September 18, 2024
Thinking about creating your business book cover? The cover is the most important part of designing any book. Whether you are hiring a graphic designer or trying to design it yourself, your business book cover deserves care and attention. Here are some tips to help it stand out, paired with examples from today’s top-selling business books.
A well-designed business book cover will:
These elements work together to create a business book cover that buyers can’t resist. Most business books today feature covers with bold covers, extra-large fonts, and punchy titles. These elements work together to capture a reader’s attention as they’re scanning a row of titles.
Just like the writing, a business book cover must be direct and to the point. This is not the place for artistic illustrations, soft colors, or ambiguous titles. You can use those for a fiction book. For a business book, you must use a business book cover that is completely clear about its topic and purpose.
Is it a how-to book? Tell the reader exactly what they can expect, for instance, a 5-step or 10-step system of success, or a daily plan of action, or a set of small markers that build on each other. People want how-to books that avoid fluff and keep them focused on their goal.
Many business book readers are busy executives who don’t have time to spend on a book that meanders around or a vague-sounding title. They’ll skip ambiguity for directness every time.
Make your book business book cover stand out with a hook that pulls a potential reader in and convinces them you’re authentic. Promise them that your book is new and different.
This could be anything that helps your book stand out from the crowd. Have you won any awards for your work? Highlight that to prove your experience, and put it right on the cover.
Do you have reviews for your book? Maybe your idea was endorsed by someone who’s prominent in the field. Make sure to place that information squarely on the business book cover with a pull quote in large, bold font.
As the saying goes, there is no need to waste a lot of time for no reason. If you’re unfamiliar with book design ideas, start by visiting your local library or a bookstore.
Study the books on the business shelf. Design ideas change as rapidly as design ideas in fashion, so pick books from the past few years. What stands out to you about their covers? Are there any color choices or typographical treatments that particularly appeal to you?
Once you know what you like, you can start to focus on the elements you want to include in your own business book cover design.
When you look at book covers, look for what works. Here, we break down the elements of the best reviewed and best-selling business books of 2024.
This book features a series of powerful images broken up by blank lines that the text runs across. The title and author name are in extra-large, all-caps font that can be read from some distance, while the subtitle is in smaller font that requires a closer look.
Looking closer also forces the viewer to stop and figure out the detailed, slightly disturbing pictures. Since the book discusses the way technology has affected working life, the overall sense of being unsettled is a good fit for this business book cover.
This book uses an uncomplicated design and bright colors to make an irresistibly compelling cover. It features a bright blue background with the title in large font and neon yellow. The bright, primary colors and simple, basic design grab your attention because they make the cover look like a poster.
The image of a crumpled piece of paper is the only picture. The piece of paper stands for those times you make a mistake and crumple up the paper, tossing it aside to work on another draft. It’s an image we’re all familiar with, which makes it an excellent choice for a book about learning from our mistakes.
This biography of a famous inventor also features a single arresting image, in this case, a black and white photograph of the subject that fills the cover. Oppenheimer is pictured wearing a hat and smoking a cigarette. It’s a can’t-look-away image that’s accompanied by his name, J. Robert Oppenheimer, in large, black font on a white background.
There’s no doubt who is the subject of this book. That’s the central point of this book, so it makes sense that the author name is less visible. A circular cutout notes that this book won the Pulitzer Prize, and another that it is the inspiration for the movie Oppenheimer.
No business book cover is complete without a subtitle. Even with a clear title, you must give the reader a reason your book stands out among the others. A title can’t convey everything you want to share or all the reasons why someone should read your book. The right image can help, but it’s still not enough.
That’s why almost every business book you pick up in the store has a strongly worded subtitle that builds on the title and sparks the reader’s interest.
Consider these best-selling 2024 business books, their titles and their subtitles. As you read them over, note how they pair a short, hard-hitting title with a subtitle that builds on the topic.
Color psychology is an important part of design. For most people, certain colors invoke specific emotions and feelings. When you choose colors for your book cover design, make sure they have the right associations. Here’s what colors convey to most people.
Typography is crucial to creating a great-looking cover for your business book. As you can see from the top-selling business books of the past few years, most use extra-large font. Often, it’s as large as the fonts you might see on children’s books. It’s big, bold, and demanding of your attention.
For most business books, it’s hard to summarize the topic in a single image. That’s why typography takes center stage as the way to convey the book’s meaning. Instead of struggling to find the right picture, consider using typography to get the meaning across. Here are some tips for doing this.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get an attractive cover for your business book. Whether you design it yourself or hire a graphic artist, these tips will help you create a cover with real impact. If you’re a self-published writer who’s looking for a helpful printing partner, talk to Publishing Xpress.
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