A compelling title is crucial to the success of a book. I would like to share with you four strategies to create a bestselling book title.
Writing books and publishing them on Kindle is one of my favorite ways to create a steady stream of passive income. With the rise of e-books now outselling physical paperback books, there is a new opportunity for people to start making money by self-publishing e-books.
That being said, the world of self-publishing has become a competitive game. If you don’t stand out, your book will be non-existent. Most book buyers will choose the book with the most compelling title.
The old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” no longer applies. People’s attention span is short. If your title doesn’t catch their attention right away, they will not bother to look at your book, let alone purchase it.
David Ogilvy, widely known as ‘The Father of Advertising’ once said that, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar” When you are writing a book, you need to treat your title as a marketing tool.
According to research conducted by author, blogger, and speaker Michael Hyatt, consumers check out a book in the following order:
- Title
- Cover
- Back cover
- Flaps
- Table of contents
- First few paragraphs of the book’s content
- Price
This research proves that even if your book has amazing content, people will not buy it if the title doesn’t catch their attention.
Robert Kiyoaski, best-selling author of the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! attributes his success to being a best-selling author, not a best writing author.
Just because you have a better quality book doesn’t mean that it will sell better. There are many books out there that are poorly written, but very successful, simply because of how they were marketed. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they spend too much time trying to come up with a title that sounds ‘good’, but unfortunately it doesn’t sell the book.
Ultimately, what it comes down to is being able to market and sell your book. The title plays a huge role in your ability to do so. When creating your book title, take the following strategies into account to ensure that your book is bestseller:
Create Intrigue
You need a catchy title that hooks the reader, with a descriptive subtitle that explains the result and benefits that they will achieve by reading it. Your title needs to intrigue the reader and create curiosity around your book. The more specific, original and short the title is, the easier it is to remember it.
For example, Tim Ferris created a powerful idea for a book and crafted a catchy title, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.
His title is specific and it immediately tells you why this book matters to YOU. The 80/20 rule applies to book titles. Copyblogger states that, “Eight out of ten people will read a title, but just two of ten readers will continue reading the article”.
Provide Promise
Your book title should reflect a promise, that not only attracts your readers, but also engages their interest. Ask yourself, “What is it in for them? Does your title promise a solution or a desire benefit?” If you are not able to follow through with what you promise, you will lose your audience and your sales. People buy books for a reason. Focus on the problem that you want to help your readers solve, or the goal that you want to help them achieve.
Increase Discoverability
One of the biggest things that I’ve found that determines the success of one Kindle book over another, is the niche or market that book is in. The secret to finding a profitable niche is finding one that has a decent-sized market, while having low competition, which is something that I go into in greater depth in Mastering Book Publishing.
Secondly, it is essential that your book title and subtitle contain the keywords that readers are likely to use when searching for relevant information. Ask yourself, “Who is my target audience? What words are they searching for?” The more keywords you can have in the title, the better, as your book will show up in the search results more often.
Good title examples include:
- Meditation: Simple Meditation Techniques To Get Rid Of Stress, Anxiety And Feel Happy Now
- Paleo Diet: 20 Fast & Easy Paleo Diet Recipes For Weight Loss
As you can see, both of these title examples have the primary keywords as the very first words to ensure they rank highly for the keyword. They also have secondary keywords in the sub-title, which will ensure that there are other keywords that the book will show up for (i.e. “Meditation Techniques” or “Paleo Diet Recipes”).
Get ideas from the other Kindle books in your niche and see what keywords they are using. Always look for ways to stand out from your competition.
Add Value
There is no better way to establish credibility than by writing a book. However, if you aren’t providing value to your reader, you won’t be taken seriously. In the face of rapid change, publishers need to understand buyers’ behavior more than ever before.
If you want customers to buy your book, you need to do your research and find out what they want. In doing so, they will feel valued. Focus on creating a book that readers want, not what you want. Laura Bush once said, “The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a share vision”.
It’s time to make your vision a reality. If I can do it, so can you.
Do you want my proven step-by-step system for publishing books on Amazon? CLICK HERE to purchase my new and improved Mastering Book Publishing course!