You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Oh wait, are you one of the people who is still thinking about doing one? Not to worry. Wait 'til you see how easy this gets.
What would you and your colleagues think of jointly creating a tips booklet? Each of you contributes several tips, has someone else oversee all of the production, and gives you ideas for marketing it. Each colleague shares in the costs, making the entire thing not only palatable price-wise but an exciting prospect and even fun to do instead of some kind of drudgery. It's very possible this is a solution that just had not yet come to mind. I can almost see you sitting there saying "yes, that's perfect."
Collaboration is far from being a new thing. Book anthologies are done all the time. Cookbooks have been created just this way for years and years, with each person in a particular group contributing their favorite recipe. The hugely successful "Chicken Soup" series is probably one of the best known anthologies of recent times. It's just taken awhile to realize that the same thing can be done with tips booklets, and done within any self-contained, self- formed group rather than only a publisher of an anthology gathering unrelated people together to create the book.
Look around you. You probably have colleagues, a circle of professional friends, people you utilize as a sounding board, as a mastermind, as a respite from your daily process. And you each like doing the work you've prepared yourself to do, whether it's being a business coach, a hypnotist, a retailer, an artist, a realtor, or endless other possibilities. Yet you also love the idea of being a published author, seeing your name in print, someday, when you get around to it, when the stars and planets are aligned just perfectly. Or the idea of expanding an existing product line appeals to you, and a booklet seems to be the ideal answer for that.
Several years ago, a group of veteran professional organizers wanted to create a revenue stream for themselves so they did not have to tap the general budget of the umbrella association to which they belonged. About 100 organizers (104, to be exact) each contributed several tips. We then selected one tip from each person and created a booklet for the group. To date, the booklet has brought in over twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000!) of direct revenue for that group of veteran organizers, without really marketing it.
The great thing about that booklet is that it serves as both a revenue stream for the group plus it markets the business of each contributor in the booklet as well as the entire industry of professional organizing. You'll find the individual person's name, business name, and city of each contributor right under their tip. Every organizer whose tip is in that booklet instantly became a published author.
But wait, there's more. Each and every booklet that a co-author distributes markets every other co-author in the booklet. Plus (and this is just so terrific) the booklet is of great interest to reporters and journalists in the media who love to interview more than one person for any article they write. It's a ready-made mechanism for getting lots and lots of publicity.
I recently started a conversation with a representative from a group of about 15 health care professionals in related areas of expertise, exploring the idea of the group jointly co-authoring a booklet. Each person in the group contributes a handful of tips, shares in the production costs (bringing that way down), and becomes a published author. This takes much less time, m0ney, and brain damage than if any one of these people wrote a complete booklet themselves. That's not to say they won't ever do one on their own. It just means they will get one done probably sooner through the collaboration of this tips booklet anthology, and they will expand their reach every time any other co-author distributes this booklet.
Has your mind started racing about who to approach to do a booklet with you? You don't have to be best pals with a colleague or love everyone in your mastermind group or agree with every pearl that comes out of every coach in your Special Interest Group, or think that each person at the recent chamber of commerce meeting was the most brilliant person you ever met. You don't even need to live anywhere near each other in order to put together a collaborative booklet. All you need is to find a group of people interested in contributing some tips in a somewhat related field. Depending on the size of the group, it may be one or two tips each, or 10-12 tips. In either case, it's a minor amount of time, effort, and m0ney to instantly become a published author.
© 2005, Paulette Ensign
Visit: http://www.tipsbooklets.com/anthologies.htm to get started with one of these collaborations (and completed before you even realize it!) Paulette Ensign has clients, worldwide, who have surpassed her own results of personally selling over a million copies of her tips booklet in four languages and various formats, without spending a penny on advertising. Her San Diego-based Tips Products International has helped thousands of people transform their knowledge into tips booklets for marketing, motivating, and making money. You're next.
Many authors hit a roadblock when it comes to putting... Read More
A book event (a book signing) is a popular way... Read More
Posters can be a great and inexpensive way to promote... Read More
When I meet an author with a great book concept,... Read More
Have you ever walked into a bookstore when an author... Read More
These marketing tips aren't for the weak at heart. Use... Read More
If I was asked to describe the perfect book, one... Read More
This is intended for informational purposes only. Selling books by... Read More
The six-figure book advance, like the New York Times bestseller,... Read More
If you are reading this article then you have already... Read More
Authors, especially self published, small press and Print on Demand... Read More
Have you listened to radio lately? If you have, chances... Read More
Tomorrow night is my first Local Writers Fair. I've been... Read More
Still marketing your book through press releases, networking groups, and... Read More
Successful authors are convinced that radio interviews are the very... Read More
Is your mind muddy on book marketing? Do you wake... Read More
Writing a book is becoming more and more of a... Read More
During the past year or so, I have done nearly... Read More
How would you like to have countless people clamoring for... Read More
What is your excuse for not being published? "I don't... Read More
You've just been notified a review of your book has... Read More
There are several ways of publishing your chapbook. You can... Read More
Most authors say, "Everyone will want my book, and when... Read More
If you're a new author that has been requested to... Read More
Choosing a publisher probably seems like a complicated task, however,... Read More
Think of Your Promotion Time and BudgetMost one or two-book... Read More
Many writers write for the experience. Others dream of having... Read More
Successful authors are convinced that radio interviews are the very... Read More
To create a saleable book you need to know your... Read More
Even if your book or service is excellent, they won't... Read More
Are you using these methods to promote your articles?If not,... Read More
If you are reading this article then you have already... Read More
To have your work accepted for hard copy publication is... Read More
"How do I set up a media event?" -- As... Read More
Writing has traditionally been considered a solitary craft. You wrote... Read More
Your book cover is the first impression a potential client... Read More
Writing a book is becoming more and more of a... Read More
Francine Silverman. Book Marketing from A-Z (InfinityPublishing.com, 2005). Trade paperback.... Read More
For many of us, marketing our titles is one of... Read More
If you're like me, you have a book and the... Read More
During the past year or so, I have done nearly... Read More
Surprise your potential buyers. Give them chocolate frosting!After we entered... Read More
What can be more infuriating to a potential purchaser of... Read More
What is your excuse for not being published? "I don't... Read More
Why write an introduction? Nobody reads it anyway. Up until... Read More
There are over ten thousand daily, weekly and monthly newspapers... Read More
Publicity is that elusive thing that can make or break... Read More
Where is your book now? With a distributor? In a... Read More
Hi Noel,I absolutely love your website, As an MS sufferer... Read More
Working in the publishing industry comes with a high expectation,... Read More
Book Marketing Book Marketing |