Yesterday, on my Facebook page, I had asked the following question:
Which of these book titles do you think would sell better? “How to Be Happy With Your Dog”, or “How to Stop Your Dog From Biting You”? And why?
26 interesting and intriguing comments later, I decided to write a blog post about it because I think we could all benefit from the conversation.
Before I begin, I’d like to mention that seeing this conversation unfold directly on my Facebook page was really amazing. I honestly don’t think interactions like this, involving this many people and being so useful for everyone (even people not directly involved in the conversation) can happen on a platform such as Twitter. Google wave…maybe. If I only had an invite 
If you can get fans talking about whatever your niche is about, and then coming to you as the expert for an answer, you’ve got yourself some good leads. Since I’m not selling anything to you or my fans, all we’re doing is having an old school Socratic Seminar right on the Facebook platform. Sweet.
Going into this, I had an idea of what the “better” answer was. I don’t want to use the term “correct” here, since a superior marketer would be able to sell ice to an Eskimo, if you know what I mean. So, which do you think would better sell online?
My Thoughts
I do not consider myself “The Expert” on internet marketing. Far from it actually. However, after a year of living off the internet, being super hardcore and involved in learning as much as I can from some of the top and most successful IMs out there, as well as being comfortable with calling this kind of stuff “what I do” now, I do consider myself “knowledgeable” in the arena of IM. So, it’s up to you if you want to agree or disagree with me on this. Either way, I’d love to hear what you think. We’re all here to learn from each other 
I believe the “How to Stop Your Dog From Biting You” book would definitely outperform the other book, for the following reasons:
1. It’s More Specific
Online, the more specific you can get, the better. It has a lot to do with the way people are searching for things. When we have some kind of problem, we don’t search for the general topics anymore – we’ve become very specific with what we type inside search boxes.
“Being Happy With Your Dog” is a lot more general, and probably covers so many more things such as how to properly feed your dog, how to have playtime with your dog, how to make sure he gets enough exercise, how to reprimand it when it does something it’s not supposed to, how to act with your dog when other dogs are around, etc. It may even include a section about dog biting, but because it does cover so many topics, I don’t think it would do quite as well.
The “Happy” book, even though it’s more useful and it would be really good on a dog owner’s bookshelf, it would be harder to sell.
More importantly…
2. It Addresses a Fear and Solves a Pressing Problem
People are always looking for solutions to problems, especially if it’s something specific that triggers some kind of fear, such as getting bit by a dog. In my opinion, with the “Happy” book, although it might be full of really useful information, unhappiness with a dog is not such a pressing issue. Furthermore, a lot of people don’t understand what it’s like to be unhappy with a dog, or know that there exists a solution for such a problem. Would people admit that they are unhappy with their dogs? When does the point of unhappiness start? What’s the definition of “happy”?
On the other hand, when a dog bites, you know it and you want it to stop immediately. People are willing to pay when it comes to their fears and their pains.
Further Observations
If you’ve been anywhere online in the last year or so, you’ve probably seen those “teeth whitening” ads. They are EVERYWHERE. Why?
Because they are making a killing, and it’s probably for many of the same reasons I had just mentioned:
1. It’s a very specific thing: teeth whitening. It’s not about having healthier teeth, or beauty. It’s just about having whiter teeth.
2. It addresses a pressing problem and fear.
The problem: yellow teeth.
The fear: people seeing your nasty yellow teeth.
And those ads aren’t afraid to show you exactly what those yellow teeth look like either.
And this brings me to my last point, which has to do with advertising. With a more specific problem, such as dog biting (or having yellow teeth) your ads can cater to exactly who they need to cater to, and you’ll spend less money on your campaigns.
With broader subjects and niches, you may get a lot of clicks on your ads from people who may not need exactly what you have to offer. Broader keywords cost more (usually), and you’ll have a much lower conversion rate.
That’s not to say you won’t be successful trying to sell either one. I just feel that the more specific, fear addressing book would be much easier.
What Do You Think?
Do I make a good case? I was thinking about going into an analysis on the keyword data, but I don’t think we even need to go there. I can tell you, however, that there were indeed a lot of searches specifically for dog biting type keywords.
Again, if you’d like to get in on more of these types of conversations, come on over to my Facebook page and say hello!
All the best to you! Cheers!
