Choosing a book title that works hard and stands out

You’ve spent the last six months slogging away at your computer and you’ve written what you consider to be...well...a damn masterpiece. You’re?convinced?this book is going to change the world. But first, you’ve got to name it. A big mistake many authors make is not putting the thought into their book title that it absolutely needs. Your title is your headline. It’s what makes people pick up the thing in the first place.?

Your title is the most important few words of the entire book...at least initially. Or, as a much more accomplished writer than me once said:

“When you boil it down, a book title is a business decision.”?–Bethany Atazadeh

A perfect example of this is Alan Francis and Cindy Cashman’s 1980 best-seller Everything Men Know About Women. Cute title, but what’s the book like??It’s 100+ blank pages.?And the book has sold millions of copies. In fact, it's now up to its 30th-anniversary edition. All title.

Why your nonfiction book title is so important

Most first time authors fall into two categories when naming their book. Those in the first (and most common) category choose something plain, obvious and BORING...a ‘does what it says on the package’ title. On the other hand, you have authors trying to be too clever, shrouding their title with mystery and frankly just confusing the pants off everyone who might’ve considered reading the book.

Your nonfiction book title has three jobs that I call The?3 Ds:?Discovery, Differentiation,?and?Description.

1. Discovery?means your book is findable. It’s displayed in search results and gets shown to shoppers by recommendation engines.
2. Differentiation?means it stands out among the other books shown alongside it. So, buyers are more likely to select yours.
3. Description means your title accurately describes (or at least hints at) the contents of your book. This correctly sets the expectation for the reader so there’s no misalignment between what they think they're getting what you're delivering.

How to choose the perfect title for your nonfiction book

Now we know?why?the title’s important and we’ve got The 3 Ds to hit. So let's dig into a great strategy for figuring out that perfect title for your book.

Step 1: Brainstorm keywords

Search-optimized titles are vital to publishing a successful book today. This is because search terms are what make it possible for you to reach your readers. And some of what makes a title work for search also works for people. After all, the purpose of search and recommendation engines is to present relevant results to…that’s right…people. So, if you can tap into what your ideal readers are searching for, they’ll find your book and want to read it.

First, and most importantly, think about terms your readers are likely to enter when searching for books like yours on a retailer website like Amazon. These are shoppers with active purchase intent and if your book fits their needs, they’re likely to buy it. It can be helpful to think about already-published books that yours is similar to. Take note of the language used in those books’ titles, their descriptions, and any words or phrases that come up repeatedly. These may signal terms that are particularly important to readers. These are good indicators of potential keyword phrases.

Second, think about internet search engines like?Google, and how your book might be found by people searching terms tangentially related to your subject as well. These people may not be actively looking to buy a book, but they’re interested in your subject and solutions related to it.

Based on your research, narrow your list to between eight and twelve search phrases — ranked in order of importance.

Step 2: Brainstorm subtitle ideas, then title ideas

When it comes to nonfiction book titles, they usually include both a main title and a subtitle. It may seem counter-intuitive, but I suggest you work on the subtitle first. The subtitle is the more descriptive of the two parts, so by landing it first, you’re free to be more creative with the main title, which needs to stand out so it gets your readers’ attention.

Using the top three to five search phrases from Step 1, brainstorm a long list of at least ten subtitles for your book. Here are some tips for coming up with ideas:

• A subtitle is longer than a main title; ten to fifteen words is the sweet spot, though.
• Make it descriptive and clear. Think about phrases like “how to” or “the guide to” or “learn to”.
• Think about Amazon categories your book fits into and look at the bestseller lists for those categories. This is a great place to see the types of titles and subtitles that resonate with your readers.

Once you’ve put together a solid list of subtitles, brainstorm ten or more main title ideas, keeping these tips in mind:

• Keep it short — ideally five words or fewer.
• Your main title should be easy to say and to spell.
• Think about incorporating the name of your unique solution, methodology, or approach from your book into at least one of your title options.
• Consider using proven literary devices, like rhythm, alliteration, puns, contrast, metaphors, or humour to make your title more memorable.
• If you're going to be a bit mysterious, make sure there's a clear enough link to your topic that when readers see your subtitle they think, "Ah...that makes perfect sense!" not "Phew...good thing there's a subtitle too!"

Step 3: Test your titles and subtitles with your ideal readers

Ready to see which of the titles and subtitles you’ve come up with work best? Then you’re ready for Step 3, where you’ll test them. First, you’ll do this qualitatively with a focus group, and then quantitatively through either a poll or a smoke test.

Qualitative Testing

For qualitative testing, you could ask anyone you’ve shared your book with already for feedback to think about your title options. They already know your book’s content, so they’ll have an informed opinion of which title works best.

To carry out this testing, choose your best 3 to 5 subtitles and ask your focus group which ones work best, given the topic and contents of your book. Then, append the favoured subtitle to each of your main title options, asking which of those combinations work best. Once you’ve got a list of the most popular title-subtitle combinations, you can move on to quantitative testing.

Quantitative Testing

Two types of quantitative testing that work well for assessing your book’s title are A/B testing and smoke testing.

• A/B Testing.?With A/B testing, you put your strongest ideas up for a vote, using a service like?PickFu?or?SurveyMonkey. I like both services because you can buy panel respondents and have your survey completed quickly — so you don’t have to solely rely on your own network.
• Smoke Test.?To do a smoke test, use Google AdWords or Facebook Ads to create advertisements for your book that use the different titles. Then, see how many people click on each one. This gives you solid, in-market feedback, so you’ll know which titles work and which don’t. As a bonus, you can lead those that click on the ad to a "Coming Soon" page and ask if they'd like to find out when the book launches.

Just like you did with your qualitative testing, test your subtitles first. Then, take the winner and use it as a consistent subtitle to pair with each main title. Your results might look a bit like this:

Step 5: Make the call

Now, you can make a smart, well-informed, and thoroughly tested decision on your title – a title that will get discovered, resonate with your readers, and correctly set their expectations of what they’ll get when they read your book.

Having said that, in the end, you need to choose a title that you’ll be proud of, so don’t feel you must absolutely go with the popular choice. Use the data as input, but use your own good judgement to make the final decision as an author and businessperson.

Remember, your title is your?#1 marketing tool. Don’t neglect its importance or you may just keep your book out of the hands of those who need it most.

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SCOTT A. MACMILLAN?is a publishing strategist, speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of the international best-selling book?Entrepreneur to Author. He’s also President and Chief Strategist at?Grammar Factory Publishing, a Toronto-based professional service publisher that has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs write and publish books that build authority and grow their businesses.