Quick Tip: Don’t Ruminate, Motivate

No matter what you’re working on in your booklet adventure there’s one thing you need to remember. You need to motivate your audience to do something.  Information is a cheap commodity these days, but information that motivates people to action is rare.

When people buy information products, booklets or otherwise, they aren’t putting down their hard earned cash to learn about something.  They’re putting down their hard earned cash because they expect that information to change something for them, and the only way that change can take place is if they DO something to make that change happen.  But, it’s easier to read than it is to do. Your job is to motivate the reader to take action.

You can’t control whether people will take action or not.  But, if you get them fired up about it they’ll believe in you and your products and they’ll continue to buy them.

To your riches!

Kim

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How To Be An Author Worth Paying Attention To

When you start your booklet adventure, you’re doing more than just writing a booklet or starting a business.  You are creating your reputation with your audience.

Your Cover Creates A First Impression

When you put your first booklet on the market, that booklet will give an impression to anyone who sees it.  They will instantly form an opinion of your booklet just by seeing the cover. In that moment, they will decide whether they want to consider your booklet as something of interest to them, or move on to something else.

This is why having a professional cover is so important.  Your cover creates that all important first impression, but you don’t want it to be the last impression.  You want those people who were interested enough to look at your booklet’s cover to continue to consider it as something they need, and then make a purchase.

A Professional Layout Is Important Too

If your cover is professional and grabs attention, the next thing a prospective buyer will do is open the booklet to see what’s inside. They will want to know the contents of the booklet before they buy.  But, they will also want to see  a professional layout.

If you’re selling to individuals, they may not consciously think about the layout, but they will be able to tell if the layout isn’t professional. It’s one of those things where if it looks good, nobody notices.  But, if it looks bad, everybody notices.

A quantity buyer will be particularly concerned with layout. If a potential quantity prospect sees anything less than a professional job, it will cost you that sale – a sale that you don’t want to lose!

Does Your Booklet Deliver On Its Promises?

When looking over the content of your booklet, your audience will be trying to figure out if your booklet delivers what it promises.  If it does, and they were interested enough to get past the front cover, you’ve probably made a sale.  But, if your booklet doesn’t deliver what it promised, you’ve not only lost the sale but you’ve lost the trust of your potential customers as well.

People only buy from people they know, like and trust.  If you’ve lost their trust, they won’t be willing to buy from you in the future.

It’s your name and your reputation on the line.  When your booklet is top notch and you’ve done your best to create a professional product that delivers what it promises, you won’t have any trouble making sales.  Your audience will come to trust you and see you as an author worth paying attention to.

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Are you ready to get started on your booklet adventure?  There is a right way and a wrong way to go about creating a booklet.  If  you want to avoid the pitfalls and come out a winner click here!

PPS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes ONE idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on your favorite social website.  Thanks!

Three Simple Rules For Creating A Top-Notch Booklet That Sells

Creating a booklet as a salable product is as easy as 1-2-3 when you follow these three simple rules!

Make It Short

A booklet is a small publication.  That’s its edge.  That’s what gives it power over a full length book.  It’s more in depth than a short article, but far less so than a book.

If your booklet is too long, it’s a book.  That’s ok if writing a book is your intention, but then you lose the power of a booklet.

Few people read books today.  The average american never gets past the first chapter.  In fact, statistics have shown that only about 2% of Americans ever finish a book.

This is why booklets are appreciated.  They’re a quick, short read.  It gives the reader information almost instantly, without having to sift through tons of pages to find what they really need.

Make It Complete

Although your booklet is a short publication, it should still be complete.  Just as a sentence is a complete thought, your booklet should be a complete read.  You don’t need to give every last detail about your subject.  That’s what books are for.  But, you should give enough information so that the reader is able to take that information and apply it to their own life in some way.

A book is made of several chapters.  Think of a booklet as just one of those chapters. It’s complete in and of itself.  It may be an overview of the entire subject, pulling out the most important details, or it may focus on one aspect of the subject and give concentrated, more detailed information in that specific area.