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{ 35 comments (Click Here to Leave a Comment Below) }
Pat,
You are really doing a GREAT job of using your blog, and Facebook, in conjunction, to provide some awesome (and relevant) information to people…..while I see alot of people’s automatic emails as ‘spam’, i actually look forward to getting those emails about “follow up comments” here….
….I tend to agree with your views on the eBook above, and, I think everyone who intends on eventually selling some sort of informational product could really learn a thing or two from the subtle principles you convey above….
At first, I thought that the colorful aesthetic appeal of the first cover would actually attract more customers, however, like you said above, it’s kind of a little ‘vague’, and not quite as specific as it could be…
Plus, if I had to render a guess, I would think that this would be a perfect case study in REALLY knowing the niche you are marketing to. I don’t own a dog, but, I would think, that many people are ALREADY happy with the dog they own, or why would they own one in the first place?…..
So, for the first Book, there may not be quite the ‘need’ or ‘void in information’ that they person marketing it would actually anticipate. While they may get a few sales from general curious dog owners, I do think the second one triggers something inherent to the human psyche that could result in ALOT more sales….
…on a side note, (and completely irrelevant to this post), I always loved how you have tracked your eHow earnings on here…….if you ever have some down-time, I’d personally love to see if you could excel with article writing over at Info Barrel….
Based on alot of research, while also talking to the owners of Info Barrel, I strongly believe it will be a formidable competitor of eHow some day…..check out these graphs, as well…
http://www.quantcast.com/infobarrel.com
….in my honest opinion, these guys are destined for great things……but, if they ever push the 3,000,000+ visitors that eHow gets every day, writing for Info Barrel could also be a hugely lucrative venture for you….and, could also gain alot more traffic to your blog in the long run…..
I’d love to see you do an ‘experiment’ with them….but, I do understand if your busy…..article writing, as I’ve learned from my first 180+ articles, is hard work and requires ALOT of dedication….
With 75%-90% of Adsense revenue share, I think you could do VERY well over there, and make another viable passive revenue stream that I’m sure readers would LOVE to follow…..
…if you have the time, of course
lol
I’ll definitely look into it Howie. Thanks
I agree with your conclusion.
Even just the fact that “dog biting” is more specific than “happy with dog” already makes the case for me.
The way I see it, the “dog biting” book could be marketed in a relatively short time. Create a site targeted at a dog biting-related keyword, optimize and link-build until you are on page one on Google and you can probably get sales going.
For the “dog happy” book you’d probably need an authority site on the subject of dogs and dog training, a list with subrcibers interested in dog-related material and a reputation as a “dog-guy/gal” to be able to make decent sales.
I’ll buy a broad-subject book from someone I trust or have heard good things about. I’ll buy a book to solve my specific, current, pressing problem from anyone.
If you need a google wave account I can invite you. Just drop a mail to my inbox with the email account I should invite.
Hi Tom! I appreciate that. I actually got an email after posting this post with information about an invite. It’s funny cause I was only half joking, but I guess there are a few invites out there to give away, which is great. I’d love to see exactly how it works.
Thanks Tom! I appreciate it! I’ll email you if the other invite falls through. Cheers!
another inspire post,thankyou very much Pat:)~!
Well now that was fun and the first time I ‘ve truly seen the power of FB in action. I too chose the “Biting” book for the reasons you mentioned.
Given the comparison you made with teeth whitening, yes, I agree with you about the book.
Tough question and I am not a dog owner. I actually think the opposite. Because dog owners are the ones targeted for these books. If you own a dog, it should not be biting you at all, if so you have more issues than a book can help out with. But dogs can be tough to train or to become “mans best friend.” For that I think more dog owners would want to figure out ways to enjoy and enhance their dog owning experience opposed to the fears.
I think there is a certain audience that responds well to fear and negativity. They are a vulnerable audience and tend to spend more money. So yes, I do think you can make more money catering to that crowd.
The questions are:
1.) Is what you have to sell really suited for that audience? While the scare tactic may work some people, just a glance at the vicious dog on the cover will sent a lot of people straight to The Dog Whisperer. (And frankly, I don’t think that cover would sell at all – people who see the dog depicted on that cover as “the problem” would get rid of the dog.) Falsely attracting the crowd that is not right for your book is just as bad as driving away those that are.
2.) How saturated is that audience? Other audiences may be harder to sell to, but there is less competition.
3.) “How to be Happy With Your Dog” is a bad title, and there are other titles that could work with that approach better. “How to Turn Your Dog into a Real Gentleman” etc.
