How to write titles and influence people - part 2
Thursday, 31 December 2009 16:13
Emanuel Haldeman-Julius published a book called 'The Art of Controversy'. It bombed. So he changed the title to 'How to Argue Logically.' Guess what. It sold 30,000 copies. Same book, same cover, same everything - apart from the title.
Haldeman-Julius went on to sell over 100 million books by changing titles. If a book failed to sell 10,000 copies in a year, he put it in a part of his office that he named 'The Hospital'. In that 'Hospital', he diagnosed the illness of the title and came up with a remedy. He then republished it with the new title, and if it still didn't sell, it ended up in 'The Morgue'!
But more often than not, a change of title would reverse the fortunes of a poorly-selling book. Over time, he discovered key words to introduce into titles that would almost guarantee a rise in sales. Three of Haldeman-Julius' most famous discoveries were the phrases 'How To' (note my title for this article!), 'The Truth About' and 'The Facts You Should Know About'.
For example, a book called 'Patent Medicine' by Dr Arthur Cramp only sold 3,000 copies in 1925. But when that title was changed to 'The Truth About Patent Medicine' it more than tripled sales. Also, a book titled 'How I Psycho-Analyzed Myself' only sold 13,500 copies, but when changed to 'How to Pyscho-Analyze Yourself' it attracted 43,000 buyers.
Haldeman-Julius also discovered that the words 'Life' and 'Love' generated more sales than titles without these.
So, how can you use this in your ministry or business?
Well, does your church put a newsletter through the doors of your neighbourhood? If so (it's always a good idea), if your top article was going to be called 'New Pastor Appointed', try changing it to 'The Truth About Our New Pastor'! If I agreed with gambling, which I don't, I'd put money on more people reading it.
Is your charity's fundraising leaflet titled 'Saving Lives in Zimbabwe'? Reprint it with the title, 'How to Save Lives in Zimabwe'.
Is the lead article in your mission's magazine called 'Survey Reveals Needs in Our City'? Change it to 'The Facts You Should Know About the Needs in Our City'.
Is your business brochure called 'Counselling Service'? Change it to 'How to Change Your Life'. Or if you do relationships counselling, call it 'How to Change Your Life with Love'.
You get the idea... Next time, I'll let you in on some of the sub-editor's headline secrets.