The 5 biggest design mistakes authors make 🖌️

Number one: lack of sandwiches.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

​ Hey, I'm writing this email in a lovely little seafront café, using trusty old pen-and-paper too, since my laptop died (!!!) on Thursday. But I will type it up later when I get home to the clunky loaner I'm stuck with for now; I'm not some kind of pleasingly analogue wizard. Frustrating as tech mishaps may be, I am currently working outside and the sun is shining, so do make sure to ration that sympathy appropriately. I've been getting lots of messages about Facebook Ads, as you might imagine, and one common sticking point seems to be the design of ad images – unsurprisingly. There is a knack to these things, similar to designing BookBub ad images, one which usually requires a lot of practice, testing, and head-scratching – with no small amount of cursing either – before it eventually clicks. I'm not a designer, so everything I'm about to say might be total nonsense in Proper Design terms. But I am most certainly able to design ads that work, having done so across a number of different genres in some pretty major campaigns. And I see authors making the same kinds of mistakes – most of which I made myself along the way too. The good news is they are all easily solvable. If you can get a handle on these issues, not only will you be ahead of the pack on Facebook, but these principles will hold true on BookBub Ads also, as well as generally with any images you might make for you website, newsletters, and social media fiefdoms. So, without further ado… These are the most common ad design mistakes… and how to fix them. 1. Darkness My Old Friend Some designers seem to work from a palette encompassing everything from Midnight Black to Charcoal Grey, presumably while drinking Snakebite and listening to The Cure. Personally, I hate when I'm landed with a dark cover because I find those the hardest to work with. You can't have a background which is too dim also or else you will have a big glob of night that the reader's eye will pass over. Designs which are too dark, muddy, or confusing are death to the author seeking to jump out of a newsfeed and pick a reader's pocket. I recommend turning the tables on your darkity dark cover and splashing some vibrant color. Go with a background that is bright and at least something will jump out of the feed and grab that reader's attention. The book cover designer probably used color somewhere in the design – like in the lettering, for example, or in the burning eyes of the demon – so that can be a good starting point. Unless that color is white. You should never really go with a white background or your ad will then get lost in the background of where it is being displayed – i.e. sites which invariably use white as the background color for the site itself. White aside, don't be afraid to go big, bold, and bright. Most ad designs will benefit from at least something being in an arresting color. To be clear: I'm not suggesting that you simply put one big block o'color behind your book and call it a day. That rarely looks good unless you are skilled enough to pull it off, using tricks like texturing and creating depth, and things like that. And even then it's hard. For those still learning, I think it's easier to simply use your book's cover art – that's my go-to. But that doesn't always work (and often won't if the cover is very dark). The solution instead is to use an appropriate stock photo for the background – something that will help square the genre (and sub-genre) in the mind of the reader. If you have access to stock photos already, great. But if you don't, that DepositPhotos deal I mentioned last week is still available at AppSumo: $39 for 100 stock photo credits that never expire. That is an affiliate link, but this genuinely is the best deal around for stock photos – I use these credits all the time myself. But if you can find a way to use your cover art as the background… even better again, IMHO. 2. Contrasting Views This is a related problem but usually affecting different people, and with a somewhat different solution. The notional wordsmith I have in mind here has also done a reasonable job at finding a matching background. Perhaps too good a job because it's hard to tell where the background ends and where the cover begins. This can be a particular problem for those who follow my "cheat" method for making quick-and-dirty ads – i.e. where you use the cover art of the book itself as the background of the ad image. (This is still my favorite way to make ads BTW – and you can find a tutorial for that in this YouTube video I made a while back.) That video also shows you how you to use filters in Canva to make the cover stand out from a similar background, which is just one way to solve the contrast issue. Others include simply fading the background, playing with the contrast (in either the background or the book cover), or one of the easiest and most useful solutions of all: just adding a little shadow around the cover – which also adds some nice depth to the image as well. All of these things are easily done in Canva, and most are covered in my various tutorials on YouTube. And most similar programs will have a corresponding feature too, if you happen to use something else like BookBrush or GIMP or Photoshop. Also keep this trick in mind for issues when you have found a lovely stock photo, but where you are positioning the book means it gets a little lost in the background. Sometimes you can solve that by repositioning the book (or zooming in/out the background image). Failing that, you can also try filters, shadows, or