An author’s online platform should always look polished and professional everywhere readers can find them — including on Facebook! Whether you have a page, profile, or group, the cover photo is public and appears in various places on the site, and on fans’ Feeds whenever you update it. It’s a good idea to make the most of this prime real estate to promote your books and solidify your brand.
If you don’t have a professional designer at your disposal, here are some quick tips for spinning up a great Facebook cover photo:
- Use Facebook’s recommended dimensions of 851px wide by 315px tall.
- Optimize your cover photo for mobile. Facebook crops the image on mobile to 640px wide by 360px tall, which can result in weird framing. If you want to ensure your design isn’t cut off at the edges, try to fit your most important design elements within the middle of the space:
- You don’t need Photoshop to create a great design! Free apps like Canva can help. You can select Canva’s Facebook Cover canvas to create the correct size graphic, upload images such as your book cover, and use the mockup generator to mock up your book (DIYBookCovers.com is another great tool for this).
Here are some ideas for what to include in your cover photo and examples of great author pages to inspire you. The designs below are from a mix of traditionally and independently published authors. Whether you’re a designer at a publishing house or a self-published author, these banner examples can be a source of design inspiration for any of your book marketing collateral, even if you decide against having a Facebook presence.
Show off your newest release
Remind your readers of your newest release by making it the first thing they see when they visit your page.
Brenda Novak
Catherine Coulter
Claribel A. Ortega
Julia Brannan
Michael Lewis
Yuval Noah Harari
Show a sneak peek of an upcoming book release
If you have an upcoming book release, create a promotional cover photo to remind readers it’s coming soon any time they visit your page.
Daniel Silva
Christina Lauren
Kristen Ashley
Lisa See
Michelle Miles
Zee Irwin
Feature a teaser or quote
For extra intrigue or credibility, hook readers with a short teaser or reviews from trusted sources.
Brit Bennett
Dean Koontz
Eve Langlais
Liese O’Halloran Schwarz
Mick Herron
Philippa Gregory
Showcase a book series
If you have a new sequel out or one (or more!) series you’re known for, display these books in your cover photo to get new readers acquainted with your brand and remind current readers of any updates to the series.
Claire Delacroix
Kiru Taye
Kristen Proby
Laura Greenwood
Susan Hatler
Display different book formats
If your ebook is available in print, audio, or special edition, let readers know by including images of your book in its different formats.
Brandon Sanderson
Laurelin Paige
Maureen A. Miller
N. E. Henderson
Showcase a TV/movie adaptation
If your book has been adapted into a TV show or a movie, use promotional images from that!
Heather Morris
Hugh Howey
Karin Slaughter
Tony DiTerlizzi
Showcase books from your backlist
Spotlighting books in your backlist can help spark recognition between your name and your most popular books.
Brenda Hiatt
Charlie N. Holmberg
Jeff Strand
Nicola Yoon
Show a scene or artwork from your book
If your book features artwork, your cover photo is the perfect place to display that to give readers a feel for your book.
Angie Thomas
Daniel Arenson
Georgia Lyn Hunter
Tanya Anne Crosby
Tessa Bailey
Stage your books on a thematic background
Similarly, you can use artwork as a mood-setting backdrop for your book(s). Text is optional!
Diana Urban
Johanna Basford
Lucinda Berry
M. S. Parker
Robin Cook
Promote your international presence
By promoting your presence internationally in your Facebook cover photo, readers can easily see if your book is available in their country. This could help expand your global fan base!
Ken Follett
Liane Moriarty
Lisa Gardner
Ruth Ware
Sophie Kinsella
As you can see, the options for what to include in an author’s Facebook cover photo are limitless. You can promote any one of your books, show off your extensive backlist, or push a particular marketing campaign. No matter the focus of your creative, the best designs are unique, clean, and professional.
Want to share this post? Here are ready-made tweets:
Click to tweet: Lots of great Facebook cover photo designs here. Authors, take note! #writingcommunity https://bit.ly/3WucN1s
Click to tweet: Not sure how to design your Facebook page? Here are 50 examples for inspiration! #pubtip https://bit.ly/3WucN1s
This post was originally published on August 18, 2015 and has been updated with new examples.