Make It Professional

Unless you’re a professional who does layout and artwork for others, it’s best to leave the design and layout of your booklet to someone who does this for a living.

Of course, you can direct this person as to what you want the finished product to look like.  In fact, it’s best if you do because even the best artist or designer will have difficulty coming up with just the right look if they’re trying to work from a blank slate. Their goal is to please you, and in order to do that they’ll need YOUR input.

Your goal is to have a professional product to offer your market.  You don’t want to cut corners in any area that will affect your product’s professionalism. You want a top-notch booklet inside and out!

Make it short, make it complete, and make it professional, and you’ll have a top-notch booklet that makes you a winner!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes ONE idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post, please share it on your favorite social website.  Thanks!

11 Free Tools To Help You Write A Better Booklet

Even the most savvy writer must continue to hone their craft in order to stay sharp.  As a booklet author, it is especially important that you continue to polish your skills so that your booklets grab your audience’s attention and speak to them with bold clarity.

Here are 11 free tools you can use to help you write a better booklet.

Grammar Girl – Not sure whether to use who or whom?  Don’t know if something will affect you or effect you?  Grammar Girl to the rescue!  This is a great website that offers short, simple, easy to remember tips to help you write like a pro!

Using English Punctuation Correctly – Should you use a hyphen or a dash?  A semi-colon or a colon?  You’ll find the answer here.  This web page will give you a quick rundown of punctuation rules.

Guide To Grammar And Writing – This is a fantastic, easy to navigate, website that covers everything from sentence structure to writer’s block!  If you have a writing problem, you’ll probably solve it here!

Style Guide – Brief and to the point, you’ll find information here about things like jargon and tone that you may not find on other sites.

Technical Writing – Are you writing a technical style booklet?  This website is for you!

Common Errors In English Usage – Literally an A-Z list of common errors.  Very useful!

Visuwords – This website is like a thesaurus but it gives you a diagram instead of a definition. Type in a word and several other, associated words will come up with it in an interesting web of colored circles.  This could prove useful for writer’s block by helping you see other alternatives in a diverse and unique sort of way.

Visual Dictionary – Do you need to see a picture of the definition of a word?  This website can help!  This is really useful if you’re writing about something technical or you just need to get in image in your mind so you can put it into words.

Orangoo Free Spell Check – Don’t have a spell checker and need to check the spelling in your manuscript?  Copy and paste it here.  This site is easy to use and will even check the spelling of the text on your website for you!

Word Web – A  downloadable dictionary and thesaurus for your computer.

Word Counter – This is just cool!  Use this tool to find any words in your text that you have over-used, or to find keywords within your text.  Just copy and paste in your text.

Got a free resource or tool you would like to add?  Please leave your comments below!

To your riches!

Kim

PS:  Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes ONE idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on your favorite social website.  Thanks!

How Embracing The Ways Of The Past Can Help You Rake In The Gold

Once upon a time customer service was just that – service, and it was done because the business owner or company truly cared about their customers.  Times have changed, and there’s gold here for the author who is willing to embrace the ways of the past.

The Way It Was

There used to be a day when you could go into a department store and as soon as you took an item off the rack you would have a sales person by your side offering to start you a dressing room. That was back in the day when gas stations offered full service – where they’d pump your gas, check your oil and wash your windshield.  And if you went to the bakery and bought a dozen doughnuts they’d throw in an extra one for free.

Over the course of time department stores hired less people, gas stations decided people would rather pump their own gas for a cheaper price, and bakeries stopped giving out free doughnuts.  Genuine customer service became a thing of the past as companies began to focus more on their own bottom line.

The Way It Is

Today it’s difficult to find a company that cares – even in micro-businesses where the owner is the business.  It’s not about the customer anymore.  It’s all about money – and the customer knows it.

People are skeptical of anything that seems genuine these days because they have learned that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  And in most cases they’re right.  There are alot of snake oil salesmen out there waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting.  Nobody really cares about the customer anymore.  The customer has to look out for himself.

