More about Blurbs

 

I’m really getting into Bryan Cohen’s advice on Amazon Ads and reading around on the merits of various things to improve sales.

A book blurb is a great big hook. It should arouse curiosity in any potential buyer. The title and cover create expectations and you need to reinforce these early in the blurb.

A good blurb needs engaging content. Think about the features that will sell your book and use them. Cut out the material that customers don’t need to know. Does the customer really need to know the names of multiple characters when checking the book out in the bookstore? Don’t give away the ending or important plot twists - the customer should remain curious. Regard Curiosity and Suspense as sales tools.

(The pic? Blackthorn in flower)

A final word on Blurbs

You Should:

See if you can get some Quotes from well-known authors. Some  will refuse you, but if one responds it will be worth it. The same applies to famous people reviewing your book because you can add their quotes to your book description. Quoting individual authors instead of publications will give you a much better click-through rate and that is what you want.

If you have won awards for your writing including that too.

Pick the best 5-star review and add that to your description.

You Should Not:-

Never give away the end of the story. In fact, be sparing in your actual description; make the reader curious, but be sure not to give away too much plot.  Avoid clichés and overused phrases like "in a world of..." which always makes me want to add the words "Myth and Magic"....because I heard it so many times while watching Merlin on tv.

Comparing yourself with other author can raise the wrong expectations with your readers. It is not very wise to call  yourself the "new Stephen King" or advertise your book as the 

"next Fifty Shades of Grey." 

Blurbs - the professional way

Further advice on blurb writing - gleaned from various sources: 

Guessing what will work with your readers might do the trick, but actual data might be better. There are various ways and means of accessing data.

Services like Manybooks allow you to test two different descriptions for your book to see which one gets the most downloads. Or you could send different version of your blurb to reviewers and see which version gets you the most responses. Though why reviewers would be bothered to do this beats me.

 Create a poll on your blog or website and ask people to tell you which version they prefer. That might get better results and might be something I would try.

Run Facebook ads simultaneously with different “pick-up lines” in your ad description  and see which ones get the most clicks - though I have doubts about this. Surely the first option will get the most responses? I wouldn't click on five versions of the same thing, and I don't think many people would.

 Providers like Constant Contact, GetResponse or AWeber will send your proposed blurbs to your subscribers to see which they prefer. Seems to me that I could set up an e-mail people would click without going to a company which no doubt will charge for doing this for you.

Most of this sounds like something I would not do, but I would send a blurb to a group in which I participate and ask for comments. Usually, the comments all seem to cancel each other out initially, but there is often a clear "winner" and that's the one I would go for.

Blurbs

Do you have trouble writing blurbs? I find them almost as difficult as writing a synopsis, so I’m reading around the topic this week. After all, a good blurb should equal good sales and we all want those. Here are some preliminary findings:-

Browsing bestsellers may not be a good idea, as the author’s name already sells the book, so the blurb may not be so terrific; browsing lesser-known but successful authors is a better idea.

A good blurb aims to show the genre (the title and cover should also do this) and entice the reader to look inside.

Highly effective blurbs are CONCISE and arouse the buyer’s CURIOSITY. It is a mistake to think a blurb is a summary, for a summary gives the plot away and answers curiosity. An effective blurb creates questions in the potential readers’ mind.

The Blurb and the Look Inside feature don’t have long to impress anyone, so use some of your best writing in both.

Other vital things to do - Check that your blurb flows well. Spellcheck it. Match your vocabulary to your target audience, because words they don’t understand can scare them away. Research your subject. Ask for opinions on your blurb - this can help you generate buzz before you publish.