Aimee Coveney, author design consultant
In a post that will be particularly helpful to beginners starting out in marketing their self-published books, book designer and ALLi partner member Aimee Coveney shares some great ideas for using the design elements of your books in your marketing campaigns and book promotions.
Consistent and good design is a vital part of building your author brand. Your author brand, and your books, should look professional, increase your credibility as an author and raise the perceived value of your work, attracting more sales.
Good design is good business.
As an indie author, you have full control over the choice of design for your self-published books, both on the cover and inside. Strong visual impact will make your books stand out within your genre and catch the attention of your readers across international platforms.
But have you also considered how to use the elements of your book design elsewhere, once the design process is over, to promote your work across your digital presence?
Imagery, Color and Texture
This social media ad echoes the cover elements
Most book covers will use at least one image and often more. Many authors only ever use the complete cover in their marketing, but picking out individual elements for promotional purposes can prove effective, complementing your covers and creating familiarity whilst strengthening your brand. Obvious examples are graphics created to be used in social media marketing.
Echoing the cover elements in the ad
Ask your cover designer for individual elements of your design that you can then manipulate yourself, if you’re capable. Alternatively ask the designer to put something together for you, to add a really professional touch to your online promotional strategy.
Always ensure the image license allows use in other projects, and check whether there are any limitations.
Typography
Another way to make your books stand out more effectively online is to repeat the typography of your book covers across your digital presence to reiterate your brand. This is a very simple tool. Just use the fonts from your book cover and interior for items such as these:
- Your website, displaying your information with the same font type and colour scheme as used for your books
- Your email signature, placing your visual brand in front of your audience with every email you send
- Video book trailers, using your chosen font and colour scheme of your cover design for your text commentary – remember, not everyone views videos online with sound
With video fast becoming the most shared kind of media online it’s more important than ever to ensure their digital impact is as beneficial to you as an author as possible, in both branding and content.
Thus your cover design doesn't only affect how clearly your book stands out on retail sites, but can be used effectively and constructively across your whole online author platform.
Whether you are consciously working at it or not, your brand as an author is being built as we speak, so ensure that your book covers are working hard to do what they should do best: targeting your audience and pulling in readers.
OVER TO YOU Do you have examples of how you've extrapolated elements of your book cover to create great marketing collateral? Feel free to share links via our comments box.
#Authors - how to use elements from book covers in marketing - by @bookollective Share on XMORE HELPFUL POSTS ABOUT THE ROLE OF BOOK DESIGN IN MARKETING, FROM THE ALLi BLOG ARCHIVE
