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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Why Your Knowledge And Experience Have A Much Higher Value Than You Think

Have you put off moving forward with your booklet because you’re worried about what other people will think?  Do you feel that you haven’t done enough to be promoted as an expert on your chosen topic?  All booklet authors have these concerns at some point in their booklet journey, most often at the very beginning but sometimes these thoughts can occur long after the booklet has been created and produced.  But, the truth is that YOU and only YOU can write your booklet.  If somebody else could have done it, they would have.

Don’t Underestimate Yourself

You are unique.  You have a unique perspective on the world.  Nobody else sees things quite in the same way that you do.  If you and nine other people each created a booklet on the same topic, you would have ten very different booklets when they were all completed.  Why?  Because each of you would process the same information differently.  You would each decide upon different things to include in your booklet based on your own experience.  What is relevant to one author may seem irrelevant and unimportant to another.

There is a market niche that only you can speak to.  You have common ground with them.  To them, you are the expert.

Don’t Underestimate What You Have Done

Everything you have ever done in your past has brought you to this point.  Your personal experience is unique.  That experience is made up of things you have done and how you have handled various situations in your life.  That experience is what qualifies you to write your booklet.  You may tap into your life experience for your booklet, or you may have educational experience to tap into, but either way your experience is relevant.

Everything you do in your booklet business is like a building block, and every block builds upon the next.  When you do one little thing today and another little thing tomorrow, pretty soon you’ve got alot of little building blocks that make one big building, or in this case, a booklet business.

Consider everything that has brought you to this moment.  This moment is made up of alot of little things – your past experiences, your desires, your passions.  Each of them are relevant to this moment.  The same is true for your booklet.  You have done and experienced many things that have caused you or will cause you to write it.

Go Ahead – Toot Your Own Horn

You have a right to be proud of your achievements, your experience and your credentials.  And the simple fact is if you don’t tell others about them, they’ll never know.  When someone asks you why you wrote a booklet about surviving a divorce or what makes you the expert on nutrition for seniors, tell them!  Share some of your experience or expertise with them.  In fact, you should be sharing that expertise even when they don’t ask for it!

Once you have created your booklet, you’ve done something worth talking about.  Most people will never do anything with the expertise or knowledge they possess.  In fact, they’ll downplay their own knowledge and expertise, writing it off as mostly irrelevant, while praising you for yours!  It’s just human nature.  We all tend to think that someone else is better than we are in one area or another.  And they may be.  But, you’re the one who wrote the booklet, remember?

Write your booklet.  Then, get out there and make your dream a reality.  You can do it.  Don’t underestimate the worth of your unique knowledge or experience.  It has a much higher value than you realize.

To your riches!

Kim

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Coming Up With New Ideas For Booklets – How To Feed A Hungry Market

Once you have a booklet on the market and it’s selling, you’ll find you have a market that is hungry for more.   This is good, but you must satisfy their hunger by continually giving them new booklets and/or other products.  If you don’t, your market will either lose interest or buy someone else’s products.

You might be thinking this is easier said than done.  After all, it was all you could do to come up with a topic for your first booklet.  And now, you have to do it again.  But, it’s not as difficult as you might think.  Here are some ideas for you to consider when it’s time for you to come up with more to offer your market.

Keep A File For Your Ideas

You should keep a file just for your ideas.  You can write your ideas on paper as they come to you, and then put the paper in the file.  You should also add any articles that interest you from magazines, newspapers, newsletters and online sources.  You’ll probably never use all the ideas you come up with, but when you want to write a new booklet and you’re drawing a blank you’ll have a rich resource to turn to for ideas.

Look At Your Life Experience

Do you have a new interest that would be of interest to your market?  Have you learned something new about your subject area?  Did something recently happen to give you a new perspective on something?  Your life experience can be a valuable resource for ideas.

Other People’s Life Experience

You can also use other people’s life experience to spark ideas for new booklets.  Pay attention to the conversations you have with people as well as what you read online.  Every once in a while you’re bound to find a good nugget you can use and create a booklet around.

Your Passions

What are you most passionate about?  What do you enjoy doing so much that you would do it for free?  Your passions can provide you with ideas for entire series of booklets.  No writer has ever had a difficult time writing about something they loved or enjoyed.

