Dummies Can Learn Anything?
Don’t be a dummy use a catchy title to attract your readers
Today, I stopped by Barnes and Noble. I used to visit this bookstore almost weekly during my youth. However, I had not been there in a few years. I picked a John Grisham book written in Spanish, ‘La Gran Estafa” — the Big Scam. I am currently learning Spanish and plan to travel to Spain next year for my 60th birthday to train for tennis at the Spanish tennis academy. Amazing, I can go to Spain, train for a week, and stay in a hotel for less than just the cost of training in Florida for a week, and based on recent results on the ATP tour, training in Spain is superior.
However, let’s get back to the Dummies back. I get the fact they break down complex topics into simple bites. However, the title is an overreach in many ways; it's like clickbait, on the one hand, but, on the other, it is marketing Genius, generating over $100 million in revenue last year.
So, if I compare that to writing on medium, clickbait titles are hated, and if you use one, you will certainly get a few people to comment. However, should they, given the success of the Dummies book; after the Dummies books came the idiot books; wame concepts as the dummy books.
So, this is what I say about clickbait. If you offer a clickbait title and there is real substance underneath, go for it. The title along will not hold the reader but will draw his/her interest.
Don’t be a dummy and leave money on the table!
