How To Write A Book Title People Will Love

This post was originally published on briantracy.com

So you just finished writing your book but you’re still not sure what to call it.

Now what?

If you want my advice, it’s time to learn how to write a book title that blends it all together.

The best book titles will speak to their target audience while stirring emotions, hooking their interest, and informing readers of what they can expect. They stick in the minds of potential readers making them one of the most important elements in book marketing.

A strong title will make your book proposal stand out at the publishers and on the shelf.

Think about this:

Have you ever picked up a book just because you were captivated by the title?

Did you know that effect was intentional and can be replicated?

You see:

Bestselling authors spend a lot of their time choosing a great title for their book. It’s an important step of the book writing process and it has a huge impact on how successful its launch will be.

In fact:

Dedicating enough time to write a book title that people will love can mean the difference between a bestseller and a good dust collector.

Particularly if you are writing an e-book, finding the right combinations of words can impact the way the public receives your writing.

The power of a few short words can be intimidating.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to dissect the elements of successful book titles and replicate them in your own work. Much like a book writing template lays out each piece, cover to cover, the following tips will guide you through the important steps of the title ideation process.

A great title depends on several interlocking elements: your topic and target audience, the theme of your book, finding a delicate balance of revealed information, and marketing tactics.

It’s so important that I’m giving you my best tips for learning how to write a book title that achieves such a balance.

How Do You Write A Book Title People Will Love?

1) Target Your Niche

The first consideration for finding a great book title is your genre. Genre is the biggest factor in determining a good title, because the genre tells you what your audience wants.

You want to come up with a title that matches the genre, partly to attract potential buyers and partly to set up and meet expectations.

For example, not many people want to read a work of fiction called 5 Places to Find Coupons, even if the story actually revolved around 5 coupon locales. Similarly, a personal-development book will do better if it addresses a consumer’s need in the title rather than a lofty, ambiguous name, like The Debt Eraser Formula instead of 2017 Financial Almanac.

2) Consider The Heart Of Your Book

The heart of your book should come out in the title.

This is especially relevant in books covering more technical topics. If you are writing a book on advanced economic strategies, spruce up the wording to be compelling, but don’t be so esoteric that potential buyers have no idea what the book will say. Ideally, the title should be informative but should also resonate with the customer.

3) Say Enough… But Not Too Much

A successful book title should tell people what the book is about while also adding intrigue.

One is to offer a compelling solution to something, such as 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This title both informs on the topic and promises to give the reader the inside scoop on effective people’s lives.

The other way is to sum up your book in a few short words that encapsulate the theme of your book, like The Slight Edge.

4) Use Allusions To Add Intrigue

Another great way to add intrigue to your book is to structure the story title in a way that alludes to a great work of literature.

Lines of famous Shakespeare plays, quotes from religious scripture, and other well-known pieces often have the effect of drawing in potential buyers. In addition, usually these works are old enough to be in the public domain.

5) Use A Compelling Hook

Nothing gets someone to pick up a book or click on an e-book better than a compelling hook in your book title.

A good hook can add the compelling mystery which causes people to read past the cover. A hook can come in many forms, such as making an unusual claim, working a joke into the title, or giving something seemingly valuable for free in the title.

6) Substitute For Elite Words

Whenever you have the chance to use descriptor words, use the most detailed ones available.

For example, instead of the word “great,” you should use words like “extravagant” and “magnificent.” Boring descriptors tell potential readers the content just might be boring, too.

7) Test Title Ideas With Your Social Followers

Once you’ve come up with a title you think will work, you can actually test its success.

You can create social media posts, Google ads, and Facebook ads with different titles to see which one gets more clicks. You can poll people on Facebook to get a good sampling (just make sure those who take the quiz are in your target audience). This information will steer you in the right direction and may end up boosting your sales.

How Do You Decide On A Book Title?

One of the hardest questions authors ask is “what should the title of my book be?”

If you’re struggling over how to come up with a good book title, try this:

Start by brainstorming title ideas for your book after you have finished writing it. Look at the titles of other books on the bestsellers list in your niche and then work to create a title that is more emotionally charged.

Be sure to add elements that make readers curious enough to pick it up and open the cover.

Dedicate lots of time to this exercise.

Once you have a good list of ideas, try choose a book title that hits on the most points mentioned above. Whittle the list down to 3-5 options, then share them with your friends and social followers and ask for feedback.

It may be tough to make your final selection, but – by going through this process – the title you finally choose to use for your book will have a much better chance of making it to the bestsellers list.

Conclusion

The title of the book must perfectly sum up your creation.

Writing a great personal-development book is no good if people aren’t compelled to read it. The perfect book title takes many things into consideration, but in the end it has that perfect blend of message and creativity to draw in readers.