MiniSiteGallery.com

THE PROBLEM WITH EBOOK COVER SOFTWARE

eBook cover software that I have seen in the past, the graphics that they generate were never up to par. Though claiming to use a 3D rendering engine, graphics created by ebook cover software are always very flat in color, very poor in lighting effects, and also very rough around the edges.

Your product graphic deosn’t look real at all. So you never really get to have that nice, photo-realistic ebook cover graphic.

I can name a few names, but I think you can easily do a few Google search and find them.

That is why I have always used Photoshop for my ebook covers. With Photoshop, you can apply filters, styles, effects and you will have a nicer, more real looking ebook covers.

AN EBOOK COVER SOFTWARE AS GOOD AS PHOTOHOP?

But in the past two weeks, I have been checking out another ebook cover software. I make it appoint to check the sample output graphics before I check out the software more thoroughly. What I saw surprised me. It is nothing like what I have seen from any other ebook cover software.

My first thought was, “No way! They must have use Photoshop, GIMP and Paintshop Pro for this.”

But that was just my thought. I still don’t know the truth. So I thought I’d check it out. I downloaded the trial version and tried it out. And what do you know, they do generate nicer ebook cover graphics. I am so happy with their e-covers that I upgraded from a trial version to a full version.

And the software is called Box Shot 3D.

(more…)

MiniSiteGallery.com is powered by WordPress, both the gallery and the blog. And recently WordPress released another new version, the 2.5.

There a lot of new improvements in WordPress 2.5, including nicer, more intuitive interface. But that’s not why I upgraded. You see, you need to follow with the currently supported version, with any software you use, especially if your business depends on it.

Upgrading to a new version can be a hassle. I was worried about plug-in compatibility. I have a few plug-ins that I use right now that is critical to make MiniSiteGallery to what it is right now. You may recognize some of them like the submission form, the ratings,etc… But I thought I had to give it a go to really know what could go wrong.

After looking around for awhile, I remember that I installed my WordPress at MiniSiteGallery.com using DreamHost’s One-Click Install. Yep, we are one DreamHost, an excellent web hosting if you ask me. So I looked back at my control panel if there anything like a One-Click Upgrade…

What do you know? They do!

(more…)

It’s official, Luvlee is the winner for the MiniSiteGallery.com Design Contest. She bags a $500 cash prize, and also prizes from sponsors, Viral Sales Generator (from Peter Koning), WP Affiliate Guide (from Teli Adlams) and 30-Minute Backlinks (from 30-Minute Backlinks).

In case you are wondering what I am talking about, launching MiniSiteGallery.com about one and half month ago, I announced a mini-site design contest. It’s a way for me to get more mini-site templates into the gallery. The contest attracted 12 new mini-site templates from 11 designers. Not bad to start a gallery. Together with my own templates, there are 14 mini-site templates that you can download and use for free.

For the contest, I leave it all to the website visitors to decide the winner. And Luvlee is the clear winner.

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank…
(more…)

I can get my ass on fire for this. I am doing a critique on a big website, with huge followings. Before you know it, I am gonna get my own websites being critiqued with all the mistakes I did. But anyway, I hope those who read this, even the people at Freelance Switch, will understand that my intentions are good…

If you don’t know about this, FreelanceSwitch.com is website for freelancers. They have a forum, a blog with awesome content, resources and recently, they released a book about freelancing. The title is How To Be A Rockstar Freelancer. If you are web designer, web developer, graphic designer, etc, you may want to check this website out.

But anyway, back to the book, I am sure the book is great. Honestly, I haven’t read it yet, but this post is not about that… It’s about how well they are selling it from their website. Before I get on with my comments and critiques, I don’t know how well (or how bad) they are selling the book, but at any level, I am sure they can improve.

Let me show you what I mean…

As you can see, I have highlighted four areas (five, one more at a screen shot below).

(more…)

DIYeBookCover.com is the first sales letter mini-site. It’s a great example how I use mini-sites to make money online - by selling products.

My first actual website is a content mini-site about computer cases. Then, I tried my hands on list building by putting together a long sales letter squeeze page. Yep, a sales letter just to get people into my mailing list. That was MoneyClicking.net, which is now my blog.

Then later, I created my first product - DIYeBookCover.com.

Back then, DIYeBookCover.com was a set of videos on how to create your own ebook cover using Photoshop Elements 2. And not too long after that, Adobe came up with Elements 3, and then 4. That’s when I stop selling DIYeBookCover.com. I felt that my videos were too outdated.

Anyway, a few months back, I thought I’d repackage DIY eBook Cover with some Photoshop Action scripts and start selling them again. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a set of instructions and commands that you can install in your Photoshop. I recorded all the steps needed to create a bunch of e-cover graphics, and now I am selling them as Photoshop Action scripts.

You can use this script and with just a few mouse clicks, you’ll a nice looking e-cover to represent your product. It’s just a simple 3-step process. Step 1, open the template layout file. Step 2, run the render action script to create your e-cover. Step 3, save it as web graphic.

It’s that easy.

With the new DIY eBook Cover, you can choose to represent your product online in 51 different ways. You can choose e-cover designs ranging from CDs, DVDs, books, ring binders, software box, even iPod and PDA and more…

Apart from that, I also maintain a few of the components from the original DIY eBook Cover. Customers will also get the eBook Layout Strategy Videos and also 51 eBook Cover Templates to get them started.

If you need great looking e-covers, you better check it out now…

[+] http://www.DIYeBookCover.com