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Help Me Choose a New Life Plan Book Cover (Round 2)

On Thursday, I posted the first round of new cover designs for Creating Your Personal Life Plan. Some 750 people took the survey. Even better, sixty people left detailed comments, telling me what they liked and disliked.

Second Round Images of Book Cover for Life Plan Book
I have taken all that input into consideration, and would like to get your vote on this second round of book cover comps. If you want to get straight to the survey, just scroll down this page and take it. It will take you less than 60 seconds.

in case you are interested in the process, I thought I’d also provide a little bit of the background. I am changing the format of my ebooks from a horizontal orientation to a vertical one. The reason for this is two-fold:

  1. The horizontal layout didn’t work well on e-readers. The best you could do was convert the PDF and that usually produced ugly results. In some cases the ebook was not readable.
  2. The horizontal layout didn’t work well when printed. The background images on the pages consumed a lot of ink. The design got in the way of usability.

So I am now converting everything from the horizontal format to a vertical one. I plan to do Creating Your Personal Life Plan first, then my Writing a Winning Book Proposal ebooks next.

Okay, so now for some specific comments about this round of cover comps. Here is my rationale for the design of today’s covers:

  • The tree cover received the most votes yesterday. However, several people pointed out that the image was just too close to the Site Organic ad in my sidebar. (Oops!) I agreed. So we picked a different image and then revised the cover to make it a little more modern.
  • The sail cover received the second most votes yesterday. The only thing we changed in this round was the subtitle in order to tie it into the sailing metaphor a little more.
  • The idea for the new GPS cover came from “Dave” in a comment yesterday. He said that the sextant cover was cool, but younger people may not know what the nautical instrument is or what it does. He suggested we use a GPS. We also changed the subtitle to tie into this metaphor.
  • Finally, a few people said that original subtitle—“How to Design the Life You’ve Always Wanted”—reminded them of a construction project. As a result, we tried a few images of blueprints, but, frankly, they seemed too predictable. Instead, we chose some architectural drawing instruments and used them as a metaphor.
So, which of the these new cover comps do you prefer? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Posted on October 1, 2011

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  • Davidmichaelking

    The GPS cover is modern and effective and shows the journey that life is my favorite certainly

  • Jesse_thomas

    There are positive aspects of each of them but the blue one is by far the best choice. The serif-font and blue sky has a calmness to it that none of the others have. I’ve never even considered sailing but the imagery of sailing feels like “the good life”. It also seems much more timeless and long-standing than the rest. 

    I was first attracted to the one with the tablet on the front but that was just because the title popped so well (you can’t go wrong with red on white in that regard). But it looks very trendy and more like a latest gadget book. The green one looks like Starbucks and poetry. The ruler and triangle one looks like a book on drafting.

  • Linda Kennedy

    I will give you the opinion of a senior female…a growing sector of the human race finding themselves looking for a new life plan. I didn’t know what the sail was until I read it. The GPS looks to techie, even though we seniors are getting more involved in the electronic world. I have a GPS for traveling across country. I like the tree…it demonstrates growth, roots and a nice place to go. I think I would like a different color though. Something cheerful and uplifting.

  • Lyndieb

    I like the clean appeal of the architecture cover. 

  • Marty Nellius

    I like the Tree and Sail for different reasons.  The Tree gives a “work in progress” theme as it is alive, growing, changing, and even shedding.  Perfect for a Life Plan.  The sail represents adventure and freedom.  While the sail cover is cool, I give the edge to the Tree.

  • J.R. Ramos

    Sailboat represents unlimited possibilities. The blue sky is inviting to dreams/goals.

  • Wyatt

    The sailboat is the best choice. Though it’s not a critical factor on which you’d base your decision, it’s a very pretty design. The blue and white is clean and neat with plenty of contrast, but it’s also striking. A more worthy reason for this choice, however, is the message it implies. We should always have our sail up, looking for the best wind to move us forward. 

  • http://twitter.com/DerMonj Derek Monjure

    I like the tree the most.  Hard to beat the biblical imagery and it also conveys a generational aspect to life planning.  The GPS cover does have “pop.”  Really don’t like the architectural cover, seems very dated and too academic.  The sailboat makes me think of “Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey.”

  • anita

    The GPS cover is your only option. I viewed the thumbnails all together at once, and my first reactwas, to be frank, was surprise at how conventional they were. I applaud the move to vertical, BTW.

  • David Adeola

    I have to go for the Cover with the GPS as this is self explanatory for a book that guides or shows the way! And the colours and design is simple and light (not heavy).

  • Anonymous

    This is probably one of those things: Ask 1,000 people…get 1,000 different answers. But, here are my suggestions. 

    1. My favorite is the fruit tree. But, I don’t love the subtitle. I’d steal from #4 and say: 

    “Cultivate the life you’ve always wanted.” 

    I think that subtitle makes more sense and still strikes a personal cord with a purchaser browsing the book aisle.

    If you go with the GPS (which is my # 2)…

     I’d say something like:

    “Positioning you for Success.”  or “A strategy for pointing you in the right direction.” or if you really wanted to be funny you could say “Strategies for the directionally challenged.” This resonates with someone like me who can’t read a physical map, but could laugh at the correlation. 

    #3 looks too much like a John Ortberg book and seems like a guy’s book.
    #4 looks like a teachers guide. 

    My two cents. Enjoy! I suppose your next book should be on time management (as I should be paying my bills but am helping you design your book cover). I love book covers. :)

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      Thanks. Great subtitle suggestions!

  • Samuel Eatmon

    I think the 2nd option with the tree.  And I think it stands without the line, “a strategy….”

    Also, the fruit on the ground (is that fruit?) makes the design (in my opinion) look not as clean.

  • Joni Hannigan

    I liked the sail cover the best, mostly because of the color and the layout. It drew my eye as a more serious read, with more serious application–not something gimmicky and thrown together. Darker colors seem to do that. But on the other hand, the GPS, I concede, will relate more to a younger audience. So I chose that. Optimally, I would like to see #1 and #3 combined. #2 is aged. #4 turned me off immediately since I’m not a math, science person.

  • Ellaspeakes

    I like the Sail cover. Having sailed the Caribbean on a 55 ft boat, plotting the plan for our vacation was exciting and joyful. I loved watching the crisp sails, with the belief each one was headed for an adventure. The blue cover with white sail draws my eye and communicates a clear path to creating a life and mission on course.

  • Betsy S

    GPS cover hands down!  Visibly the one most eye catching.  Makes me want to pass the others by and pick it up.  I won’t consider buying it if I’m not even compelled to pick it up.  I really would… at least consider picking it up.  

  • Lindsay Terry

    The sail cover offers a possibility of ADVENTURE in addition to a chartered course. 

    The GPS cover looks too dry and predictable. You could doze off as you advance toward your goals. No excitement anticipated in this cover. 

  • James Michael

    I liked the sailing cover. There is adventure and even romance in sailing. I am coming in late. I would rather have seen “Charting your course”, with a subtitle of “Your destination is by design.”   Life Planning Possibilities by Michael Hyatt

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