When you buy something online, more often than not you’ll look at FIVE important elements that help you decide if you’re going to click the Buy button.
As an author, I need to know these habits and thought I’d share it with you. I find it really interesting.
Amazon, wanting to understand how people use their site, have done analysis on buying habits, including using tech to track where consumer eyeballs go when they visit a product page. It’s pretty cool. They create a heat map of where the average person looks the most.
When evaluating a book on sites like Amazon, the reader wants to validate this novel is for them. They do this in a couple of ways.
BOOK COVER – The first thing they look at is the book cover, which lets the reader know that they’re looking at a book in the genre for which they’re interested. Book covers don’t need to tell your story, they just need to reflect the type of experience the reader is going to get. Book covers fit the genre and connect with the author’s individual brand.
SOCIAL PROOF – If a reader likes like the cover, the next thing they’ll look at is proof that the book is worth their time. They do this first by looking at how many reviews have been made and the average star ratings. No one wants to be the first to take a chance on an unknown product. 🙂 For independent authors, this is why, in most cases, reviews are more valuable than money. Without them (good ones), it’s difficult to get traction.
BLURB – If the book cover is good enough and other readers seem to enjoy the novel, the next thing a reader will do is read the blurb to know if this is particular novel is something they’d want to read.
REVIEWS – Lastly, consumers will read some some of the reviews, usually just a few of the five star and one star reviews, to find out if the feedback gives further indication on if the book (or product) is for them.
PRICE – Surprisingly, the last item consumers care about is price. Everyone has a preconceived idea about how much something is worth. Books are generally an inexpensive form of entertainment, especially when taking into account the numbers of hours the reader will take to complete the book. A five dollar book, for example, that takes five hours to read means it only cost a dollar for every hour of entertainment. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that.
Each reader will determine if they’ll consider getting the book if the price is within their acceptable range.
So, that’s the science of consumer habits. That’s why Amazon continually asks for feedback and reviews on products purchased. It is one of the most important elements of their business model.
Take the time to give stars and a few words for the products you purchase. It matters more than you think. 🙂