Your book’s cover art is an invaluable marketing tool. A well-designed book cover will seriously boost sales by attracting more potential readers. And using cover art in smart, creative ways on a website will make your author branding instantly recognizable and effective! You can find the following author website examples, and more, at Web Design Relief’s website portfolio.
How To Amp Up Your Website With Your Book’s Cover Art
- Keep the design simple—let your book cover be the focus.
If your book cover has bold, striking colors or visuals, keep the rest of your website design simple to let the cover art really stand out. When people visit your website, their eyes will immediately be drawn to the image of your book, making them more likely to click on the link to purchase it online! To make sure your book is the main focus on your homepage, consider a minimalist design for your site.
- Feature an image from your book cover as your website’s background.
If your cover art highlights an important location, character, or theme from your book, using a similar image as the background of your website will help emphasize the tone and mood of that visual. The repetition of similar images across various pages on your website will make your book’s cover art more memorable. And when visitors remember your artwork while they’re browsing for books to buy, they might be more likely to make a purchase.
- Take inspiration from the color scheme and design of your book cover.
If you want your website to have a cohesive, unified look, select colors from your book cover and use similar shades in the background and content of your website. Using coordinating fonts or motifs that match your cover will also give visitors a strong sense of your author brand. The more you visually reinforce the message of your author brand, the more likely you’ll make a memorable impact.
- Show the cover image in your header.
Your website’s header is incredibly important because it will usually be displayed across all the pages on your author website. Choosing an image from your book cover to feature in the header allows you to keep the overall design of your website simple while still giving potential fans a clue as to what your book is about.
- Display multiple book covers to create an overall sense of your author brand.
If you’ve written multiple books, featuring all of your covers as thumbnails right on the homepage will help visitors get a sense of your overall author brand. For instance: Bright, colorful children’s books will convey a very different mood and intention than several western or fantasy book covers. You might also consider using a carousel or slideshow to showcase numerous book covers in a small space!
- Include a compelling “call to action” with your cover.
Sometimes, a book cover alone isn’t enough to make the sale—for an extra marketing boost, include a specific, attention-grabbing call to action along with your book cover. Offer the first chapter free, provide a special discount, or remind readers how quickly they can access e-book versions of your novel. That extra incentive may be enough to boost your sales! Learn more about how to create a strong call to action.
- Use your cover art in a book trailer!
A book trailer featuring your cover art and other high-quality graphics can help engage your audience and entice them to click “buy.” For professionally produced book trailers, visit Self-Publishing Relief and take a look at our portfolio.
QUESTION: Are there other ways you’ve used your cover art on your author website? Tell us about it!
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