Book Titles that Make Big Bucks

Do you know how readers decide to buy a book? 1) They get a referral from a friend. 2) They see an interesting book title on the best-seller list. 3) They look up a topic (generally non-fiction) and look for a book closest to their interest (generally based on titles). 4) They browse in the bookstore looking for an interesting title ? then they read the book jacket copy. 5) They look on an Internet bookseller's website to find out what other people bought under that title or subject, then they look at book reviews. 6) Finally, generally based on title and book jacket copy or book reviews, they buy your book.

Have you ever bought a book just because of the title? I remember one time when I was browsing in a local bookstore and the book title I was looking at was so provocative; I just had to have it. It turned out to be a humor book, very funny and entertaining. But I never would have purchased the book if it weren't for the title. I wouldn't have even noticed it! Many other times I've seen ads for business books relating to marketing or sales and found an irresistible title, I simply had to have it!

Here's how a great title helped to sell 300,000 books while a poorly chosen title for the same book sold only 1500 copies. Just as a headline can make all the difference in an ad, so the title of your book, especially a non-fiction one, can make the difference between dramatic success (300,000 copies sold) and failure (1,500 copies sold). Would you like to know the secrets of what makes the difference?

For example, here are two actual titles for the same book that were tested, one against the other. One of these was a winner and the other a loser. "The Squash Book" vs. "The Zucchini Cookbook".

In this case, the second book title did better than the first (300,000 copies sold) because it was more specific, letting people know that it was about zucchini squash. It also addressed the needs of the many people who grow zucchini in their yards and don't know what to do with them all. In addition, the title, "The Zucchini Cookbook" let people know that this was a cookbook and not a book about how to grow the vegetable or some other topic related to zucchini. "The Squash Book" only sold 1,500 copies! So, does being specific sell? You won't know until you test.

This particular example underlines the importance of testing your title before you actually publish your book. Try testing several good book titles, then pick the one that did best, you'll be a lot closer to sales success than by just guessing.

An aspiring author created what he thought was a cute book title, "Swimming Chickens". Later he decided that the dismal sales of his literary effort were due to the title he had chosen so he came up with a new one. After reviewing the "hot" topics in the National Enquirer and other such publications he came up with this remarkably successful title "Lose Weight Through Great Sex With Celebrities: the Elvis Way". The book sold several hundred thousand copies and you can still find it on Amazon.com.

Do you think that only short titles sell? There are many examples of direct response marketers who have used long titles (up to 17 words) and still been very successful, often more successful than with short titles. The interesting thing is that direct marketers live or die through the success of their book sales so they test everything before they make a big sales effort.

Here's an example of a case in which a direct marketer bought the rights to an excellent book, with a very short title, that was not making money. He changed the title, then took the book from almost no sales to hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. The original losing title was "The Letter Book" and the multi-million dollar winning title was "Slash Your Letter Writing Time by 80% and Write Better Letters". Which version would you buy?

Another remarkable example of improved sales with a better title involved a self-published book called "The Entrepreneurs' Manual", which sold only 12 copies. The direct marketing savvy author renamed the book "Why SOB's Succeed and Nice Guys Fail in Business" and sold 700,000 copies over a period of several years.

When creating your book title, be sure to use important keywords if you plan to sell it online. I recently came across a book about Internet auctions that did not have the keyword eBay in the title. Even though the book received good reviews, prospective buyers overlooked it, because when someone typed in eBay, this excellent auction book did not show up. Since eBay is the premier auction site on the Internet, the keyword eBay should certainly be included in the title of any such book.

Now you have seen the power of a good book title in action. Many authors, publishers and self-publishers have used ideas similar to the ones in this article to turn book sales disasters into book sales success!

Teddi McDonald has been an Internet marketer and copywriter for over 7 years. She writes winning Internet sales copy and helps clients earn more money from their websites. Contact her through her website goal setting

Copyright 2005 Teddi McDonald

You have permission to reprint this article when the author text box and live hyperlink along with copyright are preserved intact.

---

Why Would I Buy Your Book? Six Steps to Your Tell and Sell - Part 2

How would you like to have countless people clamoring for... Read More

Three Powerful Tips on Selecting a Book Topic that Sells

The topic of your book or eBook counts-big time. Which... Read More

7 Vital Book Promotion Tips

As a literary publicist I often am asked about publicity... Read More

Know These Five Audiences to Write a Top Selling Book

To create a saleable book you need to know your... Read More

Secrets to Selling Books by Mail

This is intended for informational purposes only. Selling books by... Read More

Book Talks: What to Say and How to Say It

Great! The Chamber of Commerce, or a similar group, has... Read More

How to Get More Readers For Your Book

Marketing your own book can seem like a scary task.... Read More

Promote Your Books on Talk Shows and Make More Money

Successful authors are convinced that radio interviews are the very... Read More

Marketing Your Book on Radio

Have you listened to radio lately? If you have, chances... Read More

Authors Should Be Optimistic

A client wrote me recently and asked what I thought... Read More

Top Six Lies About Book Marketing: (And the Truths to Set Your Book Free!)

If you're like me, you have a book and the... Read More

Publicity for Buzz Marketing for Authors

Congratulations, you've written a book and even gotten it published!... Read More

The High Cost of a Six-Figure Book Advance

The six-figure book advance, like the New York Times bestseller,... Read More

Book Signing for Experts

Think of your book on the bookstore shelf trying to... Read More

10 Reasons Why People Attend Book Signings

This is the survey result of 325 people conducted by... Read More

The Lecture Experience: Part I

During the past year or so, I have done nearly... Read More

How to Sell Your E-book - (or other information product) - Through Quickie Seminars

I've been selling my own self-published information products (mainly e-books)... Read More

You, Your Book and the Internet!

Authors, especially self published, small press and Print on Demand... Read More

Distribute Your Self-Published Book - Part 1

Where is your book now? With a distributor? In a... Read More

Publicity Through Philanthropy For Writers

I am twenty three years old, have sold over four... Read More

Sell More Books With an E-mail Newsletter

NOTE: Because many words in this article are likely to... Read More

Super Profitable Techniques for Selling Books By Mail

The total number of books sold by small, part-time mail... Read More

Is Traditional Book Marketing Getting you Down?

"Are you disappointed and tired of time and money down... Read More

Ten Ways to Make Your Book Outsell Another

Wouldn't you rather write a book that sells well than... Read More

Navigating the Amazon Sales Ranking

First, the disclaimers: Since the algorithm Amazon uses to generate... Read More

Writing a Book?s Marketing Plan for Maximum Profit

Much has been written about book proposals. But less has... Read More

How to Market Your Unsold Books on the Internet: Its Easy

Your book expresses your wondrous information, your creativity, and your... Read More

Distribute Your Self-Published Book Online 8 Ways - Part 2

If you are discouraged because traditional methods of book or... Read More

Book Signings Are Pure Gold

So you've written a book, had it published by a... Read More

Discover 3 Easy Ways to Promote Your Articles

Are you using these methods to promote your articles?If not,... Read More

How to Send Press Releases to Newspapers About Your New Book

There are over ten thousand daily, weekly and monthly newspapers... Read More

Book Events - Make Yours Successful

A book event (a book signing) is a popular way... Read More

Top Ten Ways of Why and How to Write your Books Sales Letter - Part 1

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. But after... Read More