Contents
Is Your Cover Intriguing ?
This is part two in a three part series on 3 Tips for Better Book Cover Design.
—–> Click Here for “Part One”.
—–> Click Here for “Part Three”
When the potential reader DOES look at your book cover and then reads the title, will the title intrigue them to want to read the sub title or even flip the book over to the back cover to find out more about the book?
frank deardurff
Between the title and the sub title, the reader should either know what the book is about, or it should peak their curiosity to want to find out what is inside.
Your book title should be unique. You wouldn’t want someone to see your book title and think “I’ve seen this somewhere” or “I think I’ve heard about this one already.”
Don’t RUSH IT!
You’ve spent hours upon hours writing your book, so you should spend ample amount of time on the title, as well. After all, isn’t it really the title that gets your book read?
Most book buyers will not pick up a book, flip through it and decide whether or not that is the book they will buy and read without first reading the title.
Think about this: you are standing at the grocery store waiting to pay for your items and there are rows of magazines on the racks. What gets you to buy a specific one? It’s the headlines (titles) to the stories on the front page, right?
Sure it could be the fact you know that magazine is usually good for topics you like to read, but nine times out of 10, it’s because you spotted a headline, and you are willing to pay the five dollars to find out more,
The same should be true with your book. The buyer should look at the title and say, “Yes, I want to find out what is in this book, I must know what is in it.”
Some things you should consider when writing your book title:
- Who is my target audience?
- What kind of words do they use?
- What action words appeal to them?
Remember that research is your friend. Visit bookstores online and off, and check out the section your book will be in. See what titles appeal to you and make you want to pick up that book. Check out the books nearby for suggested books in that genre. Write down these title names.
One major thing to remember, “You are NOT your target market!” Just because you wrote the book doesn’t always mean you are the typical person reading the book.
That is why it is important to do the following exercises.
- Write a sentence about what your book is. You may need to write several sentences. Think about how you would describe your book if you were telling a friend about the book you just wrote.
- Highlight keywords from those sentences that stand out. You may find certain words are repeated.
- Go online and use a search site such as Google and enter those keywords; make a list of all key- words that come up with the results that are similar to your book.
- Use keyword tools such as “Google Keyword Tool” to find out what others are using to find similar information.
- Start writing headlines from the combined information of your sentences and the keywords you’ve compiled. Try to come up with 10– 20 titles, more if possible. Some- times just changing an action word (verbs) can make a difference and change the title
- Read these titles out loud. Does it flow?
- Pass the list around to your friends (or make a survey) and find out which of these appeal to them. You could even give the option to submit a suggestion.
- Take these results and narrow it down. You could even ask around again.
- Once you’ve narrowed it down, determine the winning title.
As a marketer, one thing I like to do is check and see if the domain name is available for any of the titles I like. That way when I’m ready to start selling the book, I know I will have a website that matches the title. With that being said, it is always a good idea to have your name as a domain, as well.
