10 must-have things on your coaching business website to improve conversions

10 must-have things on your coaching business website to improve conversions

Whether you are just booking your first client as a coach or a seasoned pro at it, you are already inspiring and helping people to unlock their potentials. But does your coaching business website show your best side up and convert leads into sales and bookings?

A good website will act like the anchor for your coaching business and help you attract more clients. It also help your audience find you and your content easily.

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10 must-have things on your coaching business website to improve conversions

Here are ten must-haves things on your coaching website to improve conversions, whatever your niche is. You can be a life coach, a business coach, a fitness coach, health and diet coach or a time management, these are things things that you really need on your coaching business website.

1) Own your niche

You go to a orthopaedic doctor if you have a knee problem, even if your general physician might know what could be the issue. You go to a specialist, who probably charges a bit more, because you trust his treatments and you want the best.

That is exactly what your business needs as well.

Figure whom you serve specifically, rather than just trying to sell to everyone. While this applies to any business, it is more critical for a coaching business, because you are solving specific problem for them.

You are a weight loss coach, but who are your target demographics? You might work for “women, above 30, who are looking to lose that 30 kg”.

Niche down to the specifics because no one wants a generalist to guide them.

2) First impressions matter

You have about 3 seconds to impress your first time visitor on your website. And you have about 15 seconds to convey they can get from your website and hook them into staying.

Make sure your above fold content (i.e. the first section below the menus) creates an emotional response (“yes that’s true!”) from the reader. Addressing their pain points directly helps to attract the correct audience for your content.

Stating your specialty as a life coach, time management coach, career coach, business coach or even a blog coach, right of the bat helps people to remember you as one, even after they leave your site.

Also that it helps your SEO of your website is an added bonus.

Related post: SEO For A Blogger – Things You Can Do Today!

3) Show your face and personality

The main reason that your audience followed you to your website is YOU. Unlike other company websites, the business of coaching largely depend on YOU, YOUR FACE AND YOUR PERSONALITY.

And that is why your coaching website cannot get away with a bland coaching website template and stock photos. No, that one dingy photo, taken 10 years ago, in about me section is not enough, especially for a coach!

Whether you are into life coaching, marketing coaching or time coaching, the personal connection is vital and people connect better to real persons, obviously.

The more you pepper your content with your personality, the more the chances of connecting with your audience as a person and the more the chances of conversion into sales.

Take some professional photographs, especially using on your website. It doesn’t have to be all serious and grim. Just remember to stick to the brand colors and mood, but otherwise, have some fun with it.

4) Clear aspirational goals

A person goes to a health coaching website to be inspired and guided towards a healthier lifestyle. Likewise, if you are overwhelmed and always running out of time, you might look for a time coaching website to learn to manage time better or to be more organized and productive in your life.

What I am getting at is, people come to your site looking for a benefit or an outcome towards a goal.

A good coach should help them visualize what they can achieve or manifest with your guidance. Putting the benefits they will derive out of your coaching session in an aspirational way will help your website convert visitors into clients easily.

Please take extra care that your aspirational goals are positive and encouraging, and doesn’t “put anyone down”, especially when you are dealing with tough and delicate situations like weight loss goals or financial guidance.

5) A clear offer

Once you have them hooked, you need to dish out the finer prints. AKA your offer. A good place to list and brief them about this would be on your menu bar, under the header “work with me” or “services”.

While you can be offering a number of services, make sure you explain them all individually and distinguish between the target audience, if they are different.

Even if your services are intangible, you have to make what you will deliver clearly. Some key aspects can be

  • Will your coaching be 1-on-1 or a group session?
  • How will your measure your client’s success?
  • How will you/they keep track of the progress?
  • How many hours or sessions will you spending, monthly or weekly?
  • How many hours or sessions do you expect your clients to work on your program (on their own)?

You are the one that has to lead the clients, not the other way around. You have to be prepared with a plan, though it can flexible, you should not expect them to come with one.

6) Show your expertise

Building a website is just one part of the whole online presence. But adding consistent and resourceful content on to your website will improve your authority as well as keep your website fresh.

Use your content to educate and inspire your followers and visitors, and thereby creating a good relationship with them. This personal connect will help you convert readers to potential clients.

Some ways to create content for your site

  • Write a series of how-to posts and e-books
  • Share past client success stories as a post
  • Include some resources like checklists and templates relevant to your niche
  • Add some fun quizzes and challenges
  • Videos and podcasts are great additions too.

