The BookBub Ads platform lets authors and book marketers easily create customized campaigns to promote their books to BookBub’s millions of readers. While many advertisers enjoy the flexibility to design their own ad image, we often get questions about what kinds of designs our readers are most likely to click on.
While there is no set recipe for designing the perfect ad, there are common elements we see in successful campaigns. To highlight some of them, we gathered 20 high-performing ads from the 100k+ campaigns partners have run in the past few months. These ads vary in targeting, budget, and strategy, but all reached large audiences and generated above-average click-through rates. Let’s see how they did it!
1. Hazel & Holly by Sara C. Snider
We love how this ad uses alliterative copy and a grassy background to complement the book’s alliterative title and floral cover. Keeping the copy of the ad consistent with the tone of the book, as this ad does, can help the messaging stand out to the proper target audience.
2. Dog-Eared Delinquent by Molly Fitz
This ad is certain to catch the attention of cozy mystery readers who love pets! The design does a great job of making the background seem like an extension of the cover art. In addition to the adorable image, the price sticker helps signal a discount to readers, which is a great way to drive clicks.
3. Zero Trilogy by Autumn Jones Lake
Promoting a free prequel can be a creative way to help draw readers into the series. This design manages to include the other books in the trilogy (with similarly branded covers) without looking overcrowded. This consistency can help new and existing readers recognize the titles more easily, and can boost the brand recognition of the series as a whole.
4. The Gatekeeper’s Sons by Eva Pohler
By highlighting the retailer on which this book is available and showing the book’s cover on an e-reader, this ad makes it clear it’s for ebook readers who use Kobo — without taking up any copy space! This leaves room to advertise the free download and provide context on the book’s plot without overcrowding the ad.
5. A Better Man by Louise Penny
Here’s a great example of an eye-catching ad. The watercolor blue of the background matches the cover art, while the red and black copy mimic that of the title and author name. The copy emphasizes that this is a new release from a popular author. We’ve found that highlighting an author’s bestseller status in our Featured Deal blurbs is a great way to increase reader clicks, and the same is often true for BookBub Ads.
6. Flying by the Seat of my Knickers by Eliza Watson
Discounting a book to free and promoting that deal in your ad creative can be a great way to grab readers’ attention. In this image, the free call-to-action pairs nicely with a travel-themed graphic and USA Today accolate, all of which add value to the ad.
7. Cleaning the Gold by Karin Slaughter and Lee Child
This unique split design does a great job of standing out. The bold black background with red and white text works great for this action-packed thriller. Since Karin Slaughter and Lee Child are such recognizable names, highlighting their collaboration while promoting the low ebook price is a great way to attract readers from both fan bases.
8. Until the Mountains Fall by Connilyn Cossette
We love how this ad’s use of blue and green in the font and background complements the color scheme of the book’s cover. Additionally, including a clear call-to-action (“Learn More!”) can help prompt readers to click.
9. Heir to the Crown Box Set by Paul J Bennett
This ad is a great example of how minimal copy can still yield strong results. The simple text communicates the subgenre of the series, which can help capture the attention of readers with specific interests. Meanwhile, the interesting visual spotlight framed by the sword hilts helps highlight the cover of the box set.
10. When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica
Want to create an ad image but don’t know where to begin? BookBub’s in-form ad creative builder is a great place to start! This simple format includes a book cover, short blurb, and call-to-action — all you have to do is upload your cover image and enter the copy for the blurb and the button! In this case, the publisher highlighted a limited-time deal on a preorder book, which can be a great way to drive pre-release sales and generate early buzz.
11. My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding by Erin Nicholas
Using BookBub ads to promote a new release can help drive early attention for a book. This ad includes a beautiful picture of the couple from the book cover, and the copy is great too! 76% of BookBub readers buy books based on recommendations from authors they like, so including quotes from other authors can make readers who are fans of that author more likely to click.
12. Firewall by Henning Mankell
This ad features a simple design with a longer description. Choosing a solid white background leaves more visual room for the bestseller status, author name, and New York Times Book Review quote. It also helps the beautiful cover and red call-to-action stand out.
13. Sunset Rising by S.M. McEachern
Here’s a great example of an ad design that creates a sense of mystery by displaying the book’s cover image without the title and author’s name. Instead, it highlights a review and accolade to intrigue readers who are drawn to dystopian themes.
14. You’re Number One Now Believe It! by Naudia Lorraine
The pink background of this ad really pops with the book cover! The ad design is simple, but the copy is informative enough to give readers an idea of the type of advice they’ll get from the book. For a nonfiction book, communicating the value readers would get through their purchase can be a great way to attract the right fan base.
15. Invasion by M.R. Forbes
This ad does a great job of relaying various characteristics of the book with minimal words and striking text. The copy tells readers that the book is a new release, $0.99, and available on Kindle Unlimited — all of which can influence a reader’s desire to click. It also calls to fans of a comparable book, which can help appeal to readers from a similar fan base.
16. Sealed With a Kiss by Leeanna Morgan
This ad is a great example of a holiday-themed promotion. The pairing of the romantic cover and the Christmas background helps communicate the genre and the seasonal setting of the book. Additionally, the “free for a limited time” copy creates a sense of urgency for readers to click.
17. Victory 1918 by Alan Palmer
Quoting a reputable source, as this ad does with The Times, can help attract readers who trust that source. Similarly, including the Amazon review count can signal the book’s popularity and further entice readers to click.
18. Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings
While BookBub mainly features ebooks, many BookBub members purchase paperbacks too! We love how this advertiser promoted the paperback edition of their book in this ad campaign. This simple message works well with BookBub’s creative builder. In just ten words, the ad appeals to fans who love adventure in a book and calls out the book’s new format, which is a good use of minimal copy space.
19. Knight & Culverhouse Box Set by Adam Croft
This ad makes it clear that it’s promoting a free box set, which can be a great strategy for driving sales of later books in the series. The simple background keeps the focus on this enticing offer and the bold quotes.
20. Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
This ad displays the book’s New York Times bestseller status and its beautiful cover without looking overcrowded. The simple background accentuates these features while ensuring the copy is easy to read.
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