Ingredients
• Clear purpose for the landing page
• Image of the book
• Image of the author
• Call to action
Directions
Clear purpose for the landing page
There are two goals that a good book-focused home page can have:
1. Sell copies of the book
2. Start a relationship between reader and author
Before you design your book-focused home page, you need to be clear on which one of
these goals you want to achieve. Having too many goals for a home or landing page can dilute its effectiveness, so clarity is key.
If your goal is to sell books, then the focal point of your landing page will be a sales letter, audio or video . . . something that emphasizes the benefits of purchasing a copy of the book. You’ll want a good strong headline supported by sub-heads and benefits focused sales copy.
If your goal is to start a relationship between the reader and the author, the focal point of the page will be the opt-in box. Selling the book will take second place to acquiring the name and email address of visitors to the page.
This means you'll need to have a compelling offer . . . an opt-in incentive that is related to the book and is something the ideal reader of your book would want to have and therefore be willing to pay for it with their name and email address. It is important that the opt-in incentive is related to the book, because it will now act as your first attempt to sell your book. After consuming your opt-in incentive, the visitor to your website should feel compelled to buy your book.
Image of the book
Since this is a book-focused landing page, it might seem obvious that there should be an image of the book on the page. But how you display that image is not necessarily so obvious.
If the goal of your page is to sell the book, the image should be up top, large and
dominate the eye when first landing on the page. It should be obvious to the visitor of the page that it is all about the book. Everything else . . . from the author bio to related articles should be placed on other pages, not here.
However, if the goal of the landing page is to start a relationship with the visitor, the image should be much smaller or it will clash with the opt-in box graphics. Remember, a relationship-building home page is focused on getting that name and email address, so your compelling free offer is front and center . . . not your book.
Image of the author
An image of the author is optional . . . it all depends on the type of book and whether what the author looks like is integral to the goal of the page. If a secondary goal of the home page is to help establish the author as part of a brand, then an author image is important. However, you should be strategic about this decision. It might serve your needs better to save the author image for another page, perhaps the bio page or media room.
For example, let’s say you are creating a landing page for a James Bond book. Would you want to include an image of Ian Fleming? Or of James Bond? That all depends on if the goal is to get readers hooked on a series of books about the character . . . or all books by the author.
For another example, let's say you are creating a landing page for a weight loss book. Do you include an image of the author or of a woman on a scale looking happy because she's lost weight? Again, it depends on the goal of the landing page. If the goal were to sell one of a series of books by a well-known fitness expert (say Kathy Smith), then an image of the author would help sell the book. However, if the author is less known or writes about more than just this subject, the woman on the scale might be a better option.
Call to action
Every landing page needs a call to action. For a book-focused landing page your call to action should be one of these:
• Buy the book now
• Subscribe to my list now
Make sure your call to action is clear and mentioned "above the fold" – before the visitor has to scroll down.
Also, notice that "now" is a key part of this call to action. If you encourage your visitor to think about it and come back later. . . chances are you’ll never see them again. Your home page needs to convince the visitor to make a positive decision now, before they leave. Memories are short and even if the visitor has every intention of returning, he or she may not remember where it was they wanted to return.
For a list of standard pages for an author’s website, visit http://www.wordpressforauthors.com/standard-pages.
Carma Spence-Pothitt helps creative professionals develop and nurture a thriving web presence, helping them create an online footprint that supports their career and business goals. Through April 1, Carma is throwing a virtual book launch party for her new book, Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website’s Home Page and How to Fix Them! Be sure to visit this creative website to check out all the goodies she has to offer and get inspiration for your own book promotions.
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