I Got You Covered!

Hey there! Today I want to focus in on the importance of image
-- specifically product image. I get asked to look at a lot of
web sites, and most are geared towards selling an ebook or software
product. In the majority of cases, there is either no graphical
representation of the product or a very poor one.

Now you need to put yourself into the buyer's seat for a moment.
Would you buy an ebook or software tool for $67.00 or even $27.00
(both popular prices) when the seller doesn't even show you what
the product looks like? Of course, not. You'd want to see a
picture so your mind you could see that the product is "real".

Now if the site did have a product image but it looked rather
amateurish, you might think twice before plunking down your
credit card. We like to see what we're getting before we buy it,
so while even a bad picture is bad, it's a step in the right
direction. Still, a bad picture fills the minds with doubts.

I am surprised, too, by how many software products or web-based
services rarely show a screen shot of the product or service.
It's only normal to want to see how easy a product or service is to use.

Well, over the years I have researched and purchased many
different graphical design tools for the creation of ebook
covers, software boxes, etc. Here's a new favorite. It's called
Box Shot 3D and you can read all about it and see a new design I
recently created for Shakeeta Winfrey (Oprah's cousin) right
here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/boxshot3d.htm

Box Shot 3D does things no other product image design tool does
like create a stack of hardcover or soft cover books among other
things. It creates very high resolution images you can use for
print projects, too.

Now the other product I really like is Quick Cover 3D. Like Box
Shot 3D you can create many different product images but it can
do it in batch mode. This means you choose a category like books or
boxes or DVDs and with one click it will generate 20+ variations
in under a minute. Quite an impressive feat. Read about it here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/quick3dcover.htm

You can also create excellent looking screen shots for those of
you marketing or promoting online services or software. So if you
are thinking about ways to spark your own sales, consider
purchasing one or both of these tools to create new and improved
product images for your web site and promotional materials.

Until next time,


Steven Schneiderman