8 Tips From Best-Selling Author Jay Shetty’s Amazingly Effective Book Landing Page

You might be familiar with health and wellness influencer Jay Shetty, who has skyrocketed to fame in the last few years. Shetty applies lessons from his time as a Buddhist monk to help his audience live a more fulfilled life. So, fittingly, Shetty's first book is "Think Like a Monk."

Given that Shetty is a digital influencer, it's no surprise he has an excellent book landing page/website. I have seen many book, author, and writer websites. Still, Shetty's book landing page and website exceeded my wildest expectations!

Below I’ve linked a Youtube video summarizing why Shetty's book landing page is excellent.

Jay Shetty Think Like a Monk Book Landing Page

Here are eight tips from best selling author Jay Shetty’s amazingly effective book landing page that you can use to improve your book landing page: 

1. Create a custom domain and website for the book landing page.

2. Use a lead magnet to entice readers to stay on the book landing page.

3. Offer bonuses to encourage book purchase.

4. Specify what the reader will get from the book.

5. Provide an audio sample from the book.

6. Offer extensive social proof of the book.

7. Include a consistent call to action.

8. Present a well-designed book landing page.

Below is a written analysis of each tip.

1. Create a custom domain and website for the book landing page.

Jay Shetty Think Like a Monk Book Landing Page Full Screenshot

I have seen many writers and authors rely on their publisher's websites to market their books. Using your publisher's website is more manageable. Yet, the tradeoff is that the publisher's website isn't usually configured to sell individual books. Instead, the publisher's website has a cohesive style and format meant to sell books generally. For example, an author might want colors, fonts, and functions specific to the author's book. Yet, a publisher's website can't agree to these changes and still maintain its brand style.

Shetty wanted to optimize his book marketing, so he created a custom book domain. This domain is separate from his publisher's website (the illustrious Simon & Schuster btw) and his website. This is a common strategy for sales pages, which are often better off as different domains due to technical requirements.

Shetty then created his own engaging book website. The website has many sections that detail what the book is about, what the reader will gain from reading the book, and testimonials from celebrities with credibility. He even includes bonus content to encourage readers to buy the book. 

Tip #1: You can apply this tip by creating your book landing page. For example, you could make the page on your website for simplicity’s sake. However, you could also create a separate website optimized to turn visitors into readers who purchase your book.

2. Use a lead magnet to entice readers to stay on the book landing page.

Jay Shetty Think Like a Monk Book Landing Page Quiz

You've seen retailers offer you 10% off if you sign up for the retailer's email newsletter. Retailers do this because, unfortunately, 96% of customers aren't ready to buy the first time they land on a website. Instead, brands slowly warm up customers through advertising and marketing. Once the retailer has your email, they can email you to increase your brand awareness, warm you up, and sell to you. Side note: unsubscribe from retailer newsletters if you want to spend less online!

This strategy, called email marketing, is a highly effective form of marketing. According to management consulting firm McKinsey, email marketing is 40% as effective as social media in securing a sale. 

Businesses often offer something of value in exchange for customers' emails. For example, retailers often offer discounts. In addition, brands provide a lead magnet or opt-in such as a PDF guide, checklist, or video training.

Shetty's website not only uses a lead magnet, but he uses the most effective lead magnet - a quiz - to entice potential readers onto his email list. People love quizzes because they're easy, fun, quick, and instantaneous. Weaving in curiosity is also a highly effective sales tactic. Humans are curious creatures, so we respond well to these messages. 

Unsurprisingly, Shetty's quiz does not disappoint! The quiz's theme, finding one's purpose, is tied to Shetty's book about living a purposeful life. The quiz allows readers to discover their deeper purpose. Who wouldn't want to know their deeper purpose after answering only a handful of questions?! And once readers get their answer, they're on Shetty's email list, so they get more marketing messages from Shetty. Thus, people who take the first small step of filling out this quiz are much more likely to buy Shetty's book. 

Tip #2: You can apply this tip by creating a lead magnet for readers. The lead magnet does not have to be complex; it could be a few free pages of your book, an essay or short story you’ve never released, a recipe, a checklist, or something related to the book’s story or message. Just make sure that your readers want the lead magnet.

3. Offer bonuses to encourage book purchase.

Not only does Shetty's site use the most effective lead magnet, but he also offers a gift with the book - a bonus workshop. This video training comes complimentary with the book.

Note that Shetty has mocked up the training on an iPad. The workshop is shown on an iPad so that Shetty can subtly show his readers what it might be like to watch his training. Providing this mock-up removes one more obstacle that the reader might be thinking about - how to watch the video. 

Offering bonus video material is cutting-edge. In a post-COVID TikTok world, video is more important than ever. As a result, other digital influencers have also provided bonus video training with their book. 
Tip #3: You can apply this tip by creating a bonus offer for readers. Again, just like the lead magnet, this offer does not have to be complex; it could be a short video training, an unpublished work, or perhaps something related to the book’s story or point that your readers would like.

4. Specify what the reader will get from the book.

Next, Shetty makes a detailed argument about why readers should buy his book for their good. His website lists ten things the reader will learn from the book. A numbered list makes it easy for the reader to understand Shetty's message visually. 

The "About the Book" description is also very persuasive.  Shetty establishes his credibility and empowers ANYONE to be more courageous, compassionate, and determined by reading his book.

Finally, Shetty includes several images of the book itself, so readers have a good sense of exactly what they’re getting and what it looks like. 

