Gaining Confidence in Creative Direction with PickFu
As an author and copywriter, Patricia Lee Como needed a way to test the effectiveness of the text and images she uses in her work. PickFu did just that, giving her the confidence to move forward with her decisions.
Before PickFu
Patricia had come up with several options she liked for subtitles and cover designs for her new book, but she wasn’t sure which choices would resonate most with the mainstream audience she was targeting.
Traditional market testing is expensive and can take a long time. Still, Patricia knew that asking an audience which subtitle or cover they prefer would impact sales. That’s why she chose to test her ideas using PickFu.
The Polls She Ran
Patricia ran two different tests, one for her subtitle and one for her cover. The results speak for themselves.
Subtitle for her book
Patricia aleady titled her book 21 Days in Maui, but she was undecided about which subtitle would best complement the title. She ran four polls with different combinations of ideas matched against each other. Here’s what she tested, including helpful remarks from the poll participants.
1. A journey with my inner truth vs. A spiritual adventure
- “Choice A seems more appealing because it does not seem as religious. I don’t want to hear about someone’s religion.”
- “I am not interested in spiritual adventures.”
- “Spiritual adventure is more interesting. Inner truth is rather muddy.”
2. A return to truth, beauty, love and the fine art of being free vs. A spiritual adventure
- “I am not spiritual or religious.”
- “I like the cadence of title A.”
- “I prefer Option A, it’s more descriptive and sounds more interesting to me.”
- “I don’t really care about you when you were twelve.”
- “I like how the Option B title gives credit to young people.”
- “I like the idea of being free.”
4. How I gave myself permission to be free vs. Sometimes the best therapist is your own inner voice
- “I like the empowering sentiment [of Option A].”
- “Option A sounds very generic.”
- “A is shorter and more to the point. In B, the word therapist may turn people away.”
In each instance, the comments provided specific feedback, and the numbers showed a clear winner. Patricia was able to settle on her final subtitle because of the information she collected from her PickFu polls.
Book Cover
Once she had chosen a subtitle, Patricia focused on cover designs, testing them in the same way. Again, PickFu’s poll respondents provided valuable information and feedback to help with the decision.
- “Option A looks more serious.”
- “I prefer A over B because B looks too much like a cartoon drawing.”
- “Yoga on the beach speaks volumes. A is nice but the beach is better.”
- “I’ve seen plenty of books that look like B but none look like A.”
- “The colors in option A are much more inviting and would draw my eye quicker.”
- “I think Option B looks a lot more modern. Option A looks like it could have been published 40 years ago.”
- “The writing on the dark background is easier to read in A.”
- “The artwork is more eye catching without the text around it so I choose option A.”
- “I like the larger part of the cover as the sun instead of the mountain. It appeals to me visually and spiritually.”
The Results
In the end, Patricia found the right subtitle for her book and the right cover design. She also learned some valuable information to keep in mind for future work: the wordspiritual tends to be strong, but it hits people differently, so it could be polarizing. Also, some of her cover concepts struck the audience as a bit juvenile, which didn’t match her target.
“Instead of hiring expensive focus groups that take a lot of time and money, PickFu gave us clear direction — and insight — IN UNDER AN HOUR.” — Patricia Lee Como
Not only did Patricia use PickFu for her new book, she also ran some tests on an ad she had designed for a client. After just three polls, she was able to pinpoint the right messaging and artwork for the campaign, and sharing the poll results with her client increased her confidence in the work she had created.
3 Things To Love About PickFu
Patricia shared three of the biggest benefits of using PickFu:
- Confidence in creative direction
- Valuable feedback from consumers
- Super quick, ultra convenient, and remarkably inexpensive
“It is very satisfying to have this sort of validation.” — Patricia Lee Como
Click here to create your own PickFu polls today!
Patricia’s book, 21 Days In Maui: How I gave myself permission to be free, is now available for purchase.
