Pragati Bidkar, http://rightmixtech.com
When we released our eBook Blogging with WordPress, I chose to create a sales page from scratch. It seemed very easy.
It was easy, but time consuming. No matter how simple a task seems, execution always takes time.
I am on the verge of publishing another eBook, and this time I decided to go with an existing eBook selling theme. Of course, I searched around, saw many demos and many actual pages of eBooks being sold. Flatbook is the only theme that impressed me, and so I have chosen it for my upcoming eBook (you will know all about it soon).
As with any WordPress project, you will have to start with installing the CMS itself. Then you have to install and activate the theme after which you can start playing around with it.
You can import the sample data file and play around with various options. Once you do this, I suggest you sit down and create a wireframe of the order in which you want different elements on your book sales page. This thought or analysis will have to come from you. Flatbook theme will take care of everything else.
If you have read my previous theme reviews, you know I highlight all options and features one by one. This time, I thought of taking a different approach. But I will keep it illustrative by using as many screen prints as possible.
1. Responsive
More than 50% of my website traffic is from mobile users. So choosing a theme that is not made for Smartphone or tablet users is just plain stupid. The Flatbook theme is mobile responsive and adapts to any user interface.
2. One Page and Parallax effects
One page themes are in! More importantly, a landing page or sales page needs to have only one exit point – the Buy button.
You do not want any distractions, and you do not want your reader to stray from the page by clicking here and there. Flatbook theme lets you do that with attractive Parallax effects. You can have multiple pages in the Home page section and they all slide up and down based on where the user clicks. As far as the top menu is concerned, there are multiple pages, but the screen slides up and down while keeping the user on the same one page.
In my example, the user has a lot of information about my book on their hands. They can read more about me, check out chapter samples, testimonials or messages from readers, different features and special offers. But ultimately, they remain on the same page, which is the book sales page!
3. Customizable Sections
There is more than one way to skin a cat. Some people want to read text based testimonials, while some prefer video. Some want to see screen prints. Some want sample chapters. Some want your video. There are different templates for each of these types in Flatbook theme. All you have to do is fill in your data, and decide what order you want these things to appear in. so if you think an introductory video is your best asset, put it at the top. Or put images at the top.
This customization can be done very easily via Theme Options. What’s more, it can be changed any time with minimal effort. So you can do A/B testing or just plain old trial and error to see what works best for you.
4. Shopping Cart Functionality
You cannot talk sales without having a shopping cart. Flatbook theme suggests which shopping cart plugin to use and setting up the shopping cart is very easy. You can integrate it to PayPal and your users are ready to check out your product in a secure manner. The whole delivery of your digital product can be done via one simple plugin. You can set up the whole end to end process, create discount codes and much more.
Small things like what currency to use, where the currency symbol should be placed, what user information to capture etc. are all taken care of.
5. Typography and Colors
Flatbook theme gives you complete control over the fonts and colors you want to use. So you can choose any color scheme which works well with your product. You can choose the font you want for specific purposes, specify the theme colors with color codes, choose hover colors – basically, you can customize as much as you want.
6. Hamburger Menu and Top menu
Hamburger menu refers to the three horizontal lines and is typically seen in mobile themes. You can set up the top menu so that it is always visible, or set it up to wrap when someone clicks on the hamburger menu. This is just additional flexibility for both you and the user.
Ideally, for a flat one page Parallax theme, just use the All Pages Flat option.
7. Theme Documentation
Theme documentation is thorough and it comes with sample data. You can just import the sample data and then add or replace with your own. I find this is the best way to get to know how a theme works. And the Theme Options help, of course. The only way to get hands-on with something new is to practise and try different options. You can make changes via Customize and see how they look in the preview window to the right. This is as good as trying out different changes in run time.
8. Easy Slider Setup
An inbuilt slider allows you to highlight your most important sections. This can be done right through the Theme Options. You can directly specify the title, description and image you want for each slide. I have worked with many image sliders, and this one seems to be quite simple.
9. Stats or Counter
The Counter feature has to be the coolest thing in Flatbook. It is the thing that lured me to this theme. You can specify any stats you want like books or products sold, money earned, social following, hours worked, plans scratched – be as serious or facetious as you like, as long as you grab attention.
The way the counter is designed, it will grab the reader’s attention anyway. This is one nifty feature which can once again be set up through Theme Options.
10. Loud and Clear Call to Action
The Call to Action section is very important on a sales page. It is what directs the user to check out your product.
Setting this through Theme Options is pretty simple. Add pictures or video to support your statement and provide a checkout button. An eager buyer will make the sale at this point itself, otherwise they can explore the rest of the page for more features.
11. Pricing Tables
Pricing tables can be very daunting. We used this feature through other themes before. In Flatbook, this is another simple task.
Use multiple currency tables, or multiple products. You can give a title to the table, add special features, highlight a particular table and of course point it to any place.
The checkout process cannot get easier. This is another important feature for me since I have global buyers and I can choose 2-3 main currencies to make checkout easy for my buyers.
12. Mailchimp Integration
Say a person came to buy your book. They were 80% convinced, but not completely. You don’t want to lose track of them. Adding a newsletter sign up form is a great way to capture these visits.
This way you are starting a sales funnel, and you know these are people who are already a little bit interested in your product or book. You can send them seasonal offers or establish a rapport via content you generate. This form integrates with the design of the rest of the page while adhering to the parallax or one page format. So there are no external plugins needed to capture these contacts.
Summing up Flatbook Theme
Most of the features I need as en eBook author are pretty easy to setup via Theme Options. I just have to create pages, choose the right template for them and add them to the menu to establish the order of the page.
Just some tips to avoid trial and error –
- Use the dimensions given for the logo, or you might need to make some changes to the CSS.
- Any page you add to the top menu should be in the Home area in order to get a true ‘flat’ or one page look.
- Choose ‘All Pages Flat’ as the top primary menu to get a flat theme look and a menu that is not visible unless the user clicks on the burger menu.
Go ahead. Get the best ebook selling theme out there with Flatbook.
The post 12 Reasons I Chose Flatbook Theme for Selling My eBook appeared first on http://rightmixtech.com.
