If you want to learn how to write a book description for Amazon, you are in the right place! Writing a great Amazon KDP description is key to hooking readers and getting them to buy your book. In this blog post, I will give you 7 tips for writing an attention-grabbing Amazon KDP description that will help sell your book.
If you stick around to the end, I will share a little tool that I use - it has been a game changer for my book publishing business! 👀
Don't Make This Mistake...
When it comes to selling books on Amazon, many authors make the mistake of using the book's blurb as their sales description.
While the blurb can be an effective tool for promoting a book, it doesn't always provide the information that potential buyers are looking for.
A well-crafted sales description, on the other hand, can be the difference between a book that sells and one that languishes on the virtual shelf.
When writing a sales description, it's important to focus on what makes your book unique and why potential buyers should take a chance on it.
Tip 1: Keep It Short and Sweet
When it comes to book descriptions, conciseness is key. The Amazon KDP description field is limited to 4000 characters, so you need to make every word count. Get straight to the point, and don’t include any fluff.
Use active and descriptive language to give potential readers a taste of what your book is about. Be sure to mention any awards or accolades your book has received, and highlight any positive reviews.
Ultimately, your goal is to entice readers to give your book a try. With a little effort, you can craft a book description that does just that.
Tip 2: Start With A Bang
The first sentence of your Amazon KDP book description is crucial. You want to grab readers’ attention right away and make them want to keep reading. One way to do this is to start with a strong opening line that gives an overview of the book.
For example, “In a future world where the government controls everything, one woman must fight for her freedom.” This immediately pulls the reader in and makes them want to know more about the story.
It also sets up the rest of the book description, which should expand on the premise and provide more details about the plot. With a strong opening line, you can hook readers and convince them to give your book a chance.
Tip 3: Use Keywords
When potential readers are searching for books on Amazon, they will use keywords. By including relevant keywords in your Amazon KDP book description, you can make sure that your book comes up when they are searching.
Do some research to find out what keywords people are using to search for books like yours, then include those keywords in your book description. This will help potential readers find your book and consider buying it.
In addition, be sure to use keyword-rich tags when uploading your book to Amazon KDP. This will help ensure that your book appears in relevant search results.
By taking these steps, you can make it easier for potential readers to find and purchase your book.
Avoid keyword stuffing, as this will give you the opposite effect. Amazon may flag your book as spam if you stuff too many keywords into the description, which will hurt your chances of selling any copies.
And, likewise, this will put off your potential readers. Use keywords thoughtfully and sparingly to ensure that your Amazon KDP book description is effective.
Tip 4: Use Rich Formatting
Although HTML is limited on Amazon KDP, there are still some ways you can use rich formatting to make your book description stand out.
One of my KDP book description examples and tips for writing:
For example, you can use bold or italics to highlight key points. You can also create bullet points to list key features of your book.
Rich formatting is one of the only ways you can add some flare and originality to your Amazon KDP book description.
Tip 5: Use Images
In addition to rich formatting, you can also use images in your Amazon KDP book description. By default, Amazon adds the front cover and back cover of your book to the description.
You can also add additional images, up to a total of nine. These images could be pictures of the author, illustrations from the book, or anything else that would help sell your book.
Once your book has been approved, contact Amazon and ask them to add images to your book description. Amazon will review the images and decide whether or not to add them.
If you are using Amazon KDP Select, you can also add an image gallery to your book’s landing page.
Tip 6: Include A Call-To-Action
Your book description is your chance to really sell your book to potential readers. While the buy now button is a familiar call-to-action, you want to use your book description to encourage potential readers to take that next step and purchase your book.
To do this, you need to be creative in your language and really make them want to read your book. Use strong verbs and persuasive language to get them excited about your story.
Highlight the key moments and themes of your book that you think will resonate with them. Ultimately, you want to create a sense of urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out) so they feel like they need to read your book right now.
Tip 7: Include Social Proof & Reviews
This is typically something you have to come back and add after your book has been published for a while, but it’s important to include any social proof or reviews in your book description.
This could be things like how many books you’ve sold, awards your book has won, or positive reviews from readers and critics.
Including this information will help build trust with potential readers and make them more likely to purchase your book.
8. Bonus Tip: Use A KDP Book Description Generator
While this is not an official book description generator (it is an AI writer, capable of writing entire books, not just book descriptions...), it is what I use for all of my books.
The best part is that they give you 10,000 words free, so you can keep generating book descriptions and tweaking it to include your keywords and information.
You can try it for free here.
Another option, is the Kindlepreneur book description generator. It is very straightforward to use and gives you the output instantly.