Your Book Sales Page
Regardless of the format your sales page takes (whether you have a separate website for your book or it’s a page on your current site), it’s critical that you have one. You must have a way to capture emails to stay in touch with your readers, and Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers are under no obligation to (nor do they) share customer information with you. Think of your book sales page as a “one-stop shop” for anything and everything a potential reader would want to know about your book.
You must have a way to capture emails to stay in touch with your readers. - @jodibrandon
Whoever manages your website should be able to add a page or create a new site for you. If you want a simple option, check out booklaunch.io. There are paid and free versions to set up a sales page for your book if you aren’t technically inclined and don’t have an entire new site in your budget.
Keep in mind that this page isn’t taking the place of your book sales page on Amazon, but Amazon should be people’s second stop, not first. If you send them to Amazon first, they may never make it to your website, they may never sign up for a freebie you’re offering, and they may never check out your other offers and services. So where do you begin?
Elements
Obviously there will be variations to this sales page “formula,” but these are the elements you normally see and that you should include:
Cover art
About the book
Video trailer
Sample text
Pre-order (optional) or purchase links: Amazon, B&N, a Buy Now button if you’re selling directly from your site
Reviews/endorsements
Who the book is for/why you should read this book
Look inside (contents, a couple sample pages)
About the author, including a professional color photo
Social media links
Option to share the page with others
To make it easy for you when you’re ready to construct the sales page for your book, I’ve created a checklist you can use to make sure you don’t skip anything. Snag it here.
Make it look good.
The first thing anyone will see is the top of the page, so be sure it looks perfect. Get your book cover front and center, with a catchy headline to grab potential readers’ attention. Think about it: If visitors to the book sales page don’t scroll, what do you want them to see? Your book cover, right? Right.
If visitors to the book sales page don’t scroll, what do you want them to see? - @jodibrandon
Feature this.
When you think about book marketing, think of your book in terms of features and benefits, just as you would any other product or service launch. Use those as you craft your “About the Book” and “Why You Should Read This Book” sections.
Sign me up!
Most commonly, book authors use a sample chapter as the opt-in to capture readers’ emails. This is what I did for Write.Publish.Market., and it worked well. Figure out which chapter gives readers solid information but leaves them wanting more. The sample text will give readers a taste of your writing style and your knowledge.
Have you seen any other elements on a book sales page that you thought were clever? Tell me about them in the comments!
Don’t forget to grab the checklist so you don’t forget an important section when you construct your book sales page!