If you are new to content creation or you hate doing it, and would rather spend your time on your clients, you can hire a SEO content writer (such as myself, he he!) to help you out.

Related post: Balancing Social Media And Blogging: How To Stay Sane?

7) Call for an action

Call to action is the one vital thing that every page or post in your website should begin and end with. People, especially first time visitors of a site, need a lot of encouragements and reminders to come out of their shells and engage with you.

Some good examples of CTAs are

  • Schedule a consulting call.
  • Sign up for your newsletter or
  • DM you on Instagram.

whichever is your preferred method of communication.

End every blog post with a question for your visitor to respond or even ask them to share it with their friends.

Related post: 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging

8) Reviews and other social proofs

Testimonials and reviews are a great way to convince that your methodology works. According to a recent survey, 9 out of 10 buyers consult online reviews before making any purchase.

Especially for a service offering like coaching, which depends a lot on trust and authority testimonials from past and present clients are critical.

Some questions you can ask them to help them share their feedback are:

  • How did your coaching help them?
  • What problems did they solve with their help?
  • Can they share some number and success stories like, number of clients gained, kilos lost, or a before and after picture etc.

Personal case studies and tangible/photographic evidences (of course with the required consents) will help you get those in dilemma to take the leap of faith.

Adding an “as seen on” or “logos of past clients” tab in your home page can improve your standing and build trust instantly.

9) Easy booking

Now that you have impressed them with your services and expertise, the worst that you can do to your business is making them jump through hoops to book you.

Yes, I am serious. It happens.

Put up a few easy, no-nonsense methods for your visitors to book an appointment with you or at least contact you easily.

A simple way to do that is to add in a contact form in your site. Instead of using a generic contact form, add in a few specific questions about them so that they will understand that you are interested in talking to them. It will also help you look professional when you contact them after you do some homework.

You can go a step further and add in call scheduling app (like Calendly) on your site. A “free” consulting call might help as a great sales funnel.

A site with call scheduling option immediately looks ten times more professional, than without one. And it is pretty easy to set one up.

10) Clean and professional looking website

When I say professional website design, it differs from person to person. But what I mean is, the layout should be easy to navigate and appealing to the eyes.

You can use a free template designs for your coaching business website or invest in a premium theme as well. Again, make sure you have a good hosting and speed too.

Do what works for you, but make sure you are not spending too much of your valuable time in tweaking or DIY-ing the site. For a few extra bucks, you can have your entire site designed and developed by a professional.

A final word

I know building a website might sound intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In fact more than half of my clients have got their investment on their sites back in the first few months.

So take a leap of faith, and get your own website for your coaching business right now! And ensure you have these must-have things on your coaching business website to improve conversions!

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8 Benefits of journaling for writers

8 Benefits of journaling for writers

Journaling has been the leader of the “self-care movement”, just behind maybe yoga or meditation. Writing a journal helps not only to help our emotional and mental well-being but also helps us become better writers.

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Benefits of journaling for writers

“I spend most of my day writing and the last thing I want to do after my working hours is write.” Yes, I can hear you say that.

I am not making these things up. Here are eight benefits of journaling for writers.

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1) Cultivates the habit of writing regularly

Even though journaling is an informal mode of writing, it gets you started. What better way to start a day or end one whichever you prefer, by churning out a few hundred words on a paper?

It is well known that famous writers like Virginia Woolf, R W Emerson, and Anaïs Nin swore by their regular journaling or diary habits.

In fact, one of my favorite writers Slyvia Plath kept her diary since she was eleven years old and often used it as a tool to “warm-up” her formal writing.

2) Get creative

The freewriting form of journaling helps to break the rules and pressure of formal and result-oriented writing.

If you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you.

Madeleine L’Engle of A Wrinkle in Time

Just let yourself loose and just write whatever you want to share with, with no judgment. You can even add poems or haikus if your mood fancies.

Related: Bullet journal ideas for books and reading

3) Record ideas on your journal

You have no idea when the metaphorical idea bulb might switch on. But when they do, you should not be caught unprepared.

I often use my journal as a place to dump my ideas for future posts. Of course, it can be a digital diary, like I have, or a physical notebook.

Either way, just pouring those somewhere before they permanently vanish into thin air is a good way to ensure you have a repository and never having to get caught thinking about what to write about.

4) Slay the writer’s block

That brings me up to my next point.

As writers, we are constantly looking for ways to better our craft. Yet, we know that the only way to become a better writer is to write more.

