Before your potential readers can commit, you must first convince them your book is worth buying and reading. It’s why a well-written book blurb is crucial to your marketing.
A book blurb gives your audience a sneak peek into all the goodness inside. However, it can be one of the most difficult parts to create for your work.
What is a Blurb?
A blurb is a short, engaging piece of text located on the back cover of your book. Its job is to convince your potential readers to become buyers. Think of it as an elevator pitch aimed at your audience.
It’s not a summary of your book’s contents or another author’s endorsement. Rather, it is cleverly written copy (text crafted to persuade its target audience) that doesn’t give away much but still entices people into reading.
It’s also something that many bookwriters struggle to write. After all, copywriting is completely different from bookwriting. And when you’re too close to your work, it’s difficult to be objective enough to narrow things down.
Fiction and nonfiction blurbs also differ. Fiction blurbs tend to emphasize plot, characters, and settings while nonfiction blurbs focus on key topics, the book’s purpose, and the author’s credentials. As such, crafting them will take different approaches despite having the same goal.
Essential Steps To Crafting a Nonfiction Blurb
Here are some tips to consider if you’re writing your nonfiction blurb.
1. Determine your type.
Nonfiction blurbs are either story-based or topic-based. Story-based blurbs function more like fiction blurbs, focusing on narrative elements and emotional appeal. Topic-based blurbs prioritize information and educational value.
Story-based nonfiction includes memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, and narrative nonfiction. Topic-based nonfiction includes how-to’s, self-help, science journals, academic books, and history.
2. Determine your audience.
As stated, a book blurb is a piece of copy. To write it effectively, you need to know who your book is for. The better you know your audience, the better you can sell to them.
You need to know where your book belongs in the market. Sure, you already know who your readers are, but how are you relevant to them? What’s unique about your book? Who are you and what differentiates you from other authors in the same niche?
Answer these questions and your audience will feel that you “get” them. That connection is what gets them to buy, read, and recommend your work to others.
3. State a problem and the solution.
Rely on your audience research to fully understand the woes of your target market. Ask yourself how your book can solve these problems.
Introduce your solution but don’t get into too much detail about it. Your blurb should only get them interested, not provide them with everything.
You can add context to illustrate the problem and the solution more effectively. Brief examples work well in reinforcing the two.
4. Do not summarize.
Blurbs are meant to intrigue, not summarize. If you tell them everything they need, what’s the point of reading the contents? Let them discover insights on their own.
Focus on engaging your audience instead. Tell them the reasons why they need your book. Mention your expertise. Pull on their emotions and interests. Give them enough information to make them realize your book is for them.
5. Keep it short and sweet.
Keep your blurb as short as you can. There’s not a lot of space in the back cover and readers won’t have the patience to read long blurbs.
Nonfiction blurbs, while longer than fiction blurbs, are usually still limited to around 100-200 words. Every sentence needs to count, especially your opening line. Potential readers need to get hooked even if they barely skim your blurb.
Make a bold claim, tell a startling piece of information, or use a clever turn of phrase. Start your blurb any way you want as long as it engages your target audience.
6. Make it SEO-friendly
You’re competing with a lot of other books in the market. To make it easier to reach your audience, make your blurb SEO-friendly.
Do your keyword research. Use relevant buzzwords in your text. Use short paragraphs and bullet points for readability. Add an emotional call to action.
If you have the time and resources, do A/B testing to see what version of your blurb performs better in engagement and sales.
7. Make it emotional.
Emotion is what drives a person’s buying behavior. If you want your blurb to succeed, it has to make your readers feel. What they feel reinforces how they interact with you.
Tie this emotion to their possible woes. If they think you have the solution, they’re more likely to buy your book. Do this by sharing brief anecdotes, using descriptive language, and highlighting benefits.
The Nonfiction Blurb Formula
Take a look at this blurb from How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price:
Is your phone the first thing you reach for in the morning and the last thing you touch before bed? Do you frequently pick it up “just to check,” only to look up forty-five minutes later wondering where the time has gone? Do you say you want to spend less time on your phone—but have no idea how to do so without giving it up completely? If so, this book is your solution.
Award-winning journalist Catherine Price presents a practical, hands-on plan to break up—and then make up—with your phone. The goal? A long-term relationship that actually feels good.
You’ll discover how phones and apps are designed to be addictive, and learn how the time we spend on them damages our abilities to focus, think deeply, and form new memories. You’ll then make customized changes to your settings, apps, environment, and mindset that will ultimately enable you to take back control of your life.
This blurb contains four essential elements for a nonfiction blurb:
- A hook
- The topic and scope of the book.
- Author’s credibility.
- What your audience can gain.
By adding these four elements, you can help your readers make an informed decision. They understand who you are, what you’re book is about, and why they should care.
Why are Blurbs Important?
Your book, of course, should be error-free and high-quality. The problem, however, is that your target audience doesn’t know that. You need a way to turn them from browsers into satisfied buyers.
A well-written blurb does three things: grab attention, generate interest, and inform potential readers. It lets you stand out in a crowded marketplace, making your audience inclined to explore further.
How do you write your nonfiction blurb? Share your process below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Get Book Blurbs, Endorsements, and Testimonials from Big Names
- 5 Tips on How to Market a Nonfiction Book
- How to Write a Book Blurb for Fiction That Sells (Not Just Another Boring Synopsis)
- How to Write a Logline for Your Fiction Manuscript (with Template)
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
