Cool New Cover (I Think) - Please comment on what you think

[LynnD5000]

BEFORE the 1st round of Feedback -



AFTER Feedback and some changes -


Thank You all so much for the Input - I hope I used your advise in a manner that makes your giving it worthwhile!

The credit for the Beautiful new Cover design goes to LifeTransformer - who was gracious enough to spend some of his time and talent to as he put "hone his skill" - In my opinion he has arrived as a graphic artist! Thank you for the help!

Sooooo - The Question of the Day is of course:

Is this cover compelling enough now - That you would dig out the wallet or purse and BUY the book and/or Course it portrays with a book price of say... $29.95

Please answer with a Yes or No - this is a low budget market test.....



And for the learning of myself and any other viewer(s) that may at some time or another need to do something similar - a Why...

...and if the price it to low/high - Please give a suggested Retail price.....

Again - I Thank all of you for the tremendous input on this project!

Lynn

 

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

[LifeTransformer]

I love it, but then I would be biased wouldn't I?

Like what you done to make it look like a proper book too!

 

[jon.a]

Much better.
I would not buy it, because I'm not your market.
Test the price and let the market tell you their answer.

 

[mtb_fanatic]

Love It!

 

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

[Bellini]

@LynnD5000 - much better!

Good job @LifeTransformer

I think $29.95 is a little too high, but it depends on quality of content and pages, etc. I would be hesitant to spend $30 on a book without great reviews.

If you look at the recent New York Times Bestsellers list, most of the books go for somewhere between $15 and $19.95

If you start your price lower, you can see if it sells well and picks up momentum. Then if you get a lot of good reviews, you could always raise the price later on.

Do a price comparison on Amazon to see what similar business books are selling for. Compare number of pages, hardcover or paperback, etc.

 

[Jake]

Is this cover compelling enough now - That you would dig out the wallet or purse and BUY the book and/or Course it portrays with a book price of say... $29.95

Not unless you have an incredible track record. Are you selling hard-copies? If it's a made for Amazon book once you cross $9.99 your share drops from 70% to 30%. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. If it's an e-book maybe try 5.99 - 9.99?

 

[EPerceptions]

As someone who has no qualms about dropping $30-$50+ on books, this one doesn't grab me. The cover is much better but the title tells me next to nothing. If it got enough traction to generate real, in depth reviews/discussions/recommendations then yes, assuming it was something I wanted or needed at the time. I personally prefer hardcover for those types of keepers.

 

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

[LynnD5000]

@LynnD5000 - much better!

Good job @LifeTransformer

I think $29.95 is a little too high, but it depends on quality of content and pages, etc. I would be very hesitant to spend $30 on a book.

If you look at the recent New York Times Bestsellers list, most of the books go for somewhere between $15 and $19.95

If you start your price lower, you can see if it sells well and picks up momentum. Then if you get a lot of good reviews, you could always raise the price later on.

Do a price comparison on Amazon to see what similar business books are selling for. Compare number of pages, hardcover or paperback, etc.

Thank you for the pricing tip -
L

 

[LynnD5000]

As someone who has no qualms about dropping $30-$50+ on books, this one doesn't grab me. The cover is much better but the title tells me next to nothing. If it got enough traction to generate real, in depth reviews/discussions/recommendations then yes, assuming it was something I wanted or needed at the time. I personally prefer hardcover for those types of keepers.

Thank you for the honest evaluation - Once again it appears that i have overthought the title - This is normal for me - I have no common sense...

The story behind the title is -

Usually a great deal of time and expense goes into a Business Plan
Then when it is accepted, funded or implemented where does it end up? Collecting Dust somewhere....
The premise is why let it collect dust....
Add some stuff (actually Explained and Identified in the course) and the Business Plan becomes a Living Document.
A Business Plan used and continually updated it worth its weight in Diamonds - way more valuable than Gold....It provides the key to the bank to get funding - anywhere banks to venture capitalists.
A few documented "course corrections" along the way and a graph can create quite an impression - and it tells a far stronger story about the CEO or Owner of a business or corporation....Instead of hoping the lightning strikes - they can direct it....
At least that's how it worked for me - I used the process to raise a 1/4 Mil for a $10 product launch.

L

 

[LynnD5000]

Not unless you have an incredible track record. Are you selling hard-copies? If it's a made for Amazon book once you cross $9.99 your share drops from 70% to 30%. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. If it's an e-book maybe try 5.99 - 9.99?

