When you go shopping for an outfit to wear to a special event the outfit that you come home with is the one that made the best impression on you. It is more than likely the one that created that first impression. I recall going to a meeting where you were greeted by a person whose job title was “Director of First Impressions”.
First impressions are important even when you are writing a book and getting ready to publish it. The book cover – front and back are what creates your first impression for your readers. Initially they are focused on the book cover itself and not the contents. I remember my first book and the cover that we had created. It got the message across but it did not have the curb appeal that my second and third book covers did. I was missing a part of the story with the first book. The story was focused on the importance of mentoring and the cover did not fully tell the story.
With my second book, I hired a graphic designer who had great success in designing covers for other authors. He was able to depict the story through the cover that he created. He took time to read the manuscript and get a sense for the story that I wanted to tell. Having a book cover that portrayed that story was our goal. We wanted to capture the reader before they started to digest the content. The book cover had to stand out – remember that the book cover is the first impression and is key to the marketing of the book and its story. It tells a story about the author as well. I wanted to demonstrate my passion for mentoring and how mentoring could be a part of the mental health story. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case that was the case. It is a bonus however if your graphic designer embraces that same philosophy as your story comes through loud and clear.
With my second book there was one thing that it had that my first book did not. We had been able to create a cover that stood out from the others. It had a high degree of curb appeal and it fed into the story that we were attempting to tell through words and graphic design. When I asked people what attracted them to the book store shelves it was the cover that captured their attention. It made them ask the question, “if the book cover is so powerful, then the message contained inside must be as well.”
Creating a book cover that stands out is important and becomes a powerful marketing tool for promoting your book. It will open the door to other opportunities in the form of podcasts, speaking engagements and recognition as thought leader in that space. What I have found is that it can provide opportunities for engagements where you will be able to put into practice some of the messages that you had in your book fueled by your book cover. I have had numerous consulting engagements that I have attributed to my book cover as it created that first impression, stood out in the market place, and was a dynamic marketing tool and demonstrated my thought leadership in that space.
The book cover plays a key role in the story telling process. Leveraging the content coupled with a high-powered graphic design can capture the readers attention, and guide them through the story. Story telling is an art by itself. When coupled with a powerful graphic design it is a winning combination.
I strongly recommend hiring a graphic designer not only to design the book cover but to also provide guidance when you are wanting to merge an existing book with a soon to be published book. We leveraged the images and the colors resulting in the creation of a book cover that stands out, creates that first impression, will be able to be used as a marketing tool resulting in podcast opportunities, speaking opportunities, consulting engagements and much more. It will create once again the opportunity to be an integral part of the story telling process.
Whether this is your first book or the second and/or third you need to seriously consider the services of a graphic designer. The graphic designer will help you create a positive first impression and capture your readers and followers today and going forward. The graphic designer will help you and your book stand out among many on the book shelves today. You will be able to use the book cover as part of your marketing strategy and it will play an integral part of the storying telling process. This investment in your book will be time and money well spent.
Doug Lawrence is the founder of TalentC® and is focused on all things mentoring as a solution provider. Doug Lawrence is an International Certified Mentor and holds two Mentor Certifications; Certificate of Practice – Mentor and the Certificate of Practice – Journey Mentor from the International Mentoring Community. Doug is the only one to hold the Certificate of Practice – Journey Mentor in the world today.
He has over 30 years of mentoring and leadership experience and is recognized as a thought leader in the mentoring space. Doug authored the book entitled, “The Gift of Mentoring” and his second book entitled, “You Are Not Alone” became an Amazon #1 Best Seller in North America and the UK and is a Bronze medal recipient in the Global Book Awards. Doug is an International Best - Selling Author.
Doug’s Practice of Mentoring continues to grow and has resulted in his accumulation of 3,400 hours of mentoring (in person and virtual), 235 hours of speaking opportunities and 672 hours teaching others how to effectively mentor. Doug has been the guest on approximately 150 podcasts in the past year on the topics of mentoring, mental health and grief.
Find out more at https://talentc.ca/.
Article published in The Relatable Voice Magazine - March 2025.
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