The True Purpose of a Tips Booklet – from Fiction, Too
by Paulette Ensign
“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 a novel, set on a rural farm in Midwest America, and you want to sell lots of copies of that novel, which common wisdom says is a challenge to do. One way to do it could be by writing a tips booklet about ways (tips!) to live a happy, fulfilling, and interesting life in rural America, or on a farm. That would certainly give the reader of your book more of a connection to what your book is about, wouldn’t it, especially when you include some specific invitation that looks something like “for more about living on a farm in Midwest America, you’ll enjoy reading our book, “Life in a Corn Field.”
Or you are interested in featuring the accomplishments of some notable 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, 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.
Paulette Ensign has sold well over a million copies of her own tips booklet, “110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life,” in four languages and various formats without spending a penny on advertising. From her San Diego, CA-based http://www.tipsbooklets.com, she assists individuals and groups transform their knowledge into tips booklets and other information products for marketing, motivating, and making money.
Meet Paulette June 15, 2009 as Susan interviews her in a teleclass. Check teleclass page for more info.
