Your book cover design plays an undeniable role in the way your book is viewed and reviewed by the audience.

Picture this: You walk into a nice bookstore, you go through the aisle looking for a new pick, and your eyes catch a title you are relatively unfamiliar with. You take it out and inspect its cover from the front to the back; you are intrigued by the book cover design and look at its reviews.

Within the few seconds that you inspected the book cover, you might have already decided you will be purchasing the book. That’s how powerful a good book cover design can be.

Why Does Book Cover Design Matter?

Many books lose sales because although the manuscript was good, the cover art was simply not good enough and failed to grab public attention. This is why you need to give due attention to your book cover. Here are some of the many reasons why book cover designs matter:

It Grabs the Attention of Readers

As we mentioned earlier, the book cover is the first thing your readers will see. The few seconds during which they go over your cover are a make or break moment where they may choose to read your book. If the book cover is attention-grabbing, it can attract people who did not visit the bookstore to get something from the genre, increasing the sales.

In short, your book cover is one of the most important aspects of marketing; it compels the reader to believe that the book is well worth the reader’s time and money.

Book Cover Creates a Perception in the Mind of Your Readers

Next, one of the important functions a book cover performs is creating a perception regarding the book in the reader’s mind. The typography, visual elements, and even the color palette you use can give the reader a sense of your theme or genre and plotline. The only downside here is that the perception formed can be good or equally bad. So, giving due attention to a book cover is vital to leave a lasting positive impression.

It Gives the Reader All the Needed Information

A book cover should provide the reader with all the information he needs about the book. The book should have the title, a small subtitle depicting the content inside the book, the name of the author and publishing company, and the reviews of some renowned critics (at the back) to give the reader an idea of what to expect.

It Markets Your Book

We have mentioned how book covers can compel readers to purchase them, but visually pleasing book covers can also help you gain traction online. Instagrammable book covers are incredibly popular on the social media giant. You will often see meticulously staged shots of these books next to cups of freshly brewed coffee. Good designs are therefore more likely to trend online. Modern design elements include brighter colors, prominent texts, and compelling graphics, so these covers are suited for photography. 

It Will Be Used To Promote Your Book

Finally, one of the most important reasons you need to pay attention to your book cover is that you will be using it everywhere in your promotional activities. Every email you send out to promote your new release will have the same book cover attached each time. To put it in simpler terms, you can bring more visibility to your book through a compelling book cover design.  So, now you know why and how important a book cover design is.

It would not be wrong to say that ” A book cover gives a face to the story or any type of content.”

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