Using book cover run-ons for marketing
Printed book covers make top-quality color marketing materials.
Color printing can be very expensive, yet you want to show off your book to its best advantage. An easy way to keep color printing costs down and still have great marketing materials is to have an extra 500 or 1,000 covers printed while your book cover is on the press.
Most authors and publishers, when describing what they want in their marketing materials, will include the following:
- front cover, big and bold
- sales copy from the back cover
- selling information, such as ISBN number and prices
- publisher information, such as name, logo and contact info
All those things are already on your book cover, and you have worked closely with your book cover designer to get everything exactly right. Why start again from scratch?
Sample cover run-on
Getting started
You'll need two or three things to get cover run-ons: a quote from your printer, a minor design adjustment (optional), and some material for the inside.
Request a quote from your printer
Ask your printer to quote on cover run-ons, say 500, 1000 and 2000, or whatever suits your marketing plan. The run-ons will be printed on the same cardstock and have the same lamination as your book covers.
Is a design adjustment necessary?
In the sample shown above, the cover was folded for mailing along the back edge of the spine. If no design adjustment had been made, the back of the overrun would have an unprinted strip along the outside edge the same width as the spine. In this case, the photos were extended an extra half inch (the spine width).
If you choose to fold your cover overruns down the middle of the spine, then no adjustment is necessary.
Choosing material for the inside
In the sample above, the table of contents and an order form were printed in black ink on the inside of a portion of the cover run-ons. Some were left blank for use in future marketing campaigns.
Here are some ideas for the inside:
- order form
- testimonials
- table of contents
- chapter overviews
- sample excerpt
- photos or illustrations
- about the author
- about the publisher
- news release
- invitation to book launch, lecture, seminar, etc.
The inside doesn't have to be printed. You can leave it blank and simply slip a flyer, card or note inside. Materials can be printed on your laser printer or at your local copy store and custom made for a specific group, such as retail outlets, distributors, colleagues or family.
Mailing your cover overruns
Once folded in half, these can be mailed without envelopes—just affix a mailing label, return address, stamp and a small piece of tape on the open sides. Your local post office can advise on the cost of postage and/or bulk rates.
Important notes: Be aware that placing your mailing label close to numbers or a barcode can confuse the automatic mail sorting systems. If in doubt, ask your local post office. Also, smaller book covers can be mailed as regular letter mail, but a larger book cover may incur extra postage costs for an oversize letter. Be sure to check first to avoid unexpected costs.
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