What's the most important job of a feature page? Turning mildly interested visitors into drooling addicts for your book.

The page creates desire in your visitor. It manipulates their emotions without their conscious knowledge.

Is that a nice thing to do?

That's what selling is. You can't sell without making people want your product.

Luckily, your visitors want you to manipulate their emotions. They enter your site from Autographed By Author interested in your book and attracted by its description. They want you to convince them to buy it. Say the right things and they will. Say one wrong thing and they'll leave.

No amount of logical reasons will convince visitors to buy your book, but there are plenty of logical reasons to not buy. The logical part of your feature page answers any deal-breaker questions a buyer might have.

But first, let's concentrate on the emotional part.

Selling by emotion

Emotions precede every action. The job of your feature page is to create an emotion so intense that your visitors feel a need for your book.

The text, graphics, and other components of your page are just the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface lurks your plan to stimulate your visitor's desire to astronomical levels.

Plan the unseen foundation first, and then add the text, graphics, and layout to convey the emotion to the visitor.

The only reason to add a component to your page is that it enhances the emotional journey you planned for your visitors. If it doesn't do that, it's working against you.

Why we buy

We buy in response to an emotional itch called desire.

People don't desire books. We desire things of value like the ones on this very incomplete list:

The unseen foundation of your feature page will be a value that people desire. … The one that infuses your book. … The one you were obsessed with as you wrote it.

The feature page will transfer your original obsession to your visitor as it highlights your book.

Did you think I was kidding about turning your visitor into a "drooling addict?"

Do you think it's possible now?

You bet it is. And you're the only one who can do it.

Two keys to unlocking Web sales

The hardest part of selling books from your Web site is getting strangers excited about your book.

The first key is that you don't need to get visitors excited about your book, just reawaken their excitement for the value your book is based on.

The second key is that the visitors aren't strangers. You can write your description at Autographed By Author to attract visitors who are motivated by the value your book is based on. These visitors share your strongest values. They could be your best friends.

Description

Which values does your book address? Write a description for your Autographed By Author listing that focuses on its strongest one.

Your description doesn't have to mention the name of the value. But below the surface, it should be in 10-foot high letters.

There's a funny, well-written book in our fiction category called My Gun Has Bullets. Its description doesn't say it's funny or well-written; it develops an "itch" for its value:

Ex-cop Charlie Willis, special security for Pinnacle Pictures, keeps the peace in the land of make-believe. He matches wits with a power drill assassin, a deranged astronaut, an actress who kills with her enormous breasts … and some fictional characters.

With a value-based description, you can be sure the visitors we send to your feature page want to buy a book like yours because they're attracted to the value that describes your book.

That's a lot to know about a person: what they want to do, and what motivates them. Build your feature page to motivate them to do what they, and you, want … Buy your book.

The visitor is like a character in your novel. Instead of telling us what the character does, you'll set up a situation that makes them likely do it. How? By presenting them with emotionally charged thoughts at the right times.

If you were to hire someone to design a page that did that, what kind of professional would you look for?

An author, of course. We should have the world's best Web sites.

Feature Page Construction

You know the value that motivated your visitors to click on your title at Autographed By Author. The next step is to make a feature page that takes these visitors to higher levels of desire for that value.

Every phrase on your feature page can extol the value or connect your book to it. But don't stop there. Pictures, design, colors, fonts, and even blank spaces can all convey the highest value of your book.

When readers reach the end of the page, they might be drooling like addicts.

That's when you suggest they buy the book … and tactfully counter any possible deal-breakers.

Multi-Faceted Titles

What if your book satisfies more than one value? If you can't combine them smoothly, build two pages and write two descriptions. You can test one description and feature page for a few months, then try the other pair.

Another option is to find a second category for your book. Use the second description for that category. We'll send visitors from the second category to your second feature page.

Deal-breakers

No matter how emotionally excited your visitors become, they won't buy if they have logical concerns.

They need to be convinced that they're getting good value, their personal information is secure, and you're reliable, professional, and honest.

