In my last article I taught you how to setup an eBook. Now that you have an eBook it is time to set it up for marketing. Since we want to sell our writing as a book (eBook or not) we need a simple way to display it on our web page. This isn't overly difficult to accomplish. All it takes is some thought about what sells a book.
The old clich "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover" really comes into play here. Why?
Whether you should or shouldn't, the simple fact is that most people do. The average reader will judge your book by simply looking at the cover. Since we are making a marketing tool here, we then require a picture of our eBook. Luckily this isn't hard to accomplish with the right software. All we need is a what is called a book shot.
There are all sorts of 3D book cover programs out there. They range in pricing from $30 up to well over $150. There are also a few services around the web that will put together a professional design for you (at about the same cost).
My personal choice here is a program called Box Shot 3D The software is simple to use and costs around $50. For our purposes here we will cover how to make a book shot with this software. Here is your simple guide to making your eBook display image for the web (the quick and easy way).
- Open up the software and then click on the shapes tab. Select the hardcover book #2 from the list of shapes.
- Click on the files tab. Here we will use the cover that we made in the last article, and also make a new image. For the front image use the cover that you used for your first page in the eBook (you did read my last article, right?). Now all we need is a side image.
- Open up your graphics software and make a new image 50 pixels wide and 650 pixels high. Design this to match your cover for color and style. For some added flare write the name of the book vertically on the image, and the authors last name (also vertically) at the bottom.
- Save your image and then use it for the side image of your book shot.
- Finally click on Final Render in the box shot 3D software and export it to whatever size you would like. I usually render it in a higher resolution and then use that high resolution image to make smaller file size web graphics.
You now have a professional looking cover to use on your website. When your visitors are reading what your eBook is about they are also presented with an image that make it look more like a book. This simple step will go a long way in helping you to make more sales.
Trevas Walker
This article is provided courtesy of Trevas Walker. Creator of eBookGuru,org - the site that teaches you about eBooks!
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