Covers to Covet: Choosing an Eye Catching Cover

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is a nice concept, but in the magazine and publishing world this is certainly not the case. Your magazine’s cover is the first and often the most important impression to give your readers. The cover of your magazine often alludes to the content within, the theme of your publication, and the quality of your brand. Readers are constantly judging magazines by their cover (pun intended) to decide whether or not to dig deeper. To ensure your magazine gains the impressions it rightfully deserves, take into consideration these magazine cover inspirations and eye-catching tips while deciding what’s front-and-center of your next issue. Here are our tips to choosing a magazine cover.

Be innovative

The easiest way to grab a reader’s attention while they’re browsing for their next go-to read is to be innovative. The publishing world is saturated–– there’s lots of options, and there’s often lots of covers that look very similar. Create a unique and new way to display your content to gain more readership; one that knows to expect high quality when your next issue comes out.

We’re swooning over V Magazine’s Gigi Hadid cover. V Magazine went where few covers have gone before: their cover isn’t simply a photo, it’s an entire video/graphic experience. You will always gain the recognition you deserve by breaking conventions and raising your standards. (Plus, they can prove that their model is breaking her own barriers–– stuntwoman Gigi, anyone?)

Be who you are

As stated, your magazine’s cover is a representation of the content that encompasses the entire publication. Yes, you want to grab as many eyes as possible for your content, but be sure to always align with your brand when working to create your next masterpiece. If you’re typically a simple and sleek publication, your cover shouldn’t be overly flashy and glamorous just to draw in readers. Choose your cover authentically and the right audience will follow.

Feast Magazine perfectly encompasses this idea. Their cover depicts exactly what their publication is all about: good food, in all its glory. Although this cover is simple, they exquisitely make the fully loaded cheeseburger jump off the page. Quality always reigns supreme, so be sure to use show-stopping imagery for cover image success. Feast’s cover has both our eyes and our stomachs growling for more.

Leverage your special features

We know that within your magazine you have the best of the best recipes, travel photos, DIY projects,celebrities–– you name it. You’ve worked hard to craft these special features so use them to their full advantage. Take the most notable part of your magazine, put it front and center and your readers will flock. You’ve worked hard. It’s time to show it off.

Take Bello Mag for example. Their May issue includes a jaw-dropping feature on ‘Claws’ star Karrueche. With the TNT series trending like crazy, of course they were going to put the pop culture phenomenon on their cover. Of course, this appeals to Bello’s usual readers, and with the addition of a stunning shot of actress Karrueche (who is glaring into readers eyes and popping with vibrant color), they were then able to grab the attention of the ‘Claws’ audiences, her fanbase and anyone else stumbling across this magazine looking for a good read. Remaining true to their brand while expanding their viewership sounds like success to us!

Have fun with it

Often times readers are going to be your biggest critic. They consume a lot of content in many forms and are experts in detecting genuine content. Nobody wants to flip through a magazine that is lacking quality or creativity. So to grab the attention of readers, have fun and think creatively when crafting your cover. Authenticity is extremely obvious and very valued amongst the publishing world!

Lucy’s Magazine is killing the creative content game. Going beyond a typical headshot cover photo, Lucy’s adds a fun and flirty twist on a classic. Lucy’s is able to tell readers exactly what they’re all about just by the way they craft their shots. Show your readers exactly who you are by publishing content that excites, intrigues and is sincere to who you are!