You have seconds to capture attention. Whether writing a book, a blog post, or a Facebook ad, you have seconds to stop people scrolling.
With a book, people only see the title. A blog post only shows the first few lines. In a Facebook ad, it's the headline that stands out.
Unless those few precious words make people stop and say, "I want that," then all the rest of the work is wasted.
The best way to do this is to use the words already in their mind. Be clear, not clever.
Assumed knowledge and jargon. You've been in the business for years, surrounded by people talking the same language. It's easy to assume your customers speak the same way. This is especially true in industries where customers feel less informed and on guard against feeling foolish or being taken advantage of. Use words they use. If you have a horse to sell, a "Horse For Sale" sign is often the most effective.
Burying the lead. Put the most important words first. It's easy to get into the writing and lead the narrative arc to a tidy conclusion buried somewhere in the body of the post, ad, or book cover. While storytelling is important to the whole piece, it's also important to revisit each component to check it's doing its job. If people only see the title, headline, or first sentence, don't rely on them reading more before they understand the benefit.
Over the years, we've convinced many business owners to abandon clever book titles in favor of titles that communicate results.
Why? Because the job of the title is to capture people's attention, not to entertain and certainly not to confuse them.
I know this is still a challenge for me, even after 13 years clean from the corporate-speak world.