The best way to capitalize on your next book cover reveal!
A book cover reveal is a massive part of your book’s release, social media, and marketing campaign and should be timed very well.
A sneak peek or pre-release book cover reveal is a great way to stir up excitement or buzz and build a list of potential readers before your book even hits the market.
It’s a very cost-effective way to get some much-needed attention for your book before its official release. When you self-publish your book, your professional cover design and book description are going to be two of your most significant selling points.
Grab a potential reader’s eye with your attractive and stylish book cover design, then reel them in with a book description that smashes it out of the park! Create a great book cover, add an amazing book description, and hopefully, you’ll start to see some sales.
However, it all starts with a professional book cover design. If you would like to discuss a quote on getting a fantastic cover design for your next book or want to update an existing book with a beautiful new book cover, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us.
When Is the Perfect Time To Do a New Cover Reveal?
A book cover reveal is a great marketing idea for both fiction and non-fiction books, and almost every fiction sub-genre will fit into a cover reveal marketing plan. So, when’s the right time for your big cover reveal, and should you include it in your author marketing plan?
Revealing your book cover too early is a mistake!
If you rush out and reveal your cover too early and are lucky enough to get some potential readers excited about the upcoming book release, then you have to have a realistic release date unless you have a very good marketing plan to keep those potential readers tuned in and eagerly waiting.
Unfortunately, we live in an age where people’s attention span is extremely short and getting shorter. We’re growing more accustomed to seeing what we want and then being able to immediately buy it and have it shipped to us.
Now, I went onto social media and got some opinions from different authors about when they do their book cover reveals. I’m surprised to say that there’s a pretty varying timeline. Let’s look at some of the comments below:
I’m starting to feel that with a solid marketing plan, between 2 months and 6 months is the sweet spot. If you have the time to dedicate to your social media and marketing and have a solid plan with lots of content, 6 months would be ideal. Still, I wouldn’t want to drop the cover any further out than that, just in case there are any delays in editing, formatting, etc., and so on.
If you don’t have a lot of time or haven’t got a bunch of social media content ready to drip feed through to readers, then 2-3 months would be better. However, no authors are the same, and what works for one may not work for another, so always do what’s best for you rather than trying to compromise to meet someone else’s expected timeline.
Look at what you have to post, how often you’re planning on posting, and where you’re planning on posting your book cover reveal, and see how you can schedule that out to readers.
What Platforms Can You Use for Your Cover Reveal?
Almost all social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Threads, are great places to do your cover reveal. LinkedIn and Goodreads, depending on your following, and also places like Medium and Wattpad, are worth checking out.
When you’re planning your cover reveal, think about different formats such as videos and images rather than just dropping your cover and being like, ‘here it is’ make it into the event it’s supposed to be.
If you’re at the stage where you are doing a cover reveal, then a pre-order for your book on sites such as Amazon KDP is a great idea. This way, you’ll be able to link your cover reveal to the pre-order page, so if someone is interested in reading or buying your book, they can commit on the spot.
Let’s look at some quick points to remember with your cover reveal:
-
- The Build-Up to Your Cover Reveal – A big part of the cover reveal build-up could be involving your audience in the cover design process. Think about things like different versions of your cover, polls, fonts, colors, and the decision-making process behind how you finally settled on your final cover design.
- Create An Event – An event is a great way to get people involved. It could be a live giveaway for swag like custom bookmarks and stickers, special edition books, limited edition covers, some excerpts from the book read live by you, or just a live author meet and greet event. You could do this as an online event, an in-person event, or a combination of both.
- Your Book Cover Has A Front and Back – Don’t forget the full book cover, although the front cover may be the most exciting part. Your blurb is going to be a big part of your cover reveal, so don’t forget to factor that into your plans.
When’s the Perfect Time for a Cover Reveal? – Conclusion
Ultimately, when and if you do a cover reveal for your book is up to you as the author. Don’t feel like you need to confirm to any set timelines or ideas.
Get creative! Have some fun with your cover reveal and learn what worked for you and what didn’t so that next cover reveal, you can take advantage.
If you need any assistance with author marketing or social media, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us directly.
Our friendly and professional team at Author Services Australia is happy to help! Need help with self-publishing, such as ghostwriting, editing, formatting, cover design, or uploading? Our experienced team is here to help.