Look At What You’ve Written In The Past

The writing you’ve done in the past can provide you with ideas for new booklets to write.  You can even re-use some of your old content.  You can spin new booklets from old ones, or continue writing about a subject you’ve written about before, adding more information in the new booklet.

Ideas are everywhere.  If you are continually seeking ideas, keeping your mind open to possibilities around you, you’ll find you never run out of them.  You’ll have more ideas for new booklets than you could ever use.

To your riches!

Kim

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Writing Your Booklet’s Content – How To Find The Treasure Chest

When you first come up with a topic for your booklet, you’re probably thinking about the topic from a surface point of view.  But, you must dig deeper in order to create a salable product and make money.

A Bird’s Eye View Of Your Topic

Here is an example of thinking about your topic from a surface point of view.  Imagine you want to write a booklet about popular vacation spots for baby boomers.  You have chosen your niche – baby boomers – and you may be thinking that’s enough to make your booklet attractive to that particular market.  With this kind of thinking, you would simply list the most popular vacation spots and be finished.  But, that’s not enough.

Think of it this way.  Your topic is like an ocean.  If you were a bird flying over that ocean, you would see the water on the surface.  In the same way, merely listing all the popular vacation spots for baby boomers is like only scratching the surface of information that you can give to your readers.

Exploring The Depths Beneath The Surface

As a booklet author, you want to give your readers more than just the bird’s eye view.  You want to dive below the surface to give them more in-depth information.  Using our ocean example, here is how this is done.

When you were a bird and you flew over the ocean, all you could see was the watery surface.  Now, imagine you are a fish.  As a fish, you have a very different view than the bird does.  You can see how the light goes from being bright near the water’s surface, to getting dimmer and finally fading into darkness as you go deeper and deeper below the surface.  You can see many kinds of fish – some friendly and some to watch out for.   You can see plant life growing up from the bottom.  You can see sand.  You can see a ship that sank many centuries ago.  You can see a treasure chest.

The Treasure Chest

Did you think the treasure chest was on the ship?  It isn’t.  The ship is the treasure chest.  So are the other fish, and the way the light fades from bright to total darkness.  All of these things make up a rich treasure under the ocean that you can’t see if you are bird.  You can only see them as a fish.

Getting back to your booklet, when you choose a topic, you want to dig deeper into that subject and find good information your readers will really be able to use.  Anyone can get online and pull up a list of popular vacation spots for baby boomers, or for families, or just about any other niche you can think of.  But, the rich author is the one who looks for much more than that.  The rich author will look for the friendly fish – the things that will be helpful in deciding where to stay and what to do, or which vacation spot is best and why.  The rich author will also look for the predators – things to watch out for when planning that vacation, such as weather patterns at various times of the year or pricing scams.  The rich author will bring these things to light for the reader.

The One Question To Ask That Will Help You Get It Right Every Time

This can all be summed up in one simple question.  When you think of a topic to write a booklet about, ask yourself, “How can this information be used?”  If you find that there is no specific use for the information, you need to dive beneath the surface.  If you can’t find anything beneath the surface, you need to choose another topic.

When you write a booklet, you don’t want to be a bird or a fish.  The bird can’t see what’s beneath the surface.  The fish can.  But, the fish can’t see the whole ocean.  The fish can only see one small part at a time.  You need both views to be able to write a salable booklet.  Then, you need to choose the most important things from the fish’s view to include in your information.

To your riches!

Kim

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Pricing Your Booklet – Are You Making This Mistake?

Your manuscript is finished and you’ve had it produced.  The booklets have arrived and they are beautiful.  As you look over your creation, you’re filled with pride and a deep satisfaction of knowing that you created this and you will prosper from it.  But, then, a new thought comes to your mind and you find yourself perplexed by it.  Just how much should you charge for this wonderful new creation of yours?

A Ridiculous Method For Pricing Your Booklet

Most authors will look at similar products on the market that deal with their topic, and they’ll charge accordingly.  They’ll often consider the highest and lowest prices, and try to place their price somewhere in the middle.  This is a ridiculous way to price your booklet!  Why?  Because this is what everyone does.  You are simply follwing the “herd.”  And the herd is leaving alot of money on the table!

Are You Making This Mistake With Your Pricing?

