4 easy steps to authorship. . .

If the thought of writing a whole business book is something you just can’t see yourself doing, but you want the kudos of being a published author then there is a way you can start on a smaller scale.

Your published book can contain as few as 20 pages; the important thing is to make the content useful to the reader. One way to do that is to produce a tips booklet.

What to include in and how to write your tips booklet

The good news is you probably already have all the material you need to create your tips booklet. Here’s a few things to keep in mind…

Structure your tips booklet as a series of useful hints and advice in an easy to read format.

Keep your tips interesting; not a boring ‘you should do this or you should do that‘ type of monologue. Do this by writing in active language - you’ll discover exactly how in a moment.

4 Easy Steps…

1] Gather all the questions you’ve been asked about your products or services and the answers you’ve given. How many of them are generic? Which ones are questions that would be asked of anyone in your line of business?

2] Turn each answer into an action statement that introduces a topic you can give expert advice on. Do this by starting your sentence with a verb. Here are some examples:

(i) Realise it’s the process not the price (taken from 117 Handy Haggling Hints published by Derek Arden)

(ii) Avoid backache when driving - take a break every 20 minutes

(iii) Write about benefits and results, not features, in your sales letters

(iv) Listen carefully to what your prospect is saying when you meet

(v) Consider the cost savings when you use…

(vi) Plan your business strategy to gain the highest success

3] Follow each introductory sentence with a more detailed explanation; it could be just one paragraph or more if needed.

4] Choose a compelling title for your booklet that appeals to your prospect (it’s the same process as creating a headline for your sales letter).

Once you’ve got the content organised you can get your manuscript ready for printing.

Tips Booklet Format

Ideally your tips booklet should be small enough for your reader to carry with him/her in a pocket or handbag. Most tips booklets are 21cm x 10 cm, which fits neatly into a DL envelope and makes it a perfect size for sending out in the post.

Alternatively you could create an A6 size booklet (half of A5). Talk to your printer to find out which size is the most economical for printing.

Start off with a brief introduction to what the booklet is about. If your tips fall into different categories you might want to include a table of contents listing the categories.

Number your tips.

Show the first few words; the action sentence, in bold so it stands out.

At the back of the booklet include information on how your reader can get more copies of the booklet.

If you publish a series of booklets list your other titles in the series.

Your new marketing tool

Your intention is to use this booklet as a marketing tool. You can sell it on your website for visitors who come across your site through search engines or other incoming links.

Or you can give it away to targeted prospects. Like a book, it is far more powerful than a business card and, because it contains valuable information, it won’t be thrown away.

It achieves two benefits for you:

It demonstrates your expertise.
It keeps your name fresh in your prospect / customer’s mind.

So, make sure you include a page at the back with details of what you offer, your contact information and an invitation to use it.

You can also show your contact details on the back cover.

OK - what’s the name of your tips booklet? Do let me know.. it’s your first step towards publishing a book!

~ Carol Bentley

P.S. If you’ve already created an informative report or have a set of Q&A pages or handouts, you have the foundation of your tips booklet. All you need to do is rewrite it in the style I’ve described in this post.

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