Ecover graphics (also known as “ebook covers”, “virtual cover” or “virtual cover shots”), and box shots (also known as “virtual boxes” or “virtual box shots) are increasingly popular with authors, affiliates, resellers and distributors of intangible products delivered over the Internet. Both types of graphics are 3D representations of a product - a product box in the case of a box shot, and a 3D representation of a book in the case of an ecover. Box shots tend to be mostly used for software downloads (including shareware, freeware, and even CGI scripts or PHP scripts), plus to a certain extent for audio and video downloads, whereas ecovers are popular for ebooks, ezines, and downloadable reports.

Among the uses for an ecover graphic are:

- Ecover graphics can be used within adverts or advertising materials. Generally the creator of a product will create such advertising materials, but sometimes others marketing the product (e.g. affiliates or resellers) will do so.

- It may be used within the product itself. Typical places to put them include the introduction or cover page, and the “About” page (the page containing copyright and version information). Some people also like to put a reduced size version of the ecover in the headers or footers of the page.

- Many people like to put them on their web sites. Sometimes they are just used for decoration or illustration. Other times, they may be used for navigation (for example, by allowing the user to select between multiple products by clicking on the appropriate graphic).

If you ever raise the subject of ecovers or box shots on discussion forums, you may encounter a vocal and vociferous minority who argue that they can be misleading. Their argument is essential that the graphics represent a physical product, but the product is in fact intangible.

Personally, I consider this argument to be verging on the ridiculous if not downright silly. Every single person who has used a computer is familiar with the idea of representational graphics not being take literally - nobody complains the the pictures of notepad, paintbrushes, and magnifying glasses on our screens do not represent real physical objects. When you visit an Internet merchant and see groups of attractive happy young people (let’s be honest, often beautiful young ladies) built into the page design, nobody complains they aren’t the merchant’s real customer service staff (these images are nearly always models - that’s why you can often find the same people at many unrelated web sites). In short, I really find it hard to believe that even one person could be misled by an ecover graphic, however just to make sure, even though many people might consider it overkill, I always include a clear prominent notice saying something like: “3D cover image does not represent actual product which is delivered as an electronic download”.

So, to summarize, ecover graphics are useful tools, whether your marketing your own products, or even if you’re an affiliate for somebody else’s product.

By S. Tanna. Easy-to-use and affordable software for creating your own book shots and ebook covers - http://www.coverfactory.com/

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