Following the herd won’t make you rich, nor will it make you profitable.  How many rich authors do you know?  There are only a handful of authors, of the thousands who write books, booklets, and other materials, who could be considered wealthy by American standards.  Pricing your booklet the way these people do will bring you the same results these people get.  What you want are better results!

Often, in addition to pricing according to what other authors are doing, many booklet authors will consider their own finances.  But, what is expensive to you may not be to your market.  You may feel that a particular price is good for your booklet because it’s a nice, round number and therefore easy for people to pay you, or because that price simply seems acceptable to you.  But, if your market won’t pay that price for your booklet, you’re going to lose sales.

On the flip side, what if they would gladly have paid you more than that nice, round number you chose?  Then, you’re leaving money on the table.  Most authors who are self published make this mistake.  But, traditional publishing houses make the same mistake, because they price according to what else is on the market and how it is priced.

A Better Way To Price Your Booklets

When you price your booklets, don’t go with the flow or with what is comfortable for you.  You are after better profits than what most authors are making.  A much better way to price your booklets is to consider your market and what they are willing to pay for your information.  Within your market there are people who can only pay a little, and there are people who can pay alot.  The majority will be able to pay a price somewhere in between, but that in between price is usually higher than you think it is, and it is usually higher than the middle price between the highest and lowest prices that other authors are charging.

Don’t trust that other authors in your genre or subject area know what they’re doing.  Don’t price your booklets according to the way they have priced theirs.  Take your market into account.  If you’re selling to doctors you can charge a little more, perhaps even a great deal more than you think you can.  If you’re selling to single mothers on welfare, you will need to charge less in order to make the sale.

Price according to what your market is willing to pay for your information and you’ll make more sales.

To your riches!

Kim

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Why You Must Write Your Booklet Now

Most writers (or wanna be writers) get to the end of their day and find they haven’t written anything.  Their day filled up too fast with other things that had to be done.  Writing would have to wait until later, when the rush was over.  It may have been a 9-5 job, followed by the tedious drive home, then making dinner, helping children with their homework, and watching the news before finally going to bed that filled up the day.  Or, it might have been a day filled with errands that had to be done.  But, whatever it was, the writing was put off.  The problem is, later never comes.

There Is No Later – There Is Only Now

The only time you will ever have is now.  There is no later, no tomorrow, no next week.  You only have now.  And sometimes, you can’t write now – like when you find yourself at work, or when you’re in a meeting with your child’s teacher, or when you’re at the doctor’s office.  But, there are other times when you can write now – like instead of watching the news, or during your lunch break at the office, or after the children are in bed, or when your errands are finished.

Why Your Writing Doesn’t Get Done

The writing doesn’t get done because you haven’t made it a priority.  Everything else comes first, and when that happens, the writing will come last, meaning it won’t get done.  If you really want to write a booklet and profit from it, you must make it a priority.   You can’t put it off until later.  You must use the time you have right now to do it.  Not the time right now at your job or during an emergency, but during the time you find yourself in when you’re doing something else that can wait.

My first two booklets were created in the evening after dinner, during the time I would have normally spent with my family.  For two weeks I spent that time writing.  It was difficult.  I would have rather been with my children.  I could hear them talking, playing and laughing.  But, I had a higher purpose in what I was doing.  I was creating something for our future, and I knew the writing wouldn’t last long if I just buckled down and got it done.  And so I did.  And so can you.

Writing A Booklet Only Takes A Little Bit Of Time

Writing a booklet isn’t like writing a book.  Writing books takes a long time – sometimes years.  Writing booklets can take anywhere from 24 hours to a couple of weeks, depending on how much time you are willing to give to it consecutively.  But you have to make the choice to do it.  You have to be willing to say, “Right now I’m going to write my booklet instead of using this time for leisurely activities.”  Once you make up your mind to do it, you’ll find your booklet is completed quickly and then you can use your time for other things again.

The only time you have is right now.  What are you going to do with it?

To your riches!

Kim

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Why Thinking Big Isn’t Always Best

Most authors think big.  They want to write books.  They want to publish through a large publishing company.  They want to sell thousands of copies and acquire thousands of fans.  Thinking big can be good because it forces you to wonder “what if.”  It creates desires in you that move you forward to achieving your writing goals.

