There are multiple different elements you can include on your nonfiction back cover. They’re not all mandatory, just choose the content segments that make sense and are representative of your content. Just bear in mind that any text on your back cover should benefit the reader, and less is more.

Book Blurb

You should definitely include a blurb on your back cover. It’s your 10-second elevator pitch that instantly lets readers know what your book is about, and for nonfiction books you should focus on how your book will help or inform your reader. You can present a question/challenge/desire, promise answers, and tell readers in plain English what’s inside the book.

For example, Lonely Planet uses sub-headings to call attention to primary content elements, and then adds supporting text.

(desire) Get off the beaten track: (promise) Our authors uncover local secrets that will make your trip unique.

Don’t try to be cryptic of too clever in your blurb. It needs to be instantly clear what’s inside your book.

With a travel guide, bullet points are an effective way to communicate the core content without getting too verbose.


Tagline

When your reader grabs your travel guide off the shelf, you only have three or four seconds to grab their attention. So an eye-catching tagline or quote can help to draw them in and want to discover more. Your tagline could be:

• 
A short descriptive sentence
• A branded tagline
• A quote from your book
• An excerpt from a reader review of your book

It needs to be short and snappy, and well positioned to be the first element an eye is drawn too. Tag lines aren’t a mandatory element, and many traditional travel guide publishers don’t use a tagline, but it’s a good way to differentiate yourself and your guide, and to highlight what makes your guide different from all of the others on the shelf.

Testimonials

Testimonials (also known as “cover blurbs”) are positive endorsements from a well-known person within your niche or fellow author that has some connection to the destination or topic you’re writing about. You should be active in social communities related to your topic ahead of your publication date, so keep an eye out for potential contacts who you can reach out to for a testimonial. Include their credentials to add weight to their testimonial, and prompt a recognition factor.

While you’re writing your book, keep a running list of experts you would love to have quoted on your book cover and continue to reach out to your growing list. This is a numbers game. The more authors, writers, experts etc. you contact, the more likely you’ll get a positive response. The goal is to leverage their recognition factor to entice your audience.

Author Bio

Obviously traditional travel guides don’t include author bios. Any information about the writers behind the guide is usually included in the front matter. But as an indie author, your unique perspective and insights are a key selling point. Tell the reader what makes you the best person to write about this travel destination or nonfiction topic.

Branding

If you have a logo or branding element you use on your website, include it on your books to create a continuity between your online and physical content.

It’s also a good idea to include your website URL so readers know where to come for more travel information. They may not buy your book straight away, but could note down your website to check you and your content out. Then if it gets a favorable response, they could be motivated to buy your book.

Yes your website will be in your About the Author section, but you want to make it easy for a potential reader to find out more about you and your travel knowledge.

Category

It’s considered standard industry practice to print a primary category on the back cover of a book so that retailers and bookstore staff know where your book belongs. At the highest level this would be Travel Guide, or at the next level down it would also include the country (Turkey Travel Guide, for example).

Not all traditional publishers include a category, but they’re in the blessed position of being globally recognized travel brands. So to take the guesswork out of the best shelf position for your book, and provide your category so readers can locate your book.

Price

You can purchase barcodes from your ISBN supplier that include your list price, but you don’t have to buy them. IngramSpark give you the option of printing the price point on the back of your book. 
Traditional publishers feature their price, so you should too. This isn’t important when readers are buying your book online from Amazon, because the list price is prominently displayed on your book’s sales page, but when your book is on a shelf, and the store staff haven’t applied a price sticker, how will reader’s know what it costs to buy your book?