How To Write Catchy Book Titles And Compelling Book Content That Sells

Want to write a bestselling book? Learn how to write catchy book titles and compelling book content so you can give your book the best chance of success.

Years ago when Napoleon Hill’s famous manuscript on building wealth was ready for publication, it had no title.

His publisher called and said, “If you don’t come up with a title by tomorrow morning, I’m going call it Use Your Noodle And Make A Boodle.”

Distraught, Napoleon Hill began playing with words and during the night he came up with one of the best classic book titles, Think And Grow Rich.

Have you read Think and Grow Rich? If not, you need to buy a copy. It is one of the top bestselling books of all time – probably due to its name. But it’s also a great book because of what’s inside.

The contents are incredibly powerful …but, I’m not sure how many people would have bought it with a title like Use your Noodle and Make a Boodle. Would you have? Not me.

classic book titles — *Napoleon Hill holding his book, Think and Grow Rich. Image by New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper staff photographer. Commons: Licensing for more information. Public Domain*

There are many, many other examples throughout history where books were written and published unsuccessfully… until they changed the title of the book.

In fact, after their first printing sold just a few copies, some authors ONLY changed their bad book titles and became best sellers.

This is not to say that you can write terrible content for your books, slap on great book titles and make tons of money. Although it’s been done (unfortunately), no one would recommend you do that.

Instead, once you’ve created quality content for your book, come up with some catchy, creative, and beautiful titles that will build tremendous potential on your road to becoming a successful, bestselling author.

Contents

How to get ideas for great book titles

Ok, so how do you find ideas for great book titles? Here are some ways to do that:

#1. Copy what’s working

The easiest way to find a catchy book title is to look through the bestseller lists on Amazon.com and find inspiration in this famous book titles list.

When Jason Oman and Mike Litman wanted to publish their book, they modelled a popular book called Conversations with God and published Conversations with Millionaires.

Their book went to #1 on Amazon.com!

#2. Check the tabloids

Another great place to look for outstanding ideas for book titles is the tabloids section in the checkout aisle.

Those papers and magazines don’t sell millions of copies because they write unique and wonderful content – it’s because their titles are just SO compelling you’ve got to read it.

#3. Use book title generator tools

KDSPY is a powerful tool for authors that will give you a great deal of information about books that sell. Just add it to your browser and you’ll have a 24-hour on-demand research assistant that will show you the popular trends in any genre.

Researching niche markets and genres and finding bestselling book ideas can take a long time. KDSPY will show you the bestselling book niches to go after – and it even gives you a world cloud to help you write good titles that will sell.

KDSPY will help you save loads of time and effort on doing keyword research, figuring out what categories to place your book in, and learning how to create catchy and compelling book titles.

Publisher Rocket is another tool for authors that will help you create book titles, subtitles, and descriptions that convert better, increase your Kindle rankings and sell more books.

Both these tools will help you learn all about the competitor landscape of the book category that you want to target and the potential estimated profit you could make there with a first-page listing.

By modeling what’s already working for other successful and famous authors, you’ll be able to identify the best-selling niches and get the best book title ideas for your genre.

In addition to your book title, your book description is your last chance to convert a shopper into a buyer. You’re allowed to use HTML to make your description look great and the free Amazon book description generator tool will do it for you.

#4. Use SEO research tools

Another way to find good book titles and also research the keywords to add to your Amazon book listing is to use SEO keyword research tools.

These tools will let you know how many searches a specific keyword gets every month so you can get an idea of how popular a certain topic is.

Although these tools will not give you all the data and information that KDSPY does, they can help you come up with some good titles.

When you include these keywords in your book titles and book listing on Amazon it will also help your book rank well in Google, bringing you more traffic and sales.

How to research your book content

Now that you know how to brainstorm good titles, here are some tips to help you research content for your book.

Most people know that Google is the largest search engine in the world. However, few realize how powerful it is as a research tool.

The key is knowing how to tap into Google’s research powers. One of the best ways to find content for your book is by using the search string called “allinurl.” (pronounced all-in-u-r-l)

Go to Google.com and type your keyword phrase in after allinurl:

Now search Google’s database for sites that have that keyphrase in their URL, domain name or in a title or heading.

For example, if I was writing a book about Personal Branding I could use something like:

allinurl: personal branding articles
allinurl: personal branding
allinurl: personal branding tips

You should find some excellent content ideas using this method. Let’s check out some real-world examples and take a look at what we would find.

allinurl: personal branding articles

Brand You: Personal Branding Tips That Work
Personal Branding: How to Become the Hero of Your Career
Use Personal Branding To Stand Out In The Crowd

These look like great book titles for a book on personal branding. So how can you organize your search findings?

Put the names of your ideas and the book outline section in an Excel sheet. In the columns, add the details below:

Name/Title: The name and/or title of the content you’ve found
Link: URL to the content
Expert (Owner): Who wrote the content
Type: Is the content text, audio, video, etc.

Once you have these sections for your outline, fill in the sheet with the content you want to refer to while writing.

How to write your book content

Now that you’ve collected all the content you want for your book, here are some options to get started with writing your book content:

#1. Write it yourself

You can research and write content following this outline yourself. This, of course, is the option that will take you the most time and effort.

But, if you love writing, and have good writing skills as well as the time to write, it’s the option that can give you the best results.

You can also use a research tool like AnswerThePublic.com to download a list of questions that people are asking about your book topic.

Make it a point to answer these questions in your book and you’ll make it more useful and relevant to your readers.

#2. Collaborate with other writers

You can contact the writer of the content you’ve shortlisted for your research and ask permission to include their content in your book. There is great power and effectiveness in using existing content from experts.

The benefit of including other experts’ content is that when it comes time to market your book, you’ve got a ‘built-in’ partner to help you promote it and you will be leveraging other people’s credibility as experts in the subject.

Unless you want to write the entire book in your own words, mixing in expert content with some of your own content is a good idea as long as you get their permission to use it and give them credit for it.

This might be as simple as finding a public domain book on the subject you outlined and using some of its content as well.

#3. Use PLR content

Purchase Private Label Rights (PLR) content, which is usually written around popular topics, so you don’t have to go far to find compelling content for your book.

PLR content should not be used as-is. You need to rewrite it and add your own insights to make a unique product. You can either rewrite it yourself or hire a ghostwriter to do it for you.

#4. Use a creative writing AI tool

Creative writing AI story writer and AI poem generator tools can help you write a story or an AI-generated poem, even when you’re stuck for inspiration.

For example, you can use the Sudowrite AI creative writing assistant, for getting inspiration when you’re blocked. It can simultaneously summarize your story and generate crisp loglines, with a focus on key plot points.

If you’re writing a non-fiction book, such as a how-to guide, you can create an outline and start writing a quick, authority-building non-fiction book, in under 7 days, with Jasper’s AI Author Workflow.

Did you find this article helpful in coming up with the best book titles and writing your book content? If so, do let us know in the comments below.

More book writing tips & tools

Priya Florence Shah

Priya Florence Shah is a bestselling author and an award-winning blogger. Check out her book on emotional self-care for women. Priya writes short stories and poetry and chills with her two-legged and four-legged kids in her spare time.

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