A great book title is crucial to a book’s success. Boring titles impede sales. Compelling titles intensify sales and help create a bestseller.
As a marketing consultant, I’m frequently asked by clients to help them create powerful book titles. I’ve been fortunate to have good success in this area, such as working with successful authors including Lysa TerKeurst and her New York Times bestselling book entitled, “Made to Crave.”
People ask me, “What’s your secret to a killer title?” But, my answer is that I don’t have a secret. Instead, I create and judge book titles by whether they are able to pass or fail my Five Question Test:
Question 1. Is the title easy to remember a week later? Is it sticky, memorable, and easy to say out loud?
Question 2. Does the title create curiosity? Does it make you want to know more about the book?
Question 3. Does the title imply value for the reader? Is there an implied promise or an answer to the reader’s ultimate question, “What’s in it for me?”
Question 4. Would a reader feel cool if someone saw them reading a book with that title? People have egos, and titles that people deem offensive or out-of-date can kill book sales.
Question 5. Does the title help build the author’s brand and enable the creation of complimentary spin-off resources, such as a multi-book deal for novelists (i.e. – trilogy) or assessments, seminars, coaching, and curriculum for non-fiction authors?
These five questions have helped me and my clients develop books that sell like wildfire. I encourage you to use them in your own book titling process.
(By the way, these five questions also help when you’re developing a killer marketing tagline for your business or non-profit organization.)
