The results are in. Which P!NK 2.0 cover was the winner? The answer is...

1. #the1299
WHICH COVER WAS
THE WINNER?

2. Two weeks ago we
asked for feedback on
new cover designs for
P!NK GOLDFISH 2.0.
And we learned that not
everyone thinks weird
is wonderful.

3. Some people rejected all
of the options.
They were unimpressed
by our strange nonsense
and they spent a
surprising amount of time
telling us what we were
doing wrong.

4. “I would not buy this book
solely based on the cover.
Hideous.”
“Honestly none. Nothing
wrong with being flashy, but
these are borderline illegible.”
“Sadly, none”

5. Additionally, the votes were
very polarizing.
Dave’s favorite was B, but it
did not get the most votes. In
fact, it got a lot of anti-votes.
Some people didn’t just vote
for A or C, they also voted
against B. They told us not to
use it.
B

6. Here’s a sampling of the
negative feedback for B
“Not B. Too crowded”
“B is a little too busy for my eyes”
“B is just too much”
“I want to look away”
“B is too crazy, makes me anxious”
“B accosts”
“”Demands attention, but the eye doesn’t
know where to go”

7. B got the least
amount of votes and
was the only one that
people actively
disliked, but it wasn’t
universally hated.
There was a minority
of responders that
really liked B.

8. Here are some of their comments:
“B. Fortune favors the bold.”
“B is the boldest! It really stands out to me.”
“B. For eating your own dog food”
”Something is drawing me to B. Perhaps
because it stands out from the others ;-)”

9. So, what were the final results of the vote?
A B C

10. 54% 11% 35%
A B C

11. So what did we do?

12. Well, after counting
the votes, we did
the opposite of
what most authors
and publishers
would have done.

13. We decided to embrace the ethos of Pink
Goldfish strategy. The idea of embracing
flaws and creating intentional
imperfection. That the flawed is more
beautiful than the pristine.
Flaws makes things more beautiful, not
despite the flaws, but because of
attention placed on them. This is the crux
of the reasoning behind the Pink Goldfish
concept—embracing what makes you
imperfect.
YOUR FLAWS MAKE YOU AWESOME

14. We are not only
ones drinking the
P!NK KoolAid

15. “Perfection is sort of boring. I take the
perfect for granted. I’m way more
interested, and spend far more time
and money on the imperfect things, the
things that might not work, the ideas
and services, and products that dance
around the edges. If you’re going to
offer something that’s imperfect, by all
means, make it as good as you possibly
can, but embrace the fact that you’re
not selling perfect. You’re selling
interesting.”
- Seth Godin

16. “It's the IMPERFECTIONS
that make something
BEAUTIFUL, that’s what
makes it DIFFERENT and
UNIQUE from everything
else.”

18. #the1299
AND THE WINNER IS?

19. WINNER*

20. *We picked B, but based on your
feedback, we used the goldfish
from A and the subtitle from C
WINNER*

21. Thanks to
everyone who
shared feedback
on the book
cover.
-Stan & David Photo Credits: Pixabay, Flickr, Unsplash, and Gratisography

22. LAUNCHES
JULY 5TH
PINK 2.0

23. We’ll be traveling the country
in July to launch the book
PINK 2.0 TOUR
Interested in having us for
a keynote or a workshop,
reach out to us at:
stan@purplegoldfish.com
dave@drendall.com