Book photos in the wild
It’s not enough to have cool photos of your book...
It’s how you use them that counts most :)
Over the past few months, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some amazing authors in helping them create image assets of their books.
The other day, I was curious to check in (read: stalk) on some of these folks and see how they were using the photos on their social feeds.
At the end of the day, we didn’t create these photos so they can simply open the photo folder on their computer and wave good morning to it - they were photographed to be used in real life!
Here are a couple examples of what these photos look like when they’re implemented into an actual marketing strategy.
PRE-LAUNCH POST
Jim Knight, Leadership That Rocks
This one really caught my eyes as I was immediately drawn into the image of Jim on the bottom of the screen. I mean, his hair is awesome, what do you want me to tell you! :)
Since my attention was drawn directly into his face, I then see where his eye line is looking, and it’s towards the pull quote in the image next to his head.
It’s a really creative way to draw attention to his book, which in this case, was posted to boost his pre-launch sales. It also provides an opportunity to really show off some of the impactful messaging that exists throughout his book.
CALL FOR REVIEWS
Laurie Ruettimann, Betting On You
Reviews are an important asset - a lot of positive reviews equal more favorability that book vendor’s algorithm affords them by suggesting the title to more people to buy.
Rather than simply ask for reviews, Laurie creatively used one of the book cover shots to help grab eyeballs for her cause.
She repurposed the open space in the photo on the left side to put the important text front and center for people to see.
Another nice touch is that she added the design element of her book cover of pastel colored circles on top of the photo to add a visual complimentary piece that ties everything together.
READER REVIEW
Leslie Ehm, Swagger
And once your call-to-action nets book reviews, Leslie show you what you can do with those.
Rather than simply copy the reader review and create a text-only post, Leslie and her team leveraged one of the book cover photos that was taken against a yellow backdrop, and used the open space to insert the text.
By incorporating the cover shot, it adds more umph to the visual and the black text on yellow background really pops, which helps inspire folks on Leslie’s social platforms to stop the scroll, read the review, and get inspired to follow through on the call to action, which is to buy the book.
REMINDER TO BUY THE BOOK
Jeffrey Shaw, The Self-Employed Life
This is an interesting one in that it cleverly incorporates a digital book cover with one of the photos created with Jeff’s actual book.
One of the shots I like to incorporate into the author's book image content portfolios is one that shows the title of the book on the tops (or bottoms) of every page. It’s a nice detail that offers a visual alternative to simply capturing the book cover to reveal the title.
The fact that he contrasted the black and white image of the book with a colorized digital version of the cover creates a unique and interesting dynamic, especially when you take into account that the lines of the photo lead your eye naturally to the digital cover. The cover itself acts as a punctuation mark, of sorts.
And then, by putting the website link to buy the book at the bottom of the image creates an immediate acknowledgement of the call-to-action.
SOCIAL POST
Brant Menswar, Black Sheep
While many of my author clients leverage their book photos in a way to draw attention to buying their books, these images can be used for more than that.
Take this post written by Brant.
He took one of the pull quote images about vulnerability and used the words as a launching point for a social post.
It ends with a call-to-action to answer a question, which empowers the viewer to engage the post. This is a great way to nurture the relationship you’re building with those you serve in that you’re inviting them to have a conversation.
These are just five of the many ways you can leverage high-quality photos of your book, but it gives you a sense of the flexibility that these assets afford you.
So, how are you promoting your book?
Are you creating unique and interesting ways to grab people’s attention?
Or, do you need some help?
If you’re curious to learn what a photo session looks like for your book, check it out here.
I still have some time in my shooting schedule for 3 more books this month. If you’re interested in putting your name on one of those slots, set up a call with me and let’s talk about it.