What It Means For You

What does all of this mean to you as a booklet author?  It means that when you conceive the idea for your booklet, you’re thinking, first, about how your information will help people, and money will always take a back seat to that.  It means that you write your booklet with care – thinking of what your audience needs or wants from you.

You’re not going to be like all those other companies and business people (and authors) out there who don’t care.  You’re going to be someone who does care.  You’re going to stand behind what you put into the marketplace and truly help people as much as you can. You’re going to be genuine – the real deal.

And do you know what will happen when you do this?  People will discover that there really is someone who cares about what they need or want.  There really is someone who is offering a genuine product and is willing to stand behind it.  And then they’ll want to buy from you over and over again, and they’ll tell everyone they know because you are such are rare find in the marketplace today.

Write your booklet because you care. It’s such a basic, simple concept and people WILL respond to it.  Put that care into everything you do – from your booklet manuscript to your marketing and sales – and you won’t have to worry about money.   You’ll be so set apart from everyone else you’ll literally rake in the gold!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes ONE idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on your favorite social website such as del.ic.ious or StumbleUpon.  Thanks!

How Well Do You Know Your Subject Matter?

When you came up with a topic for your booklet, you probably did it off the top of your head and from your own experience.  But, how well do you really know your subject matter?

In order to successfully reap riches from your product, you need to know that product well. Since you’re an author and your product is your booklet, you need to know your subject matter inside and out.

Look Beyond Your Experience

Having personal experience with your subject matter is a very good start to really understanding it.  This is why it’s best to write from personal experience.  But, everyone’s experience is a little different. If you have two chess players playing together, each one’s experience and thoughts about that experience will be different.

What you need to do as an author is not only look at your own experience, but look deeper and try to get a broader view of your subject. Your own view is narrow and limited, regardless of how many years experience you have.  You want the total picture, or as much of it as you can possibly get.

The Only Reason They Will Buy From You

Going deeper into your subject matter and knowing it from a broader viewpoint is extremely important because it helps you define how your booklet will help the reader.  If you can’t tell your audience how your booklet will help them, they won’t be interested.

Your audience will be interested in buying your booklet for one reason only.  They want to know what’s in it for them. They want to know how your booklet will improve their life or help them change their circumstances.  They won’t care about your personal experience very much.  They may not even be able to relate to that.  This doesn’t mean your own experience doesn’t count.  It does.  It just means that you shouldn’t focus on it too much or make it the only thing you draw your information from.

What It Really Boils Down To

What it really boils down to is knowing your product. When you have a thorough understanding of your subject matter and you know all the angles, or at least several of them, it gives you something to bring to the table.  It gives the impression that you know your stuff and therefore your booklet must be good and worth investing a few dollars in.

When you take the time to research and discover other angles with your subject, even if you don’t include them in your booklet, it adds to your expertise. You can then use that expertise in a variety of ways – from creating other booklets to making sales.

Knowing your product – your booklet’s subject matter – inside and out is fundamental to being a successful booklet author.  Look beyond your own experience and try to get a sense of the bigger picture.  It will only add to your riches.

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post.  Remember, it only takes ONE idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on your favorite social website.  Thanks!

The “KISS” Principle For Booklet Authors

Booklet writing is all about getting your message out to your market in a fast and efficient manner.  It is fast and efficient for you, and fast and efficient for your readers.  A booklet is not a mini book.  It is not written like a book, and it doesn’t have the volume that a book contains.

The KISS Principle Re-Explained

When you create a booklet, you want to keep it short and simple.  This is the “KISS” principle for booklet authors.  Your booklet should be a short work unto itself, able to stand alone.  It must convey a clear, tightly focused message.  It should not give every last detail – only the most important ones.  And your booklet should be simple to understand, as well as simple in design.

Keep It Short

Sometimes it is difficult for authors to keep it short.  They have so much they want to say.  But, in the case of booklets, you must discipline yourself to be brief.  Brevity is a major selling factor of booklets.  It is what sets them apart from books.  If you could get the information you needed by reading 20 pages, would you really want to read 200?

