Category: Business

You prefer to look your best whether you’re going to a job interview or seeing someone for the first time, right? We all do it for the same reason: we want to make a positive first impression. This concept applies to a lot of things, especially to writers. There are two important things a writer must consider to make a lasting impression on potential readers – an intriguing synopsis, and an alluring cover.

Crafting a solid synopsis will most likely come to you naturally since it’s a part of the writing process. However, no matter how intriguing your story is, it won’t help if your book isn’t even noticeable in the first place. The perfect book cover will attract readers, give them a gist of your work and spark their curiosity to keep going.

Want to find out how you can create the best cover for your next book? Then keep reading.

Is The Book Cover Really That Important?

You mustn’t underestimate the importance of a proper cover. The proverb “don’t judge a book by its cover” does not apply in this context. A lot of great pieces of literature are overlooked and not necessarily because they don’t appeal to a large audience; this happens because they simply don’t catch the eye of readers.

Firstly, a perfectly designed book cover will be eye-catching and tell the story you are trying to tell without the reader having to read a single word. Secondly, it attracts the right kind of audience for your writing. Lastly, it tells the readers more about yourself as a writer, so that they can, to some degree, relate to you and your work.

So, once you are ready with your manuscript, start designing your cover. If you aren’t very confident with your artistic abilities, rely on others! You can hire fantastic artists or publishing companies to be your book cover designers. Rest assured this isn’t an investment that you will thank yourself for after you have published your book.

Without any further ado, let’s get to the steps you need to follow to put together the perfect cover for your book.

Gather Your Ideas

This is the most crucial and time-consuming step. It’s the same as writing the book itself – you need to get all your ideas together, look for inspirations from various sources and create a lot of drafts before you land on the best sample.

Getting your ideas together won’t be too difficult – at this point, you will have already finished writing your book so you know exactly what the story is about. Now all you have to do is look for inspiration or examples of covers that are similar to your story. All you have to do is type in the genre of your book and you will be presented with hundreds of pictures and font ideas.

Online research isn’t the only thing that will help. You can try visiting a bookstore, find books that are of the same genre as your own and take a good look at their covers.

Don’t Mislead Readers!

“Clickbait” is a term used to describe videos on YouTube that have misleading titles or thumbnails which are meant to trick people into watching the video. The book covers too, can act as clickbait.

Let’s say you put a bunch of mythical creatures on the cover of your book, but in reality, there are no such things in your story. They may be popular in many fandoms, but at the end of the day, you might trick people into reading a book that contains nothing they are interested in.

Unless the elements on your cover are a part of your work or are in some way symbolic to your plot, refrain from using them. Disappointed readers can and will leave negative reviews on your book, and that’s the last thing you want. Remember, stick to your genre and your story. Don’t try to use popular elements on your cover for the sake of marketing.

Use Appropriate Software

Once you’re done clicking pictures and gathering your ideas in one place, it’s time to get to the actual designing bit. Graphic designing or the designing process, in general, is rather tedious work, and you need the correct software to get on with it.

If you are doing your designing on your iPad, consider using the app Procreate. This app is very popular amongst many artists on Instagram, Tumblr and Deviantart. It gives you a lot of creative freedom; you have a variety of brushes to choose from (you can custom create your own font with the calligraphy brushes) and a lot of other options that will make your editing life a breeze.

For pc users, having a graphics tablet and Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Clip Studio will do the job. You should consider watching some tutorials on designing covers before getting started.

Another very popular software you can use is Canva. This is commonly used for professional work (alongside photoshop and illustrator). This one is also the easiest to use amongst the other applications mentioned. Use whatever you are most comfortable with.

Create Using Correct Dimensions

The dimensions of the canvas you will be using will depend on where you are going to publish your book. Make sure you create your book cover using the correct dimensions.

You can easily select the canvas dimensions when you create a new file in the mentioned apps. If you don’t find your desired dimensions, you can always manually enter the values to create a custom canvas. You might also want to check out some tutorials if you don’t know how to access the dimension options.

Commission Artists And Designers

If you feel like you aren’t being able to produce good results, why not commission artists and designers to do it for you? You can always seek out good artists from Tumblr, Instagram and Deviantart.

Fiverr is also a great place to find highly skilled designers. There are also companies dedicated to analyzing your novel and making a cover that’s best for your book. Conducting thorough research will help you find someone reliable to get the job done.

Lastly, Give it Time

Creating a cover takes a lot of time and a lot of time and error. Throughout the process, you are going to have to go through not only multiple designs of your own, but also that of others you have commissioned. Give it time and have patience. One of the designs will eventually resonate with you and the story that you’re trying to tell. Good luck, and we hope this guide has been helpful to you!

Getting leads from Instagram as a startup is no easy feat. 

Because you’re a newcomer in your industry, no one knows about your brand and you’ll have very little to no Instagram followers.

