So you’ve decided to create an eBook for your business. Smart move. Seriously—eBooks are becoming increasingly popular as part of marketing strategies, and for good reason. With content being the backbone of inbound marketing, the quality of a business’s content can make or break its inbound marketing strategy. So understanding what type of content works is important.
So, before jumping into the good stuff, let’s do a quick recap. For starters, what is an eBook? To keep things simple, an eBook is just what it sounds like: an electronic book. People love the idea of being able to read from virtually anywhere on any device, hence the rise of eBooks.
What can eBooks do for your business?
As a marketer, creating an eBook is a great opportunity to provide readers (potential customers) with informative, valuable content. They’re also particularly great assets for creating awareness and growing your business.
But while we’ve been told not to judge a book by its cover, the fact of the matter is, that’s exactly what readers are going to do. So, in order for your eBook to be successful, you not only have to have great content, but you’ll also need to make that content look appealing. If you don’t then people won’t read your eBook, no matter how awesome it is.
That being said, I’m here to tell you everything you need to know about designing an impactful cover for your marketing eBook.
Designing a marketing eBook cover
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.An eye-catching cover can take your eBook to the next level. Ebook cover design by ~ Estella ~
You’ve spent time writing a killer eBook, now it’s time to nail the design.
If you’re fortunate enough to have an in-house graphic design team or a freelancer whose work you really love, utilize them! Prepare a creative brief with the information below for the designer so they have a clear understanding of your vision.
If you don’t have a designer readily available you can browse designer portfolios here and pick the one that fits your brand and the style you are going for. When you start working with your designer, there are some cover design basics you need to know about so you can make the right choices and end up with the perfect fit. I’m here to give you a few tips on how to create an out-of-this-world eBook cover.
1. Choose the right color
Believe it or not, the colors you choose to use on your eBook cover play a huge role in its success. The psychology of color influences people’s first impression because our brains actually process color quicker than words, meaning potential readers will notice the color of the cover before they even get a chance to read the title. That being said, the color scheme of your cover is important! You’ll want to choose a color scheme that is not only consistent with your brand but also matches the tone and emotion of your eBook’s content.
Tip: Picking a plain color and calling it a day can leave your eBook looking a little drab. Your eBook should be fun and colorful but don’t get carried away by choosing too many colors. It should match your brand’s palette.
Below you can see why some of our favorite brands choose to use the colors that they do in their marketing efforts.
Your title should give readers a clear understanding of what your eBook will cover, and the value it will bring them. That being said, the more specific your title, the better. Your title should give readers a reason to read your eBook, so don’t be vague. If they don’t know what they’ll gain from reading, they won’t waste their time.
Now you have a stellar title picked out for your marketing eBook, great! But if your audience can’t read it, you’re in trouble. That’s where choosing the right font comes in.
There are dozens of cool fonts to choose from, but when it comes to your eBook, try and stick to something simple. You don’t have to settle for Arial or Times New Roman, but you should use an easy-to-read, large type. Your title must be clear, readable, and bold.
Tip: Similar to choosing colors, don’t go too crazy picking multiple fonts. Use one or two fonts for headlines to contrast against any background designs or images. You want your title to pop!
Also play with bold text, italics, and font size changes to draw readers to content that you want to emphasize.
3. Include your brand
What’s the purpose of your marketing eBook in the first place? To build brand awareness! It’s your eBook, so be sure to include your brand. When I say to include your brand, I don’t mean to plaster your logo everywhere in the eBook. No—I mean tastefully include branding throughout the eBook.
For example, consider putting a small logo in the corner of each page. This ensures that if snippets of your eBook are used by someone without proper reference, those pages will still have your logo on them and let any viewers know it’s your content.
Tip: Along with your logo, include your website URL to remind readers where to refer back to learn more about your company. Here’s how G2 Crowd included branding at the bottom of each page in a recent marketing eBook.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A small logo on the bottom of each page is going to help build brand awareness throughout your eBook.
4. Add images
While keeping your cover simple with just colors and text can work great, you should consider using images to attract your audience. Images can (most of the time) convey messages that just color cannot. So, if you decide to go this route, a few things to keep in mind:
Image quality—Make sure the image you choose is of high quality. The last thing you want to do is use an amateur image that makes your eBook look unprofessional.
Tip: There are many eBook formats, but I’d recommend using the PDF file format because it’s easiest to print. In the case readers would print your eBook, you’ll want the image to have good image resolution (I’d recommend 300dpi) and image size (rectangle 3:2 ratio or rectangle 4:3 ratio work best).
Photo rights—Before choosing a photo, be aware of copyright infringement. If you do decide to use an image, make sure you own the rights. Don’t just hope you won’t get caught; if you’re going to use photos, use them right.
Other cover elements—The image you choose must work with the color palette and font you use. All elements of the cover should work together to create a fun, professional looking eBook.
Tip: If you decide to edit or crop the image, make sure to use an editing program that doesn’t distort the dimensions or make the image look pixelated.
Below are a few examples of marketing eBooks that successfully combined the elements above (color, images, branding, font, etc.) to create eye-catching eBook covers.
I said it before and I’ll say it again: Creating a marketing eBook is a smart move for your business. So, once you’ve figured out how to make an eBook, spend time using the tips above to design an eBook cover that is worthy of your brand.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
About the author
Jordan Wahl is a content marketing specialist for G2 Crowd’s Learn Hub, a B2B software review site with over 450,000 user-verified reviews.
Image may be NSFW.
Image may be NSFW.