Journaling would keep your writer’s block away because you are writing regularly. And you have a repository of ideas or prompts to go back to if you ever get stuck.

Writing a journal can offer a way to switch your style by writing from what you do for a living, say being a website content writer or a novelist, and ensures you have a variety to choose from.

Related: How do you manage your writing slump? (& ten tips to survive)

5) Get into your characters’ head

Whether you are working on your next crime thriller or a witty play, journaling can help you get into your characters’ heads and discover their voice.

Developing their personality and eccentricity would make their characters more interesting and help you understand their motivations for what they do.

There are several sassy dialogues that I have written in my journal, that I might someday use in my book in the not so near future.

6) Research the details

I write quite a bit of business articles and white papers and I do a lot of research and collect data. Guess where I write them down, so that they will be available when I need them?

Yes, on my digital notebook/journal! You can do this even on a Google Doc.

Even if you are in the business of writing fiction, you will need details about places, history, or even famous people. Overprepare than the opposite is my motto.

7) Challenge your self-doubt

Artists often suffer the case of self-doubt, and a writer is no stranger to that as well.

But writing a journal can help you tackle the signs of self-doubt because you getting some writing done each day.

Related: Self Doubts: How To Overcome The Impostor Syndrome

And just a flash-through of how much you have written down day after day will give you the booster of confidence you need.

Even Nobel laureate Steinbeck had his moments of doubts. But he trudged through it with the help of his diary, which was eventually published under the name Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath.

In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration. Consequently, there must be some little quality of fierceness until the habit pattern of a certain number of words is established. There is no possibility, in me at least, of saying, “I’ll do it if I feel like it.” One never feels like waking day after day. In fact, given the smallest excuse, one will not work at all. The rest is nonsense. Perhaps there are people who can work that way, but I cannot. I must get my words down every day whether they are any good or not.

John Steinbeck, Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath.

8) Up your self-care game

Writing a journal can often help us to stop and reflect on our actions and intentions. Journaling can also help you unbury your emotions and dump your anxieties and fears. It clears your mind and improves your mood drastically.

It even can help you understand your triggers and help to avoid or tackle them by identifying the pattern.

A happier mind is a sharper mind and helps to improve your writing craft, doesn’t it?

Final word

Journaling may not be for everyone. There are so many benefits of journaling, especially for writers. But it is not the only way to improve your writing or practice self-care.

Many writers swear by writing a journal and so many more who love journaling as a self-care practice. But some people can’t get into it or keep up with the journaling habit.

So do what works for you, do not add in more pressure than it already is!

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8 Benefits of journaling for writers

Paid to Proofread: Indie Guest Post

It has been a hot minute since I had my last guest post by an indie author, right? But don’t worry, I am not going to make you wait any longer, for we have Sue Gilad writing about “Paid to Proofread”, which happens to be her book’s name as well. Let us get reading shall we?

In this month's edition of Indie guest post, we have Sue Gilad of @paidread writing about "Paid to Proofread", which happens to be her book's name as well. Let us get reading shall we? Click To Tweet

Say hello to Sue!

Paid to proofread Cover

Balancing a career as a producer, a mother, and a professional proofreader, Sue Gilad is a living example that you can have full-time income without having a full-time job. Gilad began freelance proofreading to subsidize her acting career, and has proofread over 1,200 books.

Gilad’s proofreading endeavors evolved into copyediting and content editing, eventually becoming a full-service editing company. Her client roster of book publishers includes Random House, Simon & Schuster, John Wiley & Sons, St. Martin’s Press, Oxford University Press, Workman Publishing, and Kensington Publishing, among others.

She is the author of COPYEDITING AND PROOFREADING FOR DUMMIES and the co-author of THE REAL ESTATE MILLIONAIRE.

Let’s get on with it shall we?

Do you feel as though the stress of a nine-to-five work ethic takes too much time out of your day? The time that you would like to use for reading books or discovering new pieces of literature based on your favorite genres? Or perhaps you are now realizing that you want a career where you can work from wherever, yet still have the ability to make a six-figure income?

Well my friend, if you said yes to any of these questions, then it looks like you are on the right path to becoming a paid proofreader. And guess what? We are here to be your three-step guide.

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I’m going to share all the information you need to start proofreading professionally so that you can get paid to read all day long. So let’s get started.

1: HOW to do the job

Just like me, you may be thinking, “But where do I even learn how to become a paid proofreader Where do I begin?”. The simple answer to this is to just START.

