When readers pick up a book about the end of the world, do they want the cover to hint at the ending? Or is that too much information, taking away the thrill of discovery? The best way to know: testing book covers.

One author used PickFu to create a book cover test for a post-apocalyptic thriller.

Option A shows a woman and man running away from a burning world, with two people in hazmat suits carrying a stretcher in the background.

Option B does away with the man and woman and brings the two people in hazmat suits to the foreground.

Can you guess which one won?

We hear the phrase “sex sells” tossed around quite often in advertising. But does this apply to selling thriller books as well?

A recent PickFu poll helped give us greater insight into how much sexuality to include on the cover of a thriller.

The author asked the test panel which cover for a thriller novel they liked best.

Option A shows a page with different images separated by paper rips. The most eye-catching image is one of a woman lying on a bed, looking at the camera.

Option B shows a semi-transparent silhouette of a woman, whose back is to the camera as she looks out at a beach.

Can you guess which one won?

Readers tend to have certain expectations of what a book cover should look like for a particular genre, whether it be a couple on a romance novel, blood on a murder mystery book, dragons on fantasy fiction, etc. People look for elemental clues on the cover to determine which type of book it is and whether they want to read it.

But what if a novel spans multiple genres? How can the cover capture the interest of readers of each genre?

One author created a PickFu poll to see how a target audience would react to two different covers for a fantasy fiction novel about time travel that also includes an element of romance.

One small decision you make on your book cover can send a different message to your intended audience. One PickFu pollster was surprised when testing two different book covers.

He tested two covers for the book The Last Lessons of Christ.

Option A featured a dark red image of the back of Christ against a white and grey-toned background.

Option B showed Christ in a yellow-ombre color against a similar but brighter white and grey background.

Can you guess which one won?

Designing a mystery cover can be tricky. You want to capture the mystery of your book without giving the reader too much information.

In other words, you want a mystery book to appear… mysterious.

The problem is, if you make a cover too mysterious, you can stump readers. With few clues on what a book is about, an individual can have little enthusiasm to buy the book.

We observed this phenomenon in a recent PickFu poll. A novelist asked the panel which book cover they preferred and provided two different options.