Cover Copy sells Books- not Content!

When publishing a physical book, particularly when your book is designed in a specific way to be a business card for you, your products and services, then what you include on your book’s cover is more important that the content.

After all if the cover does not attract your reader then they will never see or read your content.

Most non-fiction authors make the mistake of spending a lot of time crafting their interior contents, ignoring the important of the content or copy on the book’s cover.

The front cover copy includes the title and subtitle, the back cover copy becomes the book’s 24/7 sales team. It is your voice telling the world about your book.

Keep It Brief

The hard part is doing this without writing a novel for the cover. Too many authors try and cram everything they know onto the back cover and it becomes unappealing and way too hard to read. The design is often overlooked and the text size and type simple too difficult to read.

The Hook

It is all about being brief and meeting your reader where they are. The first line or two needs to hook your reader, by using a statement or question that resonates with them and acts like a teaser to answer the question they have come looking for in your book. Use emotion, remember people buy on emotion and justify the purchase with logic, so connect with them emotionally and give the reader the help they need, after all this is the reason you have written your book.

An example might be, Do you feel completely zapped of energy and just don’t seem to get everything done you need too? The reader will then answer in their head, yes this is me and keep reading.

The What’s in it for Me

Every reader wants to know you understand them and that you have the answers, so to ensure your copy is more readable and in the shortest possible time communicate what the book covers, use bullet points describing what they will learn or discover in the book.

In this book you will discover;

insert your well thought out dot points here that speak to your reader and explains the benefits or gold nuggets they will gain from the book.

Who are you?

A very short author bio that mentions why you are qualified to  write this book can be helpful to explain the reason they should listen to you. You do not have to have a PhD in your subject, but you do need to say why the reader should listen to you. Real life experience, something you have done or overcome speaks volumes.

Who else thinks this is a good read?

Add some testimonials here, again very brief copy that simply says why someone should read this. If you can have someone high profile in your industry that your target audience will identify with that is even better.

Why should I buy it?

Now ask the reader to buy your book. Most authors leave this part  off. Simply tell the reader what action you want them to take, which is basically to buy your book. After all you know you can help them if they buy and read your book. Remember sales is healing and how you make a difference in the world. You are adding huge value to someone’s life and you get paid in life according to how much value you give.

Model

I encourage my upcoming authors to look at other book covers online, in libraries and book stores (in particular are usually higher quality), to look for copy that resonates with them, that piqued their interest in the book and use what they liked to shape their cover content.

If it was boring , make sure you avoid using similar wording and language. You will see what other authors are doing and including on their covers. I suggest looking at books that are in your genre and are successful or best-selling to ensure what you are modelling works.

Make sure you put the effort into making your back cover great, when you do this it becomes an asset as you can use this to fill in the online book descriptions for your book, send to media, add to your website and repurpose for a whole host of other marketing.

Share your Message, Make a Difference, Leave a Legacy

Fiona Jones

Best-selling author and founder Author Express