Have you missed me?
I’ve been absent from my blog and podcast for much of 2019, but whenever I’ve had something important to share, I’ve gone to the Fire On Your Head Newsletter and shared things there. So, if you’re not already subscribed, then ask yourself why not? Sign up and you’ll get email like today’s post on a regular basis, and also receive a guide to Writing Your Book in 30 Days or Less. I don’t usually share the same content in my emails as I do my blog, but sometimes will send a note to let you know about a new post.
So consider this post a sneak preview.
That being said, you may have seen all the attention on social media given to a misplaced coffee cup in a scene of Game of Thrones. At least that’s the way I saw it since I don’t actually watch the show itself.
Then, I saw an acquisitions editor named Sam Swicegood post a link to a writing group I’m in with this lesson earlier today.
You see, Indie writers often don’t give much thought to things like their book covers or logos. Paper Cup Co., which is the local coffee shop near where Game of Thrones has filmed, has a logo that is indistinguishable at a glance from Starbucks’s logo.
Guess what?
Starbucks profited as their stock jumped 2.3 billion dollar thanks to all the attention in the media and on social…
…while Paper Cup Co. made nothing.
Friend, THIS is just one example why a recognizable, distinguishable, and original cover and branding is paramount!
Read the whole article here: The real coffee shop behind shock Game of Thrones season 8 cup blunder – and it wasn’t Starbucks
BTW, I eat my own dog food
It doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to get a cover done, either, but if you are “just a writer” and NOT skilled in design, you shoot yourself in the foot if you overlook the importance of getting a pro or someone with skill to take this on for you.
I recently caved in and decided to change the cover for one of my books that I originally published 6 years ago.
I used to love the cover for Increase Your Faith, a book you may have read or listened to in audio if you’ve been subscribed to my email for a long time. It used to sell as well as my book, 6 Lies People Believe About Divine Healing 5 or 6 years ago.
But the healing one was now outselling it exponentially, and I couldn’t figure out why. People gave me great feedback about both. But getting people on Amazon to read the faith one seemed to be much more challenging.
So, I went back to my branding guy, Jose, and he generously agreed to update the cover for me. We agreed we wanted the title to be much clearer than it was in the original version, which looked professional and nice…
…but was hard to read in thumbnail mode.
I haven’t even run Amazon ads to it yet since uploaded the cover, but it already is getting sales trickling in at a higher rate than I was previously.
It’s hard to yet tell if that’s due specifically or exclusively to the cover change, and when it comes under more people’s noses on Amazon they respond better to it than the old one, but I’m fairly sure it doesn’t hurt.
I have no idea if the new cover is any good or not (design being subjective), but if it works, I’m happy!
I’ll keep you posted and perhaps do a case study in the future, whether this fails or succeeds, to let you know whether a cover change made a difference or not.
By the way, I don’t mean I actually eat dog food. I just mean I follow my own advice and only talk to you from what I know, and not just what I think.
If you’re new to my site or you’ve never read or listened to Increase Your Faith, you can get a copy on Amazon or get the Audible version.
