Shoot the bells and whistles
When it comes to marketing your book through visual storytelling…
…don’t forget to shoot the bells and whistles.
The other day, I photographed a book for Sarah - it’s called Don’t Feed The Elephants.
Aside from the fact that it’s a beautifully illustrated book with loads of juicy image opportunities, she also added in some extra goodies to include into the book boudoir session mix:
A customized bookmark with printing on the front and back and nerf-like peanuts with text and branding printed on it.
Ohhhhh, this is gonna be fun - we got extra bells and whistles to play with :)
During the pre-session strategy phase, Sarah told me that the bookmarks and peanuts will be sent to buyers, and it is important to illustrate these elements in the portfolio.
I couldn’t agree more.
Not only do they offer the potential reader a chance to see what fun stuff is included with their purchase, they also create more visual variety from shot-to-shot.
This offers the launch team more opportunities to offer compelling online content to promote the book. By doing so, it also separates her visually from other books that reside in her space of expertise.
When stacking up against other experts, creating distinction is not limited to their portraits or stage photos - it also refers to their books, as well.
And it was my job to create some book boudoir magic with all elements involved.
Here’s a brief peek at what was created for Sarah and her team:
When creating visual assets to market the launch of your book, it’s important to be mindful of all the details and work them into the mix.
Yes, the meat and potatoes of your book image portfolio is the shots of the cover, spine, chapter titles, section headers, pull quotes and illustrations.
But when you have additional swag such as bookmarks and branded objects, include those to give yourself the opportunity to paint a more compelling picture of the purchase for your readers.
Especially when these elements have such cool artistry inherent in them!
Photographing the bells and whistles adds to the perception in the minds of those you serve that this book is a must-have, and if I don’t buy it, I’ll be missing out on something cool.
…let alone the fact that the words in the book alone are transformational, life-changing insights, of course :)
Keep that in mind when you launch your next book - it will go a long way to helping you create visual assets that capture the attention of potential readers.
Speaking of launching…
Are you about to gear up to push out your next book into the world? Not sure what assets you need to help support the launch?
Set up a time to chat with me to see how I can help support your book marketing effort.