TL;DR: It’s going to be challenging. Reeeaaallly challenging.

That’s why to run a successful IG lead generation campaign, you need tried and tested strategies. The likes of which that will compel your audience to follow you on IG, share your content, and take action on your offers.

To help you hit the ground running, we’ll share the top five tactics you can learn to generate leads on Instagram like a pro.   

1. Leverage automation

Generating leads often involves tons of tedious, repetitive jobs, from content idea generation to post publishing. 

However, you can reduce, if not eliminate, a chunk of your repetitive tasks by using robust IG tools with automation functionalities. 

Social Media Marketing (SMM) platforms such as Vista Social provides advanced, sophisticated, and affordable features to simplify your IG and other social media content creation and publishing.

You can plan and create your Instagram content and schedule them to post automatically on your set times and dates. 

If you have several pieces of content you want to publish in one day, add them to a queue, and Vista Social can auto-publish them based on the best times to drive engagement.

Image source: vistasocial.com. 

Take your IG post automation to the next level with Vista Social’s Smart Publisher. It can search for, source, and publish content for you.  

Image source: vistasocial.com.  

Choose a category and include keywords you want the platform to search (or exclude those you don’t want to include). Additionally, you can add hashtags and mentions and prepend the texts for your post. 

Automation can streamline and optimize your IG lead generation efforts and save time and resources while driving results faster. 

2. Partner with influencers in your industry

Getting influencers to help promote your brand and products is one of the best ways to generate leads on Instagram.

Why? Because influencers have established relationships with thousands (and sometimes millions) of followers.

You can tap into an influencer’s legion of followers with the right marketing approach. Then, leverage the relationships influencers built with their followers for your lead generation initiatives. 

Below are a few tips to help you find the best influencers to work with to support your lead generation efforts on Instagram and other social media platforms. 

• Focus on influencers already working in your niche (or industry) since they have the experience and expertise working with companies like yours. Aligning your social media marketing goals and the influencer objectives is also easier.  

• Do some digging on the shortlist of influencers you want to work with. Follow them, look at their followers, and develop a few ideas on how they can support your lead generation efforts. You can narrow your list to the top five and reach out to them to assess if they’re a good fit for your brand and IG marketing campaigns. 

• Use nifty digital marketing software and related tools to make finding influencers and running your influencer marketing campaigns on Instagram more effective and efficient. 

3. Run Instagram lead ads

Running lead ads can draw more eyeballs to your Instagram content, helping you achieve some level of lead generation success. 

With lead ads, you can run ads within Instagram while collecting customer information, such as email addresses, job titles, phone numbers, and birth dates.

Before you can run IG lead ads, you’ll need to do the following:

• Turn your existing Instagram account into a business account (or create a new business account).
• Create a Facebook Business Manager account (on FB) and link it to your Facebook page. 
• Go to the Facebook Ads Manager and select the Lead Generation option.
• Make your lead ads (the way you would create Facebook ads). Remember to choose Instagram as your placement.  

Image source: facebook.com.

Lead ads display a lead form that Instagram users can easily fill out with their contact details, allowing you to capture potential customer information with ease. 

While lead ads are great for generating leads seamlessly, running them requires trial and error. 

Know which variations of your lead magnets, Calls-to-Action (CTAs), targeting options, and other creatives generate audience responses best through A/B testing. 

Leverage the analytics features and get relevant data from top-tier customer engagement platforms.   

You can use the actionable insights to amplify your lead generation efforts, including improving your lead ad performance. 

4. Create shoppable content

Your content development strategy shouldn’t be limited to run-of-the-mill images, videos, and other text-based content anymore. 

The popular content type on Instagram that’s making waves are shoppable posts. 

Posting shoppable posts on Instagram is a great tactic to draw your prospects’ attention and entice them to buy your products. 

It’s because IG shoppable posts include the prices and product descriptions right on your posts, making it convenient for Instagram users to shop and purchase the items. 

Image source: blog.hubspot.com. 

Plus, you can still count IG users who tap on your shoppable posts as leads collected on interested prospects even if they don’t go through with the purchase. 

Leverage the information to learn the products your potential customers are most interested in. You can also target users with tailored ads you create based on audience engagement with your shoppable posts.

Also, shoppable Instagram posts are highly shareable, encouraging users to share your posts, widening your reach, and boosting your lead generation initiatives. 

5. Host Q and A sessions via Instagram stories

Building trust with your Instagram followers is crucial to your IG lead generation efforts.

After all, Instagram users don’t know you yet. They need to trust you before you can entice them into acting on your offers and ultimately turning from passive audiences to paying customers. 

A more creative and interactive tactic to help you build that trust is through Question and Answer (Q&A) sessions via IG Stories. 

You can include popular questions to ask IG followers, such as their dream vacation and favorite Friends character or something specific to a topic such as the best way to speed up videos with an iPhone. 

