Rate My Book Cover

[HackVenture]

Haha I agree the second one is waaaay better than the first but there is still alot of space for improvement.

There are colors that just go better together if you want to be hands-on and google; blue and green are not one of them for sure.

I would suggest you hire it out though; with your existing cover, pretty sure a half-decent designer from fiverr or upwork could improve it to good-enough level and you can consider that part of the job DONE and move on. Tinkering by yourself always takes longer than necessary.

 

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[ruzara5]

cover needs in order to be complete?

Like the cover without the lightning strike feature. It is ordered in a way that it catches my attention. The 'green effect' is not a bad color. Just my first few seconds of observation. It explains the premise of the book. Makes me feel compelled that this has creds for the 40 with the 'olympic' word. Seven is a good number. Depending on the size of the ebook. Seven can be just what a person who needs help running the 40. "Freakishly" peaks my interest. Reminds me of training series to jump higher for basketball. The motion and position of the runner image symbol could be adjusted, or refined towards running at the viewer.

 

[VentureVoyager]

With all due of respect, they're both horrible and suck. How much did you pay for these?

Specific suggestions: find a new cover designer. Pay at least $50 for the cover. I like peopleperhour.com for graphic designers.
Go to Amazon and see other covers of successful books from your niche that sell.

 

[Blaise84]

Haha I agree the second one is waaaay better than the first but there is still alot of space for improvement.

There are colors that just go better together if you want to be hands-on and google; blue and green are not one of them for sure.

I would suggest you hire it out though; with your existing cover, pretty sure a half-decent designer from fiverr or upwork could improve it to good-enough level and you can consider that part of the job DONE and move on. Tinkering by yourself always takes longer than necessary.

Thank you. In case you missed it-- the second one was made by a designer. However, I agree with what you said, and I'm currently working with someone on Fiverr.

 

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[Blaise84]

Like the cover without the lightning strike feature. It is ordered in a way that it catches my attention. The 'green effect' is not a bad color. Just my first few seconds of observation. It explains the premise of the book. Makes me feel compelled that this has creds for the 40 with the 'olympic' word. Seven is a good number. Depending on the size of the ebook. Seven can be just what a person who needs help running the 40. "Freakishly" peaks my interest. Reminds me of training series to jump higher for basketball. The motion and position of the runner image symbol could be adjusted, or refined towards running at the viewer.

Thank you for a thoughtful reply. I think one thing MOST forum members here miss out on is that there are well-done aspects of most ideas. I appreciate your ability to see the aspects that DO work in addition to the aspects that need improvement.

I think the cover definitely needs to be redone, specifically the runner and the colors. I'm working with someone on Fiverr now to make those changes. Appreciate your input!

 

[MTF]

However, I agree with what you said, and I'm currently working with someone on Fiverr.

I'll be very surprised if your new cover will be a big improvement over what you have if you're hiring someone from Fiverr. Don't expect a professional cover if you're paying $5 or $10...

 

[Blaise84]

I'll be very surprised if your new cover will be a big improvement over what you have if you're hiring someone from Fiverr. Don't expect a professional cover if you're paying $5 or $10...

I'm realizing that a good amount of $$$ is going to need to go into developing a unique, good cover.

FYI, I checked out the website you suggested, and I want something more unique than the pre-made options there. So, I'm investing the money to get that done. It's not a $10.00 cover on Fiverr, it's a bit more pricey.

Ya live and learn. In the beginning, I was hoping I could get an awesome cover for free. "LOL" is all I have to say about that at this point.

All I can say is that I'm learning a lot.

 

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[Argue]

I might be late to this. But, I wanted to share my feedback.

ORIGINAL COVER

1. Better improvement from the first cover.

2. However, too much words going on. The structure is out of sync.

3. I dislike the book title. I'd personally remove the word freakishly.
I'd focus on making the title simpler.

4. Your target audience are football players. In my opinion, olympic sprinters causes confusion.
I say this because I want to target football players. When they read the cover, it should reflect football.
5. Instead, add "7 INSIDERS... methods from NFL Pros."

