The front page of a newspaper typically contains major or headline news stories. In contrast, the back pages contain less important or lesser-known articles. The term is also used to describe other types of publications, including magazines and books.
Despite the name, back-page material can be quite effective at enticing readers to explore your product further. The idea is to tease other stories or content that your reader will want to find out more about. For example, if you’re promoting a new e-book, you might include a link to the first few chapters or an excerpt to encourage them to click through to your shop and buy the book.
Back-page material is also a great way to promote related products. For example, if you’re selling a novel that is part of a series, you might include a list of other titles in the back-page material to give the reader a reason to keep reading.
The word back-page derives from the Latin “baece,” meaning the rear or back, and pages, the final section of a publication. It has been used to refer to the final pages of a newspaper or other publication for over 300 years. Other words with similar meanings include back-baece, back-cover, and back-story.