I think all the theory in this essay is dead on – you do have to be specific and it’s always good to solve an urgent problem – but you always have to take audience into consideration.
Pat, I’m more interested in the images of the “EBooks” you’re displaying. How did you do that?
Photoshop
I have a lot of experience with PS from my last job, working at an architecture firm. 
Since you responded to my comment, you got a tweeeet.
hey pat,
if you ever are having a hard time thinking of content, it would be great if you made a video on how to make those ebook covers! ive tried the tutorials out there and mine always look terrible
hey chris,
I know Pat created his own eBook covers….his work turned out great, but, rather than teach myself, I decided to actually pay someone to do it….
Mine have turned out GREAT….I could have probably fouind someone to do it for cheaper, but, I paid $30 for the main eBook cover, and $30 for each of the other complementary guides that I’m packaging with the main eBook….and, I’ve been extremely pleased with the final products….
hiring someone is always a way to go if need be….
hey howie,
thanks for the tip. I’ll look into it.
That’s a really good tip Howie thanks.
If a friend of mine gets bitten by his own dog (a lot of cases by the way), I will be compelled to make a quick study on how to prevent this in the future so I’ll go online and buy a book. I’ll also get that book instantly.
Now, when I want to give a birthday gift like book about being happy with your dog, I won’t be that compelled and would probably change my mind to buying another item. I might just buy it on a local book store.
This means that in online marketing, you would have faster results in selling “How to Stop Your Dog From Biting You”. I think this also creates an “urgency effect” somehow, and people would buy it immediately for future reference. I believe this would generate more passive income in less time.
Thanks Pat!
This is an interesting one, I’m still returning to it after commenting on it twice on your Facebook page.
I think the trouble with the example is that we’re talking about dogs, and such big extremes. If the two books were “How to be happy with your dog” and “How to solve separation anxiety” the answer would be a lot more obvious. The trouble with this example with aggressive dogs is that their owners are rarely bothered by it, as weird as it sounds. They either avoid the issue by locking the dog up (like in your cover photo) or they avoid any triggers that make the dog bite (like picking the dog up), or they are proud of their aggressive scary dog and are really not interested in changing his behaviour. So they wouldn’t be interested in buying a book because a) they don’t think it’s an issue or b) they don’t think there’s anything THEY can do about it.
To a normal dog owner it feels like a very foreign topic to buy a book about, since biting is rarely an issue with a well adjusted dog with a calm and firm owner. I mention this just to point out reasons why someone (like me) would automatically think the Happy Dog would sell more and therefore miss your point completely.
Hey Sebastyne,
I’m glad you keep coming back to this. it’s definitely an interesting topic, which is why I decided to migrate the conversation over here for everyone else to see.
Anyways, you’re right, the example may not be the best one, but I just wanted to prove a point that fears and problems are very intriguing, and much easier to sell to.
Although we want to say that the “Happy Book” is the one everyone should have, I think the reality is that more people would be searching for a “Fear” book, if that makes sense.
To a normal dog owner, the biting book isn’t necessary because their dogs are normal and not biting them. But to a dog owner whose dog is biting them, they want a solution and they want it now (and it’s a very specific problem they are looking a solution for).
We’re not trying to cater to all dog owners here, or even normal dog owners. We want the dog owners that are looking for this exact information.
Finally, this is exactly why we’re talking about this here. I know many people wouldn’t even think the biting book would sell one copy, but I hope I have shown why it would indeed be a better sell online.
I get your point, believe me, but do you KNOW anyone who’s dog keeps biting them, because I do. They really are not interested in, they haven’t even THOUGHT about looking for a solution for the problem. I have SHOWN to them how to make the dog stop biting, and guess what, they ignore it.
To keep the fear aspect, how about “How to make your dog not run away from you”. There’s a fear, and is a very tangible problem for a lot of dog owners, sometimes even good ones, who WANT TO solve the issue.
You can’t conclude anything based on 1, or even 10 people that you know. I’d be happy to show you keyword research numbers that tell me that there are hundreds of people searching for this, and with a high OCI (Online Commercial Intent), which means people are looking for those keywords with the intent to pay money for a purchase.
The runaway title that you mentioned is a great one too. I didn’t want to use that title because then it would be totally obvious which one between the two would be easier to sell.
Great discussion!
