Selling 'Promise' to Non-Fiction Book Titles
In this article, the author outlines how to sell more non-fiction
books by using the promise of desired change in book titles.
Nonfiction book titles succeed to the extent their titles promise
desired change to a specific target market. "Promise"
and "target" titles increase book sales by finding new
readers, online and in bookstores. You can further the ability of
your book's title to increase book sales and find new readers by
adding details to your titles. As the examples included below show,
by adding details, such as numbers, to your book title, you can:
- Differentiate. Details can help you position
your book, setting it (and you) apart from the competition.
- Enhance credibility. Title details can help
increase book sales by enhancing your book's image and professionalism.
- Add urgency. Numbers in titles can increase
book sales by simplifying complex topics and promising quick results.
- Perceived value. Numbers can "cement
the sale" by enhancing the perceived value of your book.
How title details can differentiate a book from its competition
Consider the example of Rachel Ray's career-building 30-Minute
Meals. This self-published book not only launched a continuing series
of highly successful books, but it also launched one of the most
successful careers on television's Food Network. (Which I never
watch, of course.)
Born out of desperation, at a time when Domino's Pizza was guaranteeing
deliveries of pizza in 30 minutes, or less, Rachel Ray's 30-Minute
Meals was originally written to help her employer--an upstate New
York grocery store--compete against Domino's. The first printing
immediately sold out. It sold out because of the specificity of
the "30-minute" promise.
There are lots of cook books on the market, and there would have
been little reason for prospective buyers to be interested in a
book with a title like "Rachel Ray's Favorite Recipes."
But, the "30-minutes" makes a specific promise to prospective
readers and sets it apart from the competition. When she was unknown
outside of upstate New York, which of the following books would
have sold more:
- Favorite Recipes
- 30-Minute Recipes
In a similar way, Patrick Riley's The One-Page Proposal: How to
Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page uses a specific
to set the book apart from the hundreds of other proposal writing
books on the market. Without the "one-page" promise, it
would be just another book, instead of standing apart from the competition.
Using details to add credibility to your book's title
You can also use specifics to describe the number of steps or ideas
your book is based on. The number in the title implies that there
is a process, or guidance system, built into your book, rather than
a hodgepodge of ideas.
Favorite examples of this approach include Stephen Covey's The
7-Habits of Highly Effective Individuals and George B. Brant's,
et al, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Program. The "7-Habits"
approach simplifies a complex topic by providing a manageable structure
to approach it. The "100-Day" approach simplifies a complex
program by providing a day-to-day guide to specific tasks.
A final title that succeeds because of credibility based on specificity
is Leroy Cook's 100 Things To Do with Your Private Pilot's License.
Which of the two titles, below, has the greater appeal?
- Things To Do with Your Private Pilot's License
- 100 Things To Do with Your Private Pilot's License
Likewise, the "5" in the title of Harley Pasternak and
Myatt Murphy's 5 Factor Diet s projects a feeling that there's a
structure, or process, behind the book's advice.
Using specifics to add urgency
People, today, are in a hurry. The want immediate gratification.
They don't want to wait!
That's why books with titles like Jay Conrad Levinson and Al Lautenschlager's
Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days are so successful. They promise immediate
results. Again, it's the specific number that adds credibility to
the urgency. Which of the following appeals to you?
- Guerrilla Marketing in a Hurry
- Guerrilla Marketing in 30-Days
Bill Effros' How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days is another example
of using specifics to stress immediate gratification.
Max Anders takes "specificity for credibility" even further,
with the "double specificity" of his 30-Days to Understanding
the Christian Life in 15 Minutes a Day.
But, perhaps the best example is 21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's
Vineyard DeTox Program. Here you have the promise of a specific
benefit plus the promise of a specific timeframe.
Using specifics to add value
Finally, today's readers want value. They want to know they're
getting their money's worth. Specifics can enhance the promise of
value just by emphasizing the number of options your book offers.
Consider John Kremer's classic 1001 Ways to Market Your Book. You
can't help but think, "with 1001 ideas in the book, there's
got to be something there that will work for me!"
PART TWO: In the second part of this article we look more
closely at the promise of change.
Selling Promise of Change
Publishing success begins by choosing the right title for your
book. It's the title that first attracts attention, online or in
a bookstore. To find new readers and increase your book's sales,
begins by selecting a title that clearly describes the promise--or
benefits--your book offers.
No matter how good your ideas or how well you write, your ability
to get profitably published is ultimately based on your ability
to choose a title that increases sales of your book by attracting
the attention of prospective readers and convinces them that your
book is uniquely qualified to help them.
In this article, I want to describe the two types of change that
motivates buyers of nonfiction books, and provide analyze the titles
of several successful published nonfiction books that have enjoyed
long-term sales success and have helped launch profitable careers
for their authors.
The Promise of Change
Change lies at the root of nonfiction publishing success. Unlike
fiction books, that are purchased for pleasure reading, nonfiction
books are purchased to achieve change. Change comes in two flavors:
Solving a pressing problem. The prospective book buyer has a problem
that they want to cure, or solve. They may have lost their job,
they may have just gotten divorced, or their expenses may be more
than their income. They have a problem, they need to solve it, and
they want to solve it now!
Achieving a desired goal. Goals can be stated in relative terms,
i.e., losing weight, earning more, getting into the right college,
attracting a younger spouse, a newer (or larger) home.
In either case, the prospect reader wants to change a current condition.
Examples of titles that sell by promising change
You can often identify a change-oriented book title because it
begins with "how." For example, Michael Larsen's classic
How to Write a Book Proposal. For years, authors who don't know
how to write a book proposal buy this book so that they will change,
they will gain the knowledge needed to write a book proposal.
Another example is How to Make Big Money in Your Small Business
by Jeffrey Fox. Readers will learn how to change the amount of money
they take home from their business.
A final example is How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural
Medicine by Michael Murray.
Other change structures
The titles of many successful change books are based on an "if/then"
structure. If you follow the instructions in the book, then you'll
enjoy the desired change. Perhaps the best example is Napoleon Hill's
Think & Grow Rich, which has been a best seller for over 50
years. Napoleon Hill's if/then title format has been adapted by
numerous other authors, such as Dottie Walter's and Lilly Walter's
Speak and Grow Rich.
Sometimes the change is as obvious as describing the reader's desired
change in terms of the symptom that it addresses, such as Doug Stevenson's
Never Be Boring Again which describes how uncomfortable presenters
can become confident and effective presenters.
Titles can promise change by describing the goal the book can help
readers achieve. One of my favorite examples is Brent Sampson's
Sell Your Book on Amazon. If you're an author, and you want to increase
your book's sales online, this title will speak to you with startling
urgency.
Conclusion
Numbers added to book titles can provide your book with a compelling
sales advantage over competing books. Numbers and details provide
specific proof of the title's promise. Numbers in book titles can
set a book apart from the competition, they can organize and simplify
complex topics, they can add urgency to your title's promise, and
they can reinforce your book's value.
Spend some time analyzing the titles of existing books in your
field. How effectively do they use specificity to add impact to
their title's selling power? How often are numbers used to reinforce
the title's promise? How are the numbers used?
More important, take a fresh look at your book's proposed title.
How effectively does your book's title use details and specifics
for differentiation, credibility, urgency, or value?
Author: Roger C. Parker. Visit
the Published
& Profitable Blog for more title ideas and to sign-up for
free weekly writing tips and advance notice of free upcoming teleseminar
interviews with authors, editors, and publishing insiders.
Also See:
Using
Metaphor-based Titles to Sell More Books
Sell
More Books Using Curiosity Titles
Using
Positioning To Sell Against Your Competition
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