Hot Topics and Hot Sales for Booklets

What's the hottest topics for writing tips booklets? It the one(s) you get most excited about. Simple as that. Many people talk about writing to topics in great demand. Some oldies and goodies are things like food, kids, pets, money, and sex. If you have to do specific research on a topic and it is a stretch for you to be passionate about it and it needs separate marketing from a business you already have, you are likely to have different (lower!) sales results than when you create products representing something that's meaningful to you and that you're already promoting. It will probably be harder for you to sustain your own interest over time.

In the past few weeks, a wide range of fascinating booklet topics have been birthed by people whose life is represented in their booklet. Here's a sample of those topics:

• How to Choose a Nursing Home - from a geriatric specialist who works in nursing homes
  
• Tips for Girls Volleyball - from a former pro women's volleyball athlete
• Selecting a Financial Planner & Managing Your Money - from a financial planner
• Self-Care for Caregivers - from a long-time spousal caregiver
• Guide for Single Women to Find Their Guy - from a single female author on the same topic
• Parenting the Troubled Teen - from a pediatrician who works with teens
  
• Creative Ways to Use Leftovers - from a military wife who does this for her family

While food, money, and kids are among the topics represented in that list, they are done by people whose lives are greatly involved in those areas.

The above list doesn't scratch the surface of the thousands of booklet authors, worldwide, who are writing and selling their booklets. These people have a passion for their information and have contacts they are approaching for large-quantity sales.

Next time you ask yourself what the hot topics are for booklets, ask yourself what it is you bubble over about anytime you've got the opportunity to share your knowledge with anyone who will listen. That is your hot topic. Start writing your tips!

Until next time,
Paulette - always happy to explore this with you to discover your hot topic


www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklet Reasons or Results

"My dog ate my homework." Isn't that one of the oldest excuses in the world for not accomplishing the results that were expected of you? For some, it's become a humorous way to express missing the mark on a due date. For others, it's often a major annoyance, a cop-out. All the reasons (aka excuses) in the world don't change the results. It doesn't matter how good the excuse. Yes, there are times when an emergency happens, and it is literally impossible to do what you said you would when you said you'd do it. However, more often than not, it's a matter of a zillion stories you tell yourself and anyone who will listen, stories that seem completely reasonable. See if some of these resonate for you:

* I don't have enough information to finish the booklet.
* I've got too much information and don't know what to leave out.
* It's not written well enough for people to want it.
* I'm not a writer.
* It doesn't go into enough depth for people to want it.
* My wife/husband/significant other thinks writing a booklet is a waste of time.
* I have too much to do in my life to write 3500 words.
* I don't know how to sell it.
* I don't have a website yet for my business.
* I'm an unknown in my field.

Anything there sound like stories you've told yourself? If so, you're busted! They are stories. They are not results. Each and every one of the 10 items in the above list has a solution if a booklet is really the result you're committed to having.

So, what's the truth for you? Reasons or results?

Until next time,
Paulette - reflecting on the stories some people offered with their belated birthday wishes this week :-)

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklets Are Always About People

When you write your booklet and when you offer it up for sale or free distribution, it can sometimes be easy to lose track of the fact that people are involved in all parts of the process. The content reflects your experiences in some part of your life as a human being. The production touches the lives of your service providers. And ultimately, the booklet is intended to improve the lives of those who receive your booklet, whether it's distributors first and end users second, or directly to the end user.

I've had several experiences in the past few days where the human side of the interaction got lost in the shuffle, and where it made a big difference in anything beyond that. The first one truly surprised me. I tried out the services of a new massage therapist who came highly recommended to me. I've experienced professional massage for over 25 years, on 2 coasts, and as you can imagine, a wide range of experiences. This person never asked me a thing about whether there was any part of my body that needed extra attention or that she should avoid or if I preferred a stronger or lighter touch. Nothing. The sad part was that her technique as a massage therapist was fine, at about 85-90%, in fact. I will not be going back to her though.
We never connected as people.

Today I got an email from someone who had attended a fee-based teleclass and was looking for the recording and transcript that hadn't arrived. The person didn't include their proper name, just an email address. Um, I deal with people.

