Is Your Book Intro Killing Your Sales? (The 5-Step Fix)

If the first few pages of your book are all about your degrees, your backstory, or why you finally decided to sit down and write, I've got bad news. You're not building authority or attracting readers. You're killing the potential of your book. If you want to write an introduction that pulls your reader in and makes them buy the book and actually read it, this video is for you. Hey there, I'm Julie the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers and crusader against boring books. And so many, so many nonfiction books are guilty of, well, being boring, but of writing and having boring introductions. But not you. Nope. Not after today. Most nonfiction introductions are a bit of a snooze fest because they prioritize author's ego over the reader's urgent problem. Authors sometimes treat the introduction like a warmup, and it is not. In a world where read sample on Amazon determines your ROI, you have a few short pages to make or break that sale. Plus, when someone actually decides to buy your book or someone gives it to them, you have to convince them to read the pages in that book so you get the real value of having the book in their hands. And a lot of those early pages don't hook the reader in. When someone actually decides to buy your book, you have to convince them to read the pages. Every word in the beginning of the book— well, except the copyright page— needs to hook them in. It should not promise a cure for insomnia, unless of course that's what your book is about. But before we talk about what to write, we have to talk about why it matters. The PublishDrive 2026 report shows that total sales value for independent authors is up 33%. People are buying books and they're spending money on them, but they're buying them when they think it's going to do something for them. Amazon's read sample, well, it defaults to showing 10% of your ebook or 20% of your print book, which means you have about 20 to 50 pages where your reader is test-driving your work. And if they spend that time reading a dry list of acknowledgments or a long-winded introduction that doesn't deliver, they're not going to keep going. And if your introduction waxes poetically about the song that inspired you to write the book and that scenery that was all around you when you sat down to write, bye-bye, reader. Research shows that while 80% of people read the dedication, more than half the readers skip the introduction entirely because they expect it to be boring. We're gonna change that expectation. And if we do get them to start reading, we want it to hook them. So here's 5 pieces of advice to consider if you're writing an introduction for your book and you wanna make sure it is not boring. Number 1, let's ask if you even need one. That's right, you might not need it. If your first chapter knocks the socks off of your reader, you might not need that intro. Again, the job of the introduction is less about introducing anything and more about selling. So if your chapter 1 sells, maybe you don't need an intro at all. Now, some books like essay books or technical books, they kind of need an intro, and some of it's to repel the readers that the book isn't for. But it's also to show the reader how to use the book because some are not intended to be read page by page. And, you know, the intro is a good place to tell them that it's a series of essays that they may want to pick and choose, or it's chapter by chapter, but with exercises and time to digest the material in between. But don't start with that. Tell them that after you've engaged with them emotionally with your words that connect to them so they know you get where they're at right now. Number 2, kind of leads into this, go straight to the promise. Not rambling about your enlightenment or their enlightenment. Tell them exactly how their life is going to change. Introduce the problem so they know you get where they're at and you have the solution. In my book, Self-Promote and Succeed, the introduction starts off, "Many good books don't sell." With Self-Publish and Succeed, I start off, "Have you been saying you're going to write a book for months, maybe years?" I'm connecting to my ideal reader and what they're probably thinking about with those first lines, and it alludes to the promise of what the book is going to help them with. The third thing is to sell the why. Don't assume they've already committed to the book just because they're reading that part. And even if they purchase the book, they still aren't guaranteed to read it, right? Unless you read every book you buy and you're not like me with a giant stack of books you've bought but haven't read. Yeah, tell me I'm not the only one. You still have to sell them on why they must finish it. And so you have to create a compelling vision of the transformation that you are going to offer them with your stories, your framework, or whatever it is that they are about to consume in these pages. Again, you don't have to go on and on about it, but showing them that you understand where they are today and take them on a little bit of a journey of where they're going to be later, that can go a long way in showing them why your book matters to them. All right, number 4, make this about them. Even if you're telling a story about yourself, use it only to illustrate that you understand their pain or their dreams. Stories are wonderful, but when you tell a story, make sure it has a clear purpose. For example, you can start with your own epic breakdown or burnout story to show that you've been where your reader is. Or if you're writing about financial success, you can start by saying something like, "It hit when I saw the balance on my bank account was minus $321 and I owed $1,500 in rent." When you know your reader, you can write those stories that connect to their soul, what they're feeling deeply on the inside. In my first book, More Than Cashflow, I wrote, "Sometimes I think a job at Starbucks would be easier than this." And I had so many tenant and property troubles, and there was days I would go, "Oh, at least they get benefits at Starbucks and they have access to endless Americanos." And the number of investors I met that commented on how that comment hit them, or that they'd actually had that exact thought made it clear that I was hooking the right people in with that story. Number 5, use a clear call to action, basically telling them the cost of waiting. Make them realize that every minute they don't read this book, they're losing money, time, or joy. We cannot assume someone is committed to reading your book just because it's in their hands. Your job is to engage your reader consistently throughout the book, and nowhere is that more important than in your introduction. So give them a clear call to action to get in and start reading. And this doesn't just apply to your introduction. I recommend you do this with every chapter. And I also recommend you do this test with every chapter too. The I test. Scan your intro. How many paragraphs start with the word I? If it's more than a handful, you're probably writing for yourself more than your reader. Instead, try a pattern interrupt. Start something in the middle of the action, a shouting match or a moment of total failure, or start from an unusual point of view. The goal is to shock or surprise them while also connecting to them and tell them something they don't know. One of my books, a chapter starts off about how I rushed out for work and realized almost at my car that I wasn't wearing any pants. That story gets attention. A list of your certifications or accomplishments does not. Your introduction is a conversion tool and it's probably best written after you've written your book But if you want to set the tone for your book before you start writing, write it out, but then go back at the end and make it as short and impactful and reader-driven as you possibly can. It is the bridge between a potential reader and getting a raving fan who's read your book and loved it. And if you do this right, your book won't just sit on a shelf. It will build your brand and your business. If you want me to take a look at your hook or your first 20 pages, we have a premium community on Skool where we do office hours and provide a lot of in-depth support to authors. Or you can come join our free community, of course, at booklaunchers.com/SKOOOL and get support from fellow authors. Surrounding yourself with other authors who are trying to write books that are not boring will definitely help you write a book that readers want to read. And of course, subscribe to the channel for more powerful book tips, and I will see you in the next video.