them is that there are a handful of thoroughly tested plots and storylines that have been used for centuries. Every successful book, movie, TV show, and piece of theater has used them – because they work!
If possible, look for a popular movie or book with a plot similar to your book, and try to mimic how those were marketed. How much of the story was revealed in trailers or billboards? This is an excellent place to start crafting your sales message.
A big bright Buy button that stands out
Those who make a living in marketing will tell you that the “buy button” is the most important thing on a sales page. We should heed this advice by creating a big bright buy button prominently displayed on our book marketing sales page.
While we don’t want to overdo it, we should place the buy button shortly after the section that explained the book and what it’s about.
However, I tend to use words like “find out more” or “download now” so that the reader doesn’t feel like they are being sold. This is entirely up to you – it might be good to test out a few different labels on your buy button.
Buy button link
I should point out here that your buy button could be linked to one of several places.
If your book is being sold on Amazon, then then the button should be linked to the Amazon page where it is featured. The same is true if you are selling it in other places like Nook or Smashwords.
The other option is if your book marketing sale pages are the only place it is offered. In this case, the button should be linked to your cart service – like directly to PayPal or Stripe or one of several others.
Reviews and testimonials
Never underestimate the power of testimonials and reviews. Many marketers believe these are the most powerful element on any sales page. This means they accomplish more than a beautifully designed book cover and more than a cleverly written description.
This makes perfect sense when you give it some thought.
Think of when you’ve come across a product that appears to solve a huge problem you’ve had. It is reasonably priced – and you are shocked at how it precisely addresses your specific issues and that you’ve never heard about it before.
What’s the first question that pops into your head?
The first question that pops into my head is, “Has anyone else used this?”
This is the precise point at which a testimonial will close the deal. We humans need confirmation for many decisions we make. We instinctively understand that there is safety in numbers.
Reviews and testimonials simply confirm and validate that your product is legit. I don’t know about you, but when I buy something online, I read the reviews – it’s become a form of due diligence.
Final thoughts
We reviewed three crucial elements that every book marketing sales page should have. Feel free to add layers and enhancements to this model, but NEVER leave any of the elements out of your message.
Granted, we book marketers will primarily be marketing products that are less than $10-20. This gives us more leeway than marketing higher-priced items, but nonetheless, we should use methods that have proven to work over and over.