There are other examples I could offer, though I'm sure you got the point. Remember that you are always dealing with people every step of your booklet journey.

Until next time,
Paulette - who is 100% human

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Is Your Booklet "Either/Or" or "Both?"

Which topic needs to be in your booklet, Passion #1 or Passion #2? If they have anything at all that's remotely related to each other, many times the best answer is to include both topics in one booklet. You can make one booklet with multiple related topics in it, and still come out with a 16-page booklet that has 3,000-3,500 words in it. My booklet, "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life," has about a dozen related topics in it, in fact, so people can sample various areas of organizing their business life.

Yes, there are times it makes sense to focus on a single topic in a booklet. Even then there are sections or sub-headings within a particular topic. You may be a professional speaker who presents keynotes. It would be ideal to have one booklet on each of your keynote topics.

When you see that you're headed way beyond 3,500 words, the suggestion is to have two smaller booklets than one larger one, even if you are dealing with multiple topics.

Start writing and see where you're led. The answer often presents itself once you're in motion.

Until next time,
Paulette - who ran out of organizing tips at 110

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Who Does Best Selling Their Booklets?

Many people think it's best to write a booklet based on "what's hot." That will typically be topics like money, foot, kids, weight, sex, pets, or trends or items in the recent news. Yes, there is a continuing demand for those topics, no doubt about it. Strange as it may seem, though, there is no guarantee those will sell any better than a booklet on road safety, better blogging, forgiveness, or model railroading as a hobby.

You may wonder how the heck that's possible. It's actually quite simple. When you have expertise in and enthusiasm for a particular subject, it's easier to "get that all over people" than when you are writing about something you believe to be a popular topic where you have no first-hand experience or passion. Your first-hand experience is likely to also include knowledge of resources who would find your booklet useful for their own (promotional) purposes. You've got a leg-up over the people who are purely doing research as an objective exercise to get the job done. You also have contacts, whether direct or several times removed, to reach the decision makers who will buy your booklets.

So the closest thing to a magic bullet in all of this is to write on what you know. Write on what excites you. You're going to find it so much easier to engage people when you do. Then your biggest challenge will be how quickly you can deliver all those booklets they want to buy!

Until next time,
Paulette - speaking from first-hand experience and observation about all of this for almost 2 decades

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Why a TIPS booklet?

People have periodically asked me if they could do a booklet that has little stories in it or is made up of quotes or poems. They wonder how or if that would work. My answer is yes, it could work just as much as tips work. It's just a completely different intention for the content, though the marketing applications could be the same.

A tips booklet is intended to directly instruct the reader about something. It's not to say stories, quotes, or poems wouldn't be instructional. They are probably a little less direct though. The reader also has a preferred learning style. Some people just want to get right to the point. Others like to be lulled into learning (now that's a turn of a phrase, isn't it?). Yet others are not interested in learning as much as wanting primarily to be entertained or to find some escapism.

The booklets can be sold in bulk as promotional tools for companies and associations just as a tips booklet would be. Many companies and associations buy books of every size and subject to use as gifts and promotional items. So the marketing would be the same no matter what your content.

Like everything else in life, there really isn't one size that fits all. However, my work since 1991 has been all about tips booklets, which are perfect for the "bottom line" kinda person I am.

Until next time,
Paulette - quickly getting to the point

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Best Booklet Ever Written

The best booklet ever written is the one people find useful. You thought there would be some big announcement following that headline, didn't you? The fact is, like anything else that enhances your life, what you view as the very best thing or experience is the one you think contributes highly to your life in a positive way. There is no real way of knowing how what you have to say will be received by the person reading it. That does not, however, absolve you of the responsibility of sharing your knowledge with the world, starting right now. It could be one tiny thing that is a major "aha," and you may never know.

Until next time,
Paulette - cheerleading you on to bringing what you've got to those who will be thrilled that you did

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklets - Where Do You Start Writing and Marketing?

Do you start your booklet prompted by what you determine as a need in the market place that you fill? Or do you start with expertise that you have, expecting to find buyers for it? Or is it a combination of both?

The reality is that it doesn't matter which of the above scenarios you choose. You can meet with challenges and meet with successes with each one of these approaches.

