When Creating Graphics for Your PLR Product You Should Consider 3 Rules

People really do judge a book by its cover and it’s by no means any different for your PLR product.

Why you must you consider these factors when deciding on graphics?

Depending upon the types of rights you own will be the deciding factor on what exactly you can do with the PLR content.

Unrestricted PLR is just that, you can do pretty much anything you like with it.

Alter the content, first by changing the title to make a new and original product that will be unique from everyone else selling the same PLR package you bought. Your PLR package depends on the originality to which you edit it and how unique it is from the source material, if anything, make sure you change the title. But, go even further than just changing the title make your original PLR product that stands out above the rest.

Now that you’ve created a new title for your product it’s time to start thinking about the e-book or product package cover.

There are a few ways to do this

1. Hire a Graphics Person

There are several sites online that render e-book cover design services. Some are better than others and prices will vary. It pays to do your homework. Do a search for “E-book cover designers”; the most relevant searches will usually come up in the first 10 pages.

You will want to look over their work, which you should usually find on their web page. This will be called “portfolio” or “gallery” and if they have testimonials even better.

Depending upon your e-book theme the designer will try and work within you’re constraints. Your designer will welcome any ideas from you as it gives him/her a better idea of what will accurately represent your particular project.

Work within your budget, as I said before, prices will vary. The designer is open to suggestions and will make alterations depending upon your expectations, remember you have to be happy with the end result because this is basically the first thing your customers will see when they look at your product, so it pays to get it right.

If a graphics person isn’t what you’re looking for, you could always do it yourself.

2. (D.I.Y) Do It Yourself (If you have some Photoshop skills)

There are some great software packages that you can purchase at reasonable prices enabling you to create your own e-book covers.

The advantage of that is you don’t have to wait days for your designer to get back to you, especially if they’re snowed under with the demands of existing projects. The money you invest, you could easily make back in little time.

You can make your own e-book covers whenever you wish. You pay once and that’s it. It usually pays to have some Photoshop experience, you are able to create your design and transfer it to your graphic creating program which converts it into your packaging. If you don’t, some provide ready-made templates that you can alter. Just do a search for “E-book cover software”. Be careful when choosing; look hard at the quality and level of graphics they produce. If the quality of graphics looks blurry or too pixilated when you blow them up, then pass. Remember people judge a book by its cover, an e-book is no different; you don’t want people to perceive your quality product as second rate just because your graphic is. If Photoshop is too pricey, you can always get hold of Photoshop elements, much cheaper version with the basic features you need.

If you ever run short on graphic cover ideas, go back to the basics. Take a look at some of the more memorable real world book covers, draw your inspiration from them and keep them in mind when creating your next cover. The great way about creating your own e-book covers this way is that you’re not re-inventing the wheel and your cover will have a familiar quality to it that will reach people at the subconscious level.

3. No Photoshop Skills

Don’t worry; there are some e-cover software programs that don’t require the use of Photoshop. They provide their own ready-made templates which make up the basis of your e-book and e-cover packaging. Don’t forget to alter these templates; don’t just use the pre-made ones as chances are that you’re not the only one doing so. Remember, taking the time to alter your graphics already puts you ahead of so many others who aren’t.

4. Photoshop Skills and Want to Learn For Free

If you have some Photoshop skills, you could learn for free, there are fantastic free tutorials which show you how to create e-books from scratch without the use of pre-made templates. You just have to search for Photoshop tutorial or free Photoshop tutorial and you should be taken to sites that specialize in user contributed tutorials. These sites are literally a wealth of knowledge where you can learn anything ranging from how to change eye color to how to create graphics for your e-book cover. Just search the site for the most relevant tutorials for you.

Beware of some of these free e-cover generators, some produce low quality e-book covers, always remember you’re making an impression, would you buy from you if you had a tacky looking e-book cover?, would you hand over your money if the image was pixilated and blurry?, would that impact on the perception of your product? Would it be easy for your customer to resell your product if the quality was below par? These are the things your customers to be are thinking, try and see it from their perspective.

So choose wisely, there really are many choices out there, do your homework, see what gives you the best result for your money, and then go for it.

Stay Tuned!
DIYDI© 2012