How to Choose a Best-Selling
Title
5 Characteristics of Great Book
Titles
by Diane Eble
The publisher of one of my books wanted
to call it this: "So, What Do You Do for a
Living?"
Appalled, I contacted them immediately. "I have
concerns about my title," I said as calmly as possible. "I'm
thinking that maybe it sounds more like back cover copy than a
title. It is not something that says what the book is or will
do for people...."
I
went through my list of further objections, trying not to
hyperventilate.
Fortunately, the publisher listened. I know now that
the title we ended up with is still not stellar—Men in Search of Work,
subtitle: And the Women
Who Love Them But at least it said what the book was
about.
Back in the beginning of the 20th century,
Emmanuel Halderman-Julius sold more than 100 million "little
blue books"—and he advertised by title alone, no sales copy.
That should be your goal—to have a title so compelling that the
title itself sells the book.
What would that entail? Measure your title or
potential title against these 5 criteria.
5 Characteristics of a Best-Selling
Title
1. It arouses curiosity or emotion or engages the
imagination. This is why The
Secret or "The Secret to ..." or
"Secrets of ..."
are so popular—it does both. It arouses curiosity, and also
makes us want to be included in. We don't like to feel left
out (or left behind—another very popular title of a book and
series). Doesn't
Chicken Soup for the Soul just reek comfort? What about
The Dangerous Book for
Boys —doesn't it make your brain itch
with curiosity? (It has no subtitle, by the way, to
alleviate the curiosity. Very clever.)
For
fiction, a provocative title is often the best. A recent
study found that figurative or abstract titles, such as
Sleeping Murder, or Presumed Innocent,
produce more top-sellers than literal ones, such as
The DaVinci Code .
2. It
states or at least hints at a benefit or promise (if it's
nonfiction). People
read fiction to be entertained. They read nonfiction books,
by and large, to solve problem. If your nonfiction book also
entertains, and your fiction informs in some way, all the
better. Your title and/or subtitle must promise at least one
or the other. (By the way, the book itself must deliver on
its promise or it won't generate the word of mouth necessary
to build a book to best-sellerdom.)
3. It calls out to a specific
audience.Even if a
book has nearly universal appeal, the title should speak to a
specific benefit "everyone" wants.
You: On a Diet is clearly for people who want to
lose weight. (Which is just about everyone, of
course.)
Or consider
The 4-Hour Work Week :
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New
Rich by Tim
Ferriss. It's an irresistible promise that calls out to the
laziness in all of us. Who wouldn't want to work only 4 hours a
week and still be rich? Yet, even though it appeals to just
about everyone, that appeal is very specific.
4. The
title is memorable in some way. This is
where strong nouns and verbs come in, or alliteration,
rhyming, or some way of tapping into the collective
consciousness comes in. Consider these titles:
·
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
·
What to Expect When You're
Expecting
·
The Glass Castle
·
90 Minutes in Heaven
·
Blink
·
The World is Flat
5. It
uses keywords/phrases people search on the
Internet. This
is not absolutely necessary for a print book, but nowadays
it doesn't hurt. If however your product is an ebook or other
information product you're selling and delivering digitally,
keywords are a must for your title. This of course applies to
nonfiction, since people don't generally use search engines
to find fiction, unless they already know the
title.
No
title can have all of the above characteristics. But if it's
strong in at least three of them, you probably have a winner
of a title.
Want more help on
choosing your best-selling title? Here's how to learn more
...
1.
Ask your question about choosing a best-selling
title. I will be answering them in
articles (this was sparked by a question), on the blog,
and/or in my upcoming course, "Choosing Your Bestselling Title"
Telecourse. When you ask your question, you will
also get access to the replay of the teleseminar in which I
answered nearly 20 questions about choosing a great
title.
2. Get the
Special Report, "How to Choose Your Bestselling
Title." This report builds
on the above article, but includes so much more! For only
$14.95, you will learn:
-
How to use your research to
create templates of best-selling titles you
can use over again, not just for your title,
but for marketing as
well
-
7 criteria for choosing your
best title (and the minimum number you should
shoot for)
-
The different "jobs" your title and subtitle must
do. Miss even one, and your book is likely
doomed.
-
7 ways to test your titles and
come up with the winner that you can be sure
will sell your book—including one that will
actually net you income before your book is
even published
-
The
killer criteria that trumps all others when you
test your title
-
How to create a "swipe file" of
bestselling titles from which to brainstorm
your own
-
12 places to go for great title
ideas
-
7 action steps for choosing your
bestselling title
Simply click the button below
to instantly get this Special Report for only
$14.95

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