Sometimes It’s Better To Think Small

As good as thinking big can be, sometimes it’s better to think small.  Instead of publishing a book, downsize it to a booklet.  In doing so, you will also downsize the amount of time it takes to complete it and get it to market.

Another reason for thinking small is that sometimes thinking big can be overwhelming.  For example, when you’re thinking about having thousands of raving fans salivating for your next book, you may wonder just how you’re going to acquire such a following.  For some who are just starting out, this seems overwhelming because you’re starting from zero.  Thinking small and imagining acquiring one happy customer at a time makes your sales transactions seem more realistic and more personal.  Now you’re not writing for the masses.  You’re writing for one happy customer.  As you journey forth in your booklet adventure you’ll gain many happy customers, one after another.  But, you have to start somewhere and thinking small helps you to picture the process better without getting overwhelmed or worried because you don’t already have a large following of fans.

Thinking Small Will Save You Money

Authors who self publish books the traditional way (that is, they don’t use a POD publisher) will buy a minimum of 3,000 – 5,000 copies of their book in order to get a good, per copy price so they can make a profit.  This may not sound like alot of books when you are planning to sell to the masses, but when the boxes arrive and are stacked in your garage reality can hit you hard!

When you self publish a booklet, however, you don’t have to buy thousands of copies in order to get a good price and make a profit.  In fact, depending on your particular market, you may not need to buy any printed copies at all.   This means you’ll have money available to you that otherwise would have been tied up in all those excess printed copies.

Booklet production is, itself, less costly than book production due to the booklet’s much smaller size.  Less paper and ink used means less cost to you.

Each of these things are expenses that any author will incur in order to publish their work, but by thinking small you will have smaller expenses.  The smaller your expenses, the larger your profits will be!

When Not To Think Small About Booklets

Thinking small is beneficial for anyone in business, and especially for authors, but when it comes to booklets there is a time when you don’t want to think small, and that is when you are thinking about your income.  You don’t have to think small about your income from booklets because booklets can provide you with just as good an income as books can, and often you will do even better.  Think big about your income, but think small about your expenses!

Thinking small will save you money and keep you from getting overwhelmed.  Knowing when to think small is an important factor in your success as a booklet author.  The next time you’re feeling like your goals are just too big or your project is too costly, remember to think small and your worries will disappear!

To your riches,

Kim

PS:  Like this post?  Share it with a friend!  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 get the riches flowing to you!

PPS:  The new website is nearly finished!  It won’t be long now.  I’m so excited and can hardly wait to share it with you!  Stay tuned….

A Booklet Can Take You Wherever You Want To Go

Do you aspire to do more than write a booklet?  Do you dream about other endeavors such as writing a full length book or speaking?  Or maybe you dream of creating an entire business around the subject of your booklet, with other products, and other publications to offer as well.

Booklets Are A Wonderful Starting Point That Can Lead To Greater Things

Whatever you dream about, a booklet is a wonderful starting point for making it happen.  If writing and self publishing a full length book is your goal, a booklet will give you an idea as to how your book will be received by your market.  It will open doors for you and create customers for your book before it is written.  It’s a chance to test your market before you spend the time and money required to self publish your book.

If speaking is your dream, a booklet will help to establish you as an expert in your field.  It will also bring in money for you at speaking events.

Should you wish to build a business around the subject of your booklet, selling other publications and products, a booklet can get you started on a shoe string budget.  As your booklet sales grow, you’ll be able to add new products to your business without having to be concerned about a large investment out of your pocket.

Booklets Can Support More Than One Endeavor

Once you have created a booklet, there are many different directions you can take, and you aren’t limited to just one.  You may decide later to create a full length book and speak at special events.  Because of the booklet you created, you’ll have credibility for both.

The people within your market will know who you are from reading your booklet, and they’ll perceive you as an expert.  This will make any endeavor that is related to your booklet’s subject easier for you because you’ll have an audience built up to market to.  Buyers of your booklets will be interested in seminars where you speak, or books you later write, or other products you offer.

Dare to dream big when you write your booklet.  Then, when you’re ready, you’ll find that your booklet helps support your other efforts.  You’re booklet just might help you build a business empire!