6. I'd personally go away from navy and green. Instead use this complementary combo:

IDEA 1

1. A quick idea I created. Here to give you a visual idea what the next cover could look like.

2. I really believe a simpler title is key. Fast 40 is boring but you get the idea.

3. In one shot, sell to your reader with words what you can give them. We're here to sell to people, so it's crucial we get their attention.

4. My sub-head is not that convincing (wrote it super quick, no time) but hopefully you can get a better idea.

5. In my opinion, the focus on the next cover should be simple, eye-cacthing and convincing.

IDEA 2

1. Here's another idea you can consider.

2. Get an image of a runner and slap it in the middle. Maybe something fun like the watercolor above. Must have a white backdrop.

3. A simple title goes on top. Make sure it has the keyword(s) 40 yard dash and football.

4. I believe a simple sans-serif font is key. A modern one, too. Color should be black or white.

5. This cover is mediocre but emphasizes on the copy more. Here we want to use strong copy to sell and get readers. Again, I'm not in this niche so I just wrote something quick.

6. Moving forward, I suggest using football somewhere in the headlines, etc.

End Note:
Less is more. Hopefully some of this feedback can help you make a stronger, better cover.

Resources:

• freepik.c/m
• Apple preview/markup.

 

[WJS]

I think you need to hire a copywriter to write your book title. It feels very wordy. It would really help if you could shorten it and make it more attention-grabbing. You should also use bright colours instead of dark colours, as dark colours are generally associated with steadiness, which would contradict with your theme.

Check out this image I found on google. It's not about sprinting but it does give off a speedy feeling, and the title is really memorable. Hope it helps!

 

[Blaise84]

I might be late to this. But, I wanted to share my feedback.
@Argue
Hey, thanks brother! This is great stuff. Really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Loving the color combos you came up with, as well as the idea to have a simpler title. I agree, football needs to be in there somewhere. Yes, I definitely focused on the copy with this version, and it came out a bit long. Thing about my value skew is this: I've worked with NFL players. Issue is, they're nowhere near as fast as Olympic sprinters. It's not even close. The world record 40 was recently crushed by an Olympic sprinter. Football players NEED to be emulating the running mechanics and training techniques Olympic sprinters are utilizing. I see what you're saying about the confusion. But if football players keep running the 40 like a football player, they're not going to gain the benefits available to them were they to train for the 40 like an Olympic sprinter. It's like the slowlane vs. the fastlane. Training like a football player is the slowlane-- sure, you'll improve you're speed a bit. But training like an Olympic sprinter is like the fastlane-- much more potential for 40 yard dash improvement. This is what I'm trying to communicate...
ORIGINAL COVER

1. Better improvement from the first cover.

2. However, too much words going on. The structure is out of sync.

3. I dislike the book title. I'd personally remove the word freakishly.
I'd focus on making the title simpler.

4. Your target audience are football players. In my opinion, olympic sprinters causes confusion.
I say this because I want to target football players. When they read the cover, it should reflect football.
5. Instead, add "7 INSIDERS... methods from NFL Pros."

6. I'd personally go away from navy and green. Instead use this complementary combo:

IDEA 1

1. A quick idea I created. Here to give you a visual idea what the next cover could look like.

2. I really believe a simpler title is key. Fast 40 is boring but you get the idea.

3. In one shot, sell to your reader with words what you can give them. We're here to sell to people, so it's crucial we get their attention.

4. My sub-head is not that convincing (wrote it super quick, no time) but hopefully you can get a better idea.

5. In my opinion, the focus on the next cover should be simple, eye-cacthing and convincing.

IDEA 2

1. Here's another idea you can consider.

2. Get an image of a runner and slap it in the middle. Maybe something fun like the watercolor above. Must have a white backdrop.

3. A simple title goes on top. Make sure it has the keyword(s) 40 yard dash and football.

4. I believe a simple sans-serif font is key. A modern one, too. Color should be black or white.

5. This cover is mediocre but emphasizes on the copy more. Here we want to use strong copy to sell and get readers. Again, I'm not in this niche so I just wrote something quick.