Sure, you can spend money on classes and read endless “how-to” books, but you won’t get the practice you need until you just do it. As my favorite teacher once said, “the best way to learn is to do.”

Let’s be real here. Not everyone gets the best proofreading jobs right off the bat. Your first few proofreading gigs may not be as prestigious or lucrative as you’d like, but remember that it’s EXPECTED and ALRIGHT to be in this starting level.

Believe it or not, these small gigs are super important because they are there to add experience and worth to your resume to then get those big paying/incredibly interesting proofreading gigs.

2: WHO can get you the job

Reaching out to friends and family is the place to begin in any experience-building adventure. To put this in simple terms, it’s all about networking. This is the most productive and successful form of spreading your name in order to land opportunities that’ll inch you closer to getting that dream proofreading gig.

Reach out Paid to proofread

Who knows, maybe that aunt that you haven’t spoken to since she drank a little too much wine at the family get-together is a friend of someone who works at your favorite publishing house! Maybe that friend can land you your first big proofreading gig.

It’s also super important to focus on lending a hand to people that work within fields that require any form of writing. This act exercises your skills and adds to the strong portfolio you are trying to build.

Reaching out to friends in the business, law, and/or creative industry is a great starting point when offering your services. Even the simplest task of looking over a business card can take you a long way.

3: WHERE to get the jobs

Reaching out to friends and strangers isn’t the only way to network. Put yourself on blast by using social networking apps. Post Instagram stories that focus on telling your followers that you are now pursuing a career in proofreading.

You can screenshot and share that post so that your proofreading services get spread around. Write up a nifty Facebook status or Tweet on Twitter that highlights the proofreading services you are willing to provide.

Even a goofy TikTok that showcases your proofreading skills can go a long way!

Paid to proofread Network

Profile building on job-networking sites is also a good free advertisement. LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Handshake, you name it! Apply, apply, apply.

Send a warm email to the company in order to inform them of your interest in proofreading for them. Make sure you are aware of current events, such as having COVID-19 etiquette during the current pandemic. Make sure you are both friendly and professional.

I had some fun reaching out to potential proofreading companies: I liked to add at the end of my missives: “P.S.: Forgot to mention, I never make mistakes.”

Don’t be afraid to cold call/email companies even if they aren’t hiring. Don’t hear back? Email or call again. This is a standard business convention.

Paid to proofread

So there you have it, three easy steps to get you on the right proofreading professional track. Always remember that the internet is your oyster. Building experiences means building referrals which results in more proofreading gigs.

Before you know it, you’ll be getting paid to sit on a beach and proofread a piece from your favorite genre.

I wish you all the best in your journey to discovering the gifted proofreader within yourself starting with these three steps.

Thank you, Sue!

Paid to proofread Sue

And I am back to thank her for taking time off her busy schedule to write us a guest post. You can follow and contact her through these links.

If you have something to add to Sue’s story, drop a comment here or send her a word of thanks on the social media. Both of us would love that.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Linkedin | Pinterest |

Also, if you are interested in writing a guest post for the independent publishing community, write to me right away. I am still accepting guest post submissions.

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Have you ever considered proofreading as a freelancing option? Are you good at catching errors in books, in general? Do these errors affect your reading flow? Let us talk.

8 Benefits of journaling for writers

Can beta readers steal your work?

One of the major concerns for indie authors when hiring a beta reader is about the safety of their manuscript. Can beta readers steal my work? Will they publish my manuscript as theirs? Will they rip my beloved characters off me? These questions must plague your mind, and for right reasons. 

One of the major concerns for indie authors when hiring a beta reader is about the safety of their manuscript. Can beta readers steal your work? Read on to find your answer. Click To Tweet

As someone who is producing digital content on multiple channels every single day, I understand your concerns. I worry on similar lines every night about my posts and graphics.

I get it.

How can you just hand over your manuscript that you have spent weeks and months on to some random stranger off the internet?

As someone who attempted fiction and poetry writing many moons ago and struggled at it, I have a great respect towards you all.

To come up with a plot and an outline is hard. But to sit down and pour the words on a paper (or screen?) is just mind blowing. You don’t deserve getting your hard work stolen/misused by anyone.

So if you are worried if the beta readers whom you entrust your manuscript with, can steal your work, I am here to put your concerns to rest.

The answer is no!

Professional beta readers do not steal your work because their job is dependent on their integrity and trustworthiness.