Tip #4: You can apply this tip by clearly listing or enumerating what the reader will get out of the book. This is easier to do if the book is a non-fiction book. 

If you are a fiction author, use your testimonials to explain what the reader will get out of the book. For example, on May Cobb’s website, I showed what the reader would get out of the book by including testimonials that spoke about how entertaining and captivating the book is

5. Provide an audio sample from the book.

Not only does Shetty specify what the reader will get out of the book, but he also allows readers to listen to it. The audio version lets the reader hear from Shetty directly and get a taste of the book. That's helpful and likely persuasive, given Shetty's attractive British accent. Readers are more likely to buy the book once they hear Shetty reading it himself. 

Tip #5: This is a more advanced tip, but it is doable if you want to create a short recording of yourself using your iPhone or podcasting equipment. You could then upload the sample onto your website. You could also link to a Youtube video of you reading the book or offer a few pages of the book as a PDF download. You don’t have to do this alone. You could also hire a Youtube video editor, a podcast editor, or a virtual assistant with experience in a multimedia format to help you produce a quality product. You can connect with a video or audio expert on Upwork.

6. Offer extensive social proof of the book.

One of the key ways to sell a product is to include extensive social proof to show that the product works. Shetty does this in two ways. First, he offers social proof at the top of his website by showing icons of all the media outlets that have featured his work. As soon as potential readers see these logos, they understand that Shetty is a reputable individual they should trust. 

Second, Shetty offers 14 testimonials from well-respected celebrities about his book. In the age of Amazon reviews, the more testimonials, the better. These glowing reviews, accompanied by photos, names, and titles to build credibility, help Shetty persuade skeptical purchasers.

Tip #6: This tip is easy to apply. Include testimonials about your book on your homepage and as many pages as possible. Including the reviewers' photos, names, and titles would enhance your book's credibility as it provides more weight to the reviews. 

I added testimonials on May Cobb’s author website about her latest book: 

I added testimonials on Chandler Baker’s author website praising her writing generally:

On both websites, the testimonials are visible as soon as the visitor lands on the homepage.

7. Include a consistent call to action on the book landing page.

As a web designer and digital strategist, the first thing I look for on any web page is whether there's a call to action. A call to action is a button, usually at the top right of each webpage in a prominent color, that directs the website visitor to take action. The call to action deepens the relationship between the visitor and the website by leading the reader to take action. The step could be signing up for a newsletter, purchasing a product, or scheduling a call. It's even better if the website incorporates that call to action throughout the webpage's body. Calls to action are essential because website visitors are often looking for direction. Guiding the reader through a call to action increases the likelihood that a visitor will do what you ask.

Shetty has a clear call to action in bright green at the top of his site - "order now." This button is always present throughout the website and mentioned in the body of his webpage. This prominent call to action makes it more likely that that visitor will order his book. 

Tip #7: This tip is also easy to apply. Figure out the next step you want your reader to take. The action could be downloading your free short story, a sample of your writing, or buying your book. Then, add a button representing that step, such as Shetty’s “Order Now” button, on the top right corner of the header. Remember to repeat the same button in the same color and wording throughout the homepage to encourage your reader to take that step. 

8. Present a well-designed book landing page.

Finally, Shetty’s website is designed well and optimized to convert visitors to Shetty's newsletter list or to buy his book. Here are some of the excellent design elements of the site:

• This website uses a lot of photos of the author - I know writers and authors prefer not to have their pictures taken. We like holing up in sweatpants, drinking coffee, and writing! I know, I know. I'm a writer, too. But. Photos help. A lot. Unsurprisingly, this website includes many images of the author, Jay Shetty. The more website visitors see pictures of a real person, the more likely visitors are to know, like, and trust the person and buy from them. Jay includes many pictures of him because he wants his readers to know, like, and trust him.

• The floating navigation bar makes it easy for the reader to buy. - Shetty's website utilizes a highly effective navigation bar. This navigation bar includes links to major retailers where readers could buy his book. In addition, the bar stays consistent as the reader scrolls the site. This constant bar makes it easier for the reader to buy the book no matter where they are on the site. The persistent navigation bar also includes the prominent green call to action, which directs readers to buy the book. These two elements make the reader more likely to buy the book. 

You are more likely to convert someone into an email follower and later a purchaser once someone is on your website. This means you want to avoid redirecting your visitor to social media once someone visits your website. That's why it's best to place social media icons at the bottom of the website to keep visitors focused on your website.

Even Jay Shetty, a social media health influencer, placed his social media links at the bottom of his site. This proves the importance of drawing potential customers to your site via social media. Once these customers are on the site, the site must engage and persuade the customer. Social media shouldn't be your only marketing tool.

Tip #8: Creating a well-designed site doesn’t have to be complicated. Include photos of yourself, preferably professional photos, on your homepage and throughout your author website. Squarespace also makes it easy to have a fixed navigation bar in your header, so your call to action button is always visible. Adding links to your social media icons at the footer of your Squarespace author website is also easy.

What do you think?

Did I miss anything? Is there anything from Jay Shetty's book landing page you loved? Have a question about something I wrote? Let me know.

If you enjoyed this blog and video and know someone who might enjoy it, please share it with them!

Do not attempt this at home! I can help!

As I state in the accompanying Youtube video, this is not a beginner's website. I wouldn't be surprised if this website costs $25,000. Given the complexity and nuances of this website, I wouldn't try to DIY!

If you're an author without that budget, don't worry! I can help. Reach out to Writer's Creative to schedule your free design call to discuss your website and digital strategy needs.

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