Feeling good about these concerns won't convince anyone to buy your book, but uncertainty about any one of them is a deal-breaker.

Don't worry about the deal-breakers until you've finished your emotional pitch, but give visitors access to the information before making them decide on buying the book. What information? Keep reading.

Good value

Before buying a book, every bookstore visitor:

Your site should allow visitors to do those things. The front cover should be at the top of the feature page for its emotional impact. The samples can be accessed by links so they don't interrupt the emotional flow of the feature page.

If the back cover text extols the value you're targeting on your feature page, you may be able to use it as the feature page text. Otherwise, include it on other pages of your site. I use the front cover graphic and the rear cover text as a sidebar on most pages of my book's site.

As bookstore visitors hold the book, they notice:

A book's dollar value is closely related to its production. Give your visitors the information they need to convince themselves of the book's dollar value.

Reviews and Testimonials

If you don't have reviews and testimonials, you're telling visitors that you're not aware of anyone ever enjoying your book.

Include a link to a page of testimonials and reviews, but also include a few short, relevant phrases from them on your feature page.

Even though I'm not aware of any author being asked to prove their testimonials were real, all my testimonials are signed or e-mailed with permission given for use in advertising.

About the Author

Visitors need assurance that you're an expert in your field. Give them a link to an "About the Author" page.

Don't clutter the feature page with more than a few words about your qualifications. It's intellectual information, not emotional. Its only purpose is to prevent a deal-breaker.

Just knowing your qualifications are available may be enough for many visitors to feel assured of your expertise.

If they do visit that page, they should see a picture of you, your relevant qualifications, and contact information.

There is debate about how much contact information to include on a Web site. Some spammers harvest e-mail addresses from Web sites.

While telephone numbers and street addresses can make buyers feel more secure, including them might make you feel less so.

At the very minimum, include a "Contact Us" form that visitors can fill out and send to you. That way, you don't need to display any of your direct contact information.

If you're limited to only one page, use a few dozen lines of white space to create separate sections of your page. Bookmark the top of each section and link to them as if they were different pages.

Use one section as your "About the Author" page, one for your "Contact Us" page, one for your "Reviews and Testimonials" page, one for your "Order" page, and another for your "Links" page.

Payment pages

More than half of all internet sales are lost during the payment process. It could be because of ordering complexity or security concerns. If your ordering process doesn't seem simple, professional, and safe, you could easily lose the mood your feature page created.

What's the best way to avoid losing buyers at the payment process? Don't require prepayment.

Several authors at Autographed By Author sell by invoice. They send a bill with the book, like the book clubs have been doing for decades. Book clubs know the resulting impulse orders more than make up for any non-payments.

The most amazing thing I've learned about internet sales is that authors rarely experience non-payment losses from invoiced sales. One author said she has to send reminders to about 10% of her buyers, but almost all of them pay.

If you don't have a merchant account, you might want to try invoiced sales. It will turn away the fewest number of buyers of any payment system, and will probably cost you less than the best of merchant accounts.

The worst of all payment systems is prepayment by check. Sites that require it rarely report sales. We've stopped accepting sites that require prepayment by check.

If you have a merchant account, make sure to collect the card numbers from a secure page … and tell the buyer it's a secure page. You can do this with a free shopping cart from Mal's E-Commerce. http://www.ait2000.com

If you don't have a merchant account, but want your buyers to prepay by credit card, you can use CCNow. http://www.ccnow.com/overview.html

I use Mal's. I've never used CCNow. I receive no benefits from mentioning either service.

PayPal used to be a lot worse than it appears now. I haven't looked into them lately, but I wouldn't be surprised if many potential customers avoid using PayPal also. Don't take my word for it. Check out a few sites which come up when you search in Google for "PayPal sucks".

If I didn't have a merchant account, I'd sell my books by invoice.

Out with the bad text, in with the good

The first screen of your feature page is the most important. Everything on it should instill desire for your book.

