At long last your book is done. The
cover and the contents look as terrific as
you hoped they would. Your marketing plan is
ready to fully launch. You’re primed to make
tons of money from your book, yet there’s a
little voice saying ‘But wait, there’s
more.’ What could that be?
Somewhere along the way,
you remember hearing something about
developing derivatives. A derivative is a
product that has been distilled directly
from you book. And it can be in as many
formats as your imagination or other
people’s suggestions and interests can take
you.
A tips booklet is one of
those derivatives that can be created from
your full-length book manuscript. It means
writing your book once and making money from
it over and over again in numerous ways.
Tips booklets do several things. They market
your book, as an appetizer to whet the
appetite of the reader, guiding their hunger
toward the complete entrée, your entire
book.
As for a booklet being a
marketing tool for your book, think of it as
your marketing brochure on steroids. The
tips booklet presents 3,000-5,000 words that
are samples of your book content, written as
action-oriented suggestions to the reader,
in a format that people will pay for. Think
of that, people paying you for your
marketing materials! It doesn’t get much
better than that, does it?
The reader reads some or
all of your booklet, feels great, wants
more, and sees on the last page of the
booklet a notice saying ‘For more in-depth
information on this topic, you’ll want to
have our book “Everything You REALLY Wanted
to Know When You Started Reading Our Tips
Booklet.” You can purchase the book at our
website
http://www.TheRestOfTheStory.com or our
24-hour order line 1-800-GET-BOOK’
Tips booklets also become
an income stream unto themselves. Imagine
yourself in a situation where a company,
professional association, or some other
organization wants to buy thousands of
copies of your book. They want to use it as
a promotional item for their own products,
services, or cause. They then see the
per-unit cost of your book. Even though they
love the book, it’s priced well, and they
view it as an ideal match for their needs,
their budget stops them in their tracks. By
also having a tips booklet available on the
same topic as your book, you are immediately
able to suggest their first purchase be a
similar quantity of your tips booklet
instead. This allows for some sale rather
than no sale. It leaves your buyer feeling
good about you because you gave them a
workable solution. You have greatly
increased the odds of this buyer (and people
they know) making other purchases from you
in the future. Think about all of that as
you ponder the idea of creating one or more
booklets from your book.
Look for obvious
divisions in your book. The chapters are a
good starting place. Each chapter may be
grist for an individual booklet. Or, rather
than going that route, you might decide to
do something now called a ‘sampler’ booklet.
That means taking the 10 chapter headings
from your book, and writing 10 or 12 tips
under each of the chapter titles, giving the
reader an opportunity to sample the entire
book within a 16-24-page tips booklet
measuring approximately 3 ½ by 8 ½ inches.
As your reader experiences success from what
they read in your booklet, your credibility
increases. They want more of you and more of
what you are about. The booklet gives them
an opportunity to test-drive you. Remember,
the booklet is not the consummate reference
on everything you know about your topic.
That’s what the book is. The booklet will,
however, often lead to the book.
Every person who reads
your booklet is a ready-made marketing
representative for you and your company. As
a single-copy booklet buyer, they could be a
decision-maker for their own company or
group, and also be influential in the
purchasing decisions of their colleagues,
associates, suppliers, distributors, family,
friends, and neighbors.
Imagine this for a
moment: A company, association, or other
organization that purchases a large quantity
of your booklets and then your books as a
promotional tool for their own purposes also
promotes you and your company with each and
every publication of yours that they
distribute. They do this because your name
and your contact information are in each
booklet. Remember, they have paid you to
promote you. Life doesn't get a whole lot
better than that!
Your buyer may also be or
know of a reporter or producer to schedule
you for a print, radio, or television, or
Internet interview. The reader might have
contacts in another country or a community
in your own country who have interest in
licensing your booklet or book into another
language or different physical format. You
may be just the person to provide consulting
or training on an issue. Or, if you are also
a speaker, the group may need a series of
speeches in different locations or
departments within their organization. Any
of that and more can and does happen from a
tips booklet.
Keep in mind that the
booklet is a less expensive way of
accomplishing all of this, for you as the
publisher, and for your buyers. Booklets
will open many of these doors for you more
conveniently, less expensively, and with
fewer time lags than attempting to do some
of the very same things using your
full-length book. At the very least, you now
have choices to offer people, based on their
interest, budget, learning style, storage
space, and desired ‘wow’ factor.
Once your tips booklet
manuscript has been developed, you will find
that document can also be converted into
many other products that will market your
book and become their own revenue streams
much in the same way booklets serve you,
further expanding your product line.
When your business has a
full menu of related products and services,
you are able to successfully tap into what
your buyers need and want, and keep your own
cash flowing. The possibilities are endless
when it comes to how a booklet can serve
your book business. What will your first
booklet be?
Post your comments at
amin@aiminlines.co.th
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