Thank you for the pricing tip.
It would be very cool to sell a million copies and make 70% instead of 30%....

L

 

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

[obrian]

it's okay, but you could use a better font though.

 

[LifeTransformer]

I've just noticed the change in title and sub-title....

I think the original was better. "The Reverse Business Plan System" kind of tells you a little something about what it is.
Without reading it, I can't decide though. But the new title (and sub-title) sounds a little bit too "academic" perhaps.

Might have grown to like the title based on working on the cover though, so may again be biased. Did think the original title was more catchy though.

 

[LynnD5000]

it's okay, but you could use a better font though.

Any suggestions?

 

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

[LynnD5000]

I've just noticed the change in title and sub-title....

I think the original was better. "The Reverse Business Plan System" kind of tells you a little something about what it is.
Without reading it, I can't decide though. But the new title (and sub-title) sounds a little bit too "academic" perhaps.

Might have grown to like the title based on working on the cover though, so may again be biased. Did think the original title was more catchy though.

I kind of thought so too - actually when I came up with the word "Backward" I really had no true purpose for using it other than to get someone's attention - from the last link's feedback - no-one seemed to like it - so I tried something else. I still haven't decided for sure yet - I was hoping the "effortless" would be caught as one of those instant appeal buzz words.
L

 

[Bellini]

But the new title (and sub-title) sounds a little bit too "academic" perhaps.

I was going to say the same thing.

It looks like a textbook for a serious, college level business course.

I thought maybe that's what Lynn was going for.

 

[obrian]

Any suggestions?

it's a not a big deal though maybe it's because i have been studying typography for awhile and how some fonts tend leave some impression on a person's mind. but i like these two:


font: building



font: adam.cg pro


these look kinda better.

 

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

[Supercar Ace]

Looks cool!

 

[Imgal]

Like @LifeTransformer and @Bellini I immediately thought academic when looking at it, which is backed up by the title. I know I'll like like the dunce in the room, but if you asked me to explain what your sub title meant then I wouldn't be a 100% confident that I could. If it said something more along the lines of "How To Write The Business Plan That Can Survive Whatever The Market Throws At It" (that's far too long winded, but you get the idea... then I'd be the first one to be wanting to know what the secret sauce was.

 

[biophase]

At least that's how it worked for me - I used the process to raise a 1/4 Mil for a $10 product launch.

L

Looks like a text book. Maybe $29.95 would work as a textbook type.

My thought is it is too pricey.

Maybe you should put this in the title? " I used the process to raise a 1/4 Mil for a $10 product launch "

I really like that building font!

 

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

[Equilibrium]

impressions.
Wow this book looks amazing. It also looks extremely like a text book.
I would buy, and read it cover to cover.. however most of the population are bargain hunters

''29.95'' is a psychological response. Your brain will catch on the ''0.95'' and realize 1 buck more.
think about it. whens the last time you bought something for say.. three bucks and some change?
eleven bucks and a few cents? now focus. when did you buy something with a 0.99 ending?

30 is a lot for a book in 2015.

My advice? shoot for a half book sample of $10. Upload a sample to Google Play books, Amazon kindle, and Apple Itunes.
charge for the download, and end the book as a sample. you will get a lot more sales on mobile devices than you will paperback in my opinion,

business plan validation?
so this book teaches someone how to make a business plan.

Why then is it teasing its readers with info they may yet not know?

This is like a book called ''When Why and Where, become an physics professor in 6 years''

with the intro of
ASB is a quarter circle. PQRS is a rectangle with sides PQ = 8 and PS = 6. What is the length of the arc AQB ?

 

[Imgal]

Totally forgot to drop comment about the price. As many of others a lot of it will come down to what the market will pay in that particular niche. In some niches anything above $2.99 for an ebook is pricey. For others you might be easily able to get away with $29.95. Maybe the way to go about testing it is to offer it as a discount, but make it obvious at full price it would be $29.95. This gives you the chance to keep raising the price to see what the market can stand without them getting put off by a sudden high price jump. (As a novice in the world of self publishing I have no idea how easy /ethical it is to do if you're not actually selling your book at full price anywhere..)

 

[LifeTransformer]

it's a not a big deal though maybe it's because i have been studying typography for awhile and how some fonts tend leave some impression on a person's mind. but i like these two:

View attachment 10632
font: building

View attachment 10633

font: adam.cg pro


these look kinda better.

