Looking to create titles that will help sell your book?
We’ve all heard it, haven’t we? As authors we dream of writing a bestseller.
What if I told you that a lack of suitable title is holding you back? It doesn’t matter if your book is the most mind-blowing piece of fiction ever written.
If it’s not searched for…
Or if it doesn’t excite at first glance it is doomed to languish out of 782 million print books sold every year.
Because without a strong title you won’t convert readers.
Which is why today we’re going to talk about…
Keyword Breakdown Strategy
Learn the little black magic that allows you to weave specific words into a title that simply attracts and pulls in your target audience.
Ready? Let’s get started.
What you’ll learn:
- Why Keywords in Book Titles Drive Sales
- How to Identify Search Patterns in Genres
- Leveraging AI Book Title Generators
- Tactics for Strategic Keyword Breakdown
- Analyzing Successful Title Examples
- Genre-Specific Keyword Optimization
Why Book Titles Have Never Been More Important
First of all, why does your book title matter so much?
Look, we all know first impressions are everything.
Nobody can be blamed for that. It’s a proven fact that most of our snap judgments are formed in those crucial first few seconds of exposure.
And book browsing is exactly that.
Whether we’re flicking through the search results on Amazon or leafing through books in the local bookstore. We make unconscious decisions in a heartbeat.
Does this book seem interesting? Is it my kind of story? Who would like this?
There’s so much choice out there that human attention is a scarce resource.
So, as an author you need to win that battle right now.
Bear in mind that the global book market is a $103.5 billion industry with 18.9 billion books sold. There’s more competition than ever and publishers who stand out get noticed.
The good news?
When your book title wins that first impression battle correctly, 72% of customers recommend it to six or more other people. With books, that can be a huge difference.
The Science Behind Keyword-Driven Book Titles
Look, most authors go about creating book titles the completely wrong way.
We write a book, then we agonize over some title and subtitle.
We pull out our thesaurus, play with word combinations. Rewrite. Polish.
It’s a creative, enjoyable process but it also means that most of our titles are terrible.
Most of the time.
Why? Because…
Good book titles are similar to search engines.
They match what the reader is searching for, with what the book is actually offering.
In fact, many online marketers swear by so-called “mirror words.”
Words that reflect exactly the keywords their ideal customer is searching for.
Bear in mind that strategic Keyword Breakdown Strategy is not about tricking anyone.
It’s not about keyword stuffing. It’s about serving your potential customers with a precise, clear idea of what they’re looking for.
Because that’s how keyword driven search works.
Romance readers type in “forever,” “passion,” “secret” and similar romantic words when looking for books. Thriller, horror, and suspense fans search for “dead,” “missing,” “conspiracy,” and so on.
Using AI Tools to Optimize Your Title Creation
Good news!
There are AI tools to generate titles.
Tools like the Squibler.io book title generator use advanced algorithms to suggest titles based on your book’s themes, genre, and target keywords.
In fact, 54% of publishers and authors are now using AI-powered tools to create content and do marketing.
And by the year 2025 experts predict that 90% of books will have some level of AI influence in their development.
AI title generators simply analyze thousands of successful titles in genres and across languages. Then, using very sophisticated neural networks, search for common patterns and winning word combinations.
They can suggest book titles based on:
- Your key target markets
- Book’s primary theme
- Subject matter
- Intended genre
- Type of book you’re writing
- Intended age group
Keyword Breakdown Strategy – A 4-Step Guide
In order to understand better what does strategic title breakdown mean, here’s a four-step process:
1. Get Down to Core Themes
Ok, what’s your book really about? Not the plot. The deeper themes.
Is it a book about redemption, revenge, growth, transformation, courage, belonging, death, childhood?
Write down 3-5 words that hit the very essence of your work. Then brainstorm all associated words with each of those themes.
2. Research Genre-Specific Language
Every genre has it’s own language and expectations. Look at bestseller lists in your genre and compare.
Fantasy uses words like “realm,” “shadow,” “crown.” Mystery novels use “dead,” “murder,” “secret.
Don’t be shy to replicate this phrasing and word choices – bestsellers typically set the conventions.
3. Keyword Breakdown Strategy – Get in Your Reader’s Mind
Ok, so when you think of your book who do you imagine is going to read it?
If you wrote a romance novel there’s a big difference between a 20-year-old and a 50-year-old woman looking for books.
Consider age, gender, reading preferences, emotional triggers, life stage, and aspirations of your ideal customer.
4. Test Keyword Combinations
Create 20-30 potential title options using variations of all the keywords you can think of.
Use all combinations, even ones you think are terrible. Just get them down in writing first.
Examples of Bestselling Keywords
Ok, here are a few titles that show how a specific keyword choice sells
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Has girl (romance, women’s fiction reader magnet word) but also dragon and tattoo. Edgy, dangerous, with an edge of intrigue.
“Fifty Shades of Grey”
Uses numbers to create curiosity, but also shade – which is synonymous with moral ambiguity, sexual, mystery.
“The Hunger Games”
Word hunger indicates survival desperation while games is suggestive of a more intellectual, strategic conflict.
Notice how every single word in these titles is both simple, generic, easily searched for, but also hints at the story’s deeper appeal?
Advanced Tactics for Optimizing Titles by Genre
Now for a few tips on how to optimize your title keyword breakdown by genres:
Romance
Keywords: heart, love, forever, secret, passion, hold.
Formula: “[Emotion] + [descriptor/noun]”
Thriller/Mystery
Keywords: dead, missing, conspiracy, lies, buried, buried secrets.
Formula: “[Danger word] + [action]”
Fantasy
Keywords: kingdom, shadow, crown, magic, prophecy.
Formula: “[Mystical object] + [power word]”
Self-Help
Keywords: secrets, ultimate, proven, system, method.
Formula: “[Number] + [Result]”
Refining and Testing Your Best Title Options
Ok, so you’ve come up with a bunch of options. But how to pick the best one?
Go ask your network. Use polls to ask which of the three to five top choices get the highest preference.
Get input from beta readers, writing groups, social media, forums.
Search all title options on Amazon and Google to check competition. If you’re on an island great, if there’s many same same titles this may not be optimal.
Try asking if your series title would work and then frame your title as a series option.
Wrapping It Up
It doesn’t matter how great your book is. If it’s not findable, and if it doesn’t engage your target audience on first impression then it won’t be read
Book titles are both search engines and tiny book trailers.
Getting them right requires both an understanding of your customers’ search terms and desires, and also a keen sense of artistic presentation.
So use tools like AI book title generators and take a strategic approach to keyword breakdown to optimize your title to match those searches.
Use the techniques above and tips on how to optimize by genre to get as many good titles on paper as possible.
Create keywords and variants. Then find the very best one.
The right title can make the difference between a book’s success and failure.