6. Moving forward, I suggest using football somewhere in the headlines, etc.

End Note:
Less is more. Hopefully some of this feedback can help you make a stronger, better cover.

Resources:

• freepik.c/m
• Apple preview/markup.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Blaise84]

I think you need hire a copywriter to write your book title. It feels very wordy. It would really help if you could shorten it and make it more attention-grabbing. You should also use bright colours instead of dark colours, as dark colours are generally associated with steadiness, which would contradict with your theme.

Check out this image I found on google. It's not about sprinting but it does give off a speedy feeling, and the title is really memorable. Hope it helps!

@WJS Good stuff. Thank you. I agree that it's too wordy. It's challenging to boil it down while still communicating what I'm trying to communicate...that football players can significantly improve their speed by adopting the training methods of Olympic sprinters.

 

[WJS]

@WJS Good stuff. Thank you. I agree that it's too wordy. It's challenging to boil it down while still communicating what I'm trying to communicate...that football players can significantly improve their speed by adopting the training methods of Olympic sprinters.

@Blaise84 I thought about what you said and I did some searches and found out that John Ross is the current record holder at 4.22 seconds. Now I hardly know anything about this sport but maybe you can do something like this?

4.22 SECONDS!
Be the Next to Break the 40-Dash Yard Record
7 Speed Training Methods that Give You AMAZING Results!​

INSERT PICTURE HERE​

1) I made this title on the assumption that people who care about 40-dash yard would know about 4.22 seconds
2) I also removed the "Olympic Sprinter" to keep people focused on the 40-dash yard (imagine if you're reading an ad about cars and suddenly you see the word "shoes", wouldn't you lose focus and think about shoes instead?)

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps =)

 

[Blaise84]

@Blaise84 I thought about what you said and I did some searches and found out that John Ross is the current record holder at 4.22 seconds. Now I hardly know anything about this sport but maybe you can do something like this?

4.22 SECONDS!
Be the Next to Break the 40-Dash Yard Record
7 Speed Training Methods that Give You AMAZING Results!​

INSERT PICTURE HERE​

1) I made this title on the assumption that people who care about 40-dash yard would know about 4.22 seconds
2) I also removed the "Olympic Sprinter" to keep people focused on the 40-dash yard (imagine if you're reading an ad about cars and suddenly you see the word "shoes", wouldn't you lose focus and think about shoes instead?)

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps =)

@WJS
I appreciate your thoughtful posts. These give me good ideas to munch on. I should have been more clear in my last post. What you say about John Ross is true. 4.22s is the combine record. But, it's not the world record. The world record (different than the combine record) is held by Christian Coleman with a time of 4.12s. Christian Coleman is a...you guessed it! He's an Olympic sprinter. One Olympic sprinter just casually went out and blew away the combine record football players admire so much. LOL. Football players need to stop training like football players for the 40 and start training like Olympic sprinters. The book references the video of Coleman breaking the world record and blowing away the football combine times, and then analyzes his form in detail. It's the difference between fastlane and slowlane. Want fastlane 40 times? Train like an Olympic sprinter. Want slowlane 40 times? Train like a football player.

In The Millionaire Fastlane , @MJ DeMarco talks about creating a value skew and communicating it to the market. My value skew is teaching football players how to train for speed in a way that is much better than what muscle magazines, other football players, and their coaches are teaching them. The issue I'm running into, as you can see, is effectively communicating this value without writing an entire paragraph on the book cover.

 

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[GuestUser53624]

new title:

The Forty Yard Fast!

 

[WJS]

@WJS
I appreciate your thoughtful posts. These give me good ideas to munch on. I should have been more clear in my last post. What you say about John Ross is true. 4.22s is the combine record. But, it's not the world record. The world record (different than the combine record) is held by Christian Coleman with a time of 4.12s. Christian Coleman is a...you guessed it! He's an Olympic sprinter. One Olympic sprinter just casually went out and blew away the combine record football players admire so much. LOL. Football players need to stop training like football players for the 40 and start training like Olympic sprinters. The book references the video of Coleman breaking the world record and blowing away the football combine times, and then analyzes his form in detail. It's the difference between fastlane and slowlane. Want fastlane 40 times? Train like an Olympic sprinter. Want slowlane 40 times? Train like a football player.