Keeping your booklet short, however, applies to more than just the number of pages.  You also want to keep your paragraphs short.  Because, generally speaking, a booklet has a smaller page size than a book, the longer paragraphs you find in a book will overwhelm the pages of your booklet.  In fact, a paragraph from a single page in a book could take up more than one page of your booklet.  Therefore you must consider the space you have in your booklet and create your paragraphs accordingly.

Keeping it short also applies to your sentences and your words.  Short sentences are easier to read, and this makes your booklet both a fast and efficient read for your audience.  The same applies to your words.  If you’re using alot of big, complex words, you’ll probably lose most of your audience.  They won’t understand what you’re trying to tell them and this means they won’t buy from you again.

Why Simple Is Better

Short and simple go hand in hand.  By keeping your booklet’s length, paragraph, sentences and words short, you’re automatically keeping it simple.  But, simplicity goes beyond the length and grammar of your booklet.  You also want to keep your booklet’s design and construction simple.  That’s not to say you can’t have color or glossy pages if you want them, or that your booklet has to have some kind of plain Jane look to it.  But, it does mean that your booklet has a simplicity to it that makes it easy for people to understand it’s concept.  They know from looking at it what it is, and they don’t expect anything in depth or complex.

A simple design means an uncluttered cover with a clear title.  It means the colors on the cover don’t clash and are appropriate for your subject.  It means your design is eye appealing, not eye assaulting.

Remember the “KISS” principle when you create your next booklet.  When you do, your booklet will be created and on the market fast, and your audience will be excited to have such good information at their fingertips.

To your riches!

Kim

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The Secret To Having Devoted Fans And A Fat Wallet

Do you feel like you haven’t included enough information in your booklet’s manuscript?  Or, are you concerned about how you’re going to fit all the information you have into a small booklet?  Trying to put too much information into your booklet will actually work against you in terms of sales.

What Your Audience Wants From You

A booklet isn’t meant to be the final word or authority on your subject.  It’s just a little booklet.  It’s supposed to give the reader the basics, or the facts in a simplified manner that’s quick and easy to read.  People don’t expect a booklet to give them everything there is to know about a subject.  They’re only interested in the information they need right now.  This means your audience isn’t interested in all of the information about your subject.  They’re only interested in a small fraction of it.

Are You Wasting Time On An Impossible Task?

To illustrate this point, let’s use the example of weight loss.  There are literally thousands of publications that deal with this issue, from magazines to books to booklets to websites and blogs.  Why are they all so successful?  Because no single publication can corner the weight loss market.  There’s too much information and the market is too vast.  If you were to try and write a single publication that covered everything there is to know about weight loss, that publication would have to be divided into several volumes and it would fill an entire library and then some.  You would have to write about different body types, explain metabolism, talk about diseases that interfere with weight loss, discuss how age affects the body’s ability to lose weight, write about every diet that’s ever been tried and whether it’s known to work or not, review different weight loss products, and on and on and on.  It would be an impossible task.  And the same goes for your booklet.

How To Pare It Down

Your goal for your booklet should not be to include all the information available on your subject.  Using the weight loss industry example above, if you wanted to create a booklet about weight loss you wouldn’t cover every aspect of the issue.  Each aspect is a special gem.  You would choose one, such as how age affects the body’s ability to lose weight.  And, this one gem is actually made up of several smaller crystals, each one a gem in itself.  And so, you might break this down and come up with a booklet about weight loss for those over 40, or for baby boomers, or for seniors.  And even within each of these groups there is tons of information you could discuss.  You will have to pare down the information so that the reader gets what they want, without any clutter of information they don’t want or need.  Your booklet should be a tightly written product that presents one issue, one small slice of a greater whole.

