MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Is it Cover or the Content that Sells the Book

Worldwalker · 05-19-2011, 08:02 PM

Bashfulbanshee has covered just about everything I might want to say, and Mr. Ploppy really summarized it. If I'm just browsing, rather than seeking a specific author or title, the cover will catch my eye and get me to look at the content. The content will sell the book. There are far more books than I have time to consider, let alone explore, so a decent cover can be the deciding factor between this book and that one.

The website thing is something I can really speak to, because that's what I do -- website design. As a result, I don't just notice, as anyone does, that a website I'm visiting is annoying; I know why it's annoying.

Jakob Nielsen, the usability guru, said it best: "Users spend most of their time on other websites." I can't emphasize that enough.

Over and over again, I see websites -- often by "creative" people of one type or another -- that don't take that into consideration. They put their navigation in unconventional places, so users have to go find it. They use unconventional types of navigation, so users have to learn to use it. They, in short, promise (by default) the user one thing -- a website that they can use just like they use every other website -- and then yank the rug out from under them and say, in effect, "I'm so special that you're going to have to discard your normal way of doing things and do them my way instead." The typical user's response is along the line of "Just who do you think you are, anyway?" followed by a quick click of the "back" button.

I do not want to figure out how to use your website.

I do not want to read everything about your company, your relationships, or your dog.

I do not want to "be part of a community"; I just want to buy a freakin' book.

I want to know what books you've written. I want to know where I can buy them. And, being who I am, I want to know if they're DRM-locked or not (if they are, wasting my time by hiding that fact and sending me to a sales site for a book I'm not going to buy won't make me buy your book anyway; it will make me think you're a jerk). If I want to find out about your thoughts, opinions, or life story, make that a link if you must -- but don't force me to read through it to find out about your book. No, it won't make me want your book all the more; it will make me go to the website for the next author on my list and drop you off it completely, because there are more writers selling books I want to read than there is time to read them, so there's no reason for me to struggle to get yours when there are so many alternatives.

I guess that can all be summed up in "Get over yourself!" I don't want to jump through hoops -- I just want to buy a book. Who, what, where, when, why, how ... important words, those. Answer them and you'll have a sale. Ignore them and I'll go elsewhere, because there are so many elsewheres to go to, and so little time.

05-19-2011, 08:02 PM	#13
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Bashfulbanshee has covered just about everything I might want to say, and Mr. Ploppy really summarized it. If I'm just browsing, rather than seeking a specific author or title, the cover will catch my eye and get me to look at the content. The content will sell the book. There are far more books than I have time to consider, let alone explore, so a decent cover can be the deciding factor between this book and that one. The website thing is something I can really speak to, because that's what I do -- website design. As a result, I don't just notice, as anyone does, that a website I'm visiting is annoying; I know why it's annoying. Jakob Nielsen, the usability guru, said it best: "Users spend most of their time on other websites." I can't emphasize that enough. Over and over again, I see websites -- often by "creative" people of one type or another -- that don't take that into consideration. They put their navigation in unconventional places, so users have to go find it. They use unconventional types of navigation, so users have to learn to use it. They, in short, promise (by default) the user one thing -- a website that they can use just like they use every other website -- and then yank the rug out from under them and say, in effect, "I'm so special that you're going to have to discard your normal way of doing things and do them my way instead." The typical user's response is along the line of "Just who do you think you are, anyway?" followed by a quick click of the "back" button. I do not want to figure out how to use your website. I do not want to read everything about your company, your relationships, or your dog. I do not want to "be part of a community"; I just want to buy a freakin' book. I want to know what books you've written. I want to know where I can buy them. And, being who I am, I want to know if they're DRM-locked or not (if they are, wasting my time by hiding that fact and sending me to a sales site for a book I'm not going to buy won't make me buy your book anyway; it will make me think you're a jerk). If I want to find out about your thoughts, opinions, or life story, make that a link if you must -- but don't force me to read through it to find out about your book. No, it won't make me want your book all the more; it will make me go to the website for the next author on my list and drop you off it completely, because there are more writers selling books I want to read than there is time to read them, so there's no reason for me to struggle to get yours when there are so many alternatives. I guess that can all be summed up in "Get over yourself!" I don't want to jump through hoops -- I just want to buy a book. Who, what, where, when, why, how ... important words, those. Answer them and you'll have a sale. Ignore them and I'll go elsewhere, because there are so many elsewheres to go to, and so little time.