These are nice!

What have you been reading about typography? Any resources/books/whatever you could recommend? Fonts and Typography in general are one area I need to work on I think as far as design goes.

 

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

[obrian]

These are nice!

What have you been reading about typography? Any resources/books/whatever you could recommend? Fonts and Typography in general are one area I need to work on I think as far as design goes.

yea sure i use this

https://hackdesign.org/lessons/2

and i also watch couple courses off of udemy which is where i learned a vast amount of information.

 

[LifeTransformer]

Thanks very much @obrian

Here's a tweek of the cover in the thread, followed by 3 other alterations for people to ponder. Hopefully you don't mind me putting these here @LynnD5000 ?

The top one is the original with fonts changed, and made to follow the more red/grey color scale (inspired by the fonts posted above by orbrian).
The second and third are new fonts and slight change in position with a color tweak.
The bottom one is with a font change, it's also the blue version of the cover, can be changed back to the more blacker version at the top of thread.
I've been trying to keep that note page because I think it's a pretty cool visual.

I quite like the third one myself tbh. What does everyone else think?

EDIT: Should've resized them before uploading, sorry about that! lol.

 

[mayana]

It looks like a textbook for a serious, college level business course.

I agree 100% with this. I don't know how "meaty" the book is. If it's filled with really thick material, it might be appropriate. I think it is the black cover that makes it look really serious to me.

I quite like the third one myself tbh. What does everyone else think?

Yes! I am glad you posted a white background version. This is the one that I like, too.

 

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

[ToniLene]

As someone currently selling an ebook for $30 and making 2-3 sales every other day with practically zero marketing, I don't have an issue with your price. The price should be marketed as high as you believe the information to be worth. You'll find out pretty quickly what the market will bear and can adjust accordingly.

The title on the other hand, is not the least bit catchy or meaningful, in my opinion. The Backward Business Plan System...just reads and sounds off putting. 'System' might be the wrong word, consider synonyms. A title should to be a cogent summation of the book in as few words as possible.

The darker cover looks great to me.

 

[LynnD5000]

Thanks very much @obrian

Here's a tweek of the cover in the thread, followed by 3 other alterations for people to ponder. Hopefully you don't mind me putting these here @LynnD5000 ?

The top one is the original with fonts changed, and made to follow the more red/grey color scale (inspired by the fonts posted above by orbrian).
The second and third are new fonts and slight change in position with a color tweak.
The bottom one is with a font change, it's also the blue version of the cover, can be changed back to the more blacker version at the top of thread.
I've been trying to keep that note page because I think it's a pretty cool visual.

I quite like the third one myself tbh. What does everyone else think?

EDIT: Should've resized them before uploading, sorry about that! lol.

Absolutely - and if you send them to me i'll convert them to book covers and post them as well...What an Amazingly educational thread this has turned out to be - who knew!
L

 

[LynnD5000]

As someone currently selling an ebook for $30 and making 2-3 sales every other day with practically zero marketing, I don't have an issue with your price. The price should be marketed as high as you believe the information to be worth. You'll find out pretty quickly what the market will bear and can adjust accordingly.

The title on the other hand, is not the least bit catchy or meaningful, in my opinion. The Backward Business Plan System...just reads and sounds off putting. 'System' might be the wrong word, consider synonyms. A title should to be a cogent summation of the book in as few words as possible.

The darker cover looks great to me.

Please look at the 1st post as well it has a different Title - and I really appreciate your comment about synonyms - Do you have any suggestions for a possible title?
L

 

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

[LifeTransformer]

@LynnD5000 I'm uploading the 4 new PSDs to dropbox.

 

[obrian]

Thanks very much @obrian

Here's a tweek of the cover in the thread, followed by 3 other alterations for people to ponder. Hopefully you don't mind me putting these here @LynnD5000 ?

The top one is the original with fonts changed, and made to follow the more red/grey color scale (inspired by the fonts posted above by orbrian).
The second and third are new fonts and slight change in position with a color tweak.
The bottom one is with a font change, it's also the blue version of the cover, can be changed back to the more blacker version at the top of thread.
I've been trying to keep that note page because I think it's a pretty cool visual.

I quite like the third one myself tbh. What does everyone else think?

EDIT: Should've resized them before uploading, sorry about that! lol.

it looks so much better.especially the third one.