How to Create a Winning Book Title

Your book's title is more than just choosing a few catchy words that will attract readers. Your book title might be your most valuable marketing tool. The title plays a vital part in creating a first impression — possibly even more so than your book cover design. Think about the last time you browsed Amazon or looked at a bestseller list. Chances are, what caught your eye was the book cover design and the title.

Let's explore some ways to develop eye-catching titles that lead to flying off-the-shelf book sales.

It is a good idea for authors to find beta readers to review their manuscripts because we can't read a bottle's label while standing inside the bottle. Our manuscript is our baby, which can sometimes make it difficult to see the whole picture. However, when creating a title for your book, you—the one inside the bottle—are the best person to meet the challenge.

Lousy book titles hinder book sales by causing these problems:

1.      Failure to gain the reader's attention

2.      Confusing readers about the book's content

3.      Lack of hinting at the benefits or the payoff the reader will experience (nonfiction)

Compelling titles attract interest and stimulate a purchase, while dull titles cause people's eyes to glaze over and lose interest. Here are some things to consider when creating a title for your masterpiece:

1.      Does Your Title Evoke Curiosity? What is your audience curious about? Is there something in your title that will make your audience say, "I know something about this, but I want to know more."? Or "Oh, that sounds interesting."

Examples: Whispers from the Locked Room; The Man Who Knew Yesterday, The Silence Beneath the Floorboards.

2.      Does Your Title Create Word-of-mouth Advertising? Word-of-mouth advertising is the most coveted type of marketing for an author. Is your title understandable and easy to remember? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a delightful novel that is sure to leave you smiling at the colorful cast of characters, making it the perfect addition to your reading list. However, the title is a mouthful when it comes to word-of-mouth marketing. Some books with complicated, long titles indeed can become marketable, but I wouldn't hoe that row in your garden if you don't have to. Perhaps try three simple words, such as 'Under the Roof.' (smiley face emoji)

3.      Does Your Title Identify a Pain that You Are Healing? (this is for nonfiction) Your title or subtitle (we will discuss subtitles in an upcoming blog) should identify a common mistake people are making that is holding them back. Marketing gurus have proven that fear of loss is more powerful than the prospect of gain. For example, the title "Five Mistakes a Parent Makes That Will Ruin Your Child" sells better than "How to Parent a Perfect Child." Pretend that you are a newscaster and provoke fear!

What mistake are you fixing? What pain are you healing? Your title should identify the pain, promise to alleviate it, and deliver on your promise. A good example: The Depression Cure: A Six-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs. Note to self: It is always good to use numbers and steps.

4.      Is Your Title Too Catchy? How to Win Friends and Influence People may not be the most innovative title, but it remains a timeless classic. It accurately conveys the book's message, and it has sold more than 30 million copies, remaining a bestseller. By merely skimming your title, potential readers should know what your book is about in a matter of seconds. It appears that somewhere between curiosity, catchy, and identifying the problem is the perfect title. And now, for the last yet crucial test — SEO. Ugh.

5.      Your Title Should Rank in a SEO Search. (nonfiction) Please fasten your seatbelts; we're going on a fast ride through the SEO portal. Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is the process of improving the position and visibility of your title on Amazon. What keywords is your audience most likely to put into an Amazon book search when looking for a book that delivers your message? These are the keywords that should be in your title or, at the very least, in your subtitle. Again, the title above The Depression Cure: A Six-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs. If I were depressed and wanted to find a book to help me overcome my depression without drugs, I might go to Amazon books and type in the keywords, overcoming depression without drugs, and what book do you think might pop up? Make your title easy to find on Amazon.

Important for fiction and nonfiction: One more note on SEO and metadata: When you put your title into Amazon, five more books with the same title should not pop up. For example, I have been wrestling for months to find the perfect title for my sequel to "Under the Roof." It was suggested that I use 'The Secrets Under the Roof.' When I search for that title on Amazon, six other books automatically appear. I don't need that kind of competition, so I am back to the drawing board.

Choosing a title is a crucial step in the writing process. I find it to be daunting. Share some of your book title ideas below. We'd love to hear from you.  You simply need to fill in your name and comment.