contrast to make the book pop more. 3. Funky Composition My brain isn't very good at matching colors (thankfully, there's an app for that). However, it does seem to catch when something is in the wrong place. Like when someone designs an ad with the book cover in the ad image positioned just… wrong. Don't ignore that nagging feeling that something feels off; it's invariably right. One common example of this kind of mistake is with 3-D books (or phones or tablets) tilted the wrong way. For those who need a more visual guide. The tilt in the first image below looks wrong to my eye. If you are going to tilt a book to the left, then I suggest moving it over to the right of the ad image (and vice versa, so the book is always tilted inwards). ​ It feels like my eye bounces away from the ad when the book is tilted the "wrong" way. Just me? Maybe it's just me… Either way, I do recommend paying attention to any little voice wondering if some aspect of your composition is wrong – like if there is too much dead space somewhere, or the book is positioned weirdly, or whatever. And if you plain can't see that kind of thing, I recommend looping in some feedback from someone who can. You'll learn pretty quick. 4. Font of Wisdom Authors can happily spend lots time getting the background image just right and then race through the lettering, seeming to pick the first random font they see without considering what it conveys to the reader. Like all the other elements in your ad, the chosen font should help communicate the genre – and avoid giving readers the wrong impression. If you can use font choice to help square the specific sub-genre, better again. There's a big difference between the style of font on an epic fantasy and a thriller, or even between a contemporary romance and a historical romance. The Amazon charts are generally a good guide here. Now, some authors might consider this morsel irrelevant as they may one of those who generally avoid using taglines in their ads. But almost everyone will use a little bit of text somewhere, and there's one place where people generally spend even less time considering the font… 5. Sloppy Buttons My pet peeve – well, one of many. Seems like I have a whole colony of peeves, all hoping to graduate into full-on grudges one day. Genuinely though, it is frustrating to see an author who has a lovely cover and a smart background with a nice-looking composition and arresting color choices… who then falls at the final design hurdle. People seem to slap on buttons (i.e. "Download Now") or price tags as an afterthought. While it's also usually the final thing I add to a design – before overall fussing commences – I do try to slow down and pay attention to the details here. Often the button/price-tag can be the first thing that a reader sees, or focuses on, and you want your first impression to be a good one. A little care with how the button or price tag looks goes a long way – and messy buttons can undermine the entire ad image. But in this particular case, your aim is not to convey the sub-genre, as you might with tagline text. Indeed, you are kind of doing the opposite: you probably want something clean, clear, and crisp instead. And when it comes to numbers in particular, such as in your price tags, be very careful indeed: there are some beautiful fonts out there which make lovely text… but where the font designer seems to have raced through the number set. Make sure to pick something neat and clear and legible, which just looks right. Quick Design Takeaways When I was learning how to design ad graphics, I often got flustered when I ran into a problem I couldn't solve - often resulting in Scottish levels cursing. But if you slow down and take your time, you will find a way of cracking the design challenge in front of you. It's always worth putting in the extra time to make something look more pro – the margin between success and failure with online advertising in particular can be quite thin, and a good ad image is half the battle. Remember the key points: ad images ought to be bright and enticing covers should pop from the background books really shouldn't sit weirdly fonts must be genre-appropriate buttons need to be clean and tidy and jump out at readers like a jack-in-the-box. That's it. I hope to be back on Friday, assuming my replacement laptop arrives on time. My new cyber-ride is and swish and fancy, but with a price-tag which may have given me a permanent tic. At least I'll be done with this clunky loaner, he types morosely in his office, no longer down at the aforementioned seaside café. Before I go, the DepositPhotos $39 Deal is still running, as I said earlier, but AppSumo told me they will run out of codes in a week or less as things stand – make sure to act before the deal runs out if you are interested. You're unlikely to see an offer that good until maybe Black Friday (and there's no guarantees then either). It is an affiliate link, as I also said, but this promo will save you a few hundred dollars and is a deal I grab myself almost every time it pops up… so there. Of course, having professional stock photos to drop in your background images will certainly help them look more pro, just remember to watch out for the design errors highlighted above. That kind of thing will start to become second nature, once you train your brain to think this way. And you do that with practice, as with anything, but hopefully the above can shortcut that process a little for you. Dave P.S. Writing music this week could only be Kraftwerk with Computer Love. Broomfield Business Park, Malahide, Co. Dublin K36 AT04 ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile​