In today's digital world, metadata is the "secret sauce" for making your book discoverable. It's the hidden magic that helps readers find your book among the millions available online. While it might seem like just a technical detail, it's actually a fantastic marketing tool that can broaden your book's reach, boost your sales, and connect you with your ideal readers.
After you've put so much of your heart and soul into creating the perfect story, you do not want to neglect the power of your metadata. You want to call attention to what makes your book special, and make sure that everyone who might be interested in reading it will know that it exists. In this article, we'll dive into some often-overlooked aspects of metadata that can really make a difference in getting your book noticed and boosting your sales.
Make the Most of Your Subtitle
Not every book needs a subtitle, but they can be useful if your title is somewhat vague or unusual. When you do decide to include a subtitle, be sure you're enhancing your discoverability by including relevant keywords that clarify your theme or subject. This will help to ensure that your book is found by the right audience.
A good example of this is the David Grann book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The title by itself is a good one—a metaphor for the murders of Osage Nation members in the 1920s. However, just finding the title in a search wouldn't let the reader know what this book is about. By including the subtitle, the book will also appear in searches pertaining to the Osage murders, the birth of the FBI, and more. This greatly expands the potential reading pool for the book.
Choose the Right Subcategories and Niche Keywords
One of the key aspects of metadata that often gets overlooked is picking the right subcategories and niche keywords. By choosing well-optimized keywords and categories, you can boost your book’s chances of popping up in search results, making it easier for readers to discover it without having to use paid advertising.
Instead of using broad keywords like "Fiction" or "Thriller," for which there will be tons of competition, authors can find more success by targeting specific subcategories such as "Psychological Thriller" or "Arthurian Fantasy." Many platforms allow you to experiment with subcategories, so don’t hesitate to test and refine them based on your audience’s response.
Additionally, choosing long-tail keywords (e.g., historical mystery with a strong female lead) can help you attract niche audiences who are more likely to buy. By targeting a very narrow portion of the audience within a niche market, you'll be attracting qualified traffic more than if you had used a broader keyword, such as "Historical Mystery."
Add Seasonal or Event-Based Keywords
Readers’ interests often shift with the seasons or specific events, and your book’s metadata can reflect that. Consider updating or adding keywords to align with trending events, holidays, or the seasons.
- If you've written a cozy mystery set on Christmas Eve, adding the following keywords during the holiday season can improve your discoverability: Christmas mystery, holiday whodunit
- If there's a trending topic made popular on BookTok that you know will draw readers to your book, add related keywords to try to gain traction on social media. Examples include: Friends to lovers rom-com, dark fantasy romance, true crime stories, etc.
- If there's a current event popular on the news that's related to your book, take the opportunity to add keywords to your metadata (in a tasteful way) that could help your book capitalize on the topic. For example, long-tail keywords could be: latest advances in AI or public attitudes toward immigration
Don't Forget Your Contributor Fields
You've obviously listed the author of your book in your metadata, along with any co-authors. But, have you made sure to include illustrators, narrators (audiobooks), editors, and any foreword or afterword authors? These names can also be searched, giving your book additional exposure. If a well-known author writes your foreword, or an Oscar-nominated actor narrates your audiobook, adding this to the metadata will make your book that much more visible to people searching for information about those personalities as well.
Include Series and Edition Details
If you've written a book series, you always want to be sure that all of the books in the series are linked in some way within your metadata. Suppose someone reads one of your books and loves it, but they have no idea there are more books available that follow the same characters or are set in the same small town. What a waste of an opportunity for book sales and returning readers!
Ensure that your series name is set up correctly for all books in the series, and use numbering so readers can more easily know which books they should read first.
You also want to make sure that if you have various editions of a book, they're properly labeled using keywords within your metadata and linked to each other. Someone who reads your original novel may very well be interested in purchasing your "Illustrated Edition" or "Large Print Edition."
Connect with Readers Worldwide
If you're interested in reaching readers in other countries, you've probably thought about who your audience will be and how to translate your work. But, did you know that enhancing and translating your metadata is another great way to help international readers find your book?
There may be readers in other countries that would actually love your book, but if your metadata is English-only, they may never come across it. Once you've input the key details of your book—such as title, author name, description—in its primary language, then add translated versions of this information in all of the other languages you want to target.
Additionally, choosing the right BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) and Thema subject categories ensures your book is categorized correctly in bookstores and online retailers and discoverable in global markets.
Make Your Book More Accessible to Everyone
Accessibility isn’t just about making your book available in multiple formats. It's also a way to expand your audience, improve readability, and make your work more inclusive. Metadata plays a very important role in ensuring that visually and hearing impaired readers are able to access your work.
- Indicate accessibility features in the book's description, calling attention to features such as:
- Large-print edition
- Dyslexia-friendly fonts
- Closed captioned and audio descriptions for audiobooks
- Add "Large Print" or "Accessible Edition" to the title or subtitle
- For ebooks, include fields like "Alternative Text" for cover images and "Semantic HTML for Easy Navigation"
- Use the proper BISAC and Thema codes to ensure your book is categorized correctly:
- BISAC codes to consider
- LAN025000 – Books for People with Visual Impairments
- LAN026000 – Books for People with Hearing Impairments
- Thema codes
- W 2.1 – Large Print Books
- Y 2.1– Books for People with Hearing Impairments
- BISAC codes to consider
This is just a look at some of the metadata enhancements that you can put into place. By paying attention to often-overlooked details like internationalization, accessibility, and seasonal trends, you can unlock the hidden potential of your book’s metadata and give your work the visibility it deserves.
Take the time to revisit your book’s metadata and think about how these strategies could work for you. It might just be the edge you need in today’s competitive publishing world.