If you are a professional writer as your primary business, and do research as a way of life, you are likely to be prompted by what you see as a demand to fill. Your decision won't necessarily be driven by a passion about a particular topic as the motivating force for you to market what you've got.

You could be starting from the other end of the equation, with knowledge that you'll share with anyone, anytime, without being asked. And you want to get it all over everyone. You will succeed with that kind of enthusiasm, regardless of your topic. You want to write many booklets and put your information into other formats, to get your message as far as you can possibly reach.

And yes, in a perfect world, what your booklet is about is information that's in great demand, by buyers you can easily find and who easily find you.

The bottom line is that it really turns out not to matter where you start or what your motivation in writing tips booklets. There truly is a market for you.

Until next time,
Paulette - continuing to create "yes" answers

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Fiction Books Can Become Tips Booklets, Too

"My topic doesn't fit into a how-to tips format."

That comment shows up periodically, and did again this week. Even when a person has written a novel, there are ways to create a tips booklet that can help market that novel plus become its own new source of revenue. THOSE are the purposes of a booklet.

A booklet is a way for the reader to test out the information of the author, to see if it's something that leads to wanting more of what the author's got. It's a way to gently approach a topic that may be otherwise overwhelming or brand new. It's one format of the material, which can then be embellished, expanded, or otherwise modified by the author.

A booklet is NOT the consummate reference on a given topic. A tips booklet, in particular, is NOT a narrative philosophical statement or observation of something. It's a tips booklet, with how-to's in it.

Let's say you wrote an historical novel about native Americans in the Midwest and you want to sell lots of copies of that novel, which common wisdom says is a challenge to do. One of the many ways to do it could be by writing a tips booklet about life lessons the characters learned (tips!) that are still relevant today. That would certainly give the reader of your book more of a connection to what your book is about, wouldn't it? That is especially true when you include some specific invitation that looks something like "for more about how humans find ways to adapt in life throughout history, you'll enjoy reading our book, "Tales of a Father and His Sons on the Prairie."

A similar approach would work if you are interested in featuring the accomplishments of some noteable people of current or historical times. Instead of a treatise about them, it could be very useful to create a tips booklet that includes guidance based on what those people did to accomplish what they accomplished, again, for others to mirror in their own lives.

Once in a rare while there is a topic that simply does not lend itself to a tips booklet. It's usually something in science or math and focused on theory. It's at that moment you'll see a glaze come onto my face. Otherwise, let's talk about what your tips booklet is and can be.

Until next time,

Paulette - who can usually find tips in just about anything

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

To Every 3rd Grader, 4th Graders Are Gods

When the title of this blog post showed up in the report of a conference Allison Nazarian sent out, it stopped me in my tracks. It really does speak volumes, doesn't it? It puts it into a very real context, too. And it's especially meaningful in the world of tips booklets. Lots and lots of booklet (and book!) authors undervalue their knowledge and experiences. It's almost a daily event, in fact.

The truth is that there are many, many people who don't know what you know. They may know pieces of what you know. They may think they know what you know. Think about the article you read or the conference or teleclass you attended or conversation you had -- any of which provided a single pearl of an idea or a perspective or a piece of information you just didn't have that you found very useful. It may or may not have been rocket science, and doesn't much matter as long as you found it useful.

Yes, your knowledge is valuable. I'll be sharing my own knowledge as part of a teleclass series you'll want to attend, which already started this week. You can find all the details by clicking here.

There are a lot of 3rd graders roaming around, wanting what you, the 4th grader has!

Until next time,
Paulette - glad to be a 4th grader again

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

My Content Is Superfluous

It happened again. During a workshop in Phoenix this week, someone said it was the intention to only put very useful information out, not fill a booklet with superfluous information. I assured the booklet author that there would be a lot more interest in the topic of the product we were discussing by fattening it out with more tips, and most importantly, that each of us is too close to our own expertise to realize that many people don't know what you/I know. It may seem simple to you, and totally escapes the awareness of someone else.

I had a similar experience talking with a colleague. I asked for a solution to something, and he gave me what was, indeed, an easy solution -- one I just hadn't considered. Once he suggested it, of course it made perfect sense.

