One of my first jobs as a teenager was as a hostess at a local breakfast restaurant. Now this restaurant was unlike any other restaurant around at that time. One of the many things that set this restaurant apart from others was the incredible smoothie/coffee bar situated right in the middle of the restaurant.
Now if you are a coffee or smoothie fan, you know those drinks are not cheap. People paid upwards of $5 for a drink - and this was many years ago. But besides the fact that this was one of the only drink bars around, do you know why those drinks were so popular and sold like mad?
They were visually appealing. The added touches of fresh pineapple on a tropical smoothie or real whipped cream and freshly shaved chocolate on a mocha latte. These are the little details that made a huge difference.
Think about the impact of having a beautiful drink sitting at the first table when customers walked in. Presentation. It's all about the presentation.
How many times do you look around in a new restaurant to see what everyone else's dish looks like? It may taste horrible, but regardless we are visual beings - we see things first.
The same principle is true for anything you do online. Maybe even more so. An image is all you have to make a compelling first impression.
While graphics is one of the last things people think about when creating a product or even a free offer, it is certainly not least important. In fact, graphics are absolutely critical to a successful compelling free offer.
If you've followed my compelling message outline, then you, no doubt, have a compelling free offer, however, no one knows that but you and I.
A stunning cover is what conveys how awesome it is to your audience.
To get your graphic cover completed, you have a few options...
1) Make it yourself. There is a website called myecovermaker which you can use to make your own graphic. It is a very user friendly site and you can figure out what to do pretty quickly.
2) Outsource it. If you don't want to make your own, then there are several options for outsourcing - fiverr.com, the Warrior forum, even elance.com. Look at past work and ratings before choosing someone.
3) Insource it. I have just recently started to go with this option. Basically you have someone who does graphics make covers for you on a contract basis. You may have family or friends who do graphics and would love to have the experience of working on an ecover for you.
Regardless of what option you are using to get your cover completed, a unique, attractive, compelling cover makes the difference between someone wanting what you are offering and not.
Remember we are visual beings - we are drawn to images, particularly attractive ones.
It is worth every penny to outsource or insource this task if you have never done an ecover before. Practice with something else, but look to a professional when it comes to something like your compelling free offer.
Some tips for designing your ecover:
· Choose colors that match or compliment your blog. You will be putting an opt-in form on your blog, so complimentary colors are a big plus.
· Put your name on the cover. This is good for branding and it looks professional.
· Be careful with lots of words. If you have a long title and you want to add a subtitle that is long also, then you run the risk of scaring people off. I've used some long titles, but I've had better success with a title 5 words or less.
· If you can, get the cover in flat and 3D images. Use the flat cover as the title page in your compelling free offer. And the 3D cover for your blog opt-in and/or squeeze page.
Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all description for a compelling ecover. Because every offer is unique and every person's likes and dislikes are unique, every cover will be different.
The best ecovers are the ones that reflect the author and the content accurately and create intrigue so as to compel the reader to download it.
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