It seems like just about everybody sells books from their web site these days. It can be an excellent way to earn a steady income online. Yet a great many sites make very few books sales. They become discouraged and give up on selling books. Here are four tried-and-true ways you can sell lots of books from your web site.

1. Include a graphic of the cover.

It's one of the oldest rules in marketing products. You can always sell more if people can see a picture of the product. Book sales are no different. Even though you can't always tells a book from its cover, you can sell a LOT more copies of a book if you SHOW its cover.

Shrink graphics down so they load quickly. Pages that take more than 10 seconds to appear make customers click away.

2. Use your own recommendation and the testimonials of
customers.

Nothing sells a book like a strong endorsement  from someone who has already read the book. This is particularly true if you or your reader is recognized as an expert in the field. Notice how Amazon.com uses reader comments as their number one tool for moving books. They start with comments from experts or expert publications,  then move on to opinions submitted by customers.

3. Call your book selling area a "store."

Put a link to your store near the top of your opening web page. If people can't find a way to get to your store from the very first screen they see of your site, your book sales will be far lower. On the other hand, putting a prominent link to your book pages near the top of your opening page can make your book store one of the most popular locations on your site.

Be sure to include some copy that makes people want to click the link.

4. I've saved the most important strategy for last.

Nothing helps you sell lots of books like carefully targeting your book list to your best customers. A site that specializes in business start-up information will do well selling books about how to start a new business. A site with hints for teachers will always sell lots of books on education.

Display books that relate to the main theme of your site. Don't try to mix books about yachting on a site that's mostly about home improvements.