Remember that your content has at least three possible uses to the recipient:

* Brand new information
* Reminder of something already known
* Confirmation, especially coming from an expert (you)

Each of these functions makes your content anything BUT superfluous. Write it any way and do it now!

Until next time,
Paulette - reminding myself as much as reminding you

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklets, Time, and Social Networking

The light bulb went on today as I was posting yet one more tweet on Twitter, thinking, again, how perfectly suited Twitter is to my personality of getting in, getting out, and getting something done, all just like that.

You can accomplish lots of things at once by posting a tip from your expertise onto Twitter. Here's a few:

• You develop a credible presence in the Twitter world
• You are being helpful, which is always appreciated
  
• You are giving information first, marketing second
• You are, indeed, marketing your business
• You're writing your tips booklet one tip at a time

So next time you find yourself in a circular conversation with yourself or someone else about how you don't have time to do social networking and/or don't have time to write a booklet, this suggestion just cut your time in half. Scratch THAT excuse! You really can't take up much time or space writing a tip on Twitter since you're limited to 140 characters (not words, but characters.) And you probably know that I'm very fond of doing more than one thing at a time when it looks like you're only doing one thing at a time.

Are you following me yet on Twitter? This is one of the easiest points of entry into the world of social networking as far as I'm concerned. It's fun while getting things done. Come see for yourself.

Until next time,
Paulette - doing lots of connecting (and biz!) on Twitter

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Paint Word Pictures in Tips Booklets

Several reminders lately of the importance of giving the client, reader, audience member the *experience* -- the benefits, not the features. For instance, when you're car breaks down on the road and you get towed to the garage, you really don't care that the mechanic will use a particular size wrench, turned three twists, carefully removing the widget that's connected to the ... Uh, you get the idea. All you care about is how soon can the mechanic get you back on the road, and what will it cost you.

Even with writing a tip, yes, I suggest after telling the person what to do, that you add 1 or 2 sentences explaining "why" or "how." It's been effective to see some booklet authors naturally go that extra mile, even within the formula structure, in mentioning the experience the reader is likely to have: "Move things one or two inches closer to you on your desk. You will save time and have less stress throughout your day." In those few short words, there is a direct instruction, followed by describing the probable outcome, without any reference to the muscles used in moving those things closer.

In many cases (though definitely not all), the number of pages in your booklet, the dimensions of it, the number of ink colors, the font size, the number and type of graphics, the kind of paper -- these don't matter. What matters is how your booklet will make someone's life more, better, or different.

Until next time,
Paulette - sharing the reminder to focus on benefits rather than features

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

What's the Best Part of Tips Booklets for You?

Over the years, it's been fun, inspiring, and enlightening to discover what part(s) of the tips booklets business turn people on the most.

• Writing
• Creating a product quickly
• Starting a product line for a service-based business
• Leveraging the booklet content into other formats
  
• Marketing
• Selling (yes, that's different from marketing)
• Getting enthusiasm all over everyone else

These are a few of the many possibilities. What's the best part for you, and why?

Until next time,
Paulette - who loves doing something once and leveraging it like crazy
www.tipsbooklets.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com
Follow me at www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Tips Booklets and Television Commercials

Have you ever wondered about the purpose of immediately repeating a television commercial? And besides, what the heck does this have to do with tips booklets anyway? No, I'm not suggesting you advertise your tips booklets through television commercials. The point here is about repetition.

You (and I) don't hear all/any of the details the first time a commercial plays. It doesn't sink in the first time. Same thing with presenting your information only once, in one format. Your client doesn't absorb everything the first time they are exposed to it. More often than not, they also don't buy the first time you present the product to them.

There are many ways to repeat the content, as well as the request to purchase from you. You can do it in different formats, for instance. Record the tips booklet contents into an audio product. Yes, the exact same information you provide in written format. It increases the usefulness of your information and increases the odds of it being remembered.

Next time you notice a television commercial immediately repeated, notice how many details you picked up the second time, even if you were annoyed by the repetition!