I’m sorry I’m replying to this in the wrong spot, but I think the nesting is limited to 3 or something… Anyway, I did a very quick google search for the title, and the first 10 results were about how to stop your PUPPY from biting you. The first result addressing adult dog aggression was on position 13, and still was primarily about puppies. The exact phase returns 5 results, 3 of which are yours (good job!) one about rescue dogs. All puppies bite, which is a normal stage of the development, and one that some owners fear to become a permanent problem. Fair enough. That one would probably sell like crazy, but I don’t think your title would be about puppy biting you, but a real problem dog, one that is not “naughty” but down right screwed up. The google results tell me that it’s not considered much of an issue at all. I still maintain my position on the matter. :p
You know of course, that if you have a small targeting market, it doesn’t matter if you have 100% of the market you still might sell less books than with a generic title that you get some fraction of a massive market, right? And you’re right, I don’t know many people personally who have their dog repeatedly biting them, which is just a part of my point. It is such a rare problem, and people who have the problem… Well… I just can’t see them looking for books about it, and if they are, I suspect they wouldn’t know how to use the net to buy an ebook about it. :p Majority, there’s some I’m sure, but your market is narrowing down the more I think about it. :p
But do share the numbers if you have them. I’m known to have been wrong, even though the last time it happened was some years ago in 2003 if my memory doesn’t fail me.
This is fun, hehe. I hope you don’t feel I’m trying desperately to prove you wrong or that I’m absolutely right.
Anyways, here’s a screenshot of the keywords and their DAILY searches:
http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/images/dog-biting-keyword.png
I think that shows you that people are indeed searching for those exact terms. Also, if you type in those keywords in Google, are you looking at the paid advertisements too? For “stop dog biting”, for example, 7 or 8 ads immediately show up above, and to the right of the natural search stuff. This tells me people are paying for keywords such as these because they know people are searching for them, which I show in the link above.
Type in “happy dog” “be happy with dog”, or any other related keywords, and there are typically no paid ads with them.
Also, here’s a link to the OCI (online commercial intent), with a little description of what that means:
http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/images/dog-biting-keyword-oci.png
This tells me that people searching for those keywords are looking to make some kind of purchase, and I would expect this is because, like I mentioned before, these people have a problem they are trying to solve NOW. 0.82 is actually very high.
Here is a keyword search with words related to Happy Dog:
http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/images/happy-dog-keyword.png
As you pointed out, there may be a million people who have dogs that bite them, and don’t want or don’t care about finding solutions. But, there are people searching for solutions, and although it’s a small percentage of people, it’s enough to pay attention to.
Anyways, the real point of this article wasn’t supposed to be about Dogs, lol. I think we’ve done pretty well, together, accessing why these DOG books would go one way or the other.
Thanks again for your interest and collaboration Sebastyne!
Hahah, I have a tendency to stick with a topic until it’s beaten to death, I’m sorry!
And yes, we’re totally gone off topic here, which is completely my fault as I just happen to be fairly passionate about dogs.
Your stats are good, I admit, but what they can’t tell is if these people are actually looking for adult dog aggression stopping techniques or are they looking for puppy dog training techniques. Also, the majority of these searches COULD BE professional dog trainers and dog therapists, who need very advanced level techniques and who work with abused animals and very special cases that wouldn’t end up in the hands of a normal person who would consider the happy dog book as an option. (As you can see, none of the listed keywords contain the magical word combination “your dog”.)
As for the happy dog, I don’t think anyone in their right mind would use keywords “happy dog” to find a good book on dog training, but try a very generic search “dog training” and see what you come up with.
woopsie, there was one with the word “your” in there, but with a click through rate of 0.00….
hey pat,
in that adcenter image you posted, it says non-commercial intent with a probability of .82. wouldn’t that be a bad thing since it is non commercial and not commercial intent?
Hmm..I didn’t even notice that, lol. I still think this book would do better, but that’s definitely an interesting thing. I couldn’t find a good keyword for the other book. Again, the dog thing wasn’t the point of this post
Thanks!
hahah yeah, i wasn’t trying to prove you wrong or anything, just making sure I was understanding it right. I’m launching an ebook this weekend and I learned the whole process from your site. If it sells I owe you big!
The book on how to avoid your dog biting you is approaching the subject from a position of fear. That’s why I think it’s the stronger title. Any time you can address someone’s fear, you’re more likely to make the sale. But I wouldn’t use a picture of such a vicious dog, or should I say vicious expression on the dog’s face.
As far as dogs goes, those are remarkable.
Great overall website! Can you tell me how to eliminate spam on mine?
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