What to Title Your Business Book (3 of 7)
Business Book Titles: Level 2
#2: Be Compelling
"Make your readers want to cheer your name or make them want to tear you limb from limb, but never let them be bored."
- Eric Rhoads
By "compelling," I mean tap into the psyche of your reader.
You could do this by making or implying a promise or solution. You could elicit an emotional response or a subconscious appeal. At the very least, it should be interesting enough to make them want to take a closer look.
While the titles of The Wealthy Freelancer and The Well-Fed Writer would never pull people in to see the movie, they are compelling to their target market nonetheless.
(Believe me, as a starving copywriter for a couple of years, both of those titles are extremely intriguing.)
Financial Peace, too, accomplishes this by implying the desired feeling (calm) about a fear-inducing subject (money). The two writing authors could have said something like How to Make More Money Writing; Dave Ramsey could have called his book How to Save More Money. While those titles clearly identify their audiences and their problems, they aren't nearly as compelling as the ones they finally settled on.
Priority #1 establishes the "what" of the book. Priority #2 should establish the "why": why should your audience buy the book? What compelling word or sentiment is in there that would move them to action?