Until next time,
Paulette - who sometimes needs a dozen exposures before it sinks in

www.tipsbooklets.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com
Follow me on www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Tips Booklet versus Booklet

Do a Google search on the word "booklet" and then do a Google search on "tips booklet" and see the difference of what comes up. And do each as both singular and plural, too. Yes, there are various forms of booklets out there. It's important for you to determine which type you'd like to create, and how you'd like to be found. All booklets are not created equally. Far from it, in fact. And they can and do serve different purposes.

Tips booklets are the ideal "how-to" for situations and learning styles that demand quick answers to real challenges. They are best for personalities and learning styles that are very bottom-line oriented. A more narrative and more fully illustrated booklet can be useful for people and circumstances requiring more explanation, more process, more "make-nice."

There's no reason you can't create both types of booklets and see which one has greater demand in your market, and which style you prefer to do.

Until next time,
Paulette - staying true to my bottom-line self
www.tipsbooklets.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
Follow me: http://www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Write to Answer a Question

Over the weekend, a VP from ClickBank.com presented a highly informative seminar for a group in which I'm involved locally, the Publishers and Writers of San Diego. Among the many interesting things he said, one of them jumped out at me. Among the best-selling digital products sold through ClickBank.com are those that answer a question. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It often starts with a Google search that leads someone to a product available through ClickBank. Apparently one of their best sellers is a ebook about how to attract more hummingbirds to a garden. That starts with a Google search of "how do I attract more hummingbirds to my garden?"

Think about the problem that your booklet solves. The key words of the Google search will lead your client to your booklet, whether it is sold through your website, tipsbooklets.com website, ClickBank.com or anyplace else!

Until next time,
Paulette - rethinking some positioning of some current products
www.tipsbooklets.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com

More Than Booklets

Have you ever found yourself frustrated and feeling limited by the tips format? I know many of my clients and audiences have. Instead of seeing it for the starting point that it is and can be, they sometimes see it as the finish line, the end-all-be-all. For some people it is that finish line, and that's fine. They do one tips booklet or a series of tips booklets. No problem. For others, it's the start of something big in the way of product development.

By the way, there's no right answer here. But you already knew that, didn't you?

The tip-writing formula I teach is just that. It's a formula. It works for people who want a very specific road map of something that works well. Not only is it often a finished product unto itself, it's often the jumping off point, as an outline or framework for other formats. That can include a more narrative publication, or audio, or a workbook, or a journal, or endless other possibilities.

Regardless, you get to choose what to do, which can look lots of different ways. Like I said, there's no right answer here.

Until next time,
Paulette - who encourages possibilities
www.tipsbooklets.com

Write, Re-Write, Write, Re-Write, Wrong

Yes, you want your booklet and any other information product you develop to go out into the world written and produced as well as you can possibly create it. However (and this is a big however), there comes a point of diminishing returns. You can write and re-write and edit and write again, and never get it out into the world at all. There's a line in there somewhere between attentiveness and perfectionism. Let me share a little secret with you: It will never be perfect, even when every "i" is dotted, "t" is crossed, and the punctuation and spacing and everything else are exactly as intended.

Why? Because you are bound to come up with yet another great idea to add or something you want to embellish or, or, or. That's what thinking, intelligent people do, and you're certainly among them!

Put that additional brilliance into a different booklet or a different edition of the one you just wrote. Get yours out there, now!!

Until next time,
Paulette - responding and reacting to a client conversation I had yesterday. You know who you are :-)
www.tipsbooklets.com

How-to's Need How To

'Had an interesting conversation today with a booklet author who wrote some booklets and has yet to own any of my materials. As I was suggesting he get my flagship product, "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets," the person on the other end of the line made a comment more meaningful than I think he may have realized at the time. He commented that so many of the "gurus" give the "what" and not the "how" in the things they sell. I assured him the product I was recommending is all about the "how."

However, he unwittingly made the point that's so crucial for booklet authors to bear in mind as well. The best thing you can do in writing your booklet is to tell the reader how to do whatever it is you're suggesting they do. Merely telling the reader "what" to do falls very short of being as useful as you can be. By then giving a sentence or two about "how" to do it, you've probably made a friend and client for life!

Until next time,
Paulette - grateful for the simple reminder of how to write a useful how-to
www.tipsbooklets.com