In The Millionaire Fastlane , @MJ DeMarco talks about creating a value skew and communicating it to the market. My value skew is teaching football players how to train for speed in a way that is much better than what muscle magazines, other football players, and their coaches are teaching them. The issue I'm running into, as you can see, is effectively communicating this value without writing an entire paragraph on the book cover.

@Blaise84 wow that's a really tough challenge! I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Let me know what you think =)

40-Yard Dash in 4.22s 4.12s!
7 Training Methods of Olympic Sprinters
that Give You GOOD GREAT Results!


PICTURE HERE​

 

[Blaise84]

new title:

The Forty Yard Fast!

I actually thought of something like that. I was thinking "40 Yards, Fast!"

 

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[Blaise84]

@Blaise84 wow that's a really tough challenge! I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Let me know what you think =)

40-Yard Dash in 4.22s 4.12s!
7 Training Methods of Olympic Sprinters
that Give You GOOD GREAT Results!


PICTURE HERE​

Very nice!

 

[GMSI7D]

View attachment 17135

The new cover design is leaps and bounds better than the first, but it's not quite complete.

What do you think this cover needs in order to be complete? How can I make it more concise, clear, noticeable, and attractive? What about it is problematic or ambiguous? What are your impressions when you see it?

Keep in mind that my target audience is high school and collegiate (DII, DIII, NAIA, JUCO) football players. If you're unfamiliar with the 40 yard dash, it's a test used to measure sprinting speed in football players.

I'm tagging a few of you who I've previously interacted with on this forum, but don't take that as me saying I don't want your feedback if you're not tagged. The more feedback, the better!

the point is the true need of your clients

when they look at your cover, it should immediately talk to their need


they should picture themselves with a trophy or admiration or their wifes kissing them or whatever that is specific and primal

for example :

when i look at a chess book, i don't care about a pawn on a chessboard




i want to see the world champion with a beautiful girl kissing him or medals or power ideas . that kind of things

because that's my secret need and that makes me buy the shit

do you get the point ?

 

[Mutant]

Hmm, how's about:

The FASTEST 40

How to train like an olympic sprinter to crush your competition on the football field.


or

... to crush your competition still training like footballers.

or

... to crush you competition just training for football.




or, to leave out the "how" to make it really short:


The FASTEST 40

7 ways to out train your competition



Makes me wanna read on to find out how!

 

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[Argue]

FAST 40

LEARN THE 7 TRICKS OLYMPIANS USE TO RUN LESS THAN 4.20 SECONDS

​

 

[Blaise84]

the point is the true need of your clients

when they look at your cover, it should immediately talk to their need


they should picture themselves with a trophy or admiration or their wifes kissing them or whatever that is specific and primal

for example :

when i look at a chess book, i don't care about a pawn on a chessboard

View attachment 17468


i want to see the world champion with a beautiful girl kissing him or medals or power ideas . that kind of things

because that's my secret need and that makes me buy the sh*t

do you get the point ?


View attachment 17469




View attachment 17470

Makes sense! Very much so. LOL now I'm rethinking my entire book cover...

 

[Blaise84]

FAST 40

LEARN THE 7 TRICKS OLYMPIANS USE TO RUN LESS THAN 4.20 SECONDS

​

Another good one! Thank you

 

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[Argue]

FAST 40

LEARN THE 7 TRICKS OLYMPIANS USE TO RUN LESS THAN 4.20 SECONDS

​

I meant this:

 

[GMSI7D]

View attachment 17135

your cover looks like an energy drink, that kind of thing

yours :



energy drink :




what i suggest is you do that kind of cover so the focus is on a winning mindset
not a food mindset