There are no strict rules to engage readers, but some tips may be followed. To do so, it is crucial to put oneself in the shoes of the reader and consider that we are daily overwhelmed with messages demanding our attention. Most of the time, we listen to them absent-mindedly.
Hence the importance of a good title, which should be concise, but explanatory. It should immediately catch the reader’s attention, and not be cryptic: it should be engaging and clear. A difficult-to-decipher title would be ignored by a busy reader.
A subtitle may help clarify it by specifying the topic and framing the book title.
After creating a good title and subtitle, the reader is engaged with a good introductory text (in jargon back cover). It is effective when the reader is going through the book in a crowded bookstore, but also on a tablet or computer where distractions are available in a click! Therefore, the introductory text should be drawn having in mind a busy reader (or a researcher or scholar). Please, consider the following rules:
1. make sure your text does not exceed 2300 characters;
2. define your target reader in the first lines (so that they can identify with your book);
3. clarify the relevance of the chosen topic (so that the reader can understand if it is interesting);
4. remark the originality of the perspective (or methods) you explain in the text;
5. use short sentences, split paragraphs to make sure they are not too long, and use all available tools (e.g. bullet points, underlined and bold text) to facilitate a quick reading.
To conclude, remember that readers love knowing who the author is. They want to know if they have the right background to write about that topic and, on the base of that, they will decide whether it is worth spending time and attention on that book. However, do not exaggerate! Write just two or three lines about yourself. Exceeding may be counter-productive and irritating. You can write a more detailed bibliography in a dedicated page of the book.