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How changing the title quadrupled book sales | Nudge Newsletter

Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read

Titles That Sell

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Emanuel Haldeman-Julius was an incredibly wealthy book salesman.

He didn't write. He resold famous literature to an American audience.

Goethe and Shakespeare were printed on cheap paper and sold in big quantities.

He sold more than 200 million¹ booklets, each for five cents.

Emanuel noticed that some books sold better than others.

He hypothesised that buyers judge a book by its title.

So, he rewrote the titles of his least popular books. Here's an example.

Original title: Fleece of Gold (6,000 copies sold)

New title: Quest for a Blonde Mistress (50,000 copies sold)

By tweaking the title, Emanuel could dramatically increase the sales.

He made his tweaks on instinct and hunches, but I think there's some compelling behavioural science evidence behind some of his other changes.

1. Second-person pronouns

A study found that ads containing the word "you" boosted³ engagement.

Addressing the audience directly grabs attention.

Which is why Emanuel sold more with this tweaked title.

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2. The power of because

Langer's 1978 experiment showed only 60%⁴ of people allowed the researcher to cut in line at a photocopier without reason.

But saying "because I'm in a rush" raised compliance to 94%.

Surprisingly, "because I have to make copies" also reached 93%.

A reason, even an invalid one, boosts compliance.

Giving consumers a reason to read boosted sales.

That's why "How to Argue Logically" sold 100 times more.

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3. Scarcity

We're drawn to scarce information.

Wholesale beef buyers 2x their orders when they heard the beef might become scarce.

Orders increased six times when told the information came from an exclusive source.

"Casanova and His Loves" lacks any scarcity.

"History's Greatest Lover" is a title only one person can own.

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4. Curiosity gap

Leaving something unknown draws attention⁶.

Especially if it's relevant to the reader.

We're all curious about life's mysteries.

So it's no surprise this tweaked title improved sales.

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Big thank you to today's sponsors.

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Hope you've all had a fantastic week — Phill​

¹Wouters, B., & Groen, J. (2020). Online influence: Boost your results with proven behavioral science

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²Haldeman-Julius, E. (2008). The first hundred million: How to skyrocket your book sales with slam dunk titles. Vancouver: Angelican Press.

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³Burnkrant, R. E., & Unnava, H. R. (1995). Effects of self-referencing on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1086/209435

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⁴Langer, E., Blank, A., & Chanowitz, B. (1978). The mindlessness of ostensibly thoughtful action: The role of “placebic” information in interpersonal interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(6), 635–642. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.36.6.635

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⁵Martin, S. (2024). Influence At Work (p. 178).

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⁶Ruan, B., Hsee, C. K., & Lu, Z. Y. (2018). The teasing effect: An underappreciated benefit of creating and resolving an uncertainty. Journal of Marketing Research, 55(4), 556–568. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.15.0346

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As a behavioural science practitioner, I believe in the peak-end rule*

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Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

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