Often, the most powerful aspects of book marketing are overlooked due to their simplicity.
A lot of self-publishers fall into the trap of seeking out super-complex marketing strategies in the hope of gaining an edge over their competition. While the more advanced aspects of book marketing are indeed powerful, and important, it’s important not to overlook the basics.
One of the most important marketing factors playing into your book’s success is its cover. People believe in the saying that books aren’t judged by their covers. In actual fact, they absolutely are.
Your book’s cover is one of the most important influences the first impression a potential buyer has of your work.
Read on to discover three ways in which your book’s cover is one of the most powerful weapons in your marketing arsenal.
Catching A Reader’s Attention
When book browsers are checking out online marketplaces, such as Amazon’s Kindle store, they are overwhelmed by a wide range of titles.
The sheer volume of book titles available via the Kindle platform means that book buyers don’t spend too much time looking at any one book. It’s important to have a cover which is able to grab a reader’s attention and cause them to stop and consider the book further.
Some of the key factors to make a book’s cover worthy of a browser’s attention are the colors it uses, the size and font of the title and author name, the image used for the background and the brightness and other technical aspects of the cover.
There is no one size fits all formula for a great book cover. Different things work in different genres, and trends come and go over time.
However, it’s vital to avoid certain key mistakes, which are always sure to repel readers.
Making a book cover too crowded means it is not easy on the eye and not persuasive for readers to pay closer attention. Making the title or author name in too small text also puts readers off checking out a book further.
Perhaps the key mistake self-publishers make is creating their cover themselves, without really knowing what they are doing. This almost always results in an amateur cover which makes the entire book seem low-quality, regardless of the written content.
Showing Your Book Fits Expectations
The second reason that your book’s cover is crucial for marketing is that it informs a reader what your book is about.
Titles aren’t always clear, especially in the case of fiction. However, different genres have particular conventions and expectations when it comes to book covers.
If you check out a genre section of the Kindle store, you will soon see that there are conventions in terms of color, type of image, style of font etc. for that particular genre. A horror book, for example, will tend to have darker colors and images than a romance book.
When browsing through an online book store, your book’s cover allows a reader to make a snap judgement as to whether your book is a good match for their expectations in terms of genre.
To utilize this to your advantage, make sure that your book cover design is appropriate and is well received by readers of the genre. Test this ahead of time to see whether your potential cover feels right to actual fans of the specific genre you are writing in. Many self-publishers make the mistake of asking other authors, rather than fans of the genre, for their opinion. Feedback is only useful from the right people.
Don’t miss out on the chance to show readers that your book is right for them. Respect genre conventions.
Showcasing Your Title And Author Name
When you really think about it, what is book marketing all about?
Getting your name out there as an author, and making readers aware of your book titles, right?
Your book titles are a prime opportunity to get your author name and book titles out there in front of the eyes of readers.
This can happen in a variety of ways. Firstly, on online bookstores themselves. Even if book buyers don’t choose your title on a particular occasion, they still become familiar with your author name by being exposed to it. Book covers are also often featured on promotional sites, in online advertising, and in mailing list mailouts. As a result of that, it’s important that your author name, and book title, are clearly visible against the backdrop of your image.
If you spend some time checking out books released by major publishers, and unsuccessful self-published books, you will notice that the title and author text is always very clear on the professional books, and is often less so on the self-published books. There are countless comedy lists showcasing the worst book covers ever, just in case you need a clear example of what to avoid!
The bottom line is that making your author name and book title unclear on your cover hurts you in two ways. It not only ensures that readers miss out on being exposed to your brand – but it also brands your book as unprofessional and low quality.
Book Cover Marketing Summary
Hopefully by now you see that –
Book covers are a crucial marketing factor
Book covers should grab a browser’s attention
Your cover shows your book is right for a genre
Your author name and book title should be clearly displayed
As much as we might like to think otherwise, readers do judge books by their covers.
Don’t miss out on a prime marketing opportunity.
Give your cover the attention it deserves, and you will reap the benefits in extra sales and visibility.