To your riches,

Kim

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How To Uncover New Avenues For Booklet Sales

Once you have a completed booklet, you’ll find that things begin to happen for you in ways you could not have anticipated.  Such was the case for me over this past weekend.

I have been focused on selling my gluten and dairy free booklets to doctors.  On Saturday, I met a lady who owns a health business.  She is focused on many different areas of health, such as diet and skin care and aromatherapy, but they are all related to staying healthy naturally.

During the course of our conversation I happened to mention my business, and she asked me what I do.  When I told her about my booklets, she became very interested.  She has a website for her business and would love to provide a link from her website to my booklets.  Links are good, although there are better ways to make money.  But the real gem here isn’t the link or the possibility of a sale to this lady.  It’s the possibility of a new market that I didn’t see before.

When you have a booklet in the marketplace, you should always be looking at things from a big perspective.  What can this sale lead to?  Where’s the bigger money?  When you do this, you’ll uncover new possibilities, new directions to go in, and new avenues for sales.

This is the second time that someone has given me a new possible market for my booklets.  When you keep your eyes and ears open and look at things from a larger perspective, the same thing can happen for you!

To your riches,

Kim

PS:  Like This Post?  Share it with a friend!  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 get the riches flowing to you!

PPS:  My new website is nearly finished!  I talked with my coder today and he’ll be uploading it tomorrow!  Stay tuned…

The Faucet Of Riches: Is Yours Turned On?

There is a critical question you must ask throughout your booklet journey from the moment your topic idea pops into your head.  You must ask this question and keep asking it.  If you don’t, the faucet from which the riches flow will be turned off for you.

The One Critical Question You Must Ask And Why

What is this critical question that determines whether you will reap riches from the writing and creation of your booklet?  It is a simple question, and you must ask it constantly.  At every decision you are faced with, from the very idea for your booklet to it’s design to who will buy and read it, you must ask “Where is the money in this?”

Asking this question keeps you on track.  It keeps you from going in directions that are not profitable or that are less profitable.  When you continually ask where the money is, it forces you to think ahead about the results of your decisions.  If you need money today, you need it because of decisions you made in the past that were not profitable.  Likewise, if you are wealthy, you have made decisions that put you in that position.  Therefore, the decisions you make every day determine whether you are rich or not.  And if you apply this to your booklet writing, the decisions you make right from the beginning determine whether your booklet will bring you money or not.

Money And Profit May Be Two Different Things

You’ll notice this question is phrased, “Where’s the money in this,” not “Where’s the profit in this.”  This is because profit doesn’t always mean money.  To profit by something means to gain by it.  You may gain money, but there are also many other things you can gain by writing booklets that could be considered profit to you.  For example, you might make a full time income from your booklets (or better!), and be able t quit your job.  In this case your gain isn’t just a monetary one.  It is also a gain of time and freedom.

Another form of profit is a feeling of being helpful.  Your booklet may be helpful to someone, and there is a certain amount of profit in helping others.  It just feels good to know someone else has benefited as a result of your efforts.

Why You Must Focus On The Money And Not The Profit

If you want to reap riches from your booklet in the form of money, you must focus on money.  That isn’t to say that you won’t be generous at times or do things that are not money related, but in order to reap the riches from your booklet you must see it as a business.  It makes sense in business to think about cash flow and where it’s going to come from.  If every decision you make regarding your booklet has only to do with helping others, you’ll never be able to help yourself.

Money Is A Good Thing

Without money, you can’t realize your dreams of a better life.  You are the one writing and creating the booklet.  If you want this to be your living, you will need money.  It takes money (alot of money!), to survive in this world.

Also, you are in a better position to give when you have money than when you don’t.  Have you ever wanted to give to a charity or help victims of a natural disaster but not had the money to do it?  You’re not alone.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have the money to give and not even miss it?

This is why you must always ask yourself each time you are faced with a decision regarding your booklet, “Where is the money in this?”  When you come up with the idea for a booklet, ask the question.  When you’re faced with design issues, ask the question.  When you’re thinking about marketing, ask the question.  When you’re determining who your readers will be, ask the question.  Ask where the money is and keep asking.  When you do, you’ll find the answers and the riches will flow to you.  Then, you’ll profit as well.

To your riches,

Kim

PS:  Like this post?  Share it with a friend!  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 get the riches flowing to you!