Things to do to avoid your work getting stolen

That being said, one can never be too cautious right? So here are some things you can do put your fear of getting your work stolen by your beta reader

1) Get to know them

Getting to know your beta reader would be a great way to start a relationship with them.

Evaluate their reviewing and feedback style and ensure they fit your needs.

Go through the testimonials of their previous clients. 

Have a conversation via mail or through call. Meet them over a coffee, if that is something you are both comfortable with.

2) Get someone who is not an author

Another way to minimize the risk of your work stolen by the beta reader is to avoid sharing your manuscript with a writer who is writing in the similar genre as you, or just avoid peer authors altogether.

I know this sounds a little too extreme but one can never be too careful when it comes to the internet right?

You can still get feedback from friends and family members who read or hire a professional beta readers

3) Get a contract

Many professional beta readers are willing to sign a contract and a Non Disclosure Agreement before they even receive their advance and your manuscript. I sign up these NDA, too

The contract binds them legally from discussing or sharing your manuscript, plot or anything from your work with anyone else or using your plot, character or words for any other purpose. 

It explicitly states that the manuscript is for their eyes only. 

4) Get a professional beta reader

Many a times, authors share their manuscript with other authors and the members of writing community for a feedback in exchange for feedback on of theirs. 

Well, the system works.

But is it the most safe and effective method? That is arguable. 

On the other hand, a professional beta reader is someone who has been doing this for a while and they have a track record. This automatically improves their chances of not being professional aka they don’t have to steal your art/product. 

I can’t insist more on the importance of reading the testimonials from the past and present clients, if they are available. 

In conclusion

Despite all these precautions, it is true that someone else can steal your work or misuse your manuscript and call them their own. But the chances are quite low. 

I am sure you will find someone whom you can trust to get a relevant and honest feedback from.

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8 Benefits of journaling for writers

Self-Publishing on Amazon: 4 Tips for Indie Authors

Amazon has become almost synonymous with self-publishing. And if you are planning to or have already self-published on Amazon, I am sure you are always on the look out for more tips to reach the best seller list. Don’t you?

Let us hear from an insider from the business, shall we?

"You might assume that the quality of your book, with its riveting plotline and tightly edited prose, will speak for itself. Not so — but there are few tricks you can use to help it on its way to the top." Read tips from Lucia @reedsyhq Click To Tweet

Say hello to Lucia!

self-publishing on Amazon tips

Lucia Tang is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing authors with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers.

Lucia covers various publishing-related topics on the Reedsy blog. In her spare time, she enjoys drinking cold brew and planning her historical fantasy novel.

Shall we get on with it?

What’s the indie author’s answer to a spot at the head of the New York Times Best Seller list? A correspondingly lofty perch on Amazon’s Best Sellers list, of course. If you opt to self-publish, you won’t be looking to the Gray Lady but the online retail giant for proof that your book has made it.

Luckily, self-publishing on Amazon is easy and fast — and that’s exactly why everyone seems to be doing it, from savvy genre geniuses to silly secessionists and DIY coffin-builders. The platform’s accessibility means both boundless oppo rtunity and bitter competition. 

You might assume that the quality of your book, with its riveting plotline and tightly edited prose, will speak for itself. Not so — but there are few tricks you can use to help it on its way to the top. Without further ado, here are four tips every indie author should know when they self-publish through Amazon.

Tip #1. Think about your categories before you publish

Like every indie author, you know that writing your book is just the first step to seeing it on readers’ shelves (or in their Kindles). As your word count ticks upward and your plot winds down, you might already be envisioning (with either relish or dread) the marketing phase of things.

self-publishing on Amazon tips

But the truth is marketing isn’t purely something that happens once the book is done: it’s an ongoing process that should begin before your first draft is even done.

As you write, think about your anticipated audience: what genre’s readers are you targeting, and how will they relate to your book? How is the story you’re telling similar to the ones they already love — and how does it stand apart from them all? 

Thinking about this broadly is a good starting place. But because you’ll be launching your book on Amazon, you’ll have to look beyond, to a platform-specific consideration: Amazon categories. 

On Amazon’s Kindle Store, books are divided into a number of categories, from those as broad as “Romance” and to those as specific as “Multicultural & Inspirational Romance.” Some are overpopulated, leading to cutthroat competition. Others get almost no shoppers — meaning it’s exceedingly difficult to get any actual sales volume, even for a “Best Seller” within the category. 

To strike a happy medium, your book should aim for  categories where demand is relatively high but the competition is relatively manageable.