You can also leave the questions open for your IG users to ask.  

Hosting Q&A sessions via IG Stories is a great way to interact and connect with your audiences, engaging them in real time and generating leads. 

Make the most of Instagram for lead generation

Nail your lead generation efforts on Instagram with the tips and tricks in this guide. 

Try out the tactics and assess which ones lead you to successful IG lead generation.  

Leverage the right strategies and tools that work best for your audience, campaigns, and company. 

Packaging is one of the most important aspects of marketing a product. It’s what catches the customer’s eye on the shelf, and it’s what makes them decide whether or not to buy a product. So it’s no surprise that companies are always looking for ways to improve their packaging design. But what makes a great packaging design? According to the experts, several qualities make up a great design. Here are some of them.

Protects The Product

One of the most important qualities of a great packaging design is that it protects the product. The packaging needs to be strong enough to keep the product safe during shipping and while it’s on the shelf. It should also be water and weatherproof so that it can withstand any conditions. What also increases the importance of packaging design is its ability to shield the product in a way that it does not get damaged during transportation or while being displayed in stores. Also, it mustn’t contaminate the product or its surroundings.

Creates A Good First Impression

A great packaging design should also create a good first impression. It should be visually appealing and stand out from the competition. It should also be easy to understand what the product is and what it’s for. The packaging should also be designed to be appealing.

The Right Color Combination

To create an effective package design, it is important to understand how the color combinations can impact the overall look and feel of your product, which is also something you should consider when starting your business. Color psychology is the study of how different colors can affect people’s moods and emotions. When it comes to packaging design, it is important to use colors that will evoke the right emotions in potential customers. For example, if you are selling a new line of health supplements, you might want to use bright and energetic colors like yellow and orange to convey feelings of vitality and energy. If you are selling a new line of cosmetics, you might want to use soft and feminine colors like pink and light purple to create a feeling of luxury and glamor.

Typography

In addition to using the right colors, it is also important to use the right typography in your packaging design. Typography is the art of arranging typefaces in a visually appealing way. When it comes to packaging design, you want to use typography to create a visual hierarchy that will draw attention to your product. You also want to use typography to create a sense of consistency between your logo and your packaging.

Layout

The layout of your package design is also important. You want to use layout techniques that will make your product stand out on the shelf. You also want to use layout techniques that will make your product easy to read and understand. One of the most important layout techniques is called the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is a design principle that suggests that you should divide your layout into three sections, horizontally and vertically. You should then place your most important elements in these sections to create a more balanced and visually appealing layout.

Creativity

The best packaging designs are usually the most creative ones. When it comes to creativity, there are no rules. You should feel free to experiment with different design elements and techniques until you find something that feels right for your product. The key is to be original and think outside the box.

Is Easy To Open

Another important quality of a great packaging design is that it’s easy to open. The customer shouldn’t have to struggle to get into the product. The packaging should be designed in a way that makes it easy to access the product without having to damage the packaging. Also, the packaging should be designed in a way that doesn’t create a lot of waste. For example, some packages are designed with a perforated edge so that the customer can easily tear off the top without having to use scissors or a knife.

Is Eco-Friendly

One of the most important qualities of a great packaging design is that it is eco-friendly. This means that the packaging is made out of sustainable or recycled materials and can be easily recycled or composted. One way to make your product packaging eco-friendly is to use sustainable materials like bamboo, sugarcane, and cornstarch. You can also use recycled materials like cardboard, paper, and plastic. Another way to make your product packaging eco-friendly is to use biodegradable materials. Biodegradable materials will decompose in a landfill within a few months. Some biodegradable materials that you can use for packaging are cornstarch, cellulose, and plant-based plastics. You can also use compostable materials.

Save Money In The Long Run

Eco-friendly packaging is not only good for the environment, but it can also be good for your business. Sustainable materials and biodegradable materials are often more expensive than traditional materials, but they can help you save money in the long run. Eco-friendly packaging can also help you attract more customers. Many people today are looking for environmentally friendly products, so using sustainable or biodegradable materials can help you stand out from the competition.

The Product Packaging Represents Your Business

Product packaging is one of the most important marketing tools that you have. It is the first thing that your customers see, and it can be used to create a positive or negative impression of your business. The best product packaging designs can convey the essence of your business in a few seconds. They are also able to create a connection with the customer and make them feel like they need the product. It should contain all of the necessary information about the product, including the name of the product, the price, and the ingredients. In addition, it should be designed in a way that is visually appealing and easy to understand. 

A great packaging design is essential for any business. It can help you attract new customers, create a positive image of your business, and save money in the long run. When it comes to packaging design, think outside the box and be creative. Use sustainable materials and biodegradable materials whenever possible, and make sure that your design is easy to open and eco-friendly. Your customers will appreciate it!