Your Rewards – Devoted Fans And A Fat Wallet

When your information in your booklet is tightly focused, it does two things.  First, it tells your readers that this booklet was written just for them.  Your booklet will be just what they need, just when they need it.  And second, it leaves room for you to create more booklets and other products about your subject.  If you were to give your audience everything they needed to know about your subject in your first booklet, they would have no reason to return to you for more.

Don’t try to pack as much information as you possibly can into your booklet.  Make your focus a narrow one.  Give valuable information, but keep it very tightly niched.  When you do, your audience with thank you for it and your wallet will grow fat!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!

How To Find Material From Which To Write Your Booklet

Do you want to write a booklet, but you’re concerned that there isn’t enough material for you to research from which to write it?  The best way to write a booklet is to glean from the knowledge you already possess.  But, when you don’t possess enough knowledge to create your booklet or you need additional information, you will need to reference outside sources.  Fortunately, today this is easy to do.  Here are three ways you can get the information you need.

The Internet

Today, we have at our disposal more information than we will ever need or be able to use.  The internet is a valid resource for doing research, as long as the information you get from it is credible.  One problem with doing research online is that anyone can post anything, anywhere at anytime.  People are full of opinions and agendas, and you must be certain that the information you use in your research fits with your agenda for your booklet.  You also want to be sure that the information you are looking at or reading is true.   If it isn’t, you’ll be seen as a fraud and you’ll lose credibility with your market.

The Library

Your local library probably has plenty of books on your subject or a closely related one.  Books tend to be more credible than information found online, although anyone today can easily write and publish a book.  Once again, you must be sure that the content you read fits your booklet’s agenda and that the information is from a credible source and it is true.

Aside from your local library, there are also special libraries, such as college and university libraries, and medical libraries, where you can find the information you need.

The Expert

Another way you can get information is by talking to an expert.  This can be something formal where you pay the expert for their time, or it can be informal, such as when the expert is a friend and you meet for coffee or lunch (and yes, you should pick up the tab!).

As expert who deals with your subject every day or on a frequent basis will be very knowledgeable and will be able to give you special insight that you may not find online or in a book.  There is a big difference between reading about something and actually experiencing it.  If you haven’t had the experience from which to write about your subject, finding an expert who has will be very valuable to you.  Not only can they give you information, but they can also point you to other resources that might be helpful to you.

There are many resources you can use to find the information you need to write your booklet.   And, the more research you do, the more knowledge you will gain – making you an expert in your subject!

To your riches,

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!

How To Make Your Booklet The One To Buy

Are you getting tired of hearing about the economy?  Me too!  It seems like everything we see and hear is about how bad businesses are doing, how people are afraid to spend money, how many more layoffs have occured, and on and on.  While it’s true that the economy is bad right now, most people are no longer interested in how bad it is.  They’re interested in information that will help them to get through it, or that can shed a new light on the situation and how it applies to them.

A few days ago, I came across a very interesting article in a well known magazine.  The title caught my attention, saying something about why a bad economy might be good for me.  After hearing so much dismal news, this was definitely a new twist!

I only had a few moments to skim the article, so I don’t remember much about the contents.   But, what’s really important is that they took something that is constantly on our minds, and they spun it in a new fashion.  Instead of giving their readers the same, tired, worn out news, they gave them something new to think about – something to lift their spirits.  They gave them several several reasons to be thankful during a difficult time.

This is worth keeping in mind when you write your booklets.  Don’t restate the obvious.  Find the silver lining in the dark cloud, or find the dark cloud in the silver lining.  Give a tired subject a new slant.  When you do, your work will stand out from all the rest because it will be different.  You won’t be repeating what others have already said, or what everyone already knows.  The competition will disappear, and your work will stand alone.  When there are a dozen other products created about a particular subject, and yours is the only one that takes that subject in a new direction, your product becomes the one to buy.

The riches are never in the obvious.  If it were that easy, everyone would be rich.  But, it isn’t difficult to find a new angle or refashion a subject so that it gives new information or another viewpoint.  That is where the riches are.  When you dig beyond the surface, you’ll find them!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this post to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to get the riches flowing to you!