It’s important to start thinking about these potential categories before you publish. Your book will naturally evolve over the course of the drafting process, and you might find that a plum category that was once a stretch is now a natural fit.

Tip #2. Make sure your cover isn’t too unique

Once you’ve written your book, it’s time to make sure it looks as beautiful as it reads. That means nailing the packaging. But as you craft (or commission) the perfect cover, there’s one counterintuitive tip you absolutely have to follow: make sure your cover isn’t too unique.

I know that sounds weird. Given how competitive Amazon is, shouldn’t you do everything in your power to stand out from the crowd? Well, you do want your cover to draw attention. But there are certain visual conventions you should follow.

Books draw upon an intricate visual code in their cover designs, even if they don’t belong to a highly pictorial genre like the early reader. For picture books and philosophical novels alike, there’s an established repertoire of typefaces, layouts, and other visual elements that makes each book’s genre apparent at a glance.

self-publishing on Amazon tips
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, The Kiss Quotient, and How to Build a Heart all use romance novel conventions in their cover designs, even though each manages to look unique.

As a reader, you’ve probably used these conventions to inform your own book-buying choices. If you’re in the mood for, say, a beach-read romance, you’ll keep your eyes peeled for a whimsical, curlicued font. If you’re looking for military sci-fi, on the other hand, you’ll be primed to click on bold, sans-serif titles against cool-toned backgrounds suggestive of outer space.

Now that you’re an author, you’ll want to tap into these same assumptions to sell your book. So take a look at the top performers in the categories you chose for your book earlier. Pay attention to what their covers have in common, and think about how you can use them in your cover. 

Tip #3. Write your book description with a three-part structure

When your book is polished inside and out, it’s time to head over to Amazon and set it live. f course, that isn’t a simple matter of mashing a big “Publish” button. You also have to generate all the content readers will see on your product page. That’s right: it’s time to write a snappy book description.

To succeed, your book description has to be two slightly contradictory things at once: a sales pitch for your book and a preview of your writing skills. This can be a challenge — after all, good ad copy and good prose don’t always look very much alike. But there’s a way to nail the sale without betraying your stylistic integrity as a writer: follow a three-part formula at the structural level, while using all the literary artistry at your disposal at the sentence level.

Here’s how to approach each section:

The headline:

This section appears above the “read more” that pops up when a shopper loads your product page. You want it to grab their attention enough to click that “read more” — instead of hitting the back button. Choose a short and sweet tagline that distills your sales pitch. Has it already gotten rave reviews from a blogger you hooked up with an ARC? Is it perfect for fans of a buzzy series or hit TV show — but with much better gender politics and less shoehorned romance? 

The blurb:

Here’s the part where you tell your readers what your book is actually about — without giving away too much, of course! This is a good place to introduce your protagonist. What makes them interesting? What kind of problems will they confront over the course of the book, and what’s at stake for them?

The takeaway:

Your book description is, ultimately, a call to action. You don’t want your readers to merely luxuriate in your prose and move on — you want them to buy the book. Explain why they should pick it up. 

self-publishing on Amazon tips
A Quiet Kind of Thunder mentions comp titles and quotes positive reviews in its book description headline.

At the end of the day, your book description should still sound like you, albeit at your punchiest. You don’t reader to feel disoriented and wonder whether you engaged a ghostwriter once they actually start reading your book.

Tip #4. Use HTML to make your product page pop

Over the course of self-publishing your book on Amazon, you had to grapple with a number of big-picture considerations, from the importance of visual convention to the dilemmas posed by commercialism in art. I’m delighted to end on a much lighter note, with a tip that’s far less philosophically fraught. 

Now that you’ve got a punchy, three-part description that wraps your unique literary style in a charmingly commercial package, you’ll want to optimize how it looks on your product page. To really make your description pop, mix it up with some HTML. You’ll be able to add visual interest — important for your headline especially — with the following HTML styles:

  • <b>Use this for bold text<b>
  • <i>Use this for italicized text</i>
  • <u>Use this for underlined text</u>
  • <q>Use this for block quotes</q>
  • <ol>Use this to create a numbered list
    • <li>Each element of the list will start with this tag
  • <ul>Use this to create a bulleted list— just like this one!
    • <li>Use this, again, for each element in the list>

With a book description full of vim, verve, and visual interest, you’re ready to start reeling in sales. Now, off to write your next book!

Thank you, Lucia!

And I am back to thank her for taking time off her busy schedule to write us a guest post. You can follow and contact her through these links. 

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