Should You Change Your Self-Pub Book Cover?

Hello Fellow Writers!

the new cover!

I've been very blessed to have worked with publishers that have incredible cover designers, but when I set out to self-publish some books, I had to hire my own cover designer.

I love his work, and I think part of the reason Overheated is an Amazon Erotica Bestseller is because the cover is smokin' hot. (I hope the other reason is because readers like the story, lol). I also loved my cover for Snowed in With the Tycoon, but... it's not selling nearly as well as Overheated.

So I lowered the price from $2.99 down to $1.99 for a month to see if that helped, and it did not. Then it went back up to $2.99. Then I dropped it all the way down to 99 cents for a month. Sales tripled... but for the gamble to pay off my sales would need to be six times higher at the lower price point, not three. So back up to $2.99 the book went (which is a good price anyway since it's a full length book, more than twice as long as my Ellora's Cave novellas that sell for over $4). Interestingly, Amazon chose to lower it again to 99 cents on my behalf, on sale from $2.99. So I don't think the price is what's keeping the sales down.

Could it be the book? I don't think it is, because readers really seem to connect with the story, based on the 4 and 5 star reviews it's been getting, and the emails I get (thank you!!).

the "old" cover

Which makes me wonder... could the lower sales be due to the cover? The cover I love and that I paid for? *sob*

Only one way to find out. I had the cover redesigned by the same artist, and this time the hot guy is replaced by a hot *couple*.

I figure the experiment couldn't hurt - and hey, isn't it so awesome that we get to play with our self-published books like this to see what readers want the most? Because ultimately, what I care about is giving the reader what she (or he) wants - even if I thought my previous cover was hot stuff, people vote with their wallets - and I'm listening.