Are people going to desire your book because of your publishing company's name or address? Authors who put that information on their first screen don't understand what their visitors want. The logical extension of that thought is that the author isn't in touch with their readers either.

One misspelled word on your feature page can destroy your credibility as an author. Visitors assume your Web site is an example of your finest work.

Is it important to list the ISBN? The only way an ISBN can be of use to a visitor is for ordering the book somewhere else. If they do, you'll lose most of your profit.

Should you provide links to on-line bookstores? If the guest uses the link, you'll lose most of your profit. If they don't use it, it still hurt your message. It distracted the visitor from your pitch.

No one's going to buy your book because it's available through Amazon. They'll buy because you convince them they want it. Once they want it, they'll buy it through you - if your payment process doesn't scare them.

How about links to other sites, advertisers, or Web rings? They don't enhance the mood you're creating, so they don't belong on your feature page.

If you trade links, put them on a separate links page. If links or ads must be on your feature page, try to put them several screens below your last line of text.

A banner ad at the top of your feature page tells visitors that you're not too solvent, professional, or businesslike. You demand full price without providing full service. There are hundreds of companies that will host your site without banners for less than $10 a month. I have a few sites hosted with an Indian company for $10 per year.

Will people buy your book because a good friend of yours did the artwork? Leave out the cute, homey tidbits that draw attention to you, your friends, or family. Focus on ways the book will enhance the visitor's life … especially on the first screen of the feature page.

The attention honeymoon only lasts a few seconds. If you don't spark the visitor's emotions quickly, they'll hit the back button before they see the order button.

So why not put the order button right up front? For the same reason that teenage boys don't ask for sex at the beginning of the first date. You'll not only get turned down, it makes you look foolish.

Why would anyone buy before they have reasons? When authors demonstrate they don't understand motivation, they warn readers to avoid their work … including the rest of the Web site.

If you have a navigation bar, include a link to the order page in it, even if the bar is at the top of your page. A link to the order page in a navigation bar isn't as blatant as a separate button or link. Present visitors with the separate link when you're done with your pitch.

How many sites have you seen that start out with "Welcome to my Web site?" What that sentence tells me is that the writer is having a hard time thinking of anything of value to say. So they say the equivalent of "You are here."

It may be an invitation, but it has the opposite effect.

How about the number of pages, size of the book, or price? This is important information, but it's deal-breaker information, not for the first screen. Make sure visitors have it before you ask them to buy the book.

After they press the order button, they'll transfer to the order page. Make sure buyers know all costs, including shipping, before you ask for their personal information.

Because authors earn so much more on direct sales, I suggest they share a little by including free Media Mail shipping. You can offer upgrades to First Class or Priority.

Free shipping creates greater value in goodwill than it costs you. Get extra mileage out of it by using it as the special offer in your Autographed By Author listing.

No matter how fair they are, shipping costs can be deal-breakers. Free shipping produces extra sales. Profits from these sales more than pay for everyone's shipping costs.

Sparkling text, not programming

Normal Web pages consist of black letters on a white background. Nothing moves, flashes or makes noises. If you do anything out of the ordinary, it attracts attention. From where? The rest of your site … the text and pictures that convince visitors how valuable your book is.

If you know how to use advanced programming so it enhances your message more than it distracts, use it. Usually it makes a site look amateurish. There's nothing wrong with a professional-looking simple site. Check out Amazon as an example.

Amazon crams a huge amount of information on each page without it looking crowded. They put a lot of research into creating a page that encourages visitors to buy. We can learn from their research.

Notice that the text is black on white, and nothing moves, flashes, or makes noise. Also, notice that their site doesn't require your computer to have Java enabled. Even visitors with old 640-pixel wide monitors can read their pages easily. The information in one column doesn't require scrolling to other columns.

Every salesman knows a pitch is worthless without a "close." You need to ask for the sale at some point. Do it when you think the visitor is most likely to say "yes."

Like any writing, the feature page gets better with every revision. Hopefully, you can use some of these ideas to make your site sell better. 

Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Autographed By Author. All